Ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite complex microstructure

The ultra-high cycle fatigue behavior of a novel high strength steel with carbide-free bainite/martensite （CFB/M） complex microstructure was studied. The ultra-high cycle fatigue properties were measured by ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment at a frequency of 20 kHz. It is found that there is no horizontal part in the S-N curve and fatigue fracture occurs when the life of specimens exceeds 10^7 cycles. In addition, the origination of fatigue cracks tends to transfer from the surface to interior of specimens as the fatigue cycle exceeds 10^7, and the fatigue crack originations of many specimens are not induced by inclusions, but by some kind of ＂soft structure＂. It is shown that the studied high strength steel performs good ultra-high cycle fatigue properties. The ultra-high fatigue mechanism was discussed and it is suggested that specific CFB/M complex microstructure of the studied steel contributes to its superior properties.

Current understanding of ultra-high cycle fatigue

The fatigue life of numerous aerospace,locomotive,automotive and biomedical structures may go beyond 10~8 cycles.Determination of long life fatigue behavior becomes extremely important for better understanding and design of the components and structures.Initially,before the invention of ultrasonic fatigue testing,most of the engineering materials were supposed to exhibit fatigue life up to 10~7 cycles or less.This paper reviews current understanding of some fundamental aspects on the development of accelerated fatigue testing method and its application in ultra-high cycle fatigue,crack initiation and growth mechanisms of internal fracture,S-N diagram,fatigue limit and life prediction, etc.

Research into Applicability of Wöhler Curve Method for Low-Cycle Fatigue of Metallic Materials

Recently,a description on a practicability of the Wöhler Curve Method for low-cycle fatigue of metals was given by the author.By the description and the low cycle fatigue test data of 16 MnR steel,it is important to show that,for low cycle fatigue of metals,such a way that a stress-based intensity parameter calculated by the linear-elastic analysis is taken to be a stress intensity parameter,S,to establish a relationship between the stress intensity parameter,S,and the fatigue life,N,is practicable.In this paper,many metallic materials from the literature are given to show that the Wöhler Curve Method is well suitable for low-cycle fatigue analysis of metals.

Effect of long-period stacking ordered structure on very high cycle fatigue properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloys

Magnesium alloys with a long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)structure usually possess excellent static strength,but their fatigue behaviors are poorly understood.This work presents the effect of the LPSO structure on the crack behaviors of Mg alloys in a very high cycle fatigue(VHCF)regime.The LPSO lamellas lead to a facet-like cracking process along the basal planes at the crack initiation site and strongly prohibit the early crack propagation by deflecting the growth direction.The stress intensity factor at the periphery of the faceted area is much higher than the conventional LPSO-free Mg alloys,contributing higher fatigue crack propagation threshold of LPSO-containing Mg alloys.Microstructure observation at the facets reveals a layer of ultrafine grains at the fracture surface due to the cyclic contact of the crack surface,which supports the numerous cyclic pressing model describing the VHCF crack initiation behavior.

High cycle fatigue behavior of the second generation single crystal superalloy DD6

The second generation single crystal superalloy DD6 with 0.10%Hf and 0.34%Hf （in mass fraction） was subjected to high-cycle fatigue （HCF） loading at temperatures of 700 ℃ in ambient atmosphere. SEM was used to determine the initiation site and the failure mechanism. Evolution of the microstructure was investigated by TEM observation. The results show that fatigue limit of DD6 alloy with 0.34%Hf is a little smaller than that of the alloy with 0.10%Hf. The fatigue cracks initiated on the surface or near the surface of the specimens. The crack would propagate along { 111 } octahedral slip planes, rather than perpendicular to the loading axis of specimen. Typical fatigue striation formed in steady propagation of fatigue crack. The fracture mechanisms of the high cycle fatigue of DD6 alloys with 0.10%Hf and 0.34%Hf are quasi-cleavage fracture. Different types of dislocation structures were developed during high cycle fatigue deformation.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of T4-treated Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys prepared by squeeze casting and gravity die casting

Gravity die casting(GC) and squeeze casting(SC) T4-treated Al-7.0Zn-2.5Mg-2.1Cu alloys were employed to investigate the microstructures,mechanical properties and low cycle fatigue(LCF) behavior.The results show that mechanical properties of SC specimens are significantly better than those of GC specimens due to less cast defects and smaller secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS).Excellent fatigue properties are obtained for the SC alloy compared with the GC alloy.GC and SC alloys both exhibit cyclic stabilization at low total strain amplitudes(less than 0.4%) and cyclic hardening at higher total strain amplitudes.The degree of cyclic hardening of SC samples is greater than that of GC samples.Fatigue cracks of GC samples dominantly initiate from shrinkage porosities and are easy to propagate along them,while the crack initiation sites for SC samples are slip bands,eutectic phases and inclusions at or near the free surface.

GIGACYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF CAST ALUMINUM IN TENSION AND TORSION LOADING

An improved understanding of fatigue behavior of a cast aluminum alloy（2-AS5U3G-Y35）in very high cycle regime is developed through the ultrasonic fatigue test in axial and torsion loading.The new developed torsion fatigue system is presented.The effects of loading condition and frequency on the very high cycle fatigue（VHCF）are investigated.The cyclic loading in axial and torsion at 35 Hz and 20 kHz with stress ratio R=-1 is used respectively to demonstrate the effect of loading condition.S-N curves show that the fatigue failure occurs in the range of 105—1010 cycles in axial or torsion loading and the asymptote of S-N curve is inclined,but no fatigue limit exists under the torsion and axial loading condition.The fatigue fracture surface shows that the fatigue crack initiates from the specimen surface subjected to the cyclic torsion loading.It is different from the fatigue fracture characteristic in axial loading in which fatigue crack initiates from subsurface defect in very high cycle regime.The fatigue initiation is on the maximum shear plane,the overall crack orientation is on a typical spiral 45° to the fracture plane and it is the maximum principle stress plane.The clear shear strip in the torsion fatigue fracture surface shows that the torsion fracture is the shear fracture.

Enhancing fatigue performance of AZ31 magnesium alloy components fabricated by cold metal transfer-based wire arc directed energy deposition through LPB

Cold Metal Transfer-Based Wire Arc Directed Energy Deposition(CMT-WA-DED)presents a promising avenue for the rapid fabrication of components crucial to automotive,shipbuilding,and aerospace industries.However,the susceptibility to fatigue of CMT-WA-DED-produced AZ31 Mg alloy components has impeded their widespread adoption for critical load-bearing applications.In this study,a comprehensive investigation into the fatigue behaviour of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy has been carried out and compared to commercially available wrought AZ31 alloy.Our findings indicate that the as-deposited parts exhibit a lower fatigue life than wrought Mg alloy,primarily due to poor surface finish,tensile residual stress,porosity,and coarse grain microstructure inherent in the WA-DED process.Low Plasticity Burnishing(LPB)treatment is applied to mitigate these issues,which induce significant plastic deformation on the surface.This treatment resulted in a remarkable improvement of fatigue life by 42%,accompanied by a reduction in surface roughness,grain refinement and enhancement of compressive residual stress levels.Furthermore,during cyclic deformation,WA-DED specimens exhibited higher plasticity and dislocation density compared to both wrought and WA-DED+LPB specimens.A higher fraction of Low Angle Grain Boundaries(LAGBs)in WA-DED specimens contributed to multiple crack initiation sites and convoluted crack paths,ultimately leading to premature failure.In contrast,wrought and WA-DED+LPB specimens displayed a higher percentage of High Angle Grain Boundaries(HAGBs),which hindered dislocation movement and resulted in fewer crack initiation sites and less complex crack paths,thereby extending fatigue life.These findings underscore the effectiveness of LPB as a post-processing technique to enhance the fatigue performance of WA-DED-fabricated AZ31 Mg alloy components.Our study highlights the importance of LPB surface treatment on AZ31 Mg components produced by CMT-WA-DED to remove surface defects,enabling their widespread use in load-bearing applications.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of laser melting deposited TC18 titanium alloy

Low cycle fatigue （LCF） behavior of laser melting deposited （LMD） TC18 titanium alloy was studied at room temperature. Microstructure consisting of fine lamella-like primary α phase and transformed β matrix was obtained by double annealed treatment, and inhomogeneous grain boundaryαphase was detected. Fatigue fracture surfaces and longitudinal sections of LCF specimens were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate that more than one crack initiation site can be detected on the LCF fracture surface. The fracture morphology of the secondary crack initiation site is different from that of the primary crack initiation site. When the crack grows along the grain boundaryαphase, continuous grain boundaryαphase leads to a straight propagating manner while discontinuous grain boundaryαphase gives rise to flexural propagating mode.

