Mixed-mode fatigue-crack growth thresholds in Ti-6Al-4V at high frequency

Abstract

Multiaxial loading conditions exist at fatigue-critical locations within turbine engine components, particularly in association with fretting fatigue in the blade dovetail/disk contact section. For fatigue-crack growth in such situations, the resultant crack-driving force is a combination of the influence of a mode I (tensile opening) stress-intensity range, {Delta}K{sub I}, as well as mode II (in-plane shear) and/or mode III (anti-plane shear) stress-intensity ranges, {Delta}K{sub II} and {Delta}K{sub III}, respectively. For the case of the high-cycle fatigue of turbine-engine alloys, it is critical to quantify such behavior, as the extremely high cyclic loading frequencies ({approximately}1--2 kHz) and correspondingly short times to failure may necessitate a design approached based on the fatigue-crack growth threshold. Moreover, knowledge of such thresholds is required for accurate prediction of fretting fatigue failures. Accordingly, this paper presents the mixed-mode fatigue crack growth thresholds for mode I + II loading (phase angles from 0{degree} to 82{degree}) in a Ti-6Al-4V blade alloy. These results indicate that when fatigue-crack growth in this alloy is characterized in terms of the crack-driving force {Delta}G, which incorporates both the applied tensile and shear loading, the mode 1 fatigue-crack growth threshold is a lower bound (worst case) with respect to mixed-mode (I + II)more » crack-growth behavior.« less