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At least 559 records · Page 31

The influence of temperature on fatigue crack growth in a mill annealed Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

To study the influence of temperature on the rate of fatigue crack growth in high strength metal alloys, constant load amplitude fatigue crack growth experiments were carried out using a .25-in.-thick mill annealed Ti-6Al-4V alloy plate. The rates of fatigue crack growth were determined as a function of temperature, ranging from room temperature to about 290 C, and as a function of the crack tip stress intensity factor in a dehumidified high purity argon environment. Limited correlative experiments were carried out in distilled water, dehumidified oxygen and hydrogen, and in vacuum. The results indicate that the rate of fatigue crack growth is essentially independent of test temperature in this alloy, and is affected by residual moisture in very small concentrations. Companion fractographic examinations suggest that the mechanims for fatigue crack growth in the various environments are essentially the same.

Wei, R. P.↗

Stresses in bonded materials with a crack perpendicular to the interface.

The problem of two elastic bonded half planes containing a crack perpendicular to the interface is considered. First the solution for the semi-infinite crack under concentrated wedge loading is given. Then the problem of a finite crack fully imbedded in one of the half planes of terminating at the interface is considered. The Mellin transform in conjunction with the dislocations is used to formulate the problem and to derive the integral equation. The integral equation is solved; the stress intensity factors, the crack surface displacement, and the stresses around the crack tip terminating at the interface are obtained. Noting that the power of the singularity for the interface tip of the crack is not -1/2, a tentative fracture criterion dealing with the initiation of fracture propagation is proposed.

Cook, T. S.↗

An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Vacuum Environment on the Fatigue Life, Fatigue-Crack-Growth Behavior, and Fracture Toughness of 7075-T6 Aluminum Alloy

Axial load fatigue life, fatigue-crack propagation, and fracture toughness tests were conducted on 0.090-inch thick specimens made of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy. The fatigue life and fatigue-crack propagation experiments were conducted at a stress ratio of 0.02. Maximum stresses ranged from 33 to 60 ksi in the fatigue life experiments, and from 10 to 40 ksi in the fatigue-crack propagation experiments, and fatigue life experiments were conducted at gas pressures of 760, 0.5, 0.05, and 0.00000005 torr. Fatigue-crack-growth and fracture toughness experiments were conducted at gas pressures of 760 and 5 x 10 to the minus 8th power torr. Residual stress measurements were made on selected fatigue life specimens to determine the effect of such stresses on fatigue life. Analysis of the results from the fatigue life experiments indicated that fatigue life progressively increased as the gas pressure decreased. Analysis of the results from the fatigue-crack-growth experiments indicates that at low values of stress-intensity range, the fatigue crack growth rates were approximately twice as high in air as in vacuum. Fracture toughness data showed there was essentially no difference in the fracture toughness of 7075-T6 in vacuum and in air.

Hudson, C. M.↗

Effect of specimen thickness of fatigue-crack-growth behavior and fracture toughness of 7075-T6 and 7178-T6 aluminum alloys

A study was made to determine the effects of specimen thickness on fatigue crack growth and fracture behavior of 7075-T6 and 7178-T6 aluminum alloy sheet and plate. Specimen thicknesses ranged from 5.1 to 12.7 mm (0.20 to 0.50 in.) for 7075-T6 and from 1.3 to 6.4 mm (0.05 to 0.25 in.) for 7178-T6. The stress ratios R used in the crack growth experiments were 0.02 and 0.50. For 7075-T6, specimen thickness had relatively little effect on fatigue-crack growth. However, the fracture toughness of the thickness of the thickest gage of 7075-T6 was about two-thirds of the fracture toughness of the thinner gages of 7075-T6. For 7178-T6, fatigue cracks generally grew somewhat faster in the thicker gages than in the thinnest gage. The fracture toughness of the thickest gage of 7178-T6 was about two-thirds of the fracture toughness of the thinner gages of 7178-T6. Stress intensity methods were used to analyze the experimental results. For a given thickness and value of R, the rate of fatigue crack growth was essentially a single-valued function of the stress intensity range for 7075-T6 and 7178-T6. An empirical equation developed by Forman, Kearney, and Engle fit the 7075-T6 and 7178-T6 crack growth data reasonably well.

Hudson, C. M.↗

Fracture and crack growth resistance studies of 304 stainless steel weldments relating to retesting of cryogenic vessels

Fracture and crack growth resistance characteristics of 304 stainless steel alloy weldments as relating to retesting of cryogenic vessels were examined. Welding procedures were typical of those used in full scale vessel fabrication. Fracture resistance survey tests were conducted in room temperature air, liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen. In air, both surface-flawed and center-cracked panels containing cracks in weld metal, fusion line, heat-affected zone, or parent metal were tested. In liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen, tests were conducted using center-cracked panels containing weld centerline cracks. Load-unload, sustained load, and cyclic load tests were performed in air or hydrogen gas, liquid nitrogen, and liquid hydrogen using surface-flawed specimens containing weld centerline cracks. Results were used to evaluate the effectiveness of periodic proof overloads in assuring safe and reliable operation of over-the-road cryogenic dewars.

Hall, L. R.↗

Toward assessing the effects of crack front curvature /CFC/.

Consideration of the effect of crack front curvature (CFC) on the K calibration of five special geometries in which CFC occurs. The five cases considered include an elliptical crack in an infinite medium, an internal annular crack in a thick-walled cylinder, a through crack in a flat plate, a part-through crack in a plate, and an irregularly shaped crack in a solid. It is shown that K depends on CFC differently in each case.

Swedlow, J. L.↗

Alternating method applied to edge and surface crack problems.

The alternating method, which intimately combines analytical results with numerical calculations, as applied to edge crack problems in two dimensions and surface crack problems in three dimensions, is treated. The case of a crack perpendicular to the edge of a semiinfinite material is considered. One of the crack geometries that has received continual interest in fracture mechanics is that of a semielliptical crack whose major axis lies on a stress free surface. In order to demonstrate the sensitivity of the solution to the influence of the free surface the semicircular crack problem is again treated by the alternating method.

Hartranft, R. J.↗

Growth characteristics of a plane crack subjected to three-dimensional loading

The closed form expressions for the stress intensity factors due to concentrated forces applied to the surfaces of a half plane crack in an infinite body are used to generate solutions for distributed loads in this geometry. The stress intensity factors for uniformly distributed loads applied over a rectangular portion of the crack surface are given in closed form. An example of non-uniformly distributed loads which can be treated numerically is also included. In particular, combinations of normal and shear stresses on the crack which simulate the case of loading at an angle to the crack front are considered. The resulting stress intensity factors are combined with the strain energy density fracture criterion for the purpose of predicting the most likely direction of crack propagation. The critical value of the energy density factor can then be used for determining the allowable load on a specimen with a crack front not perpendicular to the tensile axis.

Hartranft, R. J.↗

The influence of temperature on fatigue-crack growth in a mill-annealed Ti-6Al-4V alloy

To understand the influence of temperature on the rate of fatigue crack growth in high strength metal alloys, constant load amplitude fatigue crack growth experiments were carried out using a 1/4 inch thick (6.35 mm) mill-annealed Ti-6Al-4V alloy plate as a model material. The rates of fatigue crack growth were determined as a function of temperature, ranging from room temperature to about 290 C and as a function of the crack tip, stress intensity factor K, in dehumidified high purity argon environment. The dependence of the rate of fatigue crack growth on K appears to be separable into two regions. The transition correlates with changes in both the microscopic and macroscopic appearances of the fracture surfaces, and suggests a change in the mechanism and the influence of microstructure on fatigue crack growth.

Wei, R. P.↗

Stress intensity factors for deep cracks emanating from the corner formed by a hole intersecting a plate surface

A technique consisting of freezing photo-elasticity and a numerical method was used to obtain stress intensity factors for natural cracks emanating from the corner at which a hole intersects a plate surface. Geometries studied were: (1) crack depth to thickness ratios of approximately 0.2, (2) 0.5 and 0.75; (3) crack depth to crack length ratios of approximately 1.0 to 2.0; and (4) crack length to hole radius ratios of about 0.5 to 2.0. All final crack geometries were grown under monotonic loading and growth was not self similar, with most of the growth occuring through the thickness under remote extension. Stress intensity factors were determined at the intersection of the flaw border.

Mcgowan, J. J.↗

Hydrogen adsorption and diffusion, and subcritical-crack growth in high-strength steels and nickel base alloys

Coordinated studies of the kinetics of crack growth and of hydrogen adsorption and diffusion were initiated to develop information that is needed for a clearer determination of the rate controlling process and possible mechanism for hydrogen enhanced crack growth, and for estimating behavior over a range of temperatures and pressures. Inconel 718 alloy and 18Ni(200) maraging steel were selected for these studies. 18Ni(250) maraging steel, 316 stainless steel, and iron single crystal of (111) orientation were also included in the chemistry studies. Crack growth data on 18Ni(250) maraging steel from another program are included for comparison. No sustained-load crack growth was observed for the Inconel 718 alloy in gaseous hydrogen. Gaseous hydrogen assisted crack growth in the 18Ni maraging steels were characterized by K-independent (Stage 2) extension over a wide range of hydrogen pressures (86 to 2000 torr or 12 kN/m2 to 266 kN/m2) and test temperatures (-60 C to +100 C). The higher strength 18Ni(250) maraging steel was more susceptible than the lower strength 200 grade. A transition temperature was observed, above which crack growth rates became diminishingly small.

Wei, R. P.↗

Mixed mode stress intensity factors for semielliptical surface cracks

The three-dimensional equations of elasticity are solved for a flat elliptical crack which has nonuniform shear stresses applied to its surfaces. An alternating method is used to determine the mode two and mode three stress intensity factors for a semielliptical surface crack in the surface of a finite thickness solid. These stress intensity factors are presented as a function of position along the crack border for a number of crack shapes and crack depths. This same technique is followed to determine the mode one stress intensity factors for the semielliptical surface crack which has normal loading applied to its surface. Mode one stress intensity factors are presented and compared with the results obtained from previous work.

Smith, F. W.↗

Crack opening stretch in a plate of finite width

The problem of a uniaxially stressed plate of finite width containing a centrally located damage zone is considered. It is assumed that the flaw may be represented by a part-through crack perpendicular to the plate surface, the net ligaments in the plane of the crack and through-the-thickness narrow strips ahead of the crack ends are fully yielded, and in the yielded sections the material may carry only a constant normal traction with magnitude equal to the yield strength. The problem is solved by neglecting the bending effects and the crack opening stretches at the center and the ends of the crack are obtained. Some applications of the results are indicated by using the concepts of critical crack opening stretch and constant slope plastic instability.

Erdogan, F.↗

Crack growth in ASME SA-105 grade 2 steel in hydrogen at ambient temperature

Cyclic-load crack growth measurements were performed on ASME SA-105 Grade 2 steel specimens exposed to 10,000- and 15,000-psi hydrogen and to 5000-psi helium, all at ambient temperatures. The cyclic-load crack growth rate was found to be faster in high-pressure hydrogen than in helium. Cyclic-load crack growth rates in this steel were not reduced by preloading in air to a stress intensity of 1.5 times the cyclic K sub max in hydrogen. There are indications that holding under load in hydrogen, and loading and unloading in helium retards hydrogen-accelerated cyclic-load crack growth. Cyclic frequency and R (ratio of K sub min/k sub max) were important variables determining crack growth rate. The crack growth rate increased as a logarithm of the cycle duration and decreased with increasing R.

Walter, R. J.↗

Kinetic studies of the stress corrosion cracking of D6AC steel

The effect of load interactions on the crack growth velocity of D6AC steel under stress corrosion cracking conditions was determined. The environment was a 3.5 percent salt solution. The modified-wedge opening load specimens were fatigue precracked and subjected to a deadweight loading in creep machines. The effects of load shedding on incubation times and crack growth rates were measured using high-sensitivity compliance measurement techniques. Load shedding results in an incubation time, the length of which depends on the amount of load shed and the baseline stress intensity. The sequence of unloading the specimen also controls the subsequent incubation period. The incubation period is shorter when load shedding passes through zero load than when it does not if the specimen initially had the same baseline stress intensity. The crack growth rates following the incubation period are also different from the steady-state crack growth rate at the operating stress intensity. These data show that the susceptibility of this alloy system to stress corrosion cracking depends on the plane-strain fracture toughness and on the yield strength of the material.

Noronha, P. J.↗

Stress analysis and stress intensity factors for finite geometry solids containing rectangular surface cracks

The line method of analysis is applied to the Navier-Cauchy equations of elastic equilibrium to calculate the displacement field in a finite geometry bar containing a variable depth rectangular surface crack under extensionally applied uniform loading. The application of this method to these equations leads to coupled sets of simultaneous ordinary differential equations whose solutions are obtained along sets of lines in a discretized region. Using the obtained displacement field, normal stresses and the stress intensity factor variation along the crack periphery are calculated for different crack depth to bar thickness ratios. Crack opening displacements and stress intensity factors are also obtained for a through-thickness, center cracked bar with variable thickness. The reported results show a considerable potential for using this method in calculating stress intensity factors for commonly encountered surface crack geometries in finite solids.

Gyekenyesi, J. P.↗

A stiffness derivative finite element technique for determination of crack tip stress intensity factors

A finite element technique for determination of elastic crack tip stress intensity factors is presented. The method, based on the energy release rate, requires no special crack tip elements. Further, the solution for only a single crack length is required, and the crack is 'advanced' by moving nodal points rather than by removing nodal tractions at the crack tip and performing a second analysis. The promising straightforward extension of the method to general three-dimensional crack configurations is presented and contrasted with the practical impossibility of conventional energy methods.

Parks, D. M.↗

Statistical estimation of service cracks and maintenance cost for aircraft structures

A method is developed for the statistical estimation of the number of cracks to be repaired in service as well as the repair and the maintenance costs. The present approach accounts for the statistical distribution of the initial crack size, the statistical nature of the NDI technique used for detecting the crack, and the renewal process for the crack propagation of repaired cracks. The mean and the standard deviation of the cumulative number of cracks to be repaired are computed as a function of service time. The statistics of the costs of repair and maintenance, expressed in terms of the percentage of the cost of replacement, are estimated as a function of service time. The results of the present study provide relevant information for the decision of fleet management, the estimation of life cycle cost, and procurement specifications. The present study is essential to the design and cost optimization of aircraft structures.

Yang, J.-N.↗