INVESTIGATION OF LOW CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOROF BUILDING STRUCTURAL STEELS UNDEREARTHQUAKE LOADING

Based on the failure model of building structural steels under earthquake loading, the low cycle fatigue test at constant strain, the stochastical fatigue test under real earthquake load spectrum and the structural fatigue test are carried out. The experimental results show that microalloying of V Ti and Nb can improve the anti-seismic propersties of steel bars. In the high strain and shori life range, both the static strength and ductility of steels are very important to increasing the low cycle fatigue resistance of steels.

EFFECT OF REVERT RECYCLE TIMES ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND FATIGUE PROPERTIES IN COBALT-BASE SUPERALLOY K640S

Effect of revert cycles on microstructure and fatigue properties of cast cobalt base superalloy K640S has been investigated. The results show that: at 70 times of cool heat cycles, there were microcracks found in seven times revert and ten times revert. With the increasing of thermal fatigue cycles, the crack of revert grows a little faster than virgin. When the cycle time reaches 200, the crack length for both virgin and reverts have been as long as 2mm. The low cycle fatigue life has no remarkable change, with the increase of revert cycles at 815℃, 360MPa ,0 5Hz. With the times of cycles increasing, it is found that the content of impurity and gas in alloy change a little, and there is no obvious change for dendrite microstructure.

Effect of main inclusions on crack initiation in bearing steel in the very high cycle fatigue regime

This work aims to investigate the effect of main inclusions on crack initiation in bearing steel in the very high cycle fatigue（VHCF） regime. The size and type of inclusions in the steel were quantitatively analyzed, and VHCF tests were performed. Some fatigue cracks were found to be initiated in the gaps between inclusions（Al2 O3, Mg O-Al2 O3） and the matrix, while other cracks originated from the interior of inclusions（Ti N, Mn S）. To explain the related mechanism, the tessellated stresses between inclusions and the matrix were calculated and compared with the yield stress of the matrix. Results revealed that the inclusions could be classified into two types under VHCF; of these two, only one type could be regarded as holes. Findings in this research provide a better understanding of how inclusions affect the high cycle fatigue properties of bearing steel.

Effects of recrystallization on the low cycle fatigue behavior of directionally solidified superalloy DZ40M

The effects of recrystallization on low cycle fatigue behavior were investigated on directionally solidified Co-base superalloy DZ40M. Optical microscopy and SEM were used to examine the microstructure and fracture surface of the specimens. The mechanical testing results demonstrated that the low cycle fatigue property of DZ40M significantly decreased with the partial recrystallization. Fatigue cracks initiate near the carbides and the grain boundaries with slip-bands. Both the fatigue crack initiation and propagation can be accelerated with the occurrences of recrystallized grain boundaries.

Microstructure Variation and Hardness Diminution During Low Cycle Fatigue of 55NiCrMoV7 Steel

The influence of temperature and hardness level on the cyclic behavior of 55NiCrMoV7 steel, and the mierostrueture variation and hardness diminution during low cycle fatigue behavior were investigated. By means of SEM and XRD, the modality of carbides and the full width half-maximum （FWHM） of martensite （211） [M（211）] of Xray diffraction spectrum in fatigue specimen were studied. The results showed that the cyclic stress response behav ior generally showed an initial exponential softening for the first few cycles, followed by a gradual softening without cyclic softening saturation. The fatigue behavior of the steel is closely related to the hardness level. The hardness diminution and the variation of half-width M（211） are remarkably influenced by the interaction between the cyclic plastic deformation and the thermal loading when the fatigue temperature exceeds the tempering temperature of the steel.

TEMPERATURE EFFECT ON LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF NICKEL-BASED SINGLE CRYSTALLINE SUPERALLOY

The low-cycle fatigue （LCF） behavior of a nickel-based single crystal superalloy with [001] orientation was studied at an intermediate temperature of T0℃ and a higher temperature of To ＋ 250℃ under a constant low strain rate of 10^-3 s^-1 in ambient atmosphere. The superalloy exhibited cyclic tension-compression asymmetry which is dependent on the temperature and applied strain amplitude. Analysis on the fracture surfaces showed that the surface and subsurface casting micropores were the major crack initiation sites. Interior Ta-rich carbides were frequently observed in all specimens. Two distinct types of fracture were suggested by fractogaphy. One type was characterized by Mode-I cracking with a microscopically rough surface at To ＋ 250℃. Whereas the other type at lower temperature T0℃ favored either one or several of the octahedral {111} planes, in contrast to the normal Mode-I growth mode typically observed at low loading frequencies （several Hz）. The failure mechanisms for two cracking modes are shearing of γ＇ precipitates together with the matrix at T0℃ and cracking confined in the matrix and the γ/γ＇interface at To - 250℃.

