Effects of load ratio and temperature on the near-threshold fatigue crack propagation behavior in a CrMoV steel

The influence of temperature in the range of 24 to 260 °C and load ratio on the near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate behavior of a CrMoV steel was characterized. At all temperatures investigated, the threshold stress intensity range, ΔK _th, for fatigue crack growth decreased with increasing load ratio. The near-threshold crack growth rates increased significantly at 149 °C when compared with the rates at room temperature. However, the crack growth rates at 260 °C were comparable to those at 149 °C. These observations are rationalized in terms of the concepts of roughness and oxide-induced crack closure. Extensive fracture surface characterization using SEM, oxide thickness measurements by Auger spectroscopy, and roughness measurements by light-section-microscopy were conducted to substantiate the explanations.     

Fatigue crack propagation near fatigue threshold in various structural steels

The investigations have been conducted by measuring fatigue crack propagation near fatigue threshold in various structural steels differing in chemical composition and strength level. The fatigue crack propagation measurements were carried out using the constant-load-amplitude test in Paris-region, R-constant and K_max-constant method in near fatigue threshold region. Scanning electron microscopy at fatigue crack front on fracture surface was applied to interpret the influence of crack closure effects on the measured fatigue threshold. Marked fretting oxide deposits distributed on the fracture surface at threshold level were observed in a low load ratio resulting from the combined action of plasticity- and oxide-induced crack closure under laboratory atmosphere. Fatigue threshold dependent on the load ratio appeared to be related to the extent of the crack closure effect. By considering the relationship of reversed plastic zone size and grain size the fatigue threshold in region of crack closure was calculated theoretically. The result has shown a good agreement with the experimentally measured values.     

Roughness-Induced Crack Closure: An Explanation for Microstructurally Sensitive Fatigue Crack Growth

The concept of roughness-induced crack closure is utilized to explain the role of prior austenite grain size and pearlite interlamellar spacing on near-threshold fatigue crack propagation in fully pearlitic eutectoid steel tested at low and high stress ratio in lab air and purified helium. It is shown that at low load ratios, near-threshold growth rates are significantly reduced for coarse-grained microstructures, compared to fine-grained at constant yield strength, due to roughness-induced crack closure. Using roughness-profile microscopy, it was found that fracture surface roughness near threshold scaled with grain size and inversely with yield strength, macroscopic roughnesses at threshold being considerably larger than the conventionally calculated cyclic crack tip opening displacement. Auger analysis of near-threshold corrosion products showed it to be iron oxide; the oxide thickness was seen to be decreased by increased stress ratio. The significance of this model to near-threshold fatigue crack growth behavior, in terms of load ratio, microstructure, and environment is discussed. Formerly with Carnegie-Mellon University.     

Micromechanism of accelerated near-threshold fatigue crack growth in Al2O3/Al-Cu composite at elevated temperature

Fatigue crack growth behavior of a peak-aged Al₂O₃/Al-Cu composite was examined at 150 °C and compared to the behavior at room temperature (RT). At 150 °C, fatigue crack growth rates showed strong dependence on loading time. At short loading time, when stress-intensity range was decreased to approach fatigue threshold, crack growth rates at 150 °C were comparable to those measured at RT. Prolonged fatigue testing at near-threshold crack growth rates resulted in oscillations of crack growth rate until the fatigue crack growth behavior was stabilized to become similar to that in an overaged composite. Measurement of the matrix hardness at different distances from the crack plane and transmission electron microscopy examination of the fatigue specimen have shown that the matrix microstructure at the tip of the fatigue crack underwent overaging during prolonged testing in the near-threshold regime. Consequently, the fatigue fracture mechanism was modified, a lower crack closure developed, and the fatigue threshold reduced to that of the overaged composite.     

Enhanced fatigue crack growth resistance at elevated temperature in TiC/Ti-6Al-4v composite: Microcrack-lnduced crack closure

The fatigue crack growth behavior of TiC/Ti-alloy composite was examined at 450 °C and compared to the room-temperature behavior. Contrary to the temperature-dependent fatigue crack growth behavior of the monolithic alloy, fatigue crack growth resistance of the composite was improved at the elevated temperature. At 450 °C, the fatigue threshold of the composite was found to be 50 Pct higher than at room temperature. Such an improved fatigue crack growth resistance is shown to result from extensive microcracking of reinforcing particles, which promotes fatigue crack closure at the elevated temperature.     

Near-threshold fatigue crack growth properties at elevated temperature for 1Cr-1Mo-0.25V steel and 12Cr stainless steel

Near-threshold fatigue crack growth properties were investigated for a low-alloy steel 1Cr-1Mo-0.25V and a stainless steel SUS403 (13Cr) in the temperature range from 25 to 550°C. Fatigue tests were conducted at frequencies of 0.5, 5, and 50 Hz, in a manner designed to avoid crack closure. The effective value of threshold stress intensity range increased with increasing temperature and with decreasing frequency for the Cr−Mo−V steel, whereas the effective threshold stress intensity range was independent of temperature and frequency in the case of the SUS403 steel. At a given ΔK value, the fatigue crack growth rates accelerated with increasing temperature and with decreasing frequency for the Cr−Mo−V steel. However, although the rate of fatigue crack growth was independent of frequency at a given temperature for the SUS403 steel, the rate did increase with temperature. The observed threshold levels and crack growth behavior were closely related to the oxidation process of the bare surface formed at the crack tip during each load cycle.     

Oxide-Induced Crack Closure: An Explanation for Near-Threshold Corrosion Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior

The concept of oxide-induced crack closure is utilized to explain the role of gaseous and aqueous environments on corrosion fatigue crack propagationat ultralow, near-threshold growth rates in bainitic and martensitic 2 1/4 Cr-1 Mo pressure vessel steels. It is shown that at low load ratios, near-threshold growth rates are significantly reduced in moist environments (such as air or water), compared to dry environments (such as hydrogen or helium gas), due to the formation of excess corrosion deposits on crack faces which enhances crack closure. Using Auger spectroscopy, it is found that at the threshold stress intensity, ΔK_o, below which cracks appear dormant, the maximum thickness of excess oxide debris within the crack is comparable with the pulsating crack tip opening displacement. The implications of this model to near-threshold fatigue crack growth behavior, in terms of the role of load ratio, environment, and microstructure are discussed. formerly with M.I.T., is with McDonnell-Douglas Corporation, Redondo Beach, CA. formerly with M.I.T., is Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.     

Fatigue crack growth in MAR-M200 single crystals

The effects of crystallographic orientation on the fatigue crack growth behavior of MAR-M200* single crystals were examined. Using compact-tension specimens tested at 20 Hz, fatigue crack growth rates were determined at ambient temperature at minimum stress to maximum stress ratios,R, of 0.1 and 0.5. In most cases, subcritical crack growth occurred either along a single {111} slip plane or a combination of {111} planes. The mode of cracking was generally mixed and contained mode I, II, and III components. Considerable crack deflection and branching were also observed. Some fracture surfaces were found to contain a significant amount of asperities and, in some specimens, black debris. Based on Auger spectroscopic analyses and the fracture surface appearance, it appears that the black debris represented oxides formed due to rubbing of the fracture surfaces. Using stress intensity solutions obtained based on the Boundary-Integral-Equation technique, an effective ΔK was successfully used for correlating the crack growth rate data. The results indicate that the effect of crystallographic orientation on crack growth rate can be explained on the basis of crack deflection, branching, and roughness-induced crack closure. Formerly with Southwest Research Institute     

Fatigue-crack-propagation thresholds in a nickel-base superalloy at high frequencies and temperatures

Fatigue-crack-propagation (FCP) tests were conducted on the powder metallurgy nickel-base superalloy KM4 at temperatures of 20 °C, 550 °C, and 650 °C. Two different heat treatments were investigated, one yielding a relatively coarse grain size of 55 μm and another yielding a fine grain size of 6 μm. Tests were conducted at 100 Hz and 1000 Hz and at load ratios between 0.3 and 0.7. In the Paris regime, trends observed at high frequencies for KM4 were identical to those observed by earlier investigators at lower frequencies: coarse grains, low load ratios, low temperatures, and higher frequencies generally resulted in lower crack-propagation rates. However, in contrast to the Paris-regime behavior, thresholds were a complicated function of microstructure, load ratio, temperature, and frequency, and the only variable that resulted in a consistent trend in threshold was the load ratio. For example, thresholds increased from 100 to 1000 Hz for the fine-grained material at 550 °C, but decreased with the same frequency variation at 650 °C. One reason for this complexity was a change to intergranular fracture in the fine-grained microstructure at 650 °C, which was beneficial for high-frequency thresholds. Higher load ratios and lower frequencies promoted intergranular fracture. However, not all of the complexity could be explained by changing fracture mechanisms. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) stereofractography was utilized to determine quantitative measures of fracture-surface roughness. The most useful quantitative measure was found to be the standard deviation of the fracture-surface height, which is a physically meaningful length parameter and which corresponded to about half the grain size during room-temperature fatigue at near-threshold ΔK levels. The roughness of the fracture surface was found to increase as the load ratio was increased for both microstructures. For the coarse-grained microstructure, there was a direct correlation between fracture-surface roughness and FCP threshold over the entire range of temperatures, frequencies, and load ratios. However, measurements of closure loads indicated that roughness-induced closure was not the sole reason for the varying FCP thresholds.     

Temperature dependence of the intrinsic small fatigue crack growth behavior in ni-base superalloys based on measurement of crack closure

The effect of temperature on the small fatigue crack growth behavior of a single crystal and directionally solidified Ni-base superalloys was investigated at temperatures between 873 to 1123 K by measuring the crack closure. The results were also compared with those of the physically long crack. It was found that the propagation resistance and the fatigue threshold of the long cracks increased with temperature in all the materials. The long crack growth rates at three temperatures were approximately represented by an unique curve, after taking account of crack closure level and elastic modulus. In contrast, the small crack growth resistance decreased with temperature even when the crack closure phenomenon was taken into consideration. Furthermore, the small fatigue cracks exhibited considerably higher growth rates than the long cracks at a given effective stress intensity factor range and also grew under effective stress intensity factor ranges below the long crack threshold. The factors responsible for the lack of similitude in propagation rates between small and long cracks were also discussed, based on these observations and the chemical analysis near the crack tip using the electron probe microanalyzer.     

Effects of temperature on the fatigue crack growth behavior of cast gamma-based titanium aluminides

This article reports the results of an experimental study of the effects of temperature (25 °C, 450 °C, and 700 °C) on the fatigue crack growth behavior of three near-commercial cast gamma titanium aluminide alloys (Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb, Ti-47Al-2Mn-2Nb+0.8 pct TiB₂, and Ti-45Al-2Mn-2Nb+0.8 pct TiB₂). The trends in the fatigue crack growth rate data are explained by considering the combined effects of crack-tip deformation mechanisms and oxide-induced crack closure. Faster fatigue crack growth rates at 450 °C are attributed to the high incidence of irreversible deformation-induced twinning, while slower crack growth rates at 700 °C are due to increased deformation by slip and the effects of oxide-induced crack closure.     

Mechanisms of Slow Fatigue Crack Growth in High Strength Aluminum Alloys: Role of Microstructure and Environment

The role of microstructure and environment in influencing ultra-low fatigue crack propagation rates has been investigated in 7075 aluminum alloy heat-treated to underaged, peak-aged, and overaged conditions and tested over a range of load ratios. Threshold stress intensity range, ΔK₀, values were found to decrease monotonically with increasing load ratio for all three heat treatments fatigue tested in 95 pct relative humidity air, with ΔK ₀ decreasing at all load ratios with increased extent of aging. Comparison of the near-threshold fatigue behavior obtained in humid air with the data forvacuo, however, showed that the presence of moisture leads to a larger reduction in ΔK₀ for the underaged microstructure than the overaged condition, at all load ratios. An examination of the nature of crack morphology and scanning Auger/SIMS analyses of near-threshold fracture surfaces revealed that although the crack path in the underaged structure was highly serrated and nonlinear, crack face oxidation products were much thicker in the overaged condition. The apparent differences in slow fatigue crack growth resistance of the three aging conditions are ascribed to a complex interaction among three mechanisms: the embrittling effect of moisture resulting in conventional corrosion fatigue processes, the role of microstructure and slip mode in inducing crack deflection, and crack closure arising from a combination of environmental and microstructural contributions.     

Influence of impurity segregation on temper em brittlement and on slow fatigue crack growth and threshold behavior in 300-M high strength steel

Interactions between hydrogen embrittlement and temper embrittlement have been examined in a study of fracture and low growth rate (near-threshold) fatigue crack propagation in 300-M high strength steel, tested in humid air. The steel was investigated in an unembrittled condition (oil quenched after tempering at 650°C) and temper embrittled condition (step-cooled after tempering at 650°C). Step-cooling resulted in a severe loss of toughness (approximately 50 pct reduction), without loss in strength, concurrent with a change in fracture mode from micr ovoid coalescence to inter granular. Using Auger spectroscopy analysis, the embrittlement was attributed to the cosegregation of alloying elements (Ni and Mn) and impurity elements (P and Si) to prior austenite grain boundaries. Prior temper embrittlement gave rise to a substantial reduction in resistance to fatigue crack propagation, particularly at lower stress intensities approaching the threshold for crack growth(x0394;K _o). At intermediate growth rates (10^-5 to 10^-3 mmJcycle), propagation rates in both unembrittled and embrittled material were largely similar, and only weakly dependent on the load ratio, consistent with the striation mechanism of growth observed. At near-threshold growth rates (<10⁻⁵ to 10⁻⁶ mmJcycle), embrittled material exhibited significantly higher growth rates, 30 pct reduction in threshold ΔK_o values and intergranular facets on fatigue fracture surfaces. Near-threshold propagation rates (and ΔK_o values) were also found to be strongly dependent on the load ratio. The results are discussed in terms of the combined influence of segregated impurity atoms (temper embrittlement) and hydrogen atoms, evolved from crack tip surface reactions with water vapor in the moist air environment (hydrogen embrittlement). The significance of crack closure concepts on this model is briefly described. ntmis]formerly with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California in Berkeley. Formerly with the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratery, University of California in Berkeley.     

Fatigue crack growth behavior of 4340 steels

Fatigue crack growth behavior of 4340 steels was investigated in four gaseous environments; laboratory air, wet hydrogen, dry hydrogen and dry helium. Specimen orientation does not affect crack propagation rate results. The effects of R-ratio (load ratio) and environment on crack growth rate properties are interrelated. Increasing R -ratio increases the rates of near-threshold crack propagation. Nevertheless, the effect of R-ratio on crack growth rates in air is much more significant than that in the two dry environments. Interestingly, the R-ratio effect in wet hydrogen is comparable to that in dry environments. At an R-ratio of 0.1, the rates of crack propagation in air are slower than those in dry environments while crack growth rates are essentially identical in wet hydrogen and dry environments. Increasing R -ratio was found to decrease the environmental effect. Furthermore, increasing yield strength from 700 to 1040 MPa does not affect crack propagation behavior. While surface roughness-induced crack closure is thought to be minimal in affecting gaseous-environment near-threshold crack growth behavior of 4340 steels, oxide-induced crack closure governs crack propagation kinetics. It is suggested that in moisture-containing environments, thick oxide deposits measured on fracture surfaces may not result in high crack closure levels. Nevertheless, oxide-induced crack closure rationalized the effects of R-ratio and environment on near-threshold crack growth rate properties. Furthermore, hydrogen embrittlement is believed not to play an important role in influencing wet-hydrogen environment near-threshold crack propagation behavior. At higher ΔK levels (⩾ 12 MPa √m), an “intrinsic” dry hydrogen effect seems to be present, and crack closure, however, cannot account for the environmental effect.     

Effects of temperature and environment on fatigue crack growth mechanisms in a 9% Cr 1% Mo steel

The environmental contribution of laboratory air to fatigue crack growth in a 9% Cr 1% Mo steel has been assessed by a comparison of crack propagation rates in air and vacuum over a range of temperatures (25–625°C). In the Paris regime, growth rates in air are generally higher than those in vacuum, where there is little variation of da/dN with temperature. In contrast, the enhancing effect of the air atmosphere on crack growth rates is strongly temperature dependent. A variety of environment-assisted crack growth mechanisms are found to be operative at different temperature ranges, and evidence of these is provided by both an analysis of activation energies and a fractographic investigation. The situation is different at lower stress intensities, where the threshold stress intensity range falls dramatically with increasing temperature in vacuum, and near-threshold growth rates at 525°C are higher in vacuum than in air. This effect is attributed to the occurrence of severe oxide-induced closure in air at elevated temperatures, where the crack is blocked with oxide at low stress intensities, reducing the crack driving force to a level below the intrinsic material threshold.     

