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.

Effects of Aging Temperature on Microstructure and High Cycle Fatigue Performance of 7075 Aluminum Alloy

The hardness, the tensile and the high-cycle fatigue（HCF） performances of 7075 aluminum alloy were investigated under temper T651, solution treated at 380 ℃ for 0.5 h and aged at different temperatures（150, 170, 190 ℃） for 10 hours. The optimal microstructures and the fatigue fracture surfaces were observed. The results show that the hardness and the tensile performances are at their optimum at T651, but the fatigue life is the shortest. The hardness and the elongation are the lowest after solution treatment. With the aging temperature increasing（150-190 ℃）, the HCF is improved. The crack is initiated from the impurity particles on the subsurface. Treated at 170 ℃,the area of the quasi-cleavage plane and the width of parallel serrated sections of the crack propagation are the largest. With increasing aging temperature, the dimple size of finally fracture surfaces becomes larger and the depth deeper.

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.

Effects of Al and Co doping on the structural stability and high temperature cycling performance of LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_(4) spinel cathode materials

The poor structural stability and capacity retention of the high-voltage spinel-type LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(1.5)O_(4)(LNMO)limits their further application.Herein,Al and Co were doped in LNMO materials for a more stable structure and capacity.The LNMO,LiNi_(0.45)Al_(0.05)Mn_(1.5)O_(4)(LNAMO)and LiNi_(0.45)Co_(0.05)Mn_(1.5)O_(4)(LNCMO)were synthesized by calcination at 900℃ for 8 h,which was called as solid-phase method and applied universally in industry.XRD,FT-IR and CV test results showed the synthesized samples have cation disordering Fd-3m space group structures.Moreover,the incorporation of Al and Co increased the cation disordering of LNMO,thereby increasing the transfer rate of Li+.The SEM results showed that the doped samples performed more regular and ortho-octahedral.The EDS elemental analysis confirmed the uniform distribution of each metal element in the samples.Moreover,the doped samples showed better electrochemical properties than undoped LNMO.The LNAMO and LNCMO samples were discharged with specific capacities of 116.3 mA·h·g^(-1)and 122.8 mA·h·g^(-1)at 1 C charge/discharge rate with good capacity retention of 95.8% and 94.8% after 200 cycles at room temperature,respectively.The capacity fading phenomenon of the doped samples at 50℃ and 1 C rate was significantly improved.Further,cations doping also enhanced the rate performance,especially for the LNCMO,the discharge specific capacity of 117.9 mA·h·g^(-1)can be obtained at a rate of 5 C.

Dual-System Activation of Ni-Base Superalloy under High Strain and High Temperature

Due to their superior combination of heat resistance, high temperature corrosion resistance, toughness and strength, nickel-based superalloys have become of extensive use in the aerospace industry. This research aims to explain why the fatigue life of Inconel-718 in preconditioned samples had larger fatigue lives than pristine samples. The hypothesis is that preconditioning at 700°C and 1.0% strain could lead to thermal activation of the {100} cubic slip plane alongside the {111} octahedral slip plane, potentially improving fatigue life. Using SEM and EBSD imaging, the microstructure of Inconel-718 samples were characterized before and after preconditioning. The directions of the slip bands that formed following the preconditioning were determined. The result was that the existence of both the cubic and octahedral slip systems was confirmed, leading to the thermal activation hypothesized. The existence of both slip planes was considered to be the reason behind the improved fatigue life due to better strain accommodation within the microstructure. It is suggested that focuses for future research includes conducting in-situ observation of slip activation and the application of preconditioning as a manufacturing method.

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.

Interaction of fatigue and creep of GH33 under multi-axial stress at high temperature

Low-cycle fatigue experiments of tension-compression, torsion andtension-torsion with holding time were performed. The interaction law of creep and fatigue undermultiaxial stress at high temperature was investigated, and the micro-mechanism of equilibriumdiagrams was analyzed. A united equation of fatigue life under multiaxial stress was proposed.

Tensile and high-cycle fatigue properties of spray formed Al10.8Zn2.9Mg1.9Cu alloys after two-stage aging treatment

Based on the investigation of the tensile properties of spray formed ultra-high strength Al10.8Zn2.9Mg1.9Cu alloys, the high-cycle fatigue properties under different theoretical stress concentration factors were investigated, the fatigue fracture surfaces and microstructures were observed, and the fatigue mechanism was discussed. The results indicate that the ultimate tensile strength of spray formed Al10.8Zn2.9Mg1.9Cu alloys can reach up to 730?740 MPa, and the elongation is about 8%?10% under the condition of two-stage aging treatment. For the stress ratio is 0.1, the maximum stress for 107 cycles is over 400 MPa and 120 MPa, when the theoretical stress concentration factor is 1 and 3, respectively.

Influence of the Steel-making Dust on High Temperature and Fatigue Performance of Asphalt Mortars

To research the possibility of steel-making dust as a kind of mineral filler in asphalt mixture, two steel-making dusts and one ordinary mineral filler were adopted. The specific density, specific surface area, fineness modulus and mineralogy component of the dusts were tested. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) was carried out to research the microstructure of the dusts; dynamic shear rheological(DSR) test and time sweep test were used to research the high temperature and fatigue performance of asphalt mortars containing steel-making dust. The experimental results indicate that, compared with ordinary mineral filler, steel-making dusts have more active ingredients, difference surface characteristics and micro-structure. Furthermore, the high temperature and fatigue performance of steel-making dusts corresponding asphalt mortars are superior to those of reference group. Therefore, the steel-making dust would be an alternative to the ordinary mineral filler to improve the performance of asphalt mortars and reduce the harm of the dusts to the environment at the same time.

High-cycle Fatigue Fracture Behavior of Ultrahigh Strength Steels

The fatigue fracture behavior of four ultrahigh strength steels with different melting processes and therefore different inclusion sizes were studied by using a rotating bar two-point bending fatigue machine in the high-cycle regime up to 107 cycles of loading. The fracture surfaces were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）. It was found that the size of inclusion has significant effect on the fatigue behavior. For AtSI 4340 steel in which the inclusion size is smaller than 5.5 μm, all the fatigue cracks except one did not initiated from inclusion but from specimen surface and conventional S-N curve exists. For 65Si2MnWE and Aermet 100 steels in which the average inclusion sizes are 12.2 and 14.9 μm, respectively, fatigue cracks initiated from inclusions at lower stress amplitudes and stepwise S-N curves were observed. The S-N curve displays a continuous decline and fatigue failures originated from large oxide inclusion for 60Si2CrVA steel in which the average inclusion size is 44.4 pro. In the case of internal inclusion-induced fractures at cycles beyond about 1×10^6 for 65Si2MnWE and 60Si2CrVA steels, inclusion was always found inside the fish-eye and a granular bright facet （GBF） was observed in the vicinity around the inclusion. The GBF sizes increase with increasing the number of cycles to failure Nf in the long-life regime. The values of stress intensity factor range at crack initiation site for the GBF are almost constant with Nf, and are almost equal to that for the surface inclusion and the internal inclusion at cycles lower than about 1×10^6. Neither fish-eye nor GBF was observed for Aermet 100 steel in the present study.

SIMULATION OF TEMPERATURE FIELD IN ULTRA-HIGH FREQUENCY INDUCTION HEATING AND VERIFICATION

An experimental and numerical study on the temperature field induced in the ultra-high frequency induction heating is carried out.With an aim of predicting the thermal history of the workpiece,the influence factors of temperature field,such as the induction frequency,the dimension of coil and the gap between coil and workpiece,are investigated considering temperature-dependent material properties by using FLUX 2Dsoftware.The temperature field characteristic in ultra-high induction heating is obtained and discussed.The numerical values are compared with the experimental results.A good agreement between them is observed with 7.9% errors.

Very high cycle fatigue for GCr15 steel with smooth and hole-defect specimens

Very high cycle fatigue（VHCF） properties of a low temperature tempering bearing steel GCr15 with smooth and hole-defect specimens are studied by employing a rotary bending test machine with frequency of 52.5 Hz.Both smooth and hole-defect specimens break in VHCF regime with some difference in fatigue crack initiation.For smooth specimens,a fine granular area（FGA） is observed near the grain boundary in the fracture surface of the specimens broken after 10~7 cycles. But no FGA is observed in the hole-defect specimens broken in VHCF regime,and the VHCF crack does not initiate from the small hole at the surface as it does at low or high cycle fatigue regime. Internal stress is employed to explain the VHCF behavior of these two types of specimens.At last,an advanced dislocation model based on Tanaka and Mura model is proposed to illustrate the internal stress process and to predict fatigue crack initiation life with FGA observed in the fracture region.

Fabrication and Thermal Structural Characteristics of Ultra-high Temperature Ceramic Struts in Scramjets

ZrB_2-SiC based ultra-high temperature ceramic（UHTC） struts were firstly proposed and fabricated with the potential application in the combustor of scramjets for fuel injection and flame-holding for their machinability and excellent oxidation/ablation resistance in the extreme harsh environment. The struts were machined with electrospark wire-electrode cutting techniques to form UHTC into the desired shape, and with laser drilling to drill tiny holes providing the channels for fuel injection. The integrated thermal-structural characteristic of the struts was evaluated in high-temperature combustion environment by the propane-oxygen free jet facility, subject to the heat flux of 1.5 MW/m^2 lasting for 300 seconds, and the struts maintained integrity during and after the first experiment. The experiments were repeated for verifying the reusability of the struts. Fracture occurred during the second repeated experiment with the crack propagating through the hole. Finite element analysis（FEA） was carried out to study the thermal stress distribution in the UHTC strut. The simulation results show a high thermal stress concentration occurs at the hole which is the crack initiation position. The phenomenon is in good agreement with the experimental results. The study shows that the thermal stress concentration is a practical key issue in the applications of the reusable UHTC strut for fuel injection structure in scramjets.

Very High Cycle Fatigue Behaviors and Surface Crack Growth Mechanism of Hydrogen-Embrittled AISI 304 Stainless Steels

The influence of hydrogen embrittlement on the fatigue behaviors of AISI 304 stainless steel is investigated. The fatigue endurance limits of the untreated and hydrogen-embrittled materials were almost the same at 400 MPa, and hydrogen embrittlement had little influence even though the sample contained about 8.1 times more hydrogen. Thus, the sensitivity of hydrogen gas in this material is very low. A surface crack initiation, growth, coalescence, and micro ridge model is proposed in this study. Slip line formation?⇒microcrack formation?⇒increases in the crack width, and blunting of the crack tip as it grows?⇒formation of many slip lines because of deformation in the shear direction?⇒growth of the crack in the shear direction, forming micro ridges, coalescence with adjacent cracks ⇒?continuous initiation, growth, coalescence, and ridge formation of surface cracks and specimen breakage.

Rapid Directional Solidification with Ultra-High Temperature Gradient and Cellular Spacing Selection of Cu-Mn Alloy

The detailed laser surface remelting experiments of Cu-31.4 wt pct Mn and Cu-26.6 wt pct Mn alloys on a 5 kW CO2 laser were carried out to study the effects of processing parameters (scanning velocity, output power of laser) on the growth direction of microstructure in the molten pool and cellular spacing selection under the condition of ultra-high temperature gradient and rapid directional solidification. The experimental results show that the growth direction of microstructure is strongly affected by laser processing parameters. The ultra-high temperature gradient directional solidification can be realized on the surface of samples during laser surface remelting by controlling laser processing parameters, the temperature gradient and growth velocity can reach 106 K/m and 24.1 mm/s, respectively, and the solidification microstructure in the center of the molten pool grows along the laser beam scanning direction. There exists a distribution range of cellular spacings under the laser rapid solidification conditions, and the average spacing decreases with increasing of growth rate. The maximum, λmax, minimum, λmin, and average primary spacing, A, as functions of growth rate, Vb, can be given by,λmax=12.54Vb-0.61, λmin=4.47 Vb-0.52, λ=9.09Vb-0.62, respectively. The experimental results are compared with the current Hunt-Lu model for rapid cellular/dendritic growth, and a good agreement is found.

The Effect of Pre-Thermal and -Load Conditions on IN-718 High Temperature Fatigue Life

Ni-based superalloys are largely used in the aerospace industry as critical components for turbine engines due to their excellent mechanical properties and fatigue resistance at high temperatures. A hypothesis to explain this atypical characteristic among metals is the presence of a cross-slip mechanism. Previous work on the role of thermal activation on cubic slip has shown strain accommodation in two sets of slip planes, which resembled the activation of {100} cubic slip systems along of the octahedral slip planes {111} in Ni-based superalloys under high strain and temperature, exhibiting a more homogeneous strain distribution and less strain localization. Following those previous literature evaluations of initial conditions that can potentially activate cubic-slip planes and provide the level of accommodation and strain homogenization within the grain, this paper presents some experimental procedures and results of Ni-based superalloy (IN-718) tested at 500°C under operational loading condition, without and after being submitted to an overload and overtemperature. The experiments have shown that a pre-condition of 1% strain at 700°C would increase the fatigue life of the IN-718 at 500°C by four times when compared to pristine tested samples. The present results bring up the potential of improving this material fatigue performance, opening the need to further investigate the microstructure as the precondition is applied.

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.

HIGH CYCLE FATIGUE PROPERTIES OF NICKEL-BASE ALLOY 718

The fatigue properties of nickel-base Alloy 718 with fine- and grain-coarse grains were investigated. In the fine-grain alloy, the fatigue strength normalized by the tensile strength was 0.51 at 107 cycles. In contrast, the fatigue strength of the coarse-grain alloy was 0.32 at the same cycles, although the fatigue strengths in the range from 103 to 105 cycles are the same for both alloys. The fracture appearances fatigued at around 106 cycles showed internal fractures originating from the flat facets of austenite grains for both alloys. The difference in fatigue strength at 107 cycles between the fine- and coarse-grain alloys could be explained in terms of the sizes of the facets from which the fractures originated.

Effect of high temperature on the balance between photosynthetic light absorption and energy utilization in Chlorella pyrenoidosa(Chlorophyceae)

Chlorella pyrenoidosa(Chlorophyceae)is widely cultured for production of health food and animal feed.In outdoors,mass cultivation of C.pyrenoidosa often suffers from high temperature.A better understanding of the effects of high temperature on photosynthesis and photoprotection can help optimize the productivity ofC.pyrenoidosa cultures.In this study,we investigated effect of high temperature(35,38,or 41℃)on the balance between photosynthetic light absorption and energy utilization of C.pyrenoidosa.In contrast to 30℃,higher temperature of 35 or 38℃did not inhibit the growth of C.pyrenoidosa.Treatment in 35℃maintained the balance.Moreover,the PSI acceptor side in 38℃was over-reduced and PSII reaction centers were over-excited under strong light,which destroyed the balance and generated active oxygen species(AOS).However,the activated antioxidant enzymes might remove completely the over-production of AOS,thereby protect C.pyrenoidosa cells from photodamage.It shows that this C.pyrenoidosa strain could tolerate as high as 38℃.Furthermore,treatment in 41℃resulted in more lack of the balance than that in 38℃.However,the activities of antioxidant enzymes stopped increasing in 41℃,and were not strong enough to remove the excess AOS.Therefore,treatment in 41℃could decrease the growth ofC.pyrenoidosa.In addition,strong and longtime light exposure would cause serious photodamage to C.pyrenoidosa cells.