Advanced Materials Research Vols. 891-892

Abstract: High cycle thermal fatigue failure of pipes induced by fluid temperature change is one of interdisciplinary issues to be concerned for long term structural reliability of high temperature structural material and components in energy systems. In order to get basic understanding on this article. the fatigue crack propagation tests were carried out in a low alloy steel and an austenitic stainless steel those were subjected to typical kinds of thermo-mechanical loading histories those included a simulated weld repair process. It was shown experimentally that the thermo-mechanical histories left their individual effects along the prior fatigue crack wake, resulting in significant change in the fatigue crack threshold. Some proposes are presented to predict those history effects.

Abstract: Thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) is an important factor for consideration when designing aero engine components due to recent gas turbine development, thus understanding failure mechanisms through crack growth testing is imperative. In the current work, a TMF crack growth testing method has been developed utilising induction heating and direct current potential drop techniques for polycrystalline nickel-based superalloys, such as RR1000. Results have shown that in-phase (IP) testing produces accelerated crack growth rates compared with out-of-phase (OOP) due to increased temperature at peak stress and therefore increased time dependent crack growth. The ordering of the crack growth rates is supported by detailed fractographic analysis which shows intergranular crack growth in IP test specimens, and transgranular crack growth in 90° OOP and 180°OOP tests. Isothermal tests have also been carried out for comparison of crack growth rates at the point of peak stress in the TMF cycles.

Abstract: The reliability of the conventional fatigue limit estimation of aluminum alloy Al 2024 provided by thermographic measurements according to the Risitano method is investigated in order to check their validity for practical applications. With this aim, an experimental fatigue program on Al 2024 specimens under load control using a stress ratio R = 0.1 is performed at three different frequencies. The fatigue limit methodologies is first determined according to the methodologies proposed by Risitano et al. and Canteli et al., and then compared with that resulting from the conventional Wöhler curve.

Abstract: Significantly reducing the minimum temperature while maintaining maximum temperature of thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) cycles can reduce the life even when mechanical strain ranges are similar. This applies to in-phase (IP) and out-of-phase (OP) TMF cycles. This reduction in life has generally been attributed to a combination of changes in microstructure arising from aging and increases in the cyclic inelastic strain promoted by increases in the elastic modulus as the minimum cycle temperature is reduced. TMF cycles under both IP and OP conditions were conducted with maximum cycle temperatures within the 750-950C range and with minimum cycle temperatures of either 100 or 500C. A reduction in minimum temperature was observed to promote a decrease in TMF life by as much as a factor of ten for all TMF experiments. The reduction in TMF life is primarily controlled by increases in the inelastic strain range associated with increases in the elastic modulus that arise when the minimum temperature is reduced.

Abstract: This paper focuses on the influence of strain rate in Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) of a 304L austenitic stainless steel at 300 °C in different environments (secondary vacuum, air and Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) water environment). Moreover test samples are ground to obtain a surface finish rougher than all that could be found in nuclear power plants. Different strain rates (4x10^-3, 1x10^-4 and 1x10^-5 s^-1) are studied, with a triangular waveform at a total strain amplitude of ±0.6%. The influence of strain rate on cyclic stress-strain behavior and fatigue life is firstly analyzed in secondary vacuum, considered as a non-active environment. Then, interactions between stain rate and environmental effects in Air and in PWR environment are presented. In all environments, a decrease in strain rate leads to a negative strain rate dependence of the stress response and a reduction in fatigue life. Finally, SEM observations of fatigue striations in PWR environment indicate a crack propagation rate enhancement when the strain rate is decreased.

Abstract: Fatigue lifetime assessment is essential in the design of structures. Under-estimated predictions may result in unnecessary in-service inspections. Conversely, over-estimated predictions may have serious consequences on the integrity of structures. In some nuclear power plant components, the fatigue loading may be equibiaxial because of thermal fatigue. So the potential impact of multiaxial loading on the fatigue life of components is a major concern. Meanwhile, few experimental data are available on austenitic stainless steels. It is essential to improve the fatigue assessment methodologies to take into account the potential equibiaxial fatigue damage. Hence this requires obtaining experimental data on the considered material and with a strain tensor in equibiaxial tension. This paper describes an experimental program on austenitic stainless steel carried out on the new experimental fatigue device FABIME2 developed in the LISN in collaboration with EDF and AREVA. This new device allows accurate quantification of the effects of both equibiaxial strain state as well as structural parameters (such as mean stress) on the fatigue life. It also allows studying the complexity of combinations between potential detrimental effects like surface roughness, mean stress and equibiaxial loading. Different load ratios can be tested by adjusting the loading conditions. A Finite Element Modeling is performed in order to obtain a precise description of the strain state in the specimen. The results of the on-going test campaign will be presented.

Abstract: Al-Mg-Si alloys (6xxx series) are medium strength structural alloys, with good corrosion resistance, good weldability and high damping capacity. They represent a high volumetric fraction of extruded aluminium alloys which are produced for commercial use and have been increasingly applied in the automotive industry. For structural materials, the fatigue strength is the most important factor to ensure a long-term reliability. Engineering structures such as aircrafts and automobiles usually undergo complex multiaxial loadings, which lead to changes of the principal stresses and strains directions in components during a loading cycle. In this study, fatigue tests were performed in three Al-Mg-Si alloys, namely AA 6005, AA 6351 and AA 6063, tempered and aged for the T6 condition. A comparative study was undertaken by assessing their Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) properties and multiaxial fatigue behaviour using round smooth specimens. Strain-controlled fully reversed axial loadings and distinct combinations of axial-torsional fully reversed stress cycles, including in-phase and 90o out-of-phase loadings were adopted for the tests. The collected data are discussed in relation to some well-known multiaxial fatigue models.

Abstract: Due to its specific mechanical properties, tantalum is often used in strength-demanding military applications. High-cycle fatigue (HCF) behaviour of pure tantalum, however, has been rarely reported and the mechanisms at stake to account for deformation under cyclic loadings are still badly understood. This paper aims at better understanding the fatigue behaviour of tantalum and at clarifying the mechanisms of damage formation encountered under such loadings. HCF experiments performed at room temperature on commercially-pure tantalum are presented. Mean stress effects were investigated in the aim of clarifying the interaction between fatigue and creep. Fracture mechanisms were observed to vary from intergranular to transgranular depending on applied stress amplitude and mean stress. Damage mechanisms were investigated under tension and torsion. Results are analyzed in the light of existing fatigue criteria, the limitations of which are discussed. Finally, complex sequential loadings, representative of in-service loadings, were applied to tantalum smooth specimens. The contribution of each loading sequence to the overall damage was quantified and analyzed in terms of linear or non-linear cumulative damage rule.

Abstract: This study focuses on the method of predicting the fatigue life of materials subjected to random loading. Since random stress caused by random loading is rigorously expressed in the frequency domain as stress power spectral density (PSD), fatigue life should be predicted using stress PSD. We propose two adjustment methods of improving the accuracy of fatigue life prediction using stress PSD in the frequency domain. The method proposed by Dirlik is widely used for predicting the fatigue life in the frequency domain; however, it overestimates fatigue damage caused by large stress amplitude when the slope of the fatigue resistance curve is large. To prevent this overestimation, we applied our two adjustment methods to fatigue life prediction for typical random stresses observed on mechanical products. As a result, the adjustment methods worked well in improving prediction accuracy. Lightweight and reliable products can be therefore designed by applying the proposed methods to the evaluation of fatigue life under random loading.

Abstract: The present paper addresses two issues regarding the influence of compressive loadings for fatigue crack growth. The first issue is the crack tip loading in compression. It will be verified that K_max and R are not suitable to account for compressive loading conditions at the crack tip. The second issue is the investigation of some basic load interaction effects in tension-compression loading. Especially loading conditions that were reported leading to an acceleration of fatigue crack growth were revisited. Numerical simulations of the experiments are used to interpret the results.