A review of the volume-based strain energy density approach applied to V-notches and welded structures

A large bulk of experimental data from static tests of sharp and blunt V-notches and from fatigue tests of welded joints are presented in an unified way by using the mean value of the Strain Energy Density (SED) over a given finite-size volume surrounding the highly stressed regions. When the notch is blunt, the control area assumes a crescent shape and R₀ is its width as measured along the notch bisector line. In plane problems, when cracks or pointed V-notches are considered, the volume becomes a circle or a circular sector, respectively. The radius R₀ depends on material fracture toughness, ultimate tensile strength and Poisson’s ratio in the case of static loads; it depends on the fatigue strength Δσ_A of the butt ground welded joints and the Notch Stress Intensity Factor (NSIF) range ΔK₁ in the case of welded joints under high cycle fatigue loading (with Δσ_A and ΔK₁ valid for 5 × 10⁶ cycles).Dealing with welded joints characterised by a plate thickness greater than 6 mm, the final synthesis based on SED summarises nine hundred data taken from the literature while a new synthesis from spot-welded joints under tension and shear loading, characterised by a limited thickness of the main plate, is presented here for the first time (more than two hundred data).Dealing with static tests, about one thousand experimental data as taken from the recent literature are involved in the synthesis. The strong variability of the non-dimensional radius R/R₀, ranging from about zero to about 1000, makes the check of the approach based on the mean value of the SED severe.     

The effect of frequency and sample shape on fatigue behaviors of DZ125 superalloy

The effect of frequency and sample shape on fatigue behaviors of DZ125 superalloy are systematically studied. The results show that fatigue fracture still occurs above the cycle of 10⁸ for tests carried out at the frequency of f = 20 kHz and stress ratio R = ?1, so the traditional fatigue limit at cycle of 10⁷ is not appropriate for fatigue design. Fatigue fracture surfaces are perpendicular to stress axis for cylindrical and plate specimens, and the fatigue cracks originate from the extra surface of the specimens. Fatigue crack is apt to propagate from cutting direction to forward direction, which occurs mainly in the second propagation stage at higher stress amplitude. There is an obvious frequency effect for DZ125 superalloy. The higher the test frequency is, the more serious the effect of frequency on fatigue behaviors of the alloy. After the frequency correction, the ultra-high cycle fatigue S-N curve well coincide with the traditional fatigue S-N curve.     

Very high cycle fatigue for GCr15 steel with smooth and hole-defect specimens

Very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties of a low temperature tempering bearing steel GCr15 with smooth and hole-defect specimens are studied by employing a rotary bending test machine with frequency of 52.5 Hz. Both smooth and hole-defect specimens break in VHCF regime with some difference in fatigue crack initiation. For smooth specimens, a fine granular area (FGA) is observed near the grain boundary in the fracture surface of the specimens broken after 10⁷ cycles. But no FGA is observed in the hole-defect specimens broken in VHCF regime, and the VHCF crack does not initiate from the small hole at the surface as it does at low or high cycle fatigue regime. Internal stress is employed to explain the VHCF behavior of these two types of specimens. At last, an advanced dislocation model based on Tanaka and Mura model is proposed to illustrate the internal stress process and to predict fatigue crack initiation life with FGA observed in the fracture region.     

Effects of laser power density on static and dynamic mechanical properties of dissimilar stainless steel welded joints

The mechanical properties of laser welded joints under impact loadings such as explosion and car crash etc. are critical for the engineering designs. The hardness, static and dynamic mechanical properties of AISI304 and AISI316 L dissimilar stainless steel welded joints by CO₂ laser were experimentally studied. The dynamic strain-stress curves at the strain rate around 10³ s^?1 were obtained by the split Hopkinson tensile bar (SHTB). The static mechanical properties of the welded joints have little changes with the laser power density and all fracture occurs at 316 L side. However, the strain rate sensitivity has a strong dependence on laser power density. The value of strain rate factor decreases with the increase of laser power density. The welded joint which may be applied for the impact loading can be obtained by reducing the laser power density in the case of welding quality assurance.     

Fatigue life prediction of welded cruciform joints using strain energy density factor approach

The influences of two welding processes, namely, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux cored arc welding (FCAW), on fatigue life of cruciform joints containing lack of penetration (LOP) defects have been analyzed by using the strain energy density factor (SEDF) approach. Load carrying cruciform joints were fabricated from ASTM 517 ‘F’ grade steel. Fatigue crack growth experiments were carried out in a mechanical resonance vertical pulsator (SCHENCK 200 kN capacity) with a frequency of 30 Hz under constant amplitude loading (R=0). It was found that the fatigue lives of the cruciform joints fabricated by SMAW process were relatively higher than the FCAW counterpart. Moreover, fracture mechanics equations have been developed to predict the fatigue life of the cruciform joints fabricated by the above-mentioned two processes.     

Effect of welding process on fatigue crack growth behaviour of austenitic stainless steel welds in a low alloy (Q & T) steel

Fatigue crack growth behaviour from a lack of penetration (LOP) defect in austenitic stainless steel weld metals of cruciform joints made of a low alloy high strength (Q & T) steel has been studied to understand the effect of two welding processes, namely, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and flux cored arc welding (FCAW). Fatigue crack growth studies were carried out at a stress ratio of R = 0 and a frequency of 90 to 110 Hz in a resonant testing equipment (Rumul, Model:8601). Crack growth rates were relatively lower in the weld metal obtained by flux cored arc welding process. Microstructural features observed revealed marked difference in the morphology of delta ferrite for the welded joints obtained from the above two welding processes. Long streaks of delta ferrite in austenite matrix were found in case of SMAW-weld metal which seem to have lowered the resistance to the fatigue crack propagation. A discontinuous network of delta ferrite found in austenite matrix in the case of FCAW-weld metal seems to have contributed to slower propagation of fatigue crack. Fractographic features also substantiate the observed trends in the fatigue crack growth behaviour.     

焊接接头超高周疲劳实验研究

本文基于超声疲劳振动技术,设计了三种焊接接头试样(圆形对接焊接试样及其喷丸处理试样和板状十字焊接试样),并利用超声疲劳试验系统测定了其超高周疲劳性能,实验应力比为-1,频率20kHz,实验在室温条件下进行。实验结果表明,圆形对接焊接接头的疲劳性能高于板状十字焊接接头,喷丸处理能提高焊接接头的疲劳强度。将焊接接头的疲劳性能与对应形状的母材进行对比分析,发现焊接接头的疲劳性能远低于母材。在相同疲劳寿命的条件下,圆形焊接接头试件的疲劳强度仅为母材的45%,十字焊接接头试件仅为母材的29%;圆形对接接头在5×106周次以后,试件仍然发生疲劳断裂,而板状十字焊接接头在超高周区域(107～109周次)存在疲劳极限。超声疲劳断口的扫描电子显微镜分析结果显示,圆形焊接接头试件断口位置主要位于熔合区的焊趾处或焊接接头表面几何非连续处,十字接头试件断口位于焊趾处;焊接接头试件裂纹萌生于焊接缺陷、试样表面夹杂或熔合区的不连续处;喷丸处理对焊接接头的裂纹萌生机制没有显著影响。     

欧洲近海结构用钢研究计划的进展

欧洲近海结构用钢研究计划在第一阶段(1975—80年)关于海洋焊接结构在疲劳载荷下工作性能的研究基础上,于1981—87年继续进行了第二阶段的研究工作。参加国家有欧洲经济共同体6国及挪威、加拿大等。本文综合报道第二阶段研究情况与主要成果,内容包括:板厚对疲劳强度的影响,焊后改进技术与腐蚀疲劳,疲劳载荷及变幅疲劳试验,疲劳分析的断裂力学方法,某些管节点的应力分析等;并对研究计划的背景及今后研究工作的方向作了介绍。      

厚钢板焊缝断裂试样疲劳裂纹预制的"高K比法"

提出了预制厚钢板焊缝断裂韧度试样疲劳裂纹的“高K比法”。用“高K比法”预制疲劳裂纹,不需要对焊缝试样进行局部韧带压缩或反向弯曲等预处理,简化了焊接接头断裂韧度试验方法,而且此法不改变原焊缝残余应力,所得到的焊缝断裂韧度值更准确,有效地解决了厚钢板焊接接头韧度评定技术的关键问题。“高K比法”可以缩短断裂韧度试验所需的时间、减少备用试样、节约人力物力。介绍了“高K比法”的试验原理、试验方法、工程应用和意义。     

未熔透尺寸对十字焊接接头疲劳性能影响规律试验研究

针对某厂一压力机架的焊接结构，采用极大似然方法，进行了部分熔透焊接十字接头的拉—拉疲劳试验，得到了该类结构的Ｐ－Ｓ－Ｎ对数曲线。研究了未熔透尺寸对接头的应力集中系数、疲劳强度和试件疲劳破坏形式的影响规律，结果表明，在焊缝与母材等强的情况下，当未熔透尺寸２ａ／Ｔ＜０．５时，其疲劳性能无明显减弱；而当未熔透尺寸２ａ／Ｔ＞０．５时，则接头的抗疲劳性能有显著的改变。     

Fatigue growth prediction of elliptical cracks in welded joint structure: Hybrid and energy density approach

A hybrid weight function approach (HWFM) is presented for the fatigue life prediction of infinite body and welded joint structure containing elliptical cracks. A self-containing computer code has been developed for this purpose. Numerical computations were first conducted on cracked infinite body showing a physical fact, that the elliptical shape of the crack becomes circular during its evolution. The prediction of the fatigue crack growth shows that the present results are in perfect concordance with those reported in the literature. Then, numerical tests were carried out on two types of specimens of welded joint structure. The present results were compared to the experimental and predicted ones of other authors, demonstrating that the hybridization method is a powerful numerical technique, and that the SEDF approach (using the Sih’s law) is more valid for the critical cases of welded joints than the SIF approach (using the Paris law). A parametric study has been conducted on the stress ratio “R” showing that the fatigue life to failure decreases with the increase of “R”.     

Tension fracture behaviors of welded joints in X70 steel pipeline

The surface of welded joints in X70 steel pipeline was processed by laser shock wave, its mechanical behaviors of tension fracture were analyzed with tension test, and the fracture morphologies and the distributions of chemical element were observed with scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrum, respectively. The experimental results show that the phenomenon of grain refinement occurs in the surface of welded joints in X70 steel pipeline after the laser shock processing, and compressive residual stress is formed in its surface strengthened layer. There is no yield stage but a continuous yield behavior in the welded joints in X70 steel pipeline after the laser shock processing, and its extensibility has decreased by 20 %. The welded joints in X70 steel pipeline in primitive state exhibits brittle fracture with less tearing edges, while the fracture of welded joints in X70 steel pipeline processed by laser shock is ductile fracture with a lot of tearing edges.     

Current understanding of ultra-high cycle fatigue

The fatigue life of numerous aerospace, locomotive, automotive and biomedical structures may go beyond 10⁸ cycles. Determination of long life fatigue behavior becomes extremely important for better understanding and design of the components and structures. Initially, before the invention of ultrasonic fatigue testing, most of the engineering materials were supposed to exhibit fatigue life up to 10⁷ cycles or less. This paper reviews current understanding of some fundamental aspects on the development of accelerated fatigue testing method and its application in ultra-high cycle fatigue, crack initiation and growth mechanisms of internal fracture, S-N diagram, fatigue limit and life prediction, etc.     

Analysis of Strain Energy Behavior Throughout a Fatigue Process

The dissipation of strain energy density per cycle was analyzed to understand its trend through a fatigue process. The motivation behind this analysis is to improve a fatigue life prediction method, which is based on a strain energy and failure correlation. The correlation states that the same amount of strain energy is dissipated during both monotonic fracture and cyclic fatigue. This means the summation of strain energy density per cycle is equal to the total strain energy density dissipated monotonically. In order to validate this understanding, the strain energy density per cycle was analyzed at several alternating stress levels for fatigue life of Aluminum 6061-T6 (Al 6061-T6) between 10³ and 10⁵ cycles. The analysis includes the following: Alternating between high and low operating frequencies (50x magnitude difference), interruption of cyclic load during testing, and idle/zero-loading intervals of 20–40 minutes in-between cyclic loading sequences. All experimental results show a consistent trend of cyclic softening as the loading cycles approach failure; however, due to an inefficient curve fit procedure of the stress-dependent strain equation at low alternating stresses onto the experimental stress-strain data, a new approach for calculating the strain energy density per cycle is explored and shows promising results.     

基于结构应力的焊接接头多轴高周疲劳寿命估算

本文对承受弯扭组合载荷下的焊接接头危险点焊趾处进行了疲劳应力分析。结合结构应力考察了在比例载荷和非比例载荷下焊趾处临界面上的应力分量;建立了基于结构应力和修改的Wohler曲线法的临界面上多轴疲劳寿命估算方法;采用该方法对某管板焊接接头进行了多轴估算,将评定结果与文献中的疲劳试验数据做了比较,同包括欧洲钢结构规范3在内的其他的多轴疲劳评定方法相比,本文提出的多轴寿命估算结果最好,而且该方法具有网格划分不敏感性。     

拉压循环载荷下正交异性钢桥面板肋-面板焊缝裂纹扩展分析

采用四步法计算了考虑循环载荷中压应力影响的正交异性钢桥面板的肋-面板焊缝表面裂纹扩展。第一步是基于正交异性钢桥面板的疲劳分析模型,计算肋-面板焊缝处的应力,第二步是通过肋-面板焊缝的三维局部模型,用Schwartz-Neumann交替法计算焊缝表面裂纹的应力强度因子分布,第三步是用二维断裂力学模型和增量塑性损伤模型,计算循环载荷中的压应力对裂纹扩展的影响,第四步是用第二步中的三维裂纹分析结果和第三步中的二维断裂力学模型得到的裂纹扩展公式,计算钢桥面板的肋-面板焊缝表面裂纹扩展。计算结果表明,对应于正交异性钢桥面板肋-面板焊缝处的循环应力,本文所用模型的裂纹尖端反向塑性区导致裂纹扩展率增加50%以上。研究结果为正交异性钢桥面板肋-面板焊缝裂纹的疲劳寿命分析提供了研究基础。     

Fatigue life assessment of a high strength steel 300 M in the gigacycle regime

The fatigue behavior of a high strength steel 300 M in the gigacycle regime was investigated. Fully reversed tension — compression fatigue tests at ambient temperature were performed using an ultrasonic fatigue system operating at 20 kHz. The staircase test method was employed to obtain accurate values of the mean fatigue strength corresponding to fixed numbers of cycles up to 10⁹. These results were compared to the curve which is estimated by the data tested in the mid-long life regime on conventional servo hydraulic test machine at 20 Hz. Results indicate that the fatigue strength determined from ultrasonic fatigue testing is lightly higher than conventional testing in the range of 10⁶–10⁷ cycles. It is obvious that nucleations of fractures tend to occur below the surface, if fractures happen after more than 10⁷ cycles. All the fractured specimens fails from internal SiO₂ inclusions or smaller carbides and carbide clusters.     

Q345低周疲劳性能与疲劳寿命预测分析

本文对结构用钢Q345的低周疲劳性能进行了试验研究。试验在常温下岛津电液伺服疲劳试验机上进行,采用轴向应变控制方法,恒定应变速率为0.005s-1,应变比为-1。试验结果表明,初始阶段,Q345在高应变幅值(0.6%)循环作用下出现循环硬化效应,而在低应变幅值(0.6%)作用下出现循环软化效应;随着加载应变幅的增加,硬化和软化率呈直线上升趋势。Q345疲劳裂纹萌生阶段占其整个寿命的60%以上,其裂纹萌生寿命与应变幅存在幂函数关系。根据Coffin-Manson公式得到了Q345的应变-寿命关系公式;采用能量预测法得到了材料的塑性应变能与疲劳寿命的关系表达式。上述结果对钢结构的设计、评估具有重要的工程应用参考价值。     

Fatigue crack growth of cable steel wires in a suspension bridge: Multiscaling and mesoscopic fracture mechanics

Intrinsically, fatigue failure problem is a typical multiscale problem because a fatigue failure process deals with the fatigue crack growth from microscale to macroscale that passes two different scales. Both the microscopic and macroscopic effects in geometry and material property would affect the fatigue behaviors of structural components. Classical continuum mechanics has inability to treat such a multiscale problem since it excludes the scale effect from the beginning by introducing the continuity and homogeneity assumptions which blot out the discontinuity and inhomogeneity of materials at the microscopic scale. The main obstacle here is the link between the microscopic and macroscopic scale. It has to divide a continuous fatigue process into two parts which are analyzed respectively by different approaches. The first is so called as the fatigue crack initiation period and the second as the fatigue crack propagation period. Now the problem can be solved by application of the mesoscopic fracture mechanics theories developed in the recent years which focus on the link between different scales such as nano-, micro- and macro-scale.On the physical background of the problem, a restraining stress zone that can describe the material damaging process from micro to macro is then introduced and a macro/micro dual scale edge crack model is thus established. The expression of the macro/micro dual scale strain energy density factor is obtained which serves as a governing quantity for the fatigue crack growth. A multiscaling formulation for the fatigue crack growth is systematically developed. This is a main contribution to the fundamental theories for fatigue problem in this work. There prevail three basic parameters μ^∗, σ^∗ and d^∗ in the proposed approach. They can take both the microscopic and macroscopic factors in geometry and material property into account. Note that μ^∗, σ^∗ and d^∗ stand respectively for the ratio of microscopic to macroscopic shear modulus, the ratio of restraining stress to applied stress and the ratio of microvoid size ahead of crack tip to the characteristic length of material microstructure.To illustrate the proposed multiscale approach, Hangzhou Jiangdong Bridge is selected to perform the numerical computations. The bridge locates at Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province of China. It is a self-anchored suspension bridge on the Qiantang River. The cables are made of 109 parallel steel wires in the diameter of 7 mm. Cable forces are calculated by finite element method in the service period with and without traffic load. Two parameters α and β are introduced to account for the additional tightening and loosening effects of cables in two different ways. The fatigue crack growth rate coefficient C₀ is determined from the fatigue experimental result. It can be concluded from numerical results that the size of initial microscopic defects is a dominant factor for the fatigue life of steel wires. In general, the tightening effect of cables would decrease the fatigue life while the loosening effect would impede the fatigue crack growth. However, the result can be reversed in some particular conditions. Moreover, the different evolution modes of three basic parameters μ^∗, σ^∗ and d^∗ actually have the different influences on the fatigue crack growth behavior of steel wires. Finally the methodology developed in this work can apply to all cracking-induced failure problems of polycrystal materials, not only fatigue, but also creep rupture and cracking under both static and dynamic load and so on.     

Tensile and Tensile-Mode Fatigue Testing of Microscale Specimens in Constant Humidity Environment

A tensile and tensile-mode-fatigue tester has been developed for testing microscale specimens in high humidity environments in order to investigate the fracture mechanisms of microelectromechanical materials. A humidity control system was installed on a tensile-mode fatigue tester equipped with an electrostatic force grip. A specimen and a griping device were inserted into a small chamber and the humidity was controlled by air flow from a temperature and humidity chamber. The humidity stability was within ±2%RH for humidities in the range 25–90%RH for eight hours of testing. Fatigue tests were performed on single-crystal silicon (SCS) specimens in constant humidity environments and laboratory air for up to 10⁶ cycles. The gauge length, width, and thickness of the SCS specimens were 100 or 500 μm, 13.0 μm, and 3.3 μm, respectively. The average tensile strength was 3.68 GPa in laboratory air; this value decreased in high humidity environments. Fatigue failure was observed during cyclic loading at stresses lower than the average strength. A reduction in the fatigue strength was observed at high relative humidities. Different fracture origins and fracture behaviors were observed in tensile tests and fatigue tests, which indicates that the water vapor in air affects the fatigue properties of SCS specimens.