Crack Growth Behavior Research Articles

Effects of retained austenite and martensite microstructure on fatigue crack propagation in quenched and tempered high carbon steels

Commercial high-carbon 52,100 steel was subjected to varying quenching and tempering heat treatments to develop plate martensite and retained austenite (RA). The mode I fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of quenched and tempered microstructures with varying amount of RA and degree of martensite tempering was investigated. The interaction between the fatigue cracks and the surrounding microstructure was characterized using electron microscopy/backscatter diffraction and quantitative fractography. Higher initial amounts of RA and greater degree of martensite tempering improved FCG resistance of high-carbon plate-martensite austenite microstructures. Stress-assisted RA to martensite transformation was observed in the vicinity of the fatigue cracks in the microstructure heat treated to have an elevated amount of RA. The fatigue fracture surfaces of the different microstructures exhibited varying combinations of intergranular (IG) fracture, mixed-ductile brittle (MDB) and transgranular (TG: cleavage, quasi-cleavage, and ductile striations) fracture as a function of stress intensity range at the crack tip. Microstructure conditions showing greater fractions of MDB and TG fatigue fracture had better FCG resistance. The presence of a higher initial RA content suppressed brittle IG fracture and promoted TG fracture, potentially due to transformation–toughening associated with RA to martensite transformation or transformation induced micro-crack coalescence near the fatigue crack.

Remaining Useful Life for Heavy-Duty Railway Cast Steel Knuckles Based on Crack Growth Behavior with Hypothetical Distributions

The current research on the integrity of critical structures of rail vehicles mainly focuses on the design stage, which needs an effective method for assessing the service state. This paper proposes a framework for predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) of in-service structures with and without visible cracks. The hypothetical distribution and delay time models were used to apply the equivalent crack growth life data of heavy-duty railway cast steel knuckles, which revealed the evolution characteristics of the crack length and life scores of the knuckle under different fracture failure modes. The results indicate that the method effectively predicts the RUL of service knuckles in different failure modes based on the cumulative failure probability curves for different locations and surface crack lengths. This study proposes an RUL prediction framework that supports the dynamic overhaul and state maintenance of knuckle fatigue cracks.

Effects of single overloads on fatigue crack propagation behaviour of AZ31B magnesium alloy under different temperatures

An experimental study examined the influence of single overload ratio (OLR) on fatigue crack growth (FCG) behaviour in AZ31B magnesium alloy at different temperatures (300 K, 373 K, and 473 K). The results showed that FCG rates and stress intensity factor ranges (ΔK) vary with temperature and overload ratios. After applying a single overload (OL), the FCG rate initially decreased, then increased rapidly, and stabilized at a value consistent with constant amplitude loading (CAL). The fatigue life increased by 86 % to 143 % at 300 K, 75 % to 132 % at 373 K, and 75 % to 134 % at 473 K for OLRs ranging from 1.75 to 2.25 when compared to the fatigue life at CAL. A single overload accumulates energy at the crack tip, forming an overload region with tearing ridges, secondary cracks, dimples, and fatigue striations under varying temperatures.

Effect of thermal ageing on fatigue crack growth behaviour of forged alloy 617M at elevated temperatures

ABSTRACT Fatigue crack growth (FCG) studies have been conducted on compact tension specimens of alloy 617M for as-received and aged for 1000, 5000 and 10,000 h at 710°C. Effects of thermal ageing on FCG behaviour of alloy 617M forged has been characterised at 27°C, 650°C, 710°C and 750°C. Results reveal that threshold stress intensity factor ( Δ K th ) decreases as temperature increases upto 710°C and then increases at 750°C for all the ageing conditions except for 1000 h aged. The Δ K th value also decreases with an increase in ageing time till 5000 h, but at 10,000 h a reverse trend is observed. The influence of thermal ageing and temperature reflects major deviations for Paris constant (C) and exponent (m). Additionally, thermal ageing and temperature influences on FCG, the effects of dynamic strain ageing, Cr-rich carbides and γ’-phase precipitations have been discussed and corroborated with fractographic and microstructural changes.

A fatigue crack tip field model considering residual stress and plasticity-induced closure for welded structures

In order to more accurately understand and predict the fatigue crack growth behavior in welded structures, a fatigue crack tip field model considering residual stress and plasticity-induced closure (RSPC model) is presented in this paper. Building upon the existing CJP model, which adequately explains plasticity-induced crack closure, the RSPC model further considers the influence of tensile residual stress induced by welding. The model, through a detailed derivation and analysis of the residual stress function, establishes the theoretical stress and displacement fields at the crack tip of the butt-welded joint. Integrating these fields with the CJP model, the theoretical framework of the RSPC model is formulated. Subsequently, through fatigue crack growth experiments and digital image correlation analysis, a comparison and validation of the predictive performance of the CJP and RSPC models are conducted. It is observed that the latter aligns more closely with experimental results in calculating plastic zone area, with a maximum error of only 10%. In comparison to the CJP model, the average error decreases by 19.143%, indicating higher predictive accuracy. Furthermore, the study focuses on the contribution of tensile residual stress in butt welded joints to the growth of the plastic zone at the fatigue crack tip and the underlying reasons for its variations. Finally, the research investigates the constrained relationship between plastic zone size and fatigue crack growth rate. Corresponding relationship functions are fitted, providing more accurate guidance for crack control and material design.

Insights into fatigue crack propagation mechanism of T91 steel in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic at 150–450 °C

The fatigue crack growth (FCG) behaviors of T91 steel in oxygen-saturated liquid lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 150–450 °C were investigated. The FCG rate increased gradually with the increase of temperature at 150–350 °C, is firstly low at 450 °C and then comparable with that at 350 °C. The macroscopic trans-granular cracks preferentially propagated along the deformation-induced low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) near the crack tip at the microscopic scale. Intergranular precipitation-enhanced wetting of matrix by liquid LBE results in the reduction of atomic bonding force and formation of micro-cracks along the LAGBs, which triggers brittle cracking.

Study on properties of re-dispersible latex powder and polypropylene fiber-reinforced lightweight foam concrete

Foam concrete has a broad application prospect due to its lightweight, convenient construction and other characteristics. However, the low strength and tensile toughness limit the application range of foam concrete. In this study, re-dispersible latex powder and polypropylene fiber were used to improve the mechanical properties of foam concrete. The effects of re-dispersible latex powder and polypropylene fiber on the compressive and tensile properties of foam concrete were studied. The results showed that compared with ordinary foam concrete, the combination of re-dispersible latex powder and polypropylene fiber increased the energy absorption capacity, ductility index and tension compression ratio of foam concrete by 13.4 %, 5024.6 % and 190.7 %, respectively. The bio-membrane formed by the hydration of re-dispersible latex powder improves the internal pore structure, which can cooperate with polypropylene fiber to optimize the crack growth behavior and ductility of foam concrete, thereby improving the compression and tensile properties of foam concrete.

Effect of intra‐build design parameters on the fracture toughness properties of Electron Beam Melted Ti6Al4V

AbstractMetal additive manufacturing technologies provide new opportunities for manufacturing complex components. However, the limited data on fracture behavior are delaying adoption in safe‐critical applications. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of orientation and the intra‐build design parameters on EBM Ti6Al4V fracture toughness using a design of experiments. Three builds comprised of over 150 compact tension samples were printed representative of the EBM build chamber, followed by microstructural characterization, X‐ray microcomputed tomography, and fracture toughness testing per ASTM E399. The average fracture toughness was 65 MPa√m, with anisotropy as the largest source of variation due to crack growth behavior with respect to the build direction. Microstructure coarsening was observed with increase in height, resulting in an increase in fracture toughness, irrespective of sample geometry or orientation. Build orientation and sample location influenced the microstructure and fracture toughness and should be considered when adopting EBM components in load‐bearing applications.

Heterogeneity induced fracture characterization of concrete under fatigue loading using digital image correlation and acoustic emission techniques

Understanding the fatigue failure mechanisms in concrete is complex and remains an area of ongoing investigation. Material heterogeneity, along with the size effect, plays a significant role in specifying the crack propagation behaviour and fatigue life in case of repetitive loading conditions. In this study, the influence of material heterogeneity on the fatigue behaviour of concrete has been examined. Three different-size beam specimens with varying heterogeneity (aggregate sizes) have been considered to investigate various fracture characteristics under repetitive load conditions. Acoustic emission and digital image correlation techniques have been employed to analyse crack growth behaviour. The results revealed that stiffness degradation and crack propagation rates are faster for the specimens with smaller aggregate sizes compared to the larger aggregate size specimens of the same depth. Moreover, the fatigue life and effective crack length at failure are also higher in the case of larger aggregate sizes compared to smaller ones. Therefore, a heterogeneity-adjusted, analytical model of fatigue crack growth has been proposed. Further, the AE parameters have been utilized to characterize the tensile and shear crack dominance in different stages of fatigue crack propagation. The outcome of this study can be utilized to anticipate the crack propagation behaviour and residual fatigue life for any combination of specimen size and aggregate size.