High-temperature fracture and fatigue-crack growth behavior of an XD gamma-based titanium aluminide intermetallic alloy

A study has been made of the effect of temperature (between 25 °C and 800 °C) on fracture toughness and fatigue-crack propagation behavior in an XD-processed, γ-based titanium aluminide intermetallic alloy, reinforced with a fine dispersion of ∼1 vol pct TiB₂ particles. It was found that, whereas crack-initiation toughness increased with increasing temperature, the crack-growth toughness on the resistance curve was highest just below the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) at 600 °C; indeed, above the DBTT, at 800 °C, no rising resistance curve was seen. Such behavior is attributed to the ease of microcrack nucleation above and below the DBTT, which, in turn, governs the extent of uncracked ligament bridging in the crack wake as the primary toughening mechanism. The corresponding fatigue-crack growth behavior was also found to vary inconsistently with temperature. The fastest crack growth rates (and lowest fatigue thresholds) were seen at 600 °C, while the slowest crack growth rates (and highest thresholds) were seen at 800 °C; the behavior at 25 °C was intermediate. Previous explanations for this “anomalous temperature effect” in γ-TiAl alloys have focused on the existence of some unspecified environmental embrittlement at intermediate temperatures or on the development of excessive crack closure at 800 °C; no evidence supporting these explanations could be found. The effect is now explained in terms of the mutual competition of two processes, namely, the intrinsic microstructural damage/crack-advance mechanism, which promotes crack growth, and the propensity for crack-tip blunting, which impedes crack growth, both of which are markedly enhanced by increasing temperature.     

Fatigue crack growth of SM-1240/TIMETAL-21S metal matrix composites at elevated temperatures

A series of high-temperature fatigue crack growth experiments was conducted on a continuous-fiberreinforced SM1240/TIMETAL-21S composite using three different temperatures, room temperature (24 °C), 500 °C, and 650 °C, and three loading frequencies, 10, 0.1, and 0.02 Hz. In all the tests, the cracking process concentrated along a single mode I crack for which the principal damage mechanism was crack bridging and fiber/matrix debonding. The matrix transgranular fracture mode was not significantly influenced by temperature or loading frequency. The fiber debonding length in the crack bridging region was estimated based on the knowledge of the fiber pullout lengths measured along the fracture surfaces of the test specimens. The average pullout length was correlated with both temperature and loading frequency. Furthermore, the increase in the temperature was found to lead to a decrease in the crack growth rate. The mechanism responsible for this behavior is discussed in relation to the interaction of a number of temperature-dependent factors acting along the bridged fiber/matrix debonded zone. These factors include the frictional stress, the radial stress, and the debonding length of the fiber/matrix interface. In addition, the crack growth speed was found to depend proportionally on the loading frequency. This relationship, particularly at low frequencies, is interpreted in terms of the development of a crack tip closure induced by the relaxation of the compressive residual stresses developed in the matrix phase in regions ahead of the crack tip during the time-dependent loading process.     

Near-threshold fatigue crack growth behavior in copper

Near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate data were developed in annealed, quarter-hard, and full-hard copper at various load ratios, (R = σ_min/σ_max). Increasing theR value decreases the resistance to threshold crack growth. At a fixed value ofR, annealed copper has the slowest near-threshold crack propagation rate while full-hard copper has the fastest crack growth rate. Waveform (sine and triangle) and specimen geometry (WOL, CT, and CCT) do not appear to affect the rates of near-threshold crack propagation. The influences of load ratio and material strength on threshold crack growth behavior can be rationalized by crack closure.     

Fatigue threshold studies in Fe,Fe-Si,and HSLA steel: Part II. thermally activated behavior of the effective stress intensity at threshold

It is shown that closure mechanisms alone cannot fully explain increasing fatigue thresholds with decreasing test temperature for a sequence of Fe-Si binary alloys and an HSLA steel. Implications are that fatigue crack propagation near threshold is a thermally activated process. The effective threshold stress intensity, which was obtained by subtracting the closure portion from the fatigue threshold, was examined. This effective stress intensity was found to correlate very well to the thermal component of the flow stress. A detailed fractographic study of the fatigue surface was performed. Water vapor in the room air was found to promote the formation of oxide and intergranular crack growth. At lower temperature, a brittle-type cyclic cleavage fatigue surface was observed but the ductile process persisted even at 123 K. Arrest marks were found on all three modes of fatigue crack growth. The regular spacings between these lines and dislocation modeling suggested that fatigue crack growth was controlled by the subcell structure near threshold. A model based on the slip-off of dislocations was examined. From this, it is shown that the effective fatigue threshold may be related to the square root of (one plus the strain rate sensitivity). Formerly Research Assistant with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Formerly Research Assistant with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.