Effect of bending-torsion on fracture and fatigue life for 18Ni300 steel specimens produced by SLM

Abstract

In this study, different fracture surfaces caused by fatigue failure were generated from 18Ni300 steel produced by selective laser melting (SLM). Hollow round bars with a transverse hole were tested under bending-torsion to investigate the crack initiation mechanisms and fatigue life. Next, the post-failure fracture surfaces were examined by optical profilometer and scanning electron microscope. The focus is placed on the relationship between the fatigue features (e.g., bending-torsion ratio, fatigue crack initiation angles, and fatigue life) and the fracture surface topography parameters (e.g., height parameter Sx, volume parameters Vx, maximal pit and valley angles). The analysis was carried out using the entire fracture surface of the tested specimens. It was found that the decrease of the shear stress level significantly reduces the value of the fracture surface parameters. A fatigue life prediction model based on both the surface topography values and the applied load was proposed. Fatigue life predictions for different loading ratios agreed well with the experimental results and were slightly better than those of other existing models. The proposed model can be helpful for post-mortem analysis of engineering components subjected to multiaxial fatigue.