Fatigue Process of a Heat Treated 0.45% C Steel in 3% NaCl Solution.

Abstract

In order to clarify the corrosion fatigue process, rotating bending fatigue tests of heat treated 0.45% C steel smooth specimens were carried out in 3% NaCl solution. The emphasis is to perform successive observations by the plastic replica method. The results showed that corrosion pits are produced at the early stages of cycling, most of which then grow with further cycling until a crack initiates from each corrosion pit. The initiation of corrosion pits from slip bands was observed only in the case when the stress range is relatively large (in the range of stress under which slip bands are produced in air).