Low Cycle Fatigue Life Estimation and Tracking for Industrial Gas Turbine Blades Using Fatigue Factor Approach

Low cycle fatigue life consumption analysis was carried out in this work. Fatigue cycles accumulation method suitable even if engine is not often shut down was applied together with the modified universal sloped method for estimating fatigue cycles to failure. Damage summation rule was applied to estimate the fatigue damage accumulated over a given period of engine operation. The concept of fatigue factor which indicates how well engine is operated was introduced to make engine life tracking feasible. The developed fatigue life tracking method was incorporated in PYTHIA, Cranfield University in-house software and applied to 8 months of engine operation. The results obtained are similar to those of real engine operation. At a set power level, fatigue life decreases with increase in ambient temperature with the magnitude of decrease greater at higher power levels. The fatigue life tracking methodology developed could serve as a useful tool to engine operators.

INFLUENCE OF DWELL TIME ON HIGH TEM-PERATURE LOW CYCLE FATIGUE (HTLCF) BEHAVIOR IN AN Nd-BEARING NEAR-α TITANIUM ALLOY

The influences of strain amplitude ranges and dwell time at peak strains on the low cycle fatigue (LCF) properties at 600℃ of a new near α high temperature titanium alloy containing rare earth Nd are investigated. The creep fatigue interaction behavior is discussed in this paper in terms of a creep fatigue interaction cumulative law and fatigue crack propagation model. The results show that the creep fatigue interaction is largely dependent on the strain amplitude range, and the tensile dwell periods, as well as compressive dwell periods, have a great influence on the LCF life of this alloy.

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.

RELIABILITY ANALYSIS FOR AN AERO ENGINE TURBINE DISK UNDER LOW CYCLE FATIGUE CONDITION

Reliability analysis methods based on the linear damage accumulation law (LDAL) and load-life interference model are studied in this paper. According to the equal probability rule, the equivalent loads are derived, and the reliability analysis method based on load-life interference model and recurrence formula is constructed. In conjunction with finite element analysis (FEA) program, the reliability of an aero engine turbine disk under low cycle fatigue (LCF) condition has been analyzed. The results show the turbine disk is safety and the above reliability analysis methods are feasible.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of die cast Mg-Al-Mn-Ce magnesium alloy

Fatigue failure is a main failure mode for magnesium and other alloys. It is beneficial for fatigue design and fatigue life improvement to investigate the low cycle fatigue behavior of magnesium alloys. In order to investigate the low cycle fatigue behavior of die cast Mg-Al-Mn-Ce magnesium alloy, the strain controlled fatigue experiments were performed at room temperature and fatigue fracture surfaces of specimens were observed with scanning election microscopy for the alloys under die-cast and aged states. Cyclic stress response curves, strain amplitude versus reversals to failure curve, total strain amplitude versus fatigue life curves and cyclic stress-strain curves of Mg-Al-Mn-Ce alloys were analyzed. The results show that the Mg-Al-Mn-Ce alloys under die-cast(F) and aged(T5) states exhibit cyclic strain hardening under the applied total strain amplitudes, and aging treatment could greatly increase the cyclic stress amplitudes of die cast Mg-Al-Mn-Ce alloys. The relationships between the plastic strain amplitude, the elastic strain amplitude and reversals to failure of Mg-Al-Mn-Ce magnesium alloy under different treatment states could be described by Coffin-Manson and Basquin equations, respectively. Observations on the fatigue fracture surface of specimens reveal that the fatigue cracks initiate on the surface of specimens and propagate transgranularly.

Low-cycle Fatigue Properties of an Ultrafine-grained Magnesium Alloy Processed by Equal-channel Angular Pressing

Magnesium alloy Mg-3%Al-1%Zn （AZ31） billets prepared from equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） were utilized in low-cycle fatigue tests in order to investigate their fatigue life. Fully reversed strain-controlled tension-compression fatigue tests were conducted at the frequency of 1 Hz in ambient air. The microstructures were examined by optical microscopy （OM） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The hysteresis loops of the ECAP processed and conventionally extruded samples display obviously different shapes in the total strain amplitude range from 0.2% to 0.6%. Accordingly, the low cycle fatigue lives of ECAP processed samples are found to be longer than those of extruded samples, which can be attributed to the different in the hysteresis energy incorporating tensile strain energy.

Low-cycle fatigue behavior of permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys

Fatigue failure is one of the main failure forms of Al-Si-Cu-Mg aluminum alloys.To feature their mechanical aspect of fatigue behavior,the low-cycle fatigue behavior of permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys at room temperature was investigated.The experimental results show that both permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys mainly exhibit cyclic strain hardening.At the same total strain amplitude,the die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy shows higher cyclic deformation resistance and longer fatigue life than does the permanent mold cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy.The relationship between both elastic and plastic strain amplitudes with reversals to failure shows a monotonic linear behavior,and can be described by the Basquin and Coffin-Manson equations,respectively.

LOW CYCLE FATIGUE OF Cr-Mn-N STAINLESS STEEL

An investigation was conducted to examine the low cycle symmetric push-pull fatigue behaviour of the Cr-Mn-N dual-phase stainless steel.Two groups of specimens,A and B, were used,they were solution treated at 1050 and 1250℃,respectively.The.fatigue life of group A is almost twice as long as that of group B under the same total strain amplitude.The energy loss during the fatigue tests and the mophology of the fracture surfaces have been stu- died and discussed.

Effect of Strain Ratio on Fatigue Model of Ultra-fine Grained Pure Titanium

The ultra-fine grained(UFG)pure titanium was prepared by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rotary swaging(RS).The strain controlled low cycle fatigue(LCF)test was carried out at room temperature.The fatigue life prediction model and mean stress relaxation model under asymmetrical stress load were discussed.The results show that the strain ratio has a significant effect on the low cycle fatigue performance of the UFG pure titanium,and the traditional Manson-coffin model can not accurately predict the fatigue life under asymmetric stress load.Therefore,the SWT mean stress correction model and three-parameter power curve model are proposed,and the test results are verified.The final research shows that the threeparameter power surface model has better representation.By studying the mean stress relaxation phenomenon under the condition of R≠-1,it is revealed that the stress ratio and the strain amplitude are the factors that significantly afiect the mean stress relaxation rate,and the mean stress relaxation model with the two variables is calculated to describe the mean stress relaxation phenomenon of the UFG pure titanium under different strain ratios.The fracture morphology of the samples was observed by SEM,and it was concluded that the final fracture zone of the fatigue fracture of the UFG pure titanium was a mixture of ductile fracture and quasi cleavage fracture.The toughness of the material increases with the increase of strain ratio at the same strain amplitude.

Predicting the Fatigue Life in Steel and Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics Using Damage Models

Three cumulative damage models are examined for the case of cyclic loading of AISI 6150 steel, S2 glass fibre/epoxy and E glass fibre/epoxy composites. The Palmgren-Miner, Broutman-Sahu and Hashin-Rotem models are compared to determine which of the three gives the most accurate estimation of the fatigue life of the materials tested. In addition, comparison of the fatigue life of the materials shows the superiority of AISI 6150 steel and S2 glass fibre/epoxy at lower mean stresses, and that of steel to the composites at higher mean stresses.

Energy-Based Prediction of Low Cycle Fatigue Life of High-Strength Structural Steel

Energy-based models for predicting the low-cycle fatigue life of high-strength structural steels are presented. The models are based on energy dissipation during average of cycles, cycles to crack propagation and total cycles to failure. Plastic strain energy per cycle was determined and found as an important characteristic for initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks for high-strength structural steels. Fatigue strain-life curves were generated using plastic energy dissipation per cycle (loop area) and compared with the Coffin-Manson relation. Low cycle fatigue life was found similar from both methods. The material showed Masing-type behavior. The cyclic hysterisis energy per cycle was calculated from cyclic stress-strain parameters. The fracture surfaces of the fatigue samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope and the fracture mechanisms were discussed.

Effect of laser shock peening on combined low- and high-cycle fatigue life of casting and forging turbine blades

Laser shock peening （LSP） is a novel effective surface treatment method to improve the fatigue performance of turbine blades. To study the effect of LSP on combined low- and high-cycle fatigue （CCF） life of turbine blades, the CCF tests were conducted at elevated temperatures on two types of full-scale turbine blades, which were made of K403 by casting and GH4133B by forging. Probabilistic analysis was conducted to find out the effect of LSP on fatigue life of those two kinds of blades. The results indicated that LSP extended the CCF life of both casting blades and forging blades obviously, and the effect of LSP on casting blades was more evident; besides, a threshold vibration stress existed for both casting blades and forging blades, and the CCF life tended to be extended by LSP only when the vibration stress was below the threshold vibra- tion stress. Further study of fractography was also conducted, indicating that due to the presence of compressive residual stress and refined grains induced by LSP, the crack initiation sources in LSP blades were obviously less, and the life of LSP blades was also longer; since the compressive residual stress was released by plastic deformation, LSP had no effect or adverse effect on CCF life of blade when the vibration stress of blade was above the threshold vibration stress.

Low-cycle fatigue lifetime estimation of Ti–6Al–4V welded joints by a continuum damage mechanics model

The low-cycle fatigue （LCF） behavior of directionally solidified nickel-based superalloy Ti-6A1-4V was studied under bare and electron beam welding condi- tions at room temperature. Results show that： （1） under the same test conditions, all the joints exhibit lower LCF lifetime than Ti-6A1-4V; （2） the failure of welded structures is mainly ascribed to the welding defect. A novel lifetime prediction methodology based on continuum damage mechanics is proposed to predict the lifetime of Ti-6A1-4V and its welded joints.

T6态热挤压Al-5Cu-0.8Mg-0.15Zr-0.2Sc-0.5Ag合金的低周疲劳行为

为了揭示经过T6处理的热挤压Al-5Cu-0.8Mg-0.15Zr-0.2Sc-0.5Ag合金在不同温度下的低周疲劳变形与断裂行为,对T6态热挤压合金进行了室温和200℃条件下的低周疲劳实验。结果表明:在室温和200℃下合金塑性应变幅与载荷反向周次之间服从Coffin-Manson公式,而弹性应变幅与载荷反向周次之间服从Basquin公式;合金在室温和200℃下低周疲劳变形时,在较低外加总应变幅下疲劳变形机制主要为平面滑移,而在较高外加总应变幅下疲劳变形机制主要为波状滑移;室温和200℃下合金的疲劳裂纹均萌生于疲劳试样表面并以穿晶方式扩展。

激光冲击强化对FV520B钢疲劳寿命的影响

为提高叶轮的使用寿命,对叶片的抗疲劳性能提出了更高的要求,激光冲击强化(LSP)处理是提高材料抗疲劳性能的重要途径。针对FV520B钢棒状试样进行LSP试验和不同应变幅值下的单轴低周疲劳试验,并进行疲劳寿命预测。结果表明,LSP后试样的表面硬度由330 HV提升至490 HV,且LSP后试样表面产生约−90 MPa的残余压应力。相比于未冲击试样,LSP试样的疲劳寿命均有所提高,±0.5%应变幅值下试样的疲劳寿命提高132.2%。SEM结果表明,LSP后试样表面产生的残余压应力抑制了疲劳裂纹的萌生和扩展,裂纹萌生位置由试样表面向次表面转移,且疲劳条纹的间距和韧窝尺寸减小,从而延长了试样的疲劳寿命。采用Manson-Coffin方程针对光滑试样和LSP试样进行疲劳寿命预测,总的来说,对于光滑试样预测结果与试验结果吻合较好;对于LSP试样,预测的疲劳寿命偏保守。考虑残余压应力的影响针对Manson-Coffin方程进行修正,得到了较好的预测结果。研究结果可为FV520B材料LSP处理工艺和疲劳失效研究提供理论依据。

Microstructure and low cycle fatigue of a Ti2AlNb-based lightweight alloy

Ti2AlNb-based intermetallic compounds are considered as a new category of promising lightweight aerospace materials due to their balanced mechanical properties.The aim of this study was to evaluate monotonic and cyclic deformation behavior of an as-cast Ti-22A1-20Nb-2V-1Mo-0.25Si(at.%)intermetallic compound in relation to its microstructure.The alloy containing an abundant fine lamellar O-Ti2AlNb phase exhibited a good combination of strength and plasticity,and superb fatigue resistance in comparison with other intermetallic compounds.Cyclic stabilization largely remained except slight cyclic hardening occurring at higher strain amplitudes.While fatigue life could be described using the common Coffin-Mason-Basquin equation,it could be better predicted via a weighted energy-based approach.Fatigue crack growth was characterized mainly by crystallographic cracking,along with fatigue striationlike features being unique to appear in the intermetallics.The results obtained in this study lay the foundation for the safe and durable applications of Ti2AlNb-based lightweight intermetallic compounds.

Effects of Strain Rate on Low Cycle Fatigue Behaviors of High-Strength Structural Steel

The low cycle fatigue （LCF） behavior of a high-strength structural steel was investigated in the strain rate range of 4×10^-6 -0.12 s^-1 （0. 001-3 Hz） under constant total strain （±1%） control. The cyclic stress response at all strain rates exhibited behavior of rapid softening in the early stage of fatigue life and subsequent saturation up to failure. It was found that the stress amplitude, the plastic strain amplitude, the plastic strain energy density and the fatigue life depend mainly on the strain rate. The strain rate of 0. 012 s-1 was found as a transition point where the LCF of the steel showed different behavior from low strain rate to high strain rate. The relationship between the time to failure and strain rate was expressed well by a power law relation. The fracture surfaces of the fatigue sam-ples were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope （SEM） and the fracture mechanisms were discussed in terms of time-dependent deformation of the steel.

Investigation of low-cycle fatigue behavior of austenitic stainless steel for cold-stretched pressure vessels

Cold-stretched pressure vessels from austenitic stainless steels(ASS) are widely used for storage and transportation of liquefied gases,and have such advantages as thin wall and light weight.Fatigue is an important concern in these pressure vessels,which are subjected to alternative loads.Even though several codes and standards have guidelines on these pressure vessels,there are no relevant design methods on fatigue failure.To understand the fatigue properties of ASS 1.4301(equivalents include UNS S30400 and AISI 304) in solution-annealed(SA) and cold-stretched conditions(9% strain level) and the response of fatigue properties to cold stretching(CS),low-cycle fatigue(LCF) tests were performed at room temperature,with total strain amplitudes ranging from -.4% to -.8%.Martensite transformations were measured during the tests.Comparisons on cyclic stress response,cyclic stress-strain behavior,and fatigue life were carried out between SA and CS materials.Results show that CS reduces the initial hardening stage,but prolongs the softening period in the cyclic stress response.Martensite transformation helps form a stable regime and subsequent secondary hardening.The stresses of monotonic and cyclic stress-strain curves are improved by CS,which leads to a lower plastic strain and a much higher elastic strain.The fatigue resistance of the CS material is better than that of the SA material,which is approximately 1?03 to 2?04 cycles.The S-N curve of the ASME standard for ASS is compared with the fatigue data and is justified to be suitable for the fatigue design of cold-stretched pressure vessels.However,considering the CS material has a better fatigue resistance,the S-N curve will be more conservative.The present study would be helpful in making full use of the advantages of CS to develop a new S-N curve for fatigue design of cold-stretched pressure vessels.

Analysis of meso-inhomogeneous deformation on a metal material surface under low-cycle fatigue

A polycrystalline Voronoi aggregation with a free surface is applied as the representative volume element（RVE）of the nickel-based GH4169 superalloy.Considering the plastic deformation mechanism at the grain level and the Bauschinger effect,a crystal plasticity model reflecting the nonlinear kinematic hardening of crystal slipping system is applied.The microscopic inhomogeneous deformation during cyclic loading is calculated through numerical simulation of crystal plasticity.The deformation inhomogeneity on the free surface of the RVE under cyclic loading is described respectively by using the following parameters：standard deviation of the longitudinal strain in macro tensile direction,statistical average of first principal strains,and standard deviation of longitudinal displacement.The relationship between the fatigue cycle number and the evolution of inhomogeneous deformation of the material’s free surface is investigated.This research finds that：（1）The inhomogeneous deformation of the material free surface is significantly higher than that of the RVE inside;（2）the increases of the characterization parameters of inhomogeneous deformation on the free surface with cycles reflect the local maximum deformation of the RVE growing during cyclic loading;（3）these parameters can be used as criteria to assess and predict the low-cycle fatigue life rationally.

Thermal-structural response and low-cycle fatigue damage of channel wall nozzle

To investigate the thermo-mechanical response of channel wall nozzle under cyclic working loads,the fnite volume fluid-thermal coupling calculation method and the fnite element thermal-structural coupling analysis technique are applied.In combination with the material lowcycle fatigue behavior,the modifed continuous damage model on the basics of local strain approach is adopted to analyze the fatigue damage distribution and accumulation with increasing nozzle work cycles.Simulation results have shown that the variation of the non-uniform temperature distribution of channel wall nozzle during cyclic work plays a signifcant role in the thermal-structural response by altering the material properties;the thermal-mechanical loads interaction results in serious deformation mainly in the front region of slotted liner.In particular,the maximal cyclic strains appear in the intersecting regions of liner gas side wall and symmetric planes of channel and rib,where the fatigue failure takes place initially;with the increase in nozzle work cycles,the residual plastic strain accumulates linearly,and the strain amplitude and increment in each work cycle are separately equal,but the fatigue damage grows up nonlinearly.As a result,a simplifed nonlinear damage accumulation approach has been suggested to estimate the fatigue service life of channel wall nozzle.The predicted node life is obviously conservative to the Miner＇s life.In addition,several workable methods have also been proposed to improve the channel wall nozzle durability.