Vibration Fatigue Test Research Articles

Nonlinear vibration characteristics and damage detection method of blade with breathing fatigue crack

In aero-engine, blades operate under harsh conditions for extended periods, which makes them highly susceptible to fatigue cracks. The localized and nonlinear structural changes caused by blade crack lead to complex vibration characteristics that are not well understood, posing challenges to the identification of these cracks. This paper proposes an approach for identifying breathing fatigue crack in compressor blade, leveraging the nonlinear features induced by the cracks. Crucial sensitive characteristics are extracted and a crack indicator for accurate crack detection is defined. Initially addressing the typical morphology of fatigue breathing cracks, a dynamic model of blade with cracks is developed to analyze their impact on the natural frequencies. Nonlinear contact forces are introduced to characterize the "breathing" effect of the fatigue crack, allowing for the determination of the harmonic distribution patterns in the blade's vibration response under various excitation conditions. A finite element model is then established considering the crack morphology, by adopting the contact element. Based on that, the nonlinear response characteristics associated with the blade's primary, sub-harmonic, and super-harmonic resonances are explored. A crack-sensitive parameter is defined and extracted from the nonlinear responses, under different crack propagation stages. At last, effectiveness and reliability of the defined parameter for identifying cracks is validated through a vibration fatigue test.

Vibration fatigue of film cooling hole structure of Ni-based single crystal turbine blade: Failure behavior and life prediction

The vibration fatigue failure behavior and fatigue life of the film cooling hole (FCH) structure of Ni-based single crystal superalloy were investigated at high temperature. The vibration fatigue test of the FCH specimens were carried out based on the paired staircase method. The cracks are mostly initiated in the stress concentration area at the edge of the FCH, and may also be initiated in non-stress concentrated areas with large defects. At high temperature, the crack initiation mechanism of the FCH specimens of Ni-based single crystal superalloy is oxidative cracking nucleation in stress concentration area, and the crack propagation mechanism is the competition mechanism of dislocation slip and dislocation climbing. Based on the Fatigue Indicator Parameter (FIP) of the critical plane method, a vibration fatigue life prediction model for FCH structures considering stress concentration and high temperature oxidation damage is proposed. The life prediction model proposed in this paper is applied to the vibration fatigue life prediction of FCH specimens. The deviation between the predicted results and the experimental results is within 2.5 times at 850℃, and the deviation is within 2 times at 980℃. Besides, the life prediction method proposed is compared with other two FIP life prediction methods, and the high accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed life prediction method are verified.

Nonstationary Characteristics of Structural Response and Fatigue Life Calculation Under Base Stationary Excitation

ABSTRACTWhen a structure is randomly excited by its installation base, significant vibration stress may be caused within it, thus causing damage to the structure. The authors find in the vibration fatigue test that when the notched slender beam specimen is excited by stationary Gaussian random base movement, the measured acceleration response and strain response of the specimen have obvious nonstationary characteristics. The vibration responses of the specimen under Gaussian and non‐Gaussian random base excitations are calculated by the finite element method and corresponding vibration fatigue tests were completed. The nonstationary characteristics of the responses from calculations and experiments are analyzed. Finally, a method for calculating the fatigue life of the specimen under nonstationary response is given, and the calculated results are compared with the measured data. The results indicate that the method proposed in this article performed excellent calculation fatigue life with measured strain data.

Fatigue Crack Propagation Life of Metallic Materials Under Random Loading: A Coupling Analysis Method in the Frequency Domain

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes an equivalent spectrum method to predict the fatigue crack propagation (FCP) life of metallic materials subjected to random loading. To adequately account for the coupling effects between crack propagation and the random response of structures, a coupling analysis model is introduced. The stress intensity factor (SIF) can be estimated based on the power spectral density (PSD) of an equivalent displacement. Random vibration fatigue tests were conducted to evaluate the proposed model on aluminum alloy specimens. Results indicate significant variations in natural frequency with crack length. The predicted results are compared with the experimental values, demonstrating satisfactory prediction accuracy of the proposed coupling analysis model. This model enables the assessment of coupling effects between crack length and random response, facilitating more precise predictions of FCP life in metallic materials and guiding the expanded application of damage tolerance criteria in structural engineering.

Fatigue life prediction method for bolted joints based on equivalent structural stress under tensile–compressive loading

In this study, load amplitude–life (Fa–N) curves were obtained through tensile–compressive fatigue tests of bolted joints. It was observed that the correlation coefficient squared (R2) value of the Fa–N curve with the same geometric and pre-tightening parameters was high, but the R2 value of the Fa–N curve with all the parameters was low, indicating poor correlation and inability to meet the engineering requirements. Therefore, an equivalent structural stress model for the bolted joint was first developed based on a mechanical model with a strict mathematical definition to normalize these Fa–N curves, which considered the bolted joint loads as the input conditions and integrated the geometric and pre-tightening parameters. Subsequently, a classical beam–shell equivalent finite element model of the bolted joint was constructed. The nodal loads in the bolted connection zone were coupled with the forces and moments of the beam element nodes through finite element simulation, and the equivalent structural stress (σs) of the bolted joint was then obtained based on the equivalent structural stress model. Consequently, the equivalent structural stress–life (Ss–N) curve and probabilistic stress–life (P–Ss–N) curve normalized for different Fa–N curves were obtained by fitting the data of σs and N. Lastly, the accuracy of the fatigue life prediction method based on equivalent structural stress was verified by conducting the vibration fatigue test on the bolted joint structure of the subway antenna bracket.

A tail probability density distribution model of stress amplitude under band-limited stochastic vibration loadings

Resonance of engineering structures under stochastic vibration loadings is a primary cause of fatigue failure. Considering that cyclic loadings below the fatigue limit of the material contribute little to fatigue damage, the portion of the stress amplitude distribution that exceeds the fatigue limit is in focus in this paper, and a tail probability density distribution model of stress amplitude under band-limited stochastic vibration loadings is proposed. First, the response stress power spectral density functions under band-limited loadings are simulated by using the normal distribution and the Weibull distribution, respectively, and then the frequency domain signals are converted into time domain signals by adopting the inverse fast Fourier transform method. A two-parameter Weibull model of tail probability density distribution of stress amplitude is proposed, and the relationship between model parameters and power spectral moment parameters is given. Finally, the comparative analysis of the model accuracy and the vibration fatigue test of aluminum alloy notch specimen are carried out. It is demonstrated that the fatigue life predicted by the presented model is highly coincident with the results of tests and the time domain method.

Research on the Vibration Fatigue Characteristics of Ancient Building Wood Materials

In this study, we selected ancient building timber as the research object. A series of static load tests were conducted to analyze the different performances of timber under tensile and compressive loads. After that, vibration fatigue tests on ancient timber samples were carried out under different upper limit stress ratios. Finally, a dynamic constitutive model of ancient timber was established based on the Ramberg–Osgood model. The static load test results show that the tensile strength was approximately 80% of the compressive strength. Meanwhile, the samples that failed under compressive pressure had obvious residual strength, and their failure strains were also much larger than those under tensile stress. In the vibration fatigue tests, the stress–strain curves were analyzed and the results showed that the curves displayed a trend moving to sparse from dense during the loading process. Meanwhile, the curves moved right with the increase in the upper limit stress ratios. The relationship between axial strain and the number of cycles appeared to be characterized by a three-stage form, i.e., damage occurrence, damage expansion, and damage penetration, and this relationship was formulated by a nonlinear function model. Finally, a dynamic constitutive model with high accuracy in describing the vibration fatigue characteristics of ancient timber was established by converting constant parameters to the variable parameters of the Ramberg–Osgood model.

Fatigue assessment of directionally solidified superalloy thin plates under bimodal random processes

During actual service, aviation aircraft often experience multiple complex alternating loads coupled with each other. If the frequency range of the excitation load spectrum covers the first two resonance frequencies of the structure, it can significantly impact the vibration fatigue life of the structure. In this study, bimodal random vibration fatigue tests were conducted on thin plates composed of DZ125L directionally solidified superalloy. The impact of low-frequency and high-frequency vibration signal intensities on the vibration fatigue behavior of DZ125L alloy thin plates was investigated separately during bimodal random processes. The crack propagation mechanism of bimodal random vibration fatigue was proposed based on the fracture morphology observed in DZ125L alloy thin plates that failed due to vibration fatigue. The study findings indicate that the number and location of crack initiation zones can influence the mechanism of fatigue crack propagation. Additionally, a new model was developed in this study to enhance the sensitivity of the frequency domain method to the intensity of low-frequency and high-frequency vibration signals in bimodal random processes. Compared to traditional frequency domain methods used for broadband and bimodal processes, the new model can effectively describe the variation characteristics of bimodal fatigue life with different component process intensities. Furthermore, it has broader applicability for predicting the vibration fatigue life of bimodal random processes with varying vibration signal intensities.