Processing and Mechanics of Aromatic Vitrimeric Composites at Elevated Temperatures and Healing Performance

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are renowned for their exceptional mechanical properties, with applications in industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, civil, and beyond. Despite these merits, a significant challenge in CFRPs lies in their repairability and maintenance. This study, for the first time, delves into the processing and self-healing capability of aromatic thermosetting co-polyester vitrimer-based carbon fiber composites through mechanical testing. Vitrimers are an emerging class of thermosetting polymers, which, owing to their exchangeable covalent bonds, enable the re-formation of bonds across cracks. The specific vitrimer chosen for this study is an aromatic thermosetting co-polyester (ATSP). The mechanical properties of samples were analyzed initially through three-point bending (3PB) testing at room temperature before and after healing (by curing samples for 2 h at 280 °C). Samples were also 3PB tested at 100 °C to analyze their mechanical properties at an elevated temperature for comparison to the samples tested at room temperature. To investigate the fracture properties, optical microscopy images of samples were taken after 3PB tests, which were analyzed to observe crack initiation and crack growth behavior. Through load–displacement curves from double cantilever beam (DCB) mechanical testing, the Mode I crack initiation fracture toughness values of self-healed composites and control composites were calculated to evaluate healing efficiency in ATSP CFRP composites cured at 280 °C for 2 h. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a similar surface morphology of cracks before and after self-healing. Micro-computed tomography (CT) X-ray imaging confirmed that the healed samples closely resembled the as-fabricated ones, with the exception of some manufacturing voids, caused by outgassing in the initial healing cycle. This research demonstrated the ability for the in situ repair of ATSP CFRPs by restoring the fracture toughness to values comparable to the pristine composite (~289 J/m2).

Monitoring Crack Tip Position in Adhesively Bonded Joints Under Mixed I+II Mode Loading

The use of adhesive joints has gained favour in recent years, due to their capacity for weight reduction, improved stress distribution, and enhanced fatigue resistance. However, the widespread use of adhesive joints in structural applications is hindered, because reliable and mature inspection and defect detection techniques are not yet available. Adhesive joints in structural applications are subject to fatigue loading, during which debonds can initiate and propagate, ultimately leading to potential failure. In the majority of cases, joints operate under mixed-mode loading conditions. In this work, steel Cracked Lap Shear specimens were tested to investigate the crack growth behaviour of adhesive joints under mixed I+II mode loading. To address the challenge of monitoring these joints, a range of experimental techniques was employed. These techniques included Visual testing, Digital Image Correlation, Optical Backscatter Reflectometry, and localization by Acoustic Emission. The different methods were evaluated and compared to determine their effectiveness in locating the crack tip within the joints during fatigue propagation.

Investigation on the interaction evolution and growth behavior of multiple cracks under fatigue loading

In this study, the cracks interaction is investigated on plates with different crack geometry parameters through finite element analysis and experiments. The presence of multiple cracks may lead to an enhancement or shielding effect on stress intensity factors (SIFs) depending on crack relative positions and sizes, thereby potentially accelerating or decelerating the crack propagation rate. When the crack tips of double parallel non-collinear cracks begin to overlap, the interaction between cracks transitions from an enhancement effect to a shielding effect, and the KII values reach their peak at this point, which are explained by the stress field distributions surrounding the cracks. For non-collinear double cracks with an inclined angle α, the shielding effect of inclined cracks becomes increasingly pronounced in comparison to horizontal cracks as the angle α increases. To verify the numerical results, fatigue crack propagation experiments were carried out on Al–Li alloy samples with double non-collinear cracks with different crack vertical distance. The experimental results show that growth direction of two non-collinear cracks underwent a transition when they overlapped, leading to load mode I changing into mixed mode of I + II. Based on both numerical simulations and experimental results, the material parameters C and m in Paris equation are modified, and then a new method for predicting the multiple cracks growth life is presented. By comparing with the experimental values, it was found that this method exhibits high accuracy and reliability.

Failure analysis of fatigue crack propagation in specimens of AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy produced by L-PBF: Effect of different heat treatments

Fatigue crack growth behavior of AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy processed by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) was studied for three material conditions: as-built, stress relieved and hot isostatic pressed. An improvement in the fatigue crack growth resistance was found for the heat-treated conditions which was attributed to the residual stress relief induced by the heat treatments. The stress ratio did not affect the fatigue crack growth in regime II which was explained by the absence of crack closure. Fatigue crack growth rates were predicted using a model based on the cyclic plasticity of the tested aluminum alloy. The proposed model agreed well with the experimental results.

High cycle fatigue behavior of bulk 6061Al prepared by cold spray-friction stir processing composite additive manufacturing

In this work, the high cycle fatigue behavior of bulk 6061Al prepared by cold spray-friction stir processing composite additive manufacturing (CFAM) was studied for the first time. The microstructure and fatigue fracture morphology of CFAM sample were characterized by scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron backscattering diffraction. The stress versus number of cycles of failure (S-N) curve for CFAM sample was established, and the fatigue crack growth behavior of CFAM sample was analyzed. The results showed that the microstructure of CFAM sample was denser and more homogeneous compared with cold spray (CS) sample, and the average grain size was refined to 3.3 μm due to dynamic recrystallisation. The dense, homogeneous and fine microstructure delayed the initiation and growth of fatigue cracks, and thus resulted in a 178% increase in fatigue strength in the CFAM sample over CS sample. The fatigue surface of the CFAM sample could be divided into fatigue source zone, crack growth zone, and transient fracture zone, showing typical fatigue fracture characteristics. The fatigue crack growth rate in the CFAM sample was significantly lower than that of CS sample for the same stress intensity factor range (ΔK). This was because the fine grains uniformly distributed in CFAM sample increased the proportion of grain boundaries and hindered the fatigue cracks growth. Therefore, CFAM is a promising technology for preparing bulk 6061 Al with excellent fatigue properties.

Effect of Mode II in the mixed-mode on the fatigue crack growth behaviour for SAPH440 material

In this study, the effect of mixed-mode loading on fatigue crack growth under varying applied loads for SAPH440 material was experimentally investigated. Previous research has either examined the effect of mixed-mode loading at a fixed angle or its effect on slanted cracks. This paper uses a CTS specimen and a loading device to apply varying angles of load during Mode I loading conditions. Initially, a numerical analysis was performed to validate existing equations for the stress intensity factor, which quantifies the crack driving force in the experiments. In the crack initiation region, load shedding techniques and load increasing techniques were used to confirm fatigue cracking considering mixed-mode effects. The change in the threshold value according to the loading angle was also evaluated. In the crack propagation region, a multi-level loading technique was employed to assess the mixed-mode effects under varying loading angles. This process verified the mixed-mode effect under conditions where the applied load angle varies. The fatigue crack fracture surfaces were examined using digital camera capture and SEM. It was found that when mixed-mode loading occurs during Mode I loading, the fatigue crack propagation rate varies depending on the mixed-mode loading angle.

Isotropy of fatigue crack growth in hybrid additive manufactured Ti6Al4V ELI titanium alloy

In the present paper, the effects of macrostructure and microstructure on fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and hybrid additive manufacturing with in-situ rolling (HAMR) were investigated in three sampling directions for Ti6Al4V ELI. The results demonstrate that WAAMed samples exhibit coarse columnar grains with zigzag boundaries, interlayer heat affected band (HAB), and basketweave microstructures. The fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) is lowest in the Y-X direction while being similar between the X–Y and X-Z directions, indicating significant anisotropy. This difference can be attributed to changes in plastic region size and internal slip characteristics near the crack tip caused by variations in macrostructure and microstructure. After applying HAMR with quasi-β heat treatment, interlayer HABs are eliminated, resulting in uniform equiaxed grains and colony microstructures. The FCGR curves in three directions significantly overlap without any observed anisotropy, which are lower than those obtained for traditionally forged materials. Therefore, the isotropic FCGR of plastic materials can be reduced by achieving a nearly flawless metallurgical quality and ensuring uniform equiaxed grain matching with the corresponding critical colony size and fine thickness lamellae. The findings suggest that the application of quasi-β heat treatment in conjunction with HAMR offers a promising high-efficiency manufacturing technique for producing isotropic titanium alloy forgings characterized by exceptional damage tolerance.

Experimental investigation of stacking interface on mode II interlaminar behaviour of self-healable vitrimeric CFRP

With the extensive research on ester-exchanged vitrimer, laminates utilizing vitrimer as matrix have garnered increasing attention due to their healability for achieving long-term durability of the composite structure. However, current research on the healing of mode II delamination for vitrimeric CFRP (vCFRP) laminates remains notably limited. In this study, the ENF tests were implemented to acquire load–displacement curves of eight typical vCFRP laminates with various interfaces. The results indicated a pronounced impact of the stacking interface on the fracture toughness values, the R-curves, fiber bridging effect, and crack growth behaviours. The continuous 0° fiber hindered the upward migration for the laminates with 0°//θ° interface, while the discontinuous θ1° fabric had a lower in-plane strength and were more prone to cracking for the laminates with θ1°//θ2° interface. Subsequently, the healing efficiencies of specimens were characterized. The healed laminates undergone three shear delamination damages could still achieve a substantial recovery of about 76.33 %.

The anomalous crack growth behaviour of an elastic-brittle octet-truss architected solid

Strongly rising R-curves are observed for octet-truss architected material specimens comprising ∼1 million unit cells and made from an elastic-brittle parent material. The measurements are supported by finite element (FE) calculations where the octet-truss is modelled discretely and show that the pseudo-ductility is not related to the usual toughening mechanisms such as crack bridging or crack-tip plasticity. Rather, the toughening is attributed to the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the octet-truss specimen: remarkably, no R-curve effect is observed in a quasi two-dimensional (2D) octet-truss specimen. This anomalous behaviour is clarified via FE calculations of the indentation stiffness of the octet-truss which reveal a strong indentation size effect in 3D with the stiffness decreasing with decreasing indenter size relative to the cell size of the octet-truss. In the 3D octet-truss, the size independent continuum stiffness is only attained for indenter sizes greater than about 20 unit cells while the size effect is almost absent in the quasi-2D octet-truss. The strong elastic softening in the 3D octet-truss in the presence of strain gradients gives rise to a large elastic crack-tip process zone. This in turn implies that a specimen geometry independent fracture toughness (i.e., a material property) can only be measured in specimens with large numbers of unit cells. We report a fracture mechanism map that reveals that measurements of specimen geometry independent fracture toughness can only be made in specimens with more than ∼10 million unit cells. This map is also used to rationalise the measured rising R-curves in the 3D specimens with ∼ 1 million unit cells. We end with a discussion on the implication of these findings for the laboratory measurement of the fracture toughness of both architected materials as well as biological cellular materials such as bone.

Fatigue crack growth behavior of laser welded QP980 steel at low temperatures with water-cooling assistance

Cooling assistance holds great promise for enhancing the quality of welded joints. In this paper, the fatigue properties of laser welded quenching and partitioning 980 steel joints are improved using a water-cooling assistance process at low temperatures. This process facilitates the creation of high-quality welded joints characterized by both strength and ductility. Hardness and Charpy impact tests are conducted in conjunction with microstructure observation. Fatigue crack growth tests are performed under different stress ratios (R = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) at three temperatures (T = 25 °C, −40 °C and −80 °C). Results indicate that the fatigue life of welded joints increases by factors of 2.0 (at 25 °C), 2.2 (at −40 °C) and 1.5 (at −80 °C) and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature decreases with the use of water-cooling assistance at low temperatures.

Quantifying uncertainty in fatigue crack growth of SLM 316L through advanced predictive modeling

AbstractOptimizing structural designs is crucial today, with additive manufacturing, particularly selective laser melting, gaining prominence. Thorough mechanical characterization of new materials remains vital. This paper investigates fatigue crack growth behavior in SLM 316L specimens under cyclic loading conditions. The study addresses result uncertainties by using CT specimens aligned along three building directions per ASTM E647 standards and a constant loading ratio (R = 0.1), necessitating mean value and confidence interval predictions. Departing from linear prediction models, innovative Bootstrap Polynomial and Power Regression Models and Bayesian Nonlinear Regression Model updated posterior distribution by Markov Chain Monte Carlo are employed. These approaches leverage bootstrapping to construct confidence intervals, offering robustness and flexibility in handling non‐normal data behavior and limited sample sizes. They provide tailored fits to data curvature, revealing limitations of linear prediction models in capturing observed nonlinear behavior, enhancing reliability in additive manufacturing applications, and advancing material science and engineering.