Grain size based low cycle fatigue life prediction model for nickel-based superalloy

Nickel-based superalloys are easy to produce low cycle fatigue(LCF)damage when they are subjected to high temperature and mechanical stresses.Fatigue life prediction of nickel-based superalloys is of great importance for their reliable practical application.To investigate the effects of total strain and grain size on LCF behavior,the high temperature LCF tests were carried out for a nickel-based superalloy.The results show that the fatigue lives decreased with the increase of strain amplitude and grain size.A new LCF life prediction model was established considering the effect of grain size on fatigue life.Error analyses indicate that the prediction accuracy of the new LCF life model is higher than those of Manson-Coffin relationship and Ostergren energy method.

HIGH-TEMPERATURE LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF NICKEL-BASED SUPERALLOY GH4049

The cyclic stress response and lowcycle fatigue life for wrought nickelbased superalloy GH4049 were investigated in the temperature range from 500 to 800 The relationship between the strain amplitude and the number of stress reversals was given. The behavior of cyclic hardening was observed for higher strain amplitudes at all testing temperatures and the lowcycle fatigue life generally decreased with increasing testing temperature for the same strain range. In addition, fracture surfaces of the fatigued samples were examined by using a scanning electron microscope.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of the extruded AZ80 magnesium alloy under different strain amplitudes and strain rates

Low cycle fatigue behavior of extruded AZ80 magnesium alloy was investigated under uniaxial tension-compression at different strain amplitudes and strain rates.The results show that the extruded AZ80 magnesium alloy exhibits cyclic hardening at strain amplitudes ranging from 0.4%to 1.0%,the asymmetry of hysteresis loops becomes increasingly obvious when the strain amplitude increases.Higher strain rates correspond to higher stress amplitudes,high mean stresses and short fatigue life.{10–12}extension twins play a role in the cyclic deformation under higher strain amplitudes(0.8%,1.0%).The relationship between total strain energy density and fatigue life can be described by the modified Morrow model.The effect of strain rate on the fatigue life can also be predicted by the model.

High-cycle fatigue behavior of friction stir butt welded 6061 aluminium alloy

Friction stir welding （FSW） of 6061 aluminium alloy butt joint was carried out at each rotation speed of 600, 800, 1000, 1200 r/min for two different travel speeds, 80 and 100 mm/min, at a constant probe depth of 1.85 mm. The calculated energy input based on the FSW parameters studied shows that the ultimate tensile strength （UTS） of the butt joint is obtained within a certain range of energy input of 297 kJ to 354 kJ out of total range of energy input studied from 196 kJ to 405 kJ. The fatigue behaviors of high-strength and low-strength joints performed at different stress ratios, i.e., 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, -0.3, -0.5, indicate that the fatigue behaviors of both the welds are sensitive to the microstructural features, such as stir zone （SZ）, thermo mechanically affected zone （TMAZ） and heat affected zone （HAZ）. The observed fatigue strengths were discussed in terms of the microstructure, crack path behavior and fracture surface.

Low Cycle Fatigue and Strengthening Mechanism of Cold Extruded Large Diameter Internal Thread of Q460 Steel

large diameter internal thread of high-strength steel（LDITHSS） manufactured by traditional methods always has the problems of low accuracy and short life. Compared with traditional methods, the cold extrusion process is an effective means to realize higher accuracy and longer life. The low-cycle fatigue properties of LDITHSS are obtained by experiments, and the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks are observed by scanning electron microscope（SEM）. Based on the mechanical properties, surface microstructure and residual stress, the strengthening mechanism of cold extruded large diameter internal thread（LDIT） is discussed. The results show that new grains or sub-grains can be formed on the surface of LDIT due to grain segmentation and grain refinement during cold extrusion. The fibrous structures appear as elongated and streamlined along the normal direction of the tooth surface which leads to residual compressive stress on the extruded surface. The maximum tension stress of LDIT after cold extrusion is found to be 192.55 k N. Under low stress cycling, the yield stress on thread increases, the propagation rate of crack reduces, the fatigue life is thus improved significantly with decreasing surface grain diameter and the average fatigue life increases to 45.539×10~3 cycle when the maximum applied load decreases to 120 k N. The low cycle fatigue and strengthening mechanism of cold extruded LDIT revealed by this research has significant importance to promote application of internal thread by cold extrusion processing.