Vibration test and fatigue test for failure probability evaluation method with integrated energy

The seismic evaluation of key components such as reactor vessel is important for the Seismic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (S-PRA) in a Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR). Many components were fractured by integrated damage like fatigue damage during seismic ground motion. In this paper, failure probability evaluation method with integrated energy was developed by comparing the energy with vibration tests and fatigue tests. Vibration tests were performed to evaluate integrated vibration energy at failure by energy balance equation, and fatigue tests were performed to evaluate integrated vibration energy at failure based on experimental results. As results, it is shown that integrated energy at failure time by vibration tests were estimated and its values were in range the energy based on results of fatigue tests.

Evaluation of vibration‐induced local fatigue based on guided wave measurement

AbstractTo investigate the local damage characteristics and properties of stiffness degradation in aluminum structures under vibration fatigue, an evaluation method of the fatigue property for local areas has been proposed by identifying the stiffness from the phase velocity obtained by the laser ultrasonic system. First, vibration fatigue tests were conducted on 2024‐O aluminum alloy components under four different stress levels. To address the issue of local damage characteristics under vibration fatigue, a scan window to achieve the local phase velocities within a small local region was employed, and then, the local stiffness can be calculated. By tracking the residual stiffness of the weakest region, the local damage factor was calculated. A unified model with normalized periods at different stress levels was carried out to predict the evolutionary trend. This approach offers a more efficient alternative to estimate local fatigue damage and residual life through the monitoring of local stiffness during maintenance.

Influence of double-side symmetric oblique laser shock peening on shape deviation, surface integrity, and fatigue properties of the blades in small-sized blisk

Double-sided symmetric oblique laser shock peening (DSOLSP) was adopted to experiment on a small-sized blisk with restricted space. The influences of different laser energies on the shape deviation, surface roughness, microhardness, and residual stress of the blades were studied. The optimum process parameters were selected based on the shape deviation results of the blades and the microstructural evolution of the surface layers was investigated. The strengthening effect of DSOLSP treatment on notched blades was evaluated by vibration fatigue tests. It was found that DSOLSP can effectively cover the fatigue vulnerable regions without interference. Two-way bending deformation was formed after DSOLSP, and the shape deviation of the blades could be controlled within ±0.02 mm. With the increase of laser energy, the surface roughness and the depth of work-hardened layer increased. The full-thickness compressive residual stress (CRS) field was induced. A gradient microstructure was generated on the surface of the blade, and the size of average nanograins on the topmost surface is approximately 36.5 nm. The fatigue strength of the DSOLSP treated blades with notches was increased by 25.9 %. The enhancement can be attributed to the synergistic strengthening of CRS and gradient microstructure.

Experimental study on the influence of welding structure details of TC4 titanium alloy under thermo-vibration coupling environment on vibration fatigue life

The widespread application of titanium alloy materials in aerospace structural design makes them susceptible to thermo-vibration coupling fatigue failure in harsh vibration and thermal environments. Vibration fatigue issues significantly affect the safety and operational reliability of aircraft. In order to obtain optimal design details for titanium alloy welding structures under thermo-vibration coupling conditions, experimental specimens with different structural details of TC4 titanium alloy welding structures were designed to simulate actual structural designs. The structural details included skin with U-shaped supports at different angles, skin with L-shaped supports, and skin with T-shaped supports. A thermo-vibration coupling vibration fatigue test system was established, and vibration fatigue tests were conducted at a temperature of 150°C. All structural fatigue crack failures occurred at the welds. The experimental results were statistically analysed, and using the Chauvinet criterion, abnormal data points were removed. The influence of structural details on vibration fatigue life was determined through F-tests. It was found that for the skin with a U-shaped support structure, a support angle of 90° resulted in a longer vibration fatigue life. When comparing skin with T-shaped support and skin with L-shaped support structures, the T-shaped support structure exhibited a longer vibration fatigue life. Among the three structural types, the skin with a T-shaped support structure has the longest vibration fatigue life. These experimental conclusions serve as important references for the design of thin-walled structures in aircraft structural design.

A novel two-scale nonlinear damage accumulation model for vibration fatigue life prediction

Vibration is the main factor causing high cycle fatigue. The macro-response stress and strain of the structure under the excitation of vibration load are generally in the elastic stage. However, fatigue failure still occurs due to long-term cyclic load, which is unexplainable by the macro-plastic accumulation method. Therefore, a two-scale nonlinear damage accumulation model is proposed for vibration fatigue based on the physical characteristics of multi-scale fatigue damage evolution. In this model, two-scale elastic-plastic constitutive equations based on the equivalent inclusion theory are built, and a two-stage damage accumulation strategy with two critical damages is designed. A resonance fatigue life prediction algorithm is established based on the proposed model, and a validation test is carried out using the cantilever beam made of GH4169 alloy. The results show that the deviation between the vibration fatigue life prediction and test results is within a scatter band of factor 2, indicating that the two-scale nonlinear damage accumulation model is effective in the vibration fatigue region.

A probabilistic life prediction framework for vibration fatigue of turbine blade based on refined polynomial chaos expansion

AbstractVibration fatigue is a typical form of multiaxial fatigue. In this study, initial vibration fatigue tests were conducted on rocket turbine blades, and significant dispersion in fatigue life was found. Consistent with this finding, a novel probabilistic life prediction framework was proposed. This framework integrates sensitivity analysis and sequential sampling technology and introduces polynomial chaos expansion as a computationally efficient alternative to finite element analysis. And a continuous mechanics‐based damage evolution model was employed to examine the vibration fatigue life of turbine blades. The findings validate the effectiveness of the framework, as no significant difference was found between the experimental results and simulated predictions at the 95% confidence level. Furthermore, comparison with the Monte Carlo simulation indicated that this framework achieves comparable prediction accuracy, while significantly reducing the required samples by 2 orders of magnitude, which effectively addresses the fatigue problem of small sample data. This framework enables rapid and accurate multiaxial fatigue probabilistic life prediction, which holds important implications for the reliability design of reusable spacecraft.

Mechanical behavior monitoring of composite hybrid bonded‐riveted joints using high‐stability MXene sensors

AbstractComposite adhesive rivet hybrid connection structure has been more and more recognized and applied in aerospace, automobile, and other industries due to its high strength, corrosion resistance, and good stability. However, due to the particularity of the composite structure and the complex nonlinear coupling factors existing in the bearing process of the adhesive rivet hybrid connection structure, it is difficult to carry out structural health monitoring of the composite adhesive rivet hybrid connection structure. In this paper, a new fabrication technique is proposed to fabricate MXene thin film sensors with excellent performance. The MXene sensor can be tailored to the required size and arrangement to monitor the hybrid connection structure. The multi‐stage loading‐unloading test verifies the feasibility of using the MXene sensor to monitor the hybrid connection structure. The monitoring curves of the MXene sensor for composite adhesive rivet mixed connection structure specimens under low‐speed impact test and vibration fatigue test were obtained, and the sensing mechanism of the MXene sensor was explained. The proposed monitoring method based on the MXene sensor is suitable for the health monitoring of adhesive rivet hybrid connection structures under tensile‐compression, impact, and vibration conditions.Highlights MXene sensors can be integrated into composite hybrid bonded‐riveted joints without defects. MXene sensors combined with flexible circuits can form a high‐stability monitoring array. Monitor the mechanical behavior of bonded and riveted areas by the resistance change rate of MXene sensors. Real‐time monitor the micro damage and acceleration changes under the vibration environments.

Vibration bending fatigue analysis of Ti‐6Al‐4V airfoil blades repaired using additive manufacturing

AbstractThe repair of airfoil blades is an enabling technology to extend the operational life of gas turbine engines. Directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) provides the ability to add material by melting blown powder using a directed energy source. Seventeen Ti‐6Al‐4V airfoil blades were repaired using DED AM and analyzed to determine what effect the repair will have on the blade performance in high cycle vibration fatigue testing. Volumetric computed tomography (CT) was used to quantify the pores from the AM process. The blades were then subjected to vibrational bending fatigue, used to simulate turbine engine loading conditions, until failure. Only three blades failed in the repaired sections. The identified pore sizes and fatigue stress distribution in the blade were used to suggest that understanding the impact of internal and near surface level pores arising from the AM repair is critical towards the implementation of AM repair in aerospace components under fatigue loading.

Investigation of an automotive subsystem submitted to vibration loads considering scatter of influence parameters

Modern vehicles contain numerous subsystems for comfort, safety, electrification and autonomous driving functions that are mounted to the body-in-white structure. These subsystems are submitted to stochastic vibrational loads induced mainly by the road unevenness. The vibration fatigue behaviour of the subsystems and their connection to the body-in-white structure depend on a great number of influence parameters and associated uncertain scatter bands that are usually unknown and difficult to consider in the design process. This study investigates the oscillation behaviour and fatigue life of a current car component excited by vi-brational loads focusing on scatter of relevant influence parameters (mass, stiffness) on a pronounced statistical sample basis. An experimental modal analysis is used to determine eigenmodes and damping characteristics for the three variants: nominal value, increased mass and reduced stiffness. As a further experimental investigation vibration fatigue tests are performed. A probabilistic approach using a simulation tool chain with the aid of commercial computer aided engineering (CAE) programs is proposed to consider scatter effects on the fatigue life of the component submitted to vibration loads and its connection to the body-in-white structure. The simulation fidelity when using uncertain broader scatter bounds is compared to simulation fidelity using both measured data and modal analysis output. Furthermore, correlations between the vibration behaviour and the fatigue of the component are derived. Finally, the hardware fatigue tests results are compared to the simulation results. A very good agreement for eigen-modes, frequency response functions and fatigue lifetime was observed between simulation model and experimental findings. A significant accuracy improvement of the fatigue life simulation using the introduced probabilistic simulation method considering measured scatter bounds for uncertain input parameters is presented.

The influence of load correlation on vibration fatigue damage of symmetrical notched cantilever beam structures

AbstractThis paper aims to develop an innovative multiaxial fatigue criterion based on the stress invariant, in order to perform the fatigue damage analysis of engineering structures subjected to random vibrations. First, the change rule of structural vibration fatigue lifetime under different load correlation conditions is systemically studied by experiments. Then, the finite element analysis of such a structure, including the modal analysis and the spectral analysis, is implemented in order to compute the response stress power spectral density (PSD) functions at the critical fatigue‐prone location under coupled random acceleration base excitations. Finally, the influence rule of load correlation on the vibration fatigue damage of such a symmetrical structure is theoretically illustrated through formula derivation. Moreover, combined with the critical distance theory point method, the proposed time/frequency‐domain multiaxial fatigue criterion is applied for vibration fatigue lifetime evaluation of the structure. The lifetime prediction accuracy of the proposed multiaxial fatigue criterion is verified by comparing with the vibration fatigue test results.

The theory of critical distances for random vibration fatigue life analysis of notched specimens

AbstractIn this paper, the Theory of Critical Distances (TCD) is reformulated to be employed to estimate random vibration fatigue lifetime of notched components. Using the Point Method argument, the response stress at the critical distance from the notch root is taken as the damage parameter and then used to perform the vibration fatigue life analysis in the presence of geometrical features. First, the finite element simulation is conducted to obtain the response Mises stress power spectrum at the critical distance under the load excitation being investigated. Subsequently, the probability density distribution of the stress amplitude at this position is calculated. Finally, fatigue lifetime is predicted via the parent material S–N curve. In order to check the accuracy of the proposed reformulation of the TCD, a series of random vibration fatigue results were generated by testing notched aluminum alloy specimens under load spectra covering the first‐, second‐, and third‐order natural frequencies. The results from the vibration fatigue tests being performed are seen to be in sound agreement with the predicted lifetimes. This strongly support the idea that the TCD is successful also in predicting random vibration fatigue lifetime of notched components.

Vibration fatigue behavior and life prediction of directionally solidified superalloy based on the phase transformation theory

Directionally solidified nickel base superalloy DZ125L is the main material that has been widely used to manufacture aviation gas turbine blades and hot-end structural parts. Aeroengine is under vibration load for a long time in the service process, which makes vibration fatigue become one of the main failure modes of aero-engine structures. In this study, vibration fatigue behavior and excitation frequency response curves of DZ125L alloy under different stress levels were investigated through vibration fatigue tests. The fatigue crack initiation and growth mechanism of DZ125L alloy under vibration load is studied based on the results of the vibration fatigue test and finite element simulation. A vibration fatigue life prediction model based on the phase transformation theory is developed. Each parameter has clear physical significance in the model. The comparison between the model prediction results and the test results shows that the theoretical prediction results have reasonable accuracy.