Low Cycle Fatigue Experiments Research Articles

Fatigue and fracture in dual-material specimens of nickel-based alloys fabricated by hybrid additive manufacturing

The integration of additive manufacturing with traditional processes, termed hybrid additive manufacturing, has expanded its application domain, particularly in the repair of gas turbine blade tips. However, process-related defects in additively manufactured materials, interface formation, and material property mismatches in dual-material structures can significantly impact the fatigue performance of components. This investigation examines the low cycle fatigue and fatigue crack growth behaviors in dual-material specimens of nickel-based alloys, specifically the additively manufactured STAL15 and the cast alloy 247DS, at elevated temperatures. Low cycle fatigue experiments were conducted at temperatures of 950 °C and 1000 °C under a range of strain levels (0.3%–0.8%) and fatigue crack growth tests were conducted at 950 °C with stress ratios of 0.1 and −1. Fractographic and microscopic analyses were performed to comprehend fatigue crack initiation and crack growth mechanisms in the dual-material structure. The results consistently indicated crack initiation and fatigue fracture in the additively manufactured STAL15 material. Notably, fatigue crack growth retardation was observed near the interface when the crack extended from the additively manufactured STAL15 material to the perpendicularly positioned interface. This study highlights the importance of considering yield strength mismatch, as well as the potential effects of residual stresses and grain structure differences, in the interpretation of fatigue crack growth behavior at the interface.

Low cycle fatigue behavior and failure mechanism of 34CrNiMo6 steel used as connecting rod for diesel engine

Abstract In this paper, for the 34CrNiMo6 steel material used in diesel engine connecting rods, the low-cycle fatigue properties and failure mechanism were studied. The metallographic structure of 34CrNiMo6 has been investigated by using optical microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, and transmission electron microscopes. Tensile tests and low-cycle fatigue experiments were performed at different levels of strain amplitudes, and the microstructural changes were monitored. The examination indicates that the structure of 34CrNiMo6 steel consisted primarily of a ferrite base and small spherical and rod-shaped carbides, with a mean particle size measuring 2 μm. It had exceptional mechanical characteristics of high strength and moderate plasticity. The total strain amplitude (TSA) of 34CrNiMo6 steel affected the cycling behavior, which was stable at low TSA (0.2% ~ 0.3%). At high TSA (0.4% ~ 0.7%), a large number of dislocations were annihilated through the dynamic recovery process, showing a typical cyclic softening phenomenon. The low-cycle fatigue failure behavior was mainly a combined mode of quasi-cleavage fracture and cross-grain fracture.

High-temperature low-cycle fatigue characteristics of the 12Cr10Co3MoWVNbNB turbine rotor steel

Low-cycle fatigue (LCF) experiments of the 12Cr10Co3MoWVNbNB steel at 598 °C and a strain amplitude ranging from 0.27 % to 0.55 % were executed to reveal the fatigue characteristics, fatigue fracture mechanism, and further to predict the high-temperature fatigue life of the new-style turbine rotor steel. The results indicate that the steel exhibits a high-temperature fatigue softening characteristic. During the high-temperature LCF, the cracks are generated at surface or subsurface defects of the specimens, and the fatigue striations and dimples are apparent on the fracture surfaces of the crack propagation zone and the final fracture zone, respectively. The Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) and Manson-Coffin models are suitable to predict the high temperature fatigue life of the steel at high/low strain amplitudes, respectively. In terms of finite element analysis of the turbine set rotor, it is determined that the steady state strain of the rotor steel is approximately 0.2 %. And thus, the fatigue life of the steel rotor is estimated as 172,500 cycles at the strain amplitude, based on the Eq. (6) in this work. After 100,000 cycles at the strain amplitude, the yield and tensile strengths of the steel specimens are only reduced by 1 % and 3 %, respectively, indicating a long residual life, which is consistent with the above predicting result.

Effect of aging state on low cycle fatigue performance of AA 2099 alloy

The evaluation of the fatigue performance is a crucial subject in the research of structural materials utilized in the field of aerospace engineering. In order to examine the influence of aging state on fatigue performance, low cycle fatigue (LCF) experiments were conducted on specimens made from AA2099 alloy in the under-aged (UA), peak-aged (PA), and over-aged (OA) states, with varying strain amplitudes (Δεt/2=0.3 %-0.5 %). In the UA and PA states, the grain boundary precipitates exhibit a small size, thereby prompting the crack to propagate through the grains. Certain grains in this region exhibit a crystallographic feature of crack propagation along the (111) slip plane, which is associated with the formation of the precipitation free bands (T1-PFB) within the grains. In contrast, in the OA state, the size of the grain boundary precipitates increases significantly, accompanied by a minimum precipitation free zones (PFZs) width increase to 75 nm, exacerbating the stress concentration at grain boundaries, with cracks primarily extending along the grain boundaries. Furthermore, the presence of coarse grain boundary precipitates and the widened PFZs promote the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks, leading to a pronounced reduction in fatigue life.

The effect of powder recycling on the mechanical performance of laser powder bed fused stainless steel 316L

Powder recycling refers to the reuse of unused powder feedstock in the laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) process. This approach is crucial for the economic viability and sustainability of PBF-LB/M, as powder accounts for a large proportion of the total production cost. However, through powder recycling, the physical and chemical properties of powder are liable to change. This variation in powder properties can subsequently lead to knock-on effects on the mechanical properties of a fully built component.This research has investigated the changes that occur to stainless steel 316L (SS316L) powder as a result of recycling. This includes changes to powder size distribution (PSD), flowability, chemistry and phase composition. Likewise, the impact that these changes have will also be assessed in PBF-LB/M SS316L components manufactured from powders after different levels of recycling and subjected to alternative post processing routes such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP). This comprehensive investigation involves a thorough examination of both macro- and microstructures, encompassing detailed analyses of chemical composition, microstructural features, and defects. The study aims to elucidate differences in mechanical behaviour through a series of experiments, including uniaxial tensile tests, Charpy impact assessments, and low cycle fatigue (LCF) experiments. Additionally, the investigation will be complemented by pitting potential tests, providing a holistic understanding of the material's performance and characteristics.Although moderate changes to powder were observed for both PSD and chemistry, this was found to be negligible and not enough to result in any adverse changes to part performance. In addition, the microstructure of SS316L remained stable across differing levels of powder recycling. Whereas the porosity content increased marginally as the fine particle content of powder was reduced, this was not found to be sufficient to affect the LCF performance of the material. After powder recycling, increases in ductility and Young’s modulus were attributed to a reduction in oxides present in the microstructure, which were sources of localised damage and deformation.

Fatigue behavior analysis and life evaluation method of building steel under the influence of multiple factors

The paper aims to analyze the stress–strain response of building steel under low-cycle multiaxial fatigue and to accurately evaluate the fatigue life of specimens by selecting the more important relevant factors that affect fatigue behavior. Based on this, low-cycle multiaxial fatigue experiments of Q355D notched specimens under different multiaxial loading are carried out. Firstly, the fatigue behavior of notched specimens under different loadings and the relationship between the biaxial strain amplitude ratio and fatigue life are analyzed. Secondly, Grey correlation analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and Random Forest importance analysis are used to screen out the important factors affecting fatigue life. Finally, the grey MGM (1, N) model is used to predict the fatigue life of notched specimens, and the results show that the predicted life based on Random Forest importance analysis is in good agreement with the experimental life. In this paper, the multiaxial fatigue problem is decoupled into two sub-problems, i.e. screening out related factors and life prediction based on the related factors, which can be used as a reference for life prediction in structural design.

Cyclic deformation response of annealed low-carbon steel: Insights from ratcheting and LCF experiments

Low cycle fatigue (LCF) and ratcheting experiments were carried out on annealed low-carbon steel at room temperature within a laboratory environment, utilising stress and strain control modes. The annealed low-carbon steel consistently demonstrates a cyclic softening response over its LCF lifespan, across all tested strain amplitudes. Notably, it was observed that ratcheting strain rises while ratcheting life declines with both rising mean stress and stress amplitude. Annealed low-carbon steel, being entirely ferritic and lacking precipitation or substitutional solid solution strengthening or hard phase strengthening, exhibits a restricted ability to withstand or alleviate the accumulation of ratcheting strain, particularly under very low mean stress conditions. In both LCF and ratcheting, significant substructure formation was detected. Nevertheless, there was no discernible difference in substructure formation between LCF and ratcheting when employing electron channelling contrast imaging techniques. The existing mean stress-based fatigue life prediction model has successfully forecasted ratcheting and LCF life within the 102–105 cycles range. A novel approach utilising modulus is introduced to characterise the cyclic hardening/softening behaviour of alloys in stress and strain-controlled experiments. The cyclic hardening model based on modulus effectively captures the responses observed in cyclic hardening/softening during LCF and ratcheting experiments.

