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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

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NASA NTRS1990

Fatigue crack propagation in aerospace aluminum alloys

This paper reviews fracture mechanics based, damage tolerant characterizations and predictions of fatigue crack growth in aerospace aluminum alloys. The results of laboratory experimentation and modeling are summarized in the areas of: (1) fatigue crack closure, (2) the wide range crack growth rate response of conventional aluminum alloys, (3) the fatigue behavior of advanced monolithic aluminum alloys and metal matrix composites, (4) the short crack problem, (5) environmental fatigue, and (6) variable amplitude loading. Remaining uncertainties and necessary research are identified. This work provides a foundation for the development of fatigue resistant alloys and composites, next generation life prediction codes for new structural designs and extreme environments, and to counter the problem of aging components.

Gangloff, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Fatigue crack growth study of SCS6/Ti-15-3 composite

A study was performed to determine the fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior and the associated fatigue damage processes in a (0)8- and (90)8-oriented SCS6/Ti-15-3 composite. Companion testing was also done on identically processed Ti-15-3 unreinforced material. The active fatigue crack growth failure processes were very similar for both composite orientations tested. For both orientations, fatigue crack growth was along the fiber direction. It was found that the composite constituent most susceptible to fatigue damage was the interface region and, in particular, the carbon coating surrounding the fiber. The failure of the interface region led to crack initiation and also strongly influenced the FCG behavior in this composite. The failure of the interface region was apparently driven by normal stresses perpendicular to the fiber direction. The FCG rates were considerably higher for the (90)8-oriented CT specimens in comparison to the unreinforced material.

Kantzos, P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Extrinsic factors in the mechanics of bridged cracks

The far-reaching effects of such extrinsic factors as specimen shape and load distribution on bridged crack propagation, in cases where bridging-zone length is comparable to any of the crack and/or specimen dimensions, are presently demonstrated in view of calculation results for single-edge-notch specimens under uniform remote tension. The inherent risk of nonconservative predictions or reliability and strength may be reduced by considering the relationship between the bridging tractions and the crack-opening displacement as a fundamental material property. The fundamentality of the 'bridging length scale', or initial crack extension over which the bridging zone matures, is demonstrated.

Cox, B. N.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The crack problem in bonded nonhomogeneous materials

The plane elasticity problem for two bonded half planes containing a crack perpendicular to the interface was considered. The effect of very steep variations in the material properties near the diffusion plane on the singular behavior of the stresses and stress intensity factors were studied. The two materials were thus, assumed to have the shear moduli mu(o) and mu(o) exp (Beta x), x=0 being the diffusion plane. Of particular interest was the examination of the nature of stress singularity near a crack tip termination at the interface where the shear modulus has a discontinuous derivative. The results show that, unlike the crack problem in piecewise homogeneous materials for which the singularity is of the form r/alpha, 0 less than alpha less than 1, in this problem the stresses have a standard square-root singularity regardless of the location of the crack tip. The nonhomogeneity constant Beta has, however, considerable influence on the stress intensity factors.

Erdogan, F.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Program Analyzes Crack-Growth Data

Crack Growth Rate Data Analysis program used for cyclis crack-growth testing of compact tension specimens. Program digitizes data on crack-opening displacement vs. load and reduces these into data on crack-growth rate vs. stress-intensity excursion. Written in HP BASIC.

Demonet, Charles M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Fatigue crack growth in unidirectional metal matrix composite

The weight function method was used to determine the effective stress intensity factor and the crack opening profile for a fatigue tested composite which exhibited fiber bridging. The bridging mechanism was modeled using two approaches; the crack closure approach and the shear lag approach. The numerically determined stress intensity factor values from both methods were compared and correlated with the experimentally obtained crack growth rates for SiC/Ti-15-3 (0) (sub 8) oriented composites. The near crack tip opening profile was also determined for both methods and compared with the experimentally obtained measurements.

Ghosn, L. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Controlled crack growth specimen for brittle systems

A pure Mode 1 fracture specimen and test procedure has been developed which provides extended, stable, through-thickness crack growth in ceramics and other brittle, nonmetallic materials. Fixed displacement loading, applied at the crack mouth, promotes stable crack extension by reducing the stored elastic strain energy. Extremely fine control of applied displacements is achieved by utilizing the Poisson's expansion of a compressively loaded cylindrical pin. Stable cracks were successfully grown in soda-lime glass and monolithic Al2O3 for lengths in excess of 2O mm without uncontrollable catastrophic failure.

Calomino, Anthony M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Fracture resistance and fatigue crack growth characteristics of two Al-Cu-Mg-Zr alloys

The dependence of strength, fracture resistance, and fatigue crack growth rate on the aging conditions of two alloy compositions based on Al-3.7Cu-1.85Mg-0.2Mn is investigated. Mechanical properties were evaluated in two heat treatment conditions and in two orientations (longitudinal and transverse). Compact tension specimens were used to determine fatigue crack growth characteristics and fracture resistance. The aging response was monitored on coupons using hardness measurements determined with a standard Rockwell hardness tester. Fracture resistance is found to increase with increasing yield strength during artificial aging of age-hardenable 2124-Zr alloys processed by powder metallurgy techniques. Fatigue crack growth rate increases with increasing strength. It is argued that these changes are related to deformation modes of the alloys; a homogeneous deformation mode tends to increase fracture resistance and to decrease the resistance to the fatigue crack propagation rate.

Sarkar, Bhaskar↗

NASA NTRS1990

Mechanical behaviors of ceramic matrix composites with matrix cracking and fiber debonding

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current research of the authors on the mechanical behaviors of ceramic matrix composites, including (1) the stress distributions in a composite with matrix cracking and interfacial debonding, (2) the critical strain for matrix cracking, and (3) the effects of fiber/matrix debonding and thermal residual stresses on the critical strain. The stress fields in both bonded and debonded regions are evaluated by taking into account thermal effects. An energy balance approach is followed to determine the critical strain for matrix cracking. From the general equation of the critical strain for matrix cracking, close form solutions have been obtained for two limiting cases: perfect bonding and complete debonding. Numerical solutions are given for the cases of partial fiber debonding and nonzero debonding energy. It is found that thermal residual stresses and the debonding energy have significant effects on the critical strain.

Kuo, Wen-Shyong↗

NASA NTRS1991

Thermographic detection of cracks in thin sheets

A thermographic inspection technique for crack detection based on a 2D filter convolved with the thermal temperature images is presented. The filter is designed to approximate operating on the temperature images with a Laplacian operator. This operation yields an image which approximates changes in the heat flux in a thin plate. This filtering method results in an enhanced contrast due to the presence of cracks. Measurements have been performed on samples with fabricated electrical discharge machining (EDM) notches (both through-the-thickness and surface notches) and closed fatigue cracks around rivets. It is shown that the technique is effective for the detection of various crack lengths down to the resolution limits of the imager used.

Cramer, K. E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Matrix cracking in laminated composites under monotonic and cyclic loadings

An analytical model based on the internal state variable (ISV) concept and the strain energy method is proposed for characterizing the monotonic and cyclic response of laminated composites containing matrix cracks. A modified constitution is formulated for angle-ply laminates under general in-plane mechanical loading and constant temperature change. A monotonic matrix cracking criterion is developed for predicting the crack density in cross-ply laminates as a function of the applied laminate axial stress. An initial formulation for a cyclic matrix cracking criterion for cross-ply laminates is also discussed. For the monotonic loading case, a number of experimental data and well-known models are compared with the present study for validating the practical applicability of the ISV approach.

Allen, David H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Near-tip dual-length scale mechanics of mode-I cracking in laminate brittle matrix composites

This paper presents the preliminary results of an on-going study of the near-tip mechanics of mode-I cracking in brittle matrix composite laminates. A finite element model is developed within the context of two competing characteristic lengths present in the composite: the microstructural length (the thickness of the layers) and a macro-length (crack-length, uncracked ligament size, etc.). For various values of the parameters which describe the ratio of these lengths and the constituent properties, the stresses ahead of a crack perpendicular to the laminates are compared with those predicted by assuming the composite is homogeneous orthotropic. The results can be used to determine the conditions for which homogenization can provide a sufficiently accurate description of the stresses in the vicinity of the crack-tip.

Ballarini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

NSTS Orbiter auxiliary power unit turbine wheel cracking risk assessment

The present investigation of turbine-wheel cracking problems in the hydrazine-fueled APU turbine wheel of the Space Shuttle Orbiter's Main Engines has indicated the efficacy of systematic probabilistic risk assessment in flight certification and safety resolution. Nevertheless, real crack-initiation and propagation problems do not lend themselves to purely analytical studies. The high-cycle fatigue problem is noted to generally be unsuited to probabilistic modeling, due to its extremely high degree of intrinsic scatter. In the case treated, the cracks appear to trend toward crack arrest in a low cycle fatigue mode, due to a detuning of the resonance model.

Cruse, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Fatigue crack growth in a unidirectional SCS-6/Ti-15-3 composite

An investigation was conducted to characterize and model the fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of an SCS-6/Ti-15-3 metal matrix composite. Part of the study was conducted using a fatigue loading stage mounted inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results of the study reveal that the fatigue crack growth behavior of the composite is a function of specimen geometry, fiber orientation, and interaction of local stress fields with the highly anisotropic composite. In the case of (0)8 oriented single edge notch specimens and (90)8 oriented compact tension (CT) specimens, the crack growth was normal to the loading direction. However, for the (0)8 CT specimens, the crack grew mostly parallel to the loading and the fiber direction. The unusual fatigue behavior of the (0)8 CT specimens is attributed to the specimen geometry and the associated high tensile bending stresses perpendicular to the fiber direction.

Kantzos, Peter↗

NASA NTRS1992

Estimation of crack closure stresses for in situ toughened silicon nitride with 8 wt pct scandia

An 8-wt pct-scandia silicon nitride with an elongated grain structure was fabricated. The material exhibited high fracture toughness and a rising R-curve as measured by the indentation strength technique. The 'toughening' exponent m was found to be m about 0.1. The high fracture toughness and R-curve behavior was attributed mainly to bridging of the crack faces by the elongated grains. The crack closure (bridging) stress distribution in the wake region of the crack tip was estimated as a function of crack size from the R-curve data, with an arbitrarily assumed distribution function.

Choi, Sung R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Constant amplitude and post-overload fatigue crack growth behavior in PM aluminum alloy AA 8009

A recently developed, rapidly solidified, powder metallurgy, dispersion strengthened aluminum alloy, AA 8009, was fatigue tested at room temperature in lab air. Constant amplitude/constant delta kappa and single spike overload conditions were examined. High fatigue crack growth rates and low crack closure levels compared to typical ingot metallurgy aluminum alloys were observed. It was proposed that minimal crack roughness, crack path delection, and limited slip reversibility, resulting from ultra-fine microstructure, were responsible for the relatively poor da/dN-delta kappa performance of AA 8009 as compared to that of typical IM aluminum alloys.

Reynolds, A. P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The effect of low energy protons on silicon solar cells with simulated coverglass cracks

Results of a series of low-energy proton (LEP) tests are presented. The purpose of the tests was to investigate the effect of low-energy protons on the electrical performance of solar cells with simulated cracked covers. The results of the tests were then related to the space environment. A matrix of LEP tests was set up using solar cells with simulated cracks to determine the effect on electrical performance as a function of fluence, energy, crack width, coverglass adhesive shielding, crack location, and solar cell size. The results of the test were, for the most part, logical, and consistent.

Gasner, S.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Effects of R-ratio on fatigue crack growth in a Ti-24Al-11Nb alloy

The microscopic fatigue crack behavior in a Ti-24Al-11Nb alloy was investigated. Particular attention was given to the path of the fatigue crack through the microstructure, the fracture mode, and the effects of R-ratio and crack closure on the fatigue crack growth behavior. The FCGR of the alloy at R = 0.5 was an order of magnitude higher than that at R = 0.1.

Bae, K.↗