Investigation of fatigue-crack growth under simple variable-amplitude loading
Fatigue-crack growth under simple variable amplitude loading in aluminum alloys
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Fatigue-crack growth under simple variable amplitude loading in aluminum alloys
Stress-wave emission in fatigue crack propagation of nickel maraging steel, and of low alloy steel
Stress ratio effect on axial load fatigue and crack propagation tests on aluminum alloy sheets
Stress ratio effects on fatigue crack growth in sheet aluminum alloys
Axial load fatigue crack propagation tests on Al alloy sheets for stress ratio effects
Fatigue crack growth tests on Al alloy sheets under variable amplitude loading
Compression, creep, stress relaxation and overloading effects on delay in fatigue crack growth and structural life predictions
To understand the influence 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 (or, about 550 F/563K) and as a function of the crack tip stress intensity factor in a dehumidified high purity argon environment. Limited correlative experiments indicate that dehumidified oxygen and hydrogen have no effect on the rate of fatigue crack growth in this alloy, while distilled water increased the rate of crack growth slightly in the range tested. Companion fractographic examinations suggest that the mechanisms for fatigue crack growth in the various environments are essentially the same.
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.
Fundamental characterization of the constant-amplitude fatigue crack propagation is achieved by an analysis of the rate of change of crack length with change in number of applied loading cycles, defining the rate values such that they are consistent with the basic assumption of smoothness and continuity in the fatigue crack growth process. The technique used to satisfy the analytical conditions and minimize the effects of local material anomalies and experimental errors is that of fitting a smooth curve to the entire set of basic data by least square regression. This yields a well-behaved function relating the number of cycles to the crack length. By taking the first derivative of the function, the crack growth rate is obtained for each point. The class of curve fitting functions used in the analysis is the polynomial of degree n.
The elastic fracture toughness of the three steels is shown to not decrease significantly with decreasing temperature from room temperature to about 244 K (-20 F.). The elastic fracture toughness of the three steels increased with increasing specimen width and thickness. The fatigue-crack-growth data for all three steels fall into relatively narrow scatter bands on plots of rate against stress-intensity range. An equation is shown to predict the upper bounds of the scatter bands reasonably well. Charpy impact energies decreased with decreasing temperature in the nominal temperature range from room temperature to 244 K (-20 F). The nil-ductility temperatures of the steels are discussed.
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The development and application of an analytical model of cycle crack growth is presented that includes the effects of crack closure. The model was used to correlate crack growth rates under constant amplitude loading and to predict crack growth under aircraft spectrum loading on 2219-T851 aluminum alloy sheet material. The predicted crack growth lives agreed well with experimental data. The ratio of predicted to experimental lives ranged from 0.66 to 1.48. These predictions were made using data from an ASTM E24.06.01 Round Robin.
An existing analytical crack closure model was used to study crack growth under various load histories. The model was based on a concept like the Dugdale model, but modified to leave plastically deformed material in the wake of the advancing crack tip. The model was used to correlate crack growth rates under constant amplitude loading, and to predict crack growth under variable amplitude and aircraft spectrum loading on 2219-T851 aluminum alloy sheet material. The predicted crack growth lives agreed well with experimental data. For 80 crack growth tests subjected to various load histories, the ratio of predicted-to-experimental lives (N(P)/n(T)) ranged from 0.5 to 1.8. The mean value of N(P)/N(T) was 0.97 and the standard deviation was 0.27.
These observations were made as part of a study of the influence of temperature and chemical environment on fatigue-crack growth. The results obtained, along with additional fractographic results in other environments, suggest that the mechanism for fatigue-crack growth in the Ti-6Al-4V alloy is basically similar (striations are observed) for a wide range of environments. In addition to ?vacuum,' these environments include distilled water, ?dry' and ?wet' air, ?dry' hydrogen, and ?dry' and ?wet' argon.
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.
Fatigue-crack initiation and early stages of growth in notched 2024-T3 aluminum alloy sheet specimens were monitored during constant-amplitude fatigue tests conducted for a range of stress ratios. A video tape system was developed to detect fatigue cracks 0.1 mm in length on the sheet surface and to monitor their growth. Fatigue cracks initiated either at the notch corner or on the notch surface. Most of the first fatigue cracks started as notch-corner cracks, and the crack-initiation period was defined as the number of cycles for which the crack was 0.1 mm in length on the sheet surface. For each of the stress ratios used, the results showed that at the low stress levels, the crack-initiation period constituted at least 90 percent of the fatigue lives. However, for the negative stress ratios at the high stress levels, cracks started as early as at about 40 percent of the fatigue lives.
A program was conducted to determine the fatigue-crack propagation behavior of parent and welded 2219-T87 aluminum alloy sheet under controlled cyclic stress conditions in room temperature air and 300 F air. Specimens possessing an initial surface defect of controlled dimensions were cycled under constant load amplitude until the propagating fatigue crack penetrated the back surface of the specimen. A series of precracked specimens were prepared to determine optimum penetrant, X-ray, ultrasonic, and eddy current nondestructive inspection procedures.