Understanding the influence of environmental conditions on the low cycle fatigue behaviour of high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel under air and corrosive (3.5% NaCl) conditions

Offshore structures which are made up of high-strength low alloy (HSLA) steel experience fatigue load due to sea waves and corrosion. In the present work, the influence of environmental conditions (air and 3.5 % NaCl solution) on the strain-controlled fatigue life of High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel has been determined. Low cycle fatigue experiments were conducted on HSLA steel specimens of 12 mm diameter which were prepared parallel to the rolling direction. The strain amplitude was varied in the range of 0.4 to 0.7 % for a constant test frequency of 0.3 Hz. For all the total strain amplitudes (Δεt/2), a significant reduction in fatigue life was observed while testing the specimens under the presence of 3.5 % NaCl solution compared to the air environment. Microscopic investigation indicates that rigorous grain boundary oxidation has happened, and it has created the grain boundary cracking and several sites for fatigue crack initiation and propagation. The presence of corrosive compounds (Fe2O3, FeOOH) was also confirmed by the X-ray diffraction patterns. In addition, mixed modes (transannular and intergranular) of fractures were observed due to the presence of 3.5 % NaCl solution.

Cyclic behavior and damage mechanism of 304 austenitic stainless steel under different control modes

In this work, low cycle fatigue experiments under both strain and stress control modes with different loading levels were conducted on 304 austenitic stainless steel at ambient temperature to discuss the influence of loading mode and level on the cyclic response and physical mechanism. The results demonstrated that the cyclic response generally exhibited three stages: primary cyclic hardening, subsequent cyclic softening, and the secondary hardening finally. The degree of each hardening and softening stage was depended on not only the loading modes but also the strain/stress level. Accelerated cyclic softening and retarded secondary hardening occurred under the stress mode, which made a higher low-cycle fatigue life during stress cyclic loading than that for the strain control mode, especially at relatively high strain/stress level. The secondary hardening stage, occupying the main portion of the lifetime, was proved to be associated with the development of martensitic phase and the extension and intersecting of stacking faults or micro-twin.

The effect of elevated temperature on LCF damage growth in 2024AA – Experiment and modeling

This paper presents the results of experimental low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests conducted on EN-AW 2024 alloy in T3511 temper at 100 °C, 200 °C and 300 °C. The material's basic fatigue characteristics were determined, such as fatigue life curve and cyclic strain curve. Both the hysteresis loop and nature of fracture surfaces obtained in macro- and microscopic observations (scanning electron microscope, SEM) were accounted for. The results of tests at elevated temperature were compared with results obtained at room temperature in the authors’ previous papers. Based on the results of experimental tests, an analytical model of fatigue damage growth was proposed. In this model, it was assumed that damage accumulation mainly depends on the current normal stress and increment of plastic strain. Dependencies of the model's parameters with respect to temperature were determined, and the model was validated experimentally. Good concurrency of the numerical simulations with the experimental results was obtained.

LCF behavior of 2024AA under uni- and biaxial loading taking into account creep pre-deformation

This study presents the results of experimental low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests of aluminum 2024 alloy T3511 temper in uni- and biaxial loading states. Tests were carried out on both the as-received material (hardened extruded rods) and material with different pre-deformation histories. These deformations were carried out in the creep process at 200 °C and 300 °C for two different levels of at each temperature. The pre-deformed material’s basic fatigue characteristics were determined and compared with the appropriate characteristics of the as-received material. In-depth macro- and microscopic analysis (SEM) of fracture surfaces was done. The effect of preliminary creep on LCF behavior of investigated alloy was characterized for both uni- and biaxial loading. An increase of fatigue life occurs for large plastic strains in the case of cyclic tension/compression. For in-phase biaxial loading, improvement of life is observed only for material with pre-deformation at 300 °C. Crack initiates in the plane of maximum shear strains for both biaxial loading and pure torsion. For tension/compression – in the plane of maximum principal stress (strain).

Low-cycle fatigue mechanical behavior of 30CrMo steel under hydrogen environment and numerical verification of chaboche model

In order to investigate the fatigue behavior of the hydrogen storage material, 30CrMo steel, in a hydrogen environment, an electrochemical hydrogen charging method was employed. Low-cycle fatigue experiments were conducted on the material to obtain half-life stress–strain hysteresis curves, cyclic response characteristics, and strain-life relationships under different hydrogen charging durations. The results indicate that the material exhibited an overall cyclic softening behavior, transitioning from ductile fracture to brittle fracture after hydrogen charging, resulting in a significant reduction in fatigue life. The Manson-Coffin formula was fitted based on material cyclic response characteristics and strain-life relationship curves. Additionally, fatigue toughness and Chaboche kinematic hardening models were fitted based on low-cycle fatigue test data. Finite element analysis was used to validate the accuracy and reliability of the Chaboche kinematic hardening model. The Chaboche kinematic hardening model showed minimal error compared to experimental data and accurately described the influence of hydrogen on the low-cycle fatigue mechanical behavior of 30CrMo steel.

Experimental study on temperature-dependent ratchetting-fatigue interaction of extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy

The variations in the plastic deformation mechanisms of extruded AZ31 magnesium (Mg) alloy at elevated temperature and the temperature-dependence of its ratchetting-fatigue interaction were revealed by a series of uniaxial stress-control low-cycle fatigue experiments. The experimental results elucidate that: (1) The tension-compression asymmetry and the S-shaped inflection point in the stress-strain hysteresis loops are gradually attenuated with elevating the temperature, and the evolution of ratchetting is also remarkably affected by the elevated temperature due to the activation of abundant non-basal plane slipping; (2) The fatigue life of the alloy exhibits a pronounced temperature-dependence, and specifically, the fatigue life is greater at 100°C compared to that at room temperature, but sharply decreases at 150°C and 200°C due to the significant ratchetting deformation at these two temperatures. Moreover, the dependence of fatigue life on the applied mean stress is also different at different temperatures; (3) Due to the significant ratchetting deformation in the alloy at elevated temperature, a transition from a brittle fatigue fracture mode to a ductile one also occurs as the temperature increases. This research provides valuable experimental data that serve as an important reference for the practical application of Mg alloys.

Numerical validation of fatigue properties and investigation of local deformation of heat-affected zones in P91 steel’s weld joint

The low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of P91 steel weld joint (WJ), prepared by gas tungsten arc welding, has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. However, due to the smaller size and complex geometry of various zones of the WJ, the experimental investigation of the local fatigue behavior of different sub-regions of the heat-affected zones (HAZ) could not be made. Hence, the sub-regions of the WJ were reproduced at bulk scale by physical-thermal simulation (PTS) (i.e., heat treatment) to study the LCF behavior of the individual zones of P91 WJ. In the literature, the accuracy of such physical-thermally simulated bulk-scale specimens, which correspond to different sub-regions in the weld joint, is confirmed by comparing the microstructures and microhardness. In this article, a new method, based on the LCF experiment and finite element simulation, is proposed to validate the PTS method and the fatigue properties of the sub-regions of the weld joint. The simulation accurately predicted the failure location and also the most vulnerable sub-region within the WJ, as observed experimentally. Moreover, significant ratchetting and heterogeneous deformation were observed in the sub-regions of the WJ.

Prediction of thermomechanical fatigue life in RuT450 compacted graphite cast iron cylinder heads using the Neu/Sehitoglu model

The increase in engine power has resulted in a significant rise in both thermal and mechanical loads on cylinder heads, leading to the emergence of thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) as one of the significant issues. This paper proposed a parameter identification method for the Neu/Sehitoglu model, utilizing multi-objective optimization (MOO), and applied it to predict the TMF life of compacted graphite cast iron (CGI) material used in cylinder heads. The study assessed the TMF behavior of RuT450 material through various experiments, including tensile, low cycle fatigue (LCF), creep, TMF, and oxidation experiments. Employing the MOO, the unknown model parameters are estimated and optimized to predict the TMF life of RuT450 materials. Results demonstrated that over 95% of the predicted TMF life falls within twice the error band of experimental values. Furthermore, plastic strain amplitude, temperature, and strain rate significantly influenced the damage mechanism and life prediction. The TMF life under out-of-phase (OP) loading conditions was found to be smaller than that of in-phase (IP) loading. Notably, under out-of-phase thermomechanical fatigue (OP TMF), oxidation damage and fatigue damage together contributed to over 95% of the total damage in RuT450 materials. Moreover, variations in oxidation damage parameters had a considerable impact on the predicted life. This study might offer an effective method for determining Neu/Sehitoglu model parameters and establish material boundaries for TMF life assessment of cylinder heads.

Improving fatigue performance of Cr-coated zirconium alloy cladding by ultrasonic shot-peening proces

In this paper, Cr-coated zirconium fuel claddings were treated with ultrasonic shot-peening process (USPP). The mechanism of improving fatigue performance of Cr-coated zirconium fuel cladding was investigated by low cycle fatigue experiment. It was shown that USPP effectively improved fatigue life of Cr-coated zirconium fuel cladding under different temperatures. The enhancement mechanism is that USPP treatment changes the surface topography, increases in residual compressive stress and decreases surface roughness of the Cr coating. The fracture cross-section of tested specimens show that the Cr coating has little plastic deformation, showing brittle fracture characteristics. In addition, compared to the large amount of cracking inside the original Cr coating, the integrity of the USPP-Cr coating is better. The USPP-Cr coating has fewer cracks penetrating into the substrate, indicating that the Cr coating with USPP treatment has excellent fatigue crack resistance.

Low‐cycle fatigue life prediction of powder metallurgy superalloy considering characteristic parameters of inclusions

AbstractForeign non‐metallic inclusions can significantly reduce the low‐cycle fatigue (LCF) life of powder metallurgy (PM) superalloy and greatly affect the safety and reliability of aeroengines. In this paper, LCF experiments on PM FGH96 superalloy with and without inclusions were conducted. Effects of inclusions on the fatigue life and damage mechanism of FGH96 alloy are discussed by fractography analysis. Parameters related to inclusion characteristics such as strength–inclusion coefficient are proposed. By introducing characteristic parameters of inclusions, the LCF life prediction models are established based on the Manson–Coffin relationship, which significantly improved the prediction accuracy and reduced the scattering band by a factor of 2.

Low cycle fatigue and fatigue-creep interaction effects on softening behavior and life prediction of cast aluminum alloy at elevated temperature

In this study, a series of strain-controlled low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) and low-cycle-fatigue-creep (LCFC) experiments were conducted on a cast Al-Si-Cu alloy. LCF and LCFC experiments were performed at 250 ℃, 300 ℃ and 350 ℃ with three different strain amplitudes. The results showed significant softening behavior, with temperature affecting both the softening behavior and fatigue life. Interestingly, coupling creep at 250 ℃ was found to increase fatigue life. Microstructure evolution was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, and it was found that the introduction of strain-dwell at the tensile peak caused the interaction of fatigue and creep, resulting in a large amount of plastic deformation that affected fatigue life. Two fracture models were proposed for LCF and LCFC tests at different temperatures, based on the microstructure evolution. Using the experimental data, a modified life prediction model was proposed, which demonstrated a better prediction ability than other traditional models in fatigue-creep life prediction under different temperature and strain amplitudes.

Investigation on the fatigue behavior of 7075 aluminum alloy at different aging states

To study the effect of the aging state on the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) performance of 7075 Al alloy, LCF experiments with different strain amplitudes (Δε/2 = 0.5%- Δε/2 = 0.9%) were conducted for underaged (UA), peak-aging (PA) and overaged (OA) states with similar tensile properties in this work. The effect of the aging state on the cyclic stress response behavior and the LCF lives of 7075 Al alloy was revealed by observing the dislocation configuration after LCF. The microcrack orientation on the surface of LCF samples was observed by the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique, and the results showed that the soft orientation inside the coarse grains was the main cause of fatigue cracking. Combined with the previous studies, we summarized the dominant factors for the LCF and high-cycle fatigue (HCF) properties of 7075 Al alloys at different aging states, i.e., the LCF properties were determined by tensile properties, while the HCF properties were dominated by dislocation slip mode.

Influence of Strain Amplitude on Low-Cycle Fatigue Behaviors of a Fourth-Generation Ni-Based Single-Crystal Superalloy at 980 °C

Total strain-control, low-cycle fatigue experiments of a fourth-generation Ni-based single-crystal superalloy were performed at 980 °C. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy are employed to determine fracture morphologies and dislocation characteristics of the samples. As the strain amplitude increased from 0.6 to 1.0%, the cyclic stress and plastic strain per cycle increased, the cyclic lifetime decreased, more interfacial dislocation networks were formed, and the formation rate accelerated. Cyclic hardening is associated with the reaction of accumulated dislocations and dislocation networks, which hinder the movement of dislocations. The presence of interfacial dislocations reduces the lattice mismatch between the γ and γ′ phases, and the presence of dislocation networks that absorb mobile dislocations results in cyclic softening. At a strain amplitude of 1.0%, the reaction of a high density of dislocations results in initial cyclic hardening, and the dislocation cutting into the γ′ phase is one of the reasons for cyclic softening. The crack initiation site changed from a near-surface defect to a surface defect when the strain amplitude increased from 0.6 to 0.8 to 1.0%. The number of secondary cracks initiated from the micropores decreased during the growth stage as the strain amplitude increased.