Gaps,challenges and possible solution for prediction of wheel-rail rolling contact fatigue crack initiation

The prediction of wheel/rail rolling contact fatigue(RCF)crack initiation during railway operations is an important task.Since RCF crack evolution is influenced by many factors,its prediction process is complex.This paper reviews the existing approaches to predict RCF crack initiation.The crack initiation region is predicted by the shakedown map.By combining the shakedown map with various initiation criteria and the critical plane method,the crack initiation life is calculated.The classification,methodologies,theories and applications of these approaches are included in this paper.The advantages and limitations of these methods are analyzed to provide recommendation for RCF crack initiation prediction.This review highlights that wheel/rail dynamic characteristic,complex working conditions,surface defects and wear all affect the RCF crack initiation.The optimal selection of criteria is essential in the crack initiation prediction.Based on the research gap regarding the challenging process of crack initiation prediction detailed in this review,a proposed prediction process of RCF crack initiation is proposed to achieve a more accurate result.

Experimental study on cracking behaviour of moulded gypsum containing two non-parallel overlapping flaws under uniaxial compression

Failure of rock mass that is subjected to compressive loads occurs from initiation, propagation, and linkage of new cracks from preexisting fissures. Our research investigates the cracking behaviour and coalescence process in a brittle material with two non-parallel overlapping flaws using a high-speed camera. The coalescence tensile crack and tensile wing cracks were the first cracks to occur from the preexisting flaws. The initiation stresses of the primary cracks at the two tips of each flaw were simultaneous and decreased with reduced flaw inclination angle. The following types of coalescence cracks were identified between the flaws: primary tensile coalescence crack, tensile crack linkage, shear crack linkage, mixed tensile-shear crack, and indirect crack coalescence. Coalescence through tensile linkage occurred mostly at pre-peak stress. In contrast, coalescence through shear or mixed tensile-shear cracks occurred at higher stress. Overall, this study indicates that the geometry of preexisting flaws affect crack initiation and coalescence behaviour.

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.

Fatigue Crack Initiation Potential from Defects in terms of Local Stress Analysis

The competition of surface and subsurface crack initiation induced failure is critical to understand very high cycle fatigue（VHCF） behavior, which necessitates the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms for the transition of crack initiation from surface to interior defects. Crack initiation potential in materials containing defects is investigated numerically by focusing on defect types, size, shape, location, and residual stress influences. Results show that the crack initiation potency is higher in case of serious property mismatching between matrix and defects, and higher strength materials are more sensitive to soft inclusions（elastic modulus lower than the matrix）. The stress localization around inclusions are correlated to interior crack initiation mechanisms in the VHCF regime such as inclusion-matrix debonding at soft inclusions and inclusion-cracking for hard inclusions（elastic modulus higher than the matrix）. It is easier to emanate cracks from the subsurface pores with the depth 0.7 times as large as their diameter. There exists an inclusion size independent region for crack incubation, outside which crack initiation will transfer from the subsurface soft inclusion to the interior larger one. As for elliptical inclusions, reducing the short-axis length can decrease the crack nucleation potential and promote the interior crack formation, whereas the long-axis length controls the site of peak stress concentration. The compressive residual stress at surface is helpful to shift crack initiation from surface to interior inclusions. Some relaxation of residual stress can not change the inherent crack initiation from interior inclusions in the VHCF regime. The work reveals the crack initiation potential and the transition among various defects under the influences of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the VHCF regime, and is helpful to understand the failure mechanism of materials containing defects under long-term cyclic loadings.

High-cycle fatigue crack initiation and propagation in laser melting deposited TC18 titanium alloy

This article examines fatigue crack nucleation and propagation in laser deposited TC18 titanium alloy. The Widmanstatten structure was obtained by double-annealing treatment,. High-cycle fatigue （HCF） tests were conducted at room temperature with the stress ratio of 0.1 and the notch concentration factor Kt = 1. Fatigue cracks initiated preferentially at micropores, which had great effect on the HCF properties. The effect decreased with the decrease of pore size and the increase of distance from the pore location to the specimen surface. The crack initiation region was characterized by the cleavage facets of a lamella and the tearing of β matrix. The soft a precipitated-free zone formed along grain boundaries accelerated the crack propagation. Subsurface observation indicated that the crack preferred to propagate along the grain boundary α or border of a lamella or vertical to a lamella.

