Papers by Author: Daniele Dini

Abstract: Reliable prediction of fatigue crack growth rates in aerospace materials and components underpins the so-called defect-tolerant approach to lifing. In this methodology the presence or appearance of defects and cracks in components is accepted. However, safe operation is guaranteed by regular inspections and health monitoring, and ensuring (by means of reliable modelling) that no crack may grow far enough to reach the critical size in the interval between inspections. Under such circumstances it is clear that particular attention has to be paid to the development and validation of predictive modelling capabilities for fatigue crack propagation. The situation is complicated by the fact that it is often a challenge to represent correctly the in-service loading experienced by a cracked component. In practice, on top of the major cycles associated with each flight (LCF component), cycles of higher frequency and lower amplitude are also present (HCF component). Sensitivity to dwell at maximum load is also often observed. Furthermore, it is well established that complex load sequences involving overloads and underloads result in fluctuations of fatigue crack growth rates (retardation and acceleration) that must be accounted for in crack growth calculations. In the present study we consider the application of an approach due to Noroozi et al. [1] to the analysis of R-ratio effects in Ti-6Al-4V material, on the basis of the experimental crack growth rate data collected under the auspices of AGARD programme [2]. The approach shows promising results, and has the capacity to capture loading sequence effects.

Abstract: Most models based on continuum mechanics do not account for inhomogeneities at the micro-scale. This can be achieved by considering a representative volume of material and using (poly)crystal elasto-plastic deformation theory to model the effects of grain morphology and crystallographic orientation. In this way, the relationship between the macroscopic stress state and the stress state at the grain level can be investigated in detail. In addition, this approach enables the determination of the inhomogeneous fields of plastic strain, the identification of regions of localised plasticity (persistent slip bands), grain level shakedown, and the prediction of fatigue crack initiation using energy dissipation at the micro-scale. Elastic anisotropy is known to promote earlier onset of yielding, and to increase the magnitude of intergranular residual stresses. The effect of hardening behaviour of different slip systems on intergranular residual stresses is more subtle, as discussed in the text. The present study focuses on the analysis average intergranular residual strains and stresses that arise within the polycrystal aggregate following the application of single or cyclic external loading. These residual strains can also be evaluated experimentally using diffraction of penetrating radiation, e.g. neutrons or high energy X-rays, allowing comparisons with the model predictions to be made.

Abstract: Nickel base superalloys are the primary class of materials used in the manufacture of high temperature components for gas turbine aeroengines, including combustion casings and liners, guide vane and turbine blades and discs, etc. These components are subjected to complex cyclic loading induced by the combination of mechanical loading, changing temperatures and thermal gradients, inducing plastic deformation and creep, that ultimately may lead to crack initiation and propagation. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a necessarily brief overview of recent modeling activities in this field, including polycrystalline crystal plasticity modeling for the study of crack initiation, coupled non-local damage-plasticity modeling for crack initiation and propagation studies, and the incorporation of time and environment dependent processes (creep and oxidation) in the predictive modeling of fatigue crack growth rates in nickel base superalloys.

Abstract: Diffraction of penetrating radiation such as neutrons or high energy X-rays provides a powerful non-destructive method for the evaluation of residual stresses in engineering components. In particular, strain scanning using synchrotron energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction has been shown to offer a fast and highly spatially resolving measurement technique. Synchrotron beamlines provide best available instruments in terms of flux and low beam divergence, and hence spatial and measurement resolution and data collection rate. However, despite the rapidly growing number of facilities becoming available in Europe and across the world, access to synchrotron beamlines for routine industrial and research use remains regulated, comparatively slow and expensive. A laboratory high energy X-ray diffractometer for bulk residual strain evaluation (HEXameter) has been developed and built at Oxford University. It uses a twin-detector setup first proposed by one of the authors in the energy dispersive X-ray diffraction mode and allows simultaneous determination of macroscopic and microscopic strains in two mutually orthogonal directions that lie approximately within the plane normal to the incident beam. A careful procedure for detector response calibration is used in order to facilitate accurate determination of lattice parameters by pattern refinement. The results of HEXameter measurements are compared with synchrotron X-ray data for several samples e.g. made from a titanium alloy and a particulate composite with an aluminium alloy matrix. Experimental results are found to be consistent with synchrotron measurements and strain resolution close to 2×10-4 is routinely achieved by the new instrument.

Abstract: Microscopic and macroscopic deformation of a polycrystal due to an applied load can be modelled using crystal plasticity implemented within the Finite Element (FE) framework. However, while macroscopic predictions can readily be validated against conventional monotonic and cyclic stress-strain curves, verification at the microscopic level is harder to achieve, since it involves calibrating the predictions for stresses and strains in individual grains, or in grains grouped by certain criteria (e.g., orientation). In this paper an elasto-plastic polycrystal finite element model is introduced, and its calibration is performed at a mesoscopic level via comparison with neutron diffraction data obtained experimentally. Time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffraction experiments carried out on ENGIN-X instrument at ISIS involved in situ loading of samples of C263 nickel-based superalloy. In order to compare the numerical predictions of the FE model with these experimental data, the corresponding mesoscale average elastic strains must be extracted from the results of the simulation by employing a ‘diffraction post-processor’. This provides a much improved technique for the calibration of FE formulation and enhances the confidence in the model. The FE diffraction post-processing procedures are discussed in detail, and comparison between the model predictions and experimental data are presented.