Papers by Keyword: Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF)

Abstract: The correct computation of the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) in ultrasonic Very-High-Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) loading conditions is a key issue when investigating the crack growth rate curve with pre-cracked specimens or when evaluating critical SIF values from fracture surfaces of failed specimens. Dynamic conditions related to the resonance of the vibrating specimen, contact nonlinearity between crack faces and stress singularity at the crack tip make the SIF computation difficult and cumbersome. Generally, numerical computation through Finite Element Models (FEMs) under non-linear dynamic conditions makes use of direct integration methods (implicit or explicit). However, in the high frequency regime of ultrasonic VHCF tests, the procedure may lead to an unacceptable computational time. In order to reduce the computational time, a hybrid procedure based on the Harmonic Balance Method (HBM) and on the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) is originally presented and applied in this paper. The dynamic field parameters calculated with the HBM are used as input data for the computation of the SIF through the VCCT.

Abstract: Axially push-pull cyclic tests of a low strength rotor steel were performed up to the very high cycle fatigue regime at ambient environment under ultrasonic frequency. Fatigue tests were interrupted at selected number of cycles for surface morphology observation and roughness measurement with the help of a 3D surface measurement system (Alicona InfiniteFocusSL). The fatigue extrusions and slip band developed on the specimen surface were recorded. The influence of stress level on the number and morphology of slip band was discussed. The surface roughness of fatigue specimens was found to be increased with the increasing of fatigue cycles. The fatigued specimens were finally cracked from surface or interior micro-defects after observation of fracture surface by scanning electron microscopy. The internal damage behavior consists of crack initiation and early propagation from micro-defect, crack growth within the fish eye, and fast crack growth. It is observed that there exists a competition between surface and internal fatigue damage in the very high cycle fatigue regime, i.e., surface damage is gradually developed with the increasing of fatigue cycles, while the critical interior micro-defect can be dominant for fatigue cracking.

Abstract: The effect of different inclusion contents on the VHCF strength of H13 tool steels is presented. Two different H13 tool steels were investigated: the Uddeholm Orvar^® 2 Micronized obtained by conventional casting, and the Uddeholm Orvar^® Supreme obtained by electroslag remelting (ESR). Ultrasonic tests were performed on Gaussian specimens (risk volume about 2300 mm3) up to 1010 cycles or up to failure and fracture surfaces were investigated with SEM in order to analyze the inclusions from which VHCF crack nucleated. Experimental results show that the VHCF strength estimated by using the Murakami’s model of the H13 Uddeholm Orvar^® Supreme steel is about 15% larger than that of the H13 Uddeholm Orvar^® 2 Micronized steel.

Abstract: Pariss law of fatigue crack propagation rate is well applied in the defect-tolerance fatigue approach. When carry out same approach in the very high cycle fatigue domain, the understanding of mechanism about fatigue crack propagation threshold which is obviously important, is helped. In the present work here, the fatigue crack propagation threshold of a surface crack for an Armco iron loaded in the VHCF regime was investigated by a new approach which combines the fracture surface analysis and the temperature recording on the surface during the test by an infra-red camera. The experiments were carried out on a sheet specimen under a 20 kHz ultrasonic frequency loading with IR images registration. Three stages of fatigue crack were identified with different mechanisms. It is found that the transition between initiation and crack propagation corresponds to the intrinsic fatigue threshold. It takes more than 99% of the gigacycle fatigue life to achieve this transition size.

Abstract: Very high cycle fatigue degradation of type 316L austenitic stainless steel, which is used as the structural material of neutron spallation sources under intensive neutron irradiation environment, is investigated by using an ultrasonic fatigue testing machine. The strain rate imposed on the structure of neutron spallation source is almost equivalent to that produced in the testing machine. The temperature on the surface was controlled by the air-cooling. The effect of strain rate on the fatigue strength is recognized to increase the fatigue limit.

Abstract: In Ti–6Al–4V alloy, fatigue properties have been widely investigated, and the origin of fatigue fracture is usually at the surface in the high stress and lower fatigue life region, whereas in low stress and longer fatigue lifetimes origins are generally sub-surface in nature. Very high cycle fatigue tests were conducted, and observation of fracture surfaces revealed that a unique fine concave and convex agglutinate (hereinafter called Granular Region) formed on the fracture surface of sub-surface fractures. The granular region was not observed on the fracture surface of surface fractures. To clarify the formation mechanism and process of forming the granular region, which is a unique phenomenon in the very high cycle fatigue, fatigue tests using specimens with an artificial surface defect were conducted in air and vacuum. The fatigue tests were based on the idea that the environment around a sub-surface fatigue crack is a vacuum-like environment. During the tests, fracture surfaces were intentionally contacted in air and vacuum under different loading conditions. Fracture surface observations revealed that repeated contact of the fracture surfaces and a vacuum environment are necessary for the formation of the granular region. A mechanism for the formation of the granular region will be proposed.

Abstract: The very high cycle fatigue behaviour of high-strength steels is mostly affected by cracks which were initiated at non-metallic inclusions inside the fatigue specimens and hence under the surface. By separating the data points in the S-N-diagram by the chemical composition of the inclusion at which a crack is initiated the authors recognized that the lifetime depends strongly on the inclusion type. The authors further deduce that the chemical composition of an inclusion as well as its geometry influences the mechanism by which such an inclusion triggers crack initiation. Thus, titanium nitride and homogeneous calcium oxide inclusions have been observed to show fractures caused by the stress concentration in the inclusion. The broken inclusions then present sharp notches in the steel matrix and cause further damage from there. In contrast, aluminium calcium oxide inclusions decay or detach from the steel matrix during loading on account of a rather low interface stress. This detachment process results in holes in the steel matrix, which act as logical starting points of fatigue cracks. Both processes described above occur at different stress intensity factors and lead to failure before an ultimate number of cycles of 10^9. Furthermore, it was possible to determine threshold values of failure for each inclusion type by stressing run out specimens on a higher stress level. These threshold values are in accordance with those of specimens which failed during one-level stressing. The fatigue tests were performed with 100Cr6 in martensitic and bainitic condition. Tension/compression tests at a load ratio of R = -1 were conducted on an ultrasonic fatigue testing facility. Failures were only initiated at non-metallic inclusions. The fracture surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Abstract: The present study documents that at loading amplitudes close to the fatigue limit, cyclic irreversible plastic deformation in form of slip band generation in the austenitic-ferritic duplex stainless steel X2CrNiMoN22-5-3 (318 LN) mainly takes place in few austenite grains without any microcrack initiation in these grains. This was shown by means of focused ion beam (FIB) cutting in combination with high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at pronounced extrusion-intrusion-pairs in several austenite grains. Investigations by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) revealed that the slip band density in these grains increases with the number of loading cycles and remains constant in the very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime. Under such loading conditions, fatigue cracks frequently initiate in the ferrite phase due to anisotropy stresses which are strongly superimposed by stress intensifications at the tip of austenite slip bands. TEM investigations revealed that austenite slip bands, which are piling up against phase boundaries, cause localized dislocation generation and motion in neighboring ferrite grains. The cyclic irreversible motion of these dislocations on several parallel slip planes is correlated with the stage of fatigue crack initiation. A crystal plasticity model based on a finite element program, which considers anisotropic elasticity, allows for the determination of crack initiation sites in real microstructures according to the above mentioned mechanisms. Crystallographic orientations, measured by means of the electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) technique, serve as input parameters for the calculations regarding microcrack initiation as well as for the analysis of the subsequent short fatigue crack propagation, which is strongly affected by microstructural barriers such as grain and phase boundaries.

Abstract: LCF/HCF strength of precipitation hardening alloys is primarily controlled by its heat treatment condition. However, for a nickel-based superalloy and a wrought aluminium alloy it will be shown, that the VHCF behavior cannot solely be explained by the precipitation morphology. Damage accumulation is dominated by microstructure related slip localization, grain morphology and microstructural flaws. In contrast to the LCF behavior, the prediction of cyclic strength in the VHCF regime requires a detailed analysis of the competing microstructural crack initiating characteristics. Hence, new fatigue life prediction models have to be developed, which consider a statistical analysis of the failure-relevant inhomogeneities. In the case of the two materials studied, VHCF behavior is dominated by isolated and inhomogeneously distributed irreversible slip accompanied by a low dislocation density. The formation of single slip bands in favorably oriented grains in Nimonic 80A results in a decrease of the VHCF strength for the peak-aged condition. The overaged condition shows better VHCF strength due to a more homogeneous distribution of slip bands, as dislocations pile up at the overaged precipitates due to the very low strain amplitudes, while in the LCF regime the Orowan mechanism results in a weaker cyclic strength compared to the peak-aged condition. Crack initiation of the aluminium alloy EN AW-6082 on the one hand depends on the size and distribution of primary intermetallic particles of the Al-Fe-type acting as local stress raiser embedded in a strong matrix in case of the peak-aged condition. In contrast, such stress peaks are less failure-relevant due to the softer solid solution depleted matrix. Hence, the heat treatment alone does not define VHCF behavior.

Abstract: The influence of geometrical notch and weld defects (pores and incomplete fusions) on the fatigue behaviour at very high numbers of loading cycles is shown for welded samples made of the base material EN AW-5083 and EN AW-6082 and the filler material S Al 5183. High frequency fatigue tests with specimens highest stressed cross-sections representing different welding zones show no endurance limit up to 2·10⁹ load cycles. The weakest link of the weld seams are the geometrical notch and (if present) pores and incomplete fusions in the seam interior and at the surface. Considering weld defects in the filler material as fatigue crack initiating notches, a threshold value for the cyclic stress intensity factor (ΔK_min) of 0.9 MPam was found. Using ΔK_min the fatigue life of the samples is discussed on the basis of stress amplitude, the projected area of the defect and its position. X-ray examinations revealed a good correlation between the failure-relevant defect areas and the overall fatigue life of welded samples.