Integrated Equipment Health Prognosis Considering Crack Initiation Time Uncertainty and Random Shock

With integrated equipment health prognosis, both physical models and condition monitoring data are utilized to achieve more accurate prediction of equipment remaining useful life （RUL）. In this paper, an integrated prognostics method is proposed to account for two important factors which were not considered before, the uncertainty in crack initiation time （CIT） and the shock in the degradation. Prognostics tools are used for RUL pre- diction starting from the CIT. However, there is uncertainty in CIT due to the limited capability of existing fault detection tools, and such uncertainty has not been explic- itly considered in the literature for integrated prognosis. A shock causes a sudden damage increase and creates a jump in the degradation path, which shortens the total lifetime, and it has not been considered before in the integrated prognostics framework either. In the proposed integrated prognostics method, CIT is considered as an uncertain parameter, which is updated using condition monitoring data. To deal with the sudden damage increase and reduction of total lifetime, a virtual gradual degradation path with an earlier CIT is introduced in the proposed method. In this way, the effect of shock is captured through identifying an appropriate CIT. Examples of gear prog- nostics are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Crack initiation and propagation induced by inclusions in a nickel-base P/M superalloy under fatigue load

In situ fatigue tests in special designed SEM were conducted to trace the whole process of crack initiation and propagation fill to fracture in mckel-base P/M superalloy seeded inclusions. The experimental results show that non-metallic inclusions can induce crack initiation. When the inclusion size is larger than the critical one, the crack can propagate as the main crack that induces the specimen to fracture. As a result, the LCF life of the specimen decreases.

Crack initiation of granite under uniaxial compression tests:A comparison study

In this study,a combination of acoustic emission(AE)method(AEM)and wave transmission method(WTM)is used to investigate the behaviors of AE and ultrasonic properties corresponding to initial fracturing in granitic rocks.The relationships of AE characteristics,frequency spectra,and spatial locations with crack initiation(CI)are studied.The anisotropic ultrasonic characteristics,velocity distributions in different ray paths,wave amplitudes,and spectral characters of transmitted waves are investigated.To identify CI stress,damage initiations characterized by strain-based method(SBM),AEM and WTM are compared.For granite samples,it shows that the ratio of CI stress to peak strength estimated by SBM ranges from 0.4 to 0.55,and 0.49-0.6 by WTM,which are higher than that of AEM(0.38-0.46).The CI stress identified by AEM indicates the onset of microcracking,and the combination of AEM and WTM provides an insight into the detection of rock damage initiation and anisotropy.

Experimental and numerical investigation on the mechanical responses and cracking mechanism of 3D confined single-flawed rocks under dynamic loading

Accurately characterizing the mechanical responses and cracking mechanism of three-dimensional confined fractured rocks under coupled static-dynamic loading is of paramount importance for underground engineering construction.Using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)system,five groups of single-flawed specimens with the axial prestress ratio from 0 to 0.8 are tested at the strain rates in the range of 65-205 s-1under a fixed radial prestress.Our results indicate that both the dynamic strength and total strength show significant positive linear correlations with the strain rate,and the dynamic strength shows more strain rate sensitivity under higher axial prestress.The dynamic strength and corresponding failure strain decrease with increasing axial prestress,while the total strength is barely affected by the axial prestress.The dynamic elastic modulus initially increases before the axial prestress ratio reaches 0.6 and then decreases.The failure pattern of tested specimens changes from single diagonal failure to an“X”shaped conjugated failure as axial prestress increases.Furthermore,the progressive cracking processes of confined single-flawed specimens under different axial prestresses are numerically visualized by the discrete element method(DEM).Based on the displacement trend lines on both sides of cracking surface,five crack types are identified and classified in our simulation.The displacement field distributions of the DEM models reveal that the macroscopic single diagonal failure under lower axial prestress is mainly controlled by mixed tensile-shear cracks,while the“X”shaped conjugated failure under higher axial prestress is shear dominated.

Crack initiation ahead of piled-up of dislocations emitted from a mode Ⅱ blunt crack

In situ tensile tests in a transmission electronmicroscope(TEM)show that dislocations emitted from a modelⅡcrack tipwill form a inverse piled-up group after equilibrium or a doublepiled-up group when they meet a obstruction, e.g., grain boundary orsecond phase. A microcrack can initiates in front of the piled-upgroup of dislocations. Micromechanics analysis shows thatdislocations emitted from a modelⅡblunt crack tip can form a inversepiled-up or double piled-up group, depending upon the applied stressintensity factor K_Ⅱa, lattice friction stressτ_f and the distanceof the obstruction from the crack tip L.

Influence of different microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior of coarse grain heat-affected zone in X80 pipeline steel

Coarse grain heat-affected zone samples of X80 pipeline steel under different heat inputs were obtained through thermal welding simulation experiments with Gleeble 3500.Charpy impact tests and a combination of multiscale characterizations were conducted to investigate the influence of various microstructural features on impact toughness and crack initiation behavior.The results prove that, as the heat input increases, the number of M/A components increases, thereby degrading toughness and increasing hardness.Meanwhile, more M/A constituents tend to aggregate on prior austenite grain boundaries(PAGBs),and the overall dimensions of M/A and the width and volume fraction of the lath martensite substructure inside M/A islands would increase as well.These changes make intersections between boundary M/As and PAGBs become one of the preferred sites for crack initiation.In addition, only large-sized grotesque inclusions can act as a direct inducement of crack initiation.

A STATISTICAL INVESTIGATION OF FATIGUE CRACK INITIATION AND GROWTH PROCESS BASED UPON A LARGE SAMPLE SIZE EXPERIMENT

After finishing 102 replicate constant amplitude crack initiation and growth tests on Ly12-CZ aluminum alloy plate, a statistical investigation of the fatigue crack initiation and growth process is conducted in this paper. According to the post-mortem fractographic examination by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), some qualitative observations of the spacial correlation among fatigue striations are developed to reveal the statistical nature of material intrinsic inhomogeneity during the crack growth process. From the test data, an engineering division between crack initiation and growth is defined as the upper limit of small crack. The distributions of crack initiation life N-i, growth life N, and the statistical characteristics of crack growth rate da/dN are also investigated. It is hoped that the work will provide a solid test basis for the study of probabilistic fatigue, probabilistic fracture mechanics, fatigue reliability and its engineering applications.

Crack Initiation under Cyclic Compression

The crack initiation behaviour under cyclic compression foy the notched specimen was investigated. It has been found that the cycles for crack initiation increase with the increase of compressive mean stress, and the decrease of stress amplitude. The stress amplitude plays a more important role than the mean stress does. Photoelastic coating and finite element methods were employed to measure and calculate the stress field in the notched part. The resul ts show that the crack initiation under compression is attributed to the tensile stress which may exist during unloadtng. If the true stress state in the notch is compressive, no crack initiates.

CRACK INITIATION POINT DETERMINATION AND DYNAMIC FRACTURE TOUGHNESS FOR CHARPY PRE-CRACKED SPECIMEN

The method to detect the crack initiation point of Charpy pre-cracked specimen under dy- namie loading was studied using strain gauge.The load-time curve and nominal strain-time curve at the crack tip for impact testing specinens may be shnultaneously measured by twin-channel oscilloscope with high speed sampling and diskette storing.Based on the dynam- ic finite element simulation of impact response of Charpy specimen,the measuring method of dynamic fracture toughness was analysed and some problems in previous dynamic fracture toughness measurement were discussed.

Anisotropy of crack initiation strength and damage strength of coal reservoirs

The crack volume strain method and acoustic emission(AE)method are used to analyze the anisotropy of the crack initiation strength,damage strength,the failure mode and the AE characteristics of coal reservoir.The results show that coal reservoirs show obvious anisotropic characteristics in compressive strength,cracking initiation strength and damage strength.The compressive strength of coal reservoirs decreases with the increase of bedding angle,but the reservoirs with bedding angles of 450 and 900 differ little in compressive strength.The crack initiation strength and damage strength decrease first and then increase with the increase of bedding angle.The crack initiation strength and damage strength are the highest,at the bedding angle of 0°,moderate at the bedding angle of 90°,and lowest at the bedding angle of 45°.When the bedding angle is 0°,the failure of the coal reservoirs is mainly steady propagation of large-scale fractures.When the bedding angle is 45°,one type of failure is caused by steady propagation of small-scale fractures,and the other type of failure is due to a sudden instability of large-scale fractures.When the bedding angle is 90°,the failure is mainly demonstrated by a sudden-instability of small-scale fractures.Compared with the cumulative count method of the AE,the cumulative energy method is more suitable for determining crack initiation strength and damage strength of coal reservoirs.

Characteristics of Faigue Crack Initiation in Ti-5Al-4Sn-2Zr-1Mo-0.7Nd-0.25Si Alloy

The characteristics of fatigue crack initiation in Ti-5AI-4Sn-2Zr1Mo-O.7Nd-O.25Si alloy wereStudied. Two modes Of fatigue crack initiation were found. The Nd-rich phase particles displaybetter resistance to fatigue crack initiation than the matrix at lower stress.

Crack initiation stress and strain of jointed rock containing multi-cracks under uniaxial compressive loading: A particle flow code approach

The ratio of crack initiation stress to the uniaxial compressive strength(SCI,B/SUC,B) and the ratio of axial strain at the crack initiation stress to the axial strain at the uniaxial compressive strength(B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS) were studied by performing numerical stress analysis on blocks having multi flaws at close spacing's under uniaxial loading using PFC3 D. The following findings are obtained: SCI,B/SUC,B has an average value of about 0.5 with a variability of ± 0.1. This range agrees quite well with the values obtained by former research. For joint inclination angle, β=90°,B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is found to be around 0.48 irrespective of the value of joint continuity factor, k. No particular relation is found betweenB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS and β; however, the average B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS seems to slightly decrease with increasing k. The variability ofB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is found to increase with k.Based on the cases studied in this work,B,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS ranges between 0.3 and 0.5. This range is quite close to the range of 0.4to 0.6 obtained for SCI,B/SUC,B. The highest variability of ± 0.12 forB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS is obtained for k=0.8. For the remaining k values the variability ofB,UCB,CI,A,A/SSSS can be expressed within ± 0.05. This finding is very similar to the finding obtained for the variability of SCI,B/SUC,B.

Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Verification of Crack Initiation Characteristics of Compression-Shear Plane Crack with Hydraulic Pressure

In this paper, the crack initiation characteristics of compression-shear plane crack with hydraulic pressure were studied by using theoretical analysis and experimental verification methods. The formula derivation process of stress intensity factor of crack tip and open-type crack initiation angle and initiation strength was expounded in detail. Cement mortar specimens prefabricated with open-type crack were made for biaxial compression test. The results show that the mode I stress intensity factor is inversely proportional to the dip angle of pre-exciting crack, water pressure and crack width. The fracture toughness is most easily achieved when the dip angle of pre-exciting crack is 60°. The mode II stress intensity factor is symmetrically distributed with the dip angle and independent of the water pressure and crack width. For open-type crack, the crack initiation angle decreases with the increase of the dip angle of pre-exciting crack, water pressure and crack width;the crack initiation strength is inversely proportional to the water pressure and proportional to the lateral pressure. The research results can provide ideas for the study of crack initiation under the coupling of ground stress and osmotic pressure in tunnel engineering.

Effect of Reinforcement Clustering on Crack Initiation Mechanism in a Cast Hybrid Metal Matrix Composite during Low Cycle Fatigue

The reinforcement distribution of metal matrix composites (MMCs) plays an important role in low cycle fatigue. Thus, it is essential to study the effect of reinforcement clustering on the crack initiation mechanism of MMCs. In this study, the effect of reinforcement clustering on the microcrack initiation mechanism in a cast hybrid MMC reinforced with SiC particles and Al2O3 whiskers was investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimental results showed that microcracks always initiated in the particle-matrix interface, located in the cluster of the reinforcements. The interface debonding occurred in the fracture which created additional secondary microcracks due to continued fatigue cycling. The microcrack coalesced with other nearby microcracks caused the final fracture. To validate the experimental results on the microcrack initiation, three dimensional unit cell models using finite element method (FEM) were developed. The stress distribution in both the reinforcement clustering and non-clustering regions was analyzed. The numerical analysis showed that high stresses were developed on the reinforcements located in the clustering region and stress concentration occurred on the particle-matrix interface. The high volume fraction reinforced hybrid clustering region experienced greater stresses than that of the SiC particulate reinforced clustering region and low volume fraction reinforced hybrid clustering region. Besides, the stresses developed on the non-clustering region with particle-whisker series orientation were reasonably higher than that of the non-clustering region with particle-whisker parallel orientation. The high volume fraction reinforced hybrid clustering region is found to be highly vulnerable to initiate crack in cast hybrid MMC during low cycle fatigue.

Identifying crack initiation stress threshold in brittle rocks using axial strain stiffness characteristics

As an estimate for the in-situ spalling strength around massive underground excavations to moderately jointed brittle rocks, crack initiation stress marks the initiation of rock micro fracturing. It is crucial to accurately identify crack initiation stress level by proper method. In this study, confined compression tests of sandstone samples are used to examine the validity/applicability of proposed axial strain stiffness method. The results show that by highlighting the minuscule changes in stress-strain curve, the axial strain stiffness curve provided further insight into rock failure process and revealed five stages:(a) irregular fluctuation,(b) nearly horizontal regular fluctuation,(c) irregular fluctuation gradually decreasing to zero,(d) extreme fluctuation, and(e) near zero, which mainly correspond to five stages of stress–strain curve. The ratio of crack-initiation stress to peak strength determined using this approach is 0.44–0.51, similar to the ranges previously reported by other researchers. In this method, the key is to accurately detect the end point of the stage(b), "nearly horizontal regular fluctuation" characterized by a sudden change in axial strain stiffness curve, and the sudden change signifies crack initiation in rock sample. Finally, the research indicates that the axial strain stiffness curve can provide a mean to identify the crack-initiation stress thresholds in brittle rocks.