Papers by Author: M.R. Sriraman

Abstract: The importance of determining and understanding the very high cycle fatigue behaviors of materials has gained strength in recent years. Ti-alloys, in view of their high strength-to-weight ratio, have a range of structural applications. Of these, Ti-6Al-4V, belonging to the alpha-beta type is the most widely used. The present paper deals with investigations on the fatigue behavior of TC4, the Chinese equivalent to Ti-6Al-4V, up to very high cycles. Fatigue testing was carried out on a piezoelectric ultrasonic fatigue machine operating at 20 kHz frequency. Hourglass shaped resonant specimens were tested in ambient air at room temperature under completely reversed loading conditions (R = -1). Failure in the alloy was seen to occur right up to the gigacycle regime, with the fractures being found to initiate from the surface unlike in steels. The fracture surfaces exhibit brittle characteristics containing river patterns and cleavage facets, as well as striations.

Abstract: Very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties of high-pressure die cast Magnesium alloy AZ91HP have been investigated. Ultrasonic fatigue tests up to 109 cycles were conducted at the loading frequency of 20 kHz, under R=-1 condition and in ambient air. The experimental results show that specimens fail even after 107 cycles although the scatter seems to be large probably due to the presence of materials defects. However, there seems to be a fatigue limit at about 109 cycles. The fractures contain typical brittle features, with the fatigue cracks seen to initiate from the porosity in the material, either from the surface or beneath.

Abstract: For many applications, the understanding of very long life fatigue in materials becomes extremely important. In this study, the fatigue behavior of bearing steel GCr15 (conforming to AISI 52100) at very high number of cycles has been examined. Experiments on hourglass specimens were conducted in air at room temperature, for fully reversed loading condition (R=-1), using a piezoelectric fatigue testing machine operating at a frequency of 20kHz. The results indicate that the S-N data does not reach a horizontal asymptote (signifying the fatigue limit) at 107 cycles, as conventionally believed, and that the material can fracture up to 109 cycles. Therefore, to quote a fatigue limit at 107 cycles may not hold good for the material studied. The influence of defects (such as inclusions) on the crack initiation and fracture was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy.