Effect of Lamellar Orientation on Crack Paths in PST Crystals of γ-TiAl BasedAlloys

The effect of lamellar orientation on crack paths in PST crystals of y-TiAl based alloys was investigated by in-situ SEM technique. The results indicate that the crack paths in PST crystals of y-TiAl based alloys are strongly dependent on lamellar orientation ofPST crystals, and the differently oriented PST crystals show different nucleation and propagation mechanisms of crack, resulting in different levels of fracture toughness.

Comparison on crack propagation under tension at 150℃ of Mg-2Zn-1.5Mn alloy sheets with and without crack notch

Generally,edge crack of rolled magnesium alloy sheets initiates in the RD(rolling direction)-ND(normal direction)plane and then propagate in the RD-TD(transverse direction)plane.Hence,the Mg-2Zn-1.5Mn(ZM21)alloy sheets with and without crack notch were designed to carry out in-situ tensile experiments under 150℃(the same temperature of rolling),with the aim to understand their crack propagation mechanism.The scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and electron backscattered diffraction(EBSD)techniques were utilized to reveal microstructural evolution in real time at designated displacements.The results show that the prismatic slip,basal slip,and extension twining play synergistic role in coordinating strain during the tensile process in ZM21 alloy sheet at 150℃.In both tensile samples with and without crack notch,localized strain is mainly concentrated at relatively fine grain area and the grain boundaries or triple junctions of the grains with large basal Schmid factor(SF)difference,which eventually leads to severe surface roughening and subsequent crack initiation.Compared with the sample without crack notch,the pre-cracked sample exhibits severer deformation at the crack tip due to strain concentration.Strain gradient distribution is observed at the crack tip region in the pre-cracked sample.The crack propagation path of the sample with pre-crack is identified and the underlying mechanism is also discussed.

Effect of annealing treatment on microstructure and fatigue crack growth behavior of Al–Zn–Mg–Sc–Zr alloy

Al-Zn-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy samples were annealed to four different states （under-aging, peak-aging, over-aging and double-aging） and then thoroughly investigated by means of electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, tensile and fatigue crack growth rate tests to explore the influence of annealing treatment on microstmcture and fatigue crack growth behavior. The results indicate that Al3（Sc,Zr） particles can effectively refine grains and enhance tensile properties and fatigue properties. After annealing treatment, the under-aged sample and double-aged sample obtained average grain sizes of 4.9473 and 4.1257 μm, and the maximum value of yield/tensile strength （561 MPa/581 MPa） was obtained in peak-aged state. In the Paris region, fatigue crack growth rate, crack deflection and bifurcation, crack blunting and inter/trans-granular propagation were discussed based on data fitting and Laird model and Griffith theory. And the results show that the under-aged sample possesses the best resistance to fatigue crack propagation and the most tortuous and bifurcated crack path. For all samples, the fatigue crack growth rate in the rupture region was inversely proportional to yield strength.

Surface crack imaging based on delayed temperature difference at symmetric points by laser spot thermography

Laser spot thermography is a novel technique for the detection of surface cracks with a laser to heat sample locally and with an IR camera to record the surface temperature distribution. Common methods to characterize cracks are only suitable for the situation that the laser scanning path is vertical to the crack. But due to the randomness of cracks,when the scanning path is parallel to the crack,surface cracks cannot be detected by these methods. To tackle this problem,a method is presented which is suitable for the situation that the scanning path is parallel to crack. The main idea is to evaluate the crack-caused asymmetries of the surface temperature distribution. The effect of temperature gradient and the maximum scanning interval are analyzed by a 2D simulation. A new crack imaging technique is presented that is based on delayed temperature difference at symmetric points to characterize the crack in the thermal image. Compared well with those obtained by the spatial first derivative method,experimental results are shown to efficiently prove this method.

ON FATIGUE CRACK PATH DEVIATION AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE IN ELECTRON BEAM REPAIRED WELDMENTS OF TURBINE DISK

Fatigue crack growth behaviors in electron beam weldments of a nickel-base superalloy are studied. The objective of this paper is to discuss effects of the inhomogeneity of mechanical performance on fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate and crack path deviation (CPD). The base metal served in a turbine disk of aerospace engine was selected to fabricate bead-on-plate weldments by using electron beam welding. Some wedge-type opening loading specimens, notched in three different zone of weld metal, HAZ and base metal, were employed and performed fatigue crack growth tests at 650℃. The results show that the fatigue crack growth of electron beam welded joints is instable due to the influence of mechanical heterogeneities. Owing to the crack deviation at the weld metal and heat-affected-zone (HAZ), the effective growth driving force at the tip of fatigue crack was reduced with the reduction of the effective stress intensity factor (SIF) which finally causes fatigue crack rate decrease. Fatigue crack was strongly affected by size and the symmetrical characteristics of the plastic zone at the crack tip, which means that the integrity of the welded structure containing the fatigue crack mainly depended on the toughness of the low strength zone.

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.

Polymer-modified Concrete with Improved Flexural Toughness and Mechanism Analysis

By selecting different types of polymer mixing into concrete, the toughness of concrete is investigated, and results indicate polymer has obvious effect to improve the toughness of concrete. Microstructure of polymer-modified concrete were studied through environment scanning electron microscope and digital micro-hardness tester, results show that polymer acts as a flexible filler and reinforcement in concrete, and alters the microstructure at mortar and ITZ. By crack path prediction and energy consumption analysis, the crack path of polymer-modified concrete is more tortuous and consumes more energy than that of ordinary concrete.

FATIGUE FRACTURE BEHAVIOR OF LOW CARBON MARTENSITE AND MARTENSITE/BAINITE DUPLEX STRUCTURE IN STEEL 20CrMnMo

Fatigue crack propagation rate,da/dN,and threshold stress intensity range,ΔK_(th),of steel 20CrMnMo containing low carbon martensite or low carbon martensite/bainite(LCM/B) duplex structure,obtained by oil quenching and austempered at 360℃,have been measured using specimens under four-point bending.Observation was also made of the crack path and fracture morphology with relation to microstructure.The formation of LCM/B duplex structure,which caused by 20% lower bainite after short-time isothermal treatment,may re- markably increase ΔK_(th)and considerably decrease da/dN.The effect of microstructure on da/dN and ΔK_(th)was discussed with the emphasis on the crack propagation path.

A Model to Describe the Fracture of Porous Polygranular Graphite Subject to Neutron Damage and Radiolytic Oxidation

Two linked models have been developed to explore the relationship between the amount of porosity arising in service from both radiolytic oxidation and fast neutron damage that influences both the strength and the force-displacement(load-displacement)behaviour and crack propagation in pile grade A graphite used as a nuclear reactor moderator material.Firstly models of the microstructure of the porous graphite for both unirradiated and irradiated graphite are created.These form the input for the second stage,simulating fracture in lattice-type finite element models,which predicts force(load)-displacement and crack propagation paths.Microstructures comprising aligned filler particles,typical of needle coke,in a porous matrix have been explored.The purpose was to isolate the contributions of filler particles and porosity to fracture strength and crack paths and consider their implications for the overall failure of reactor core graphite.

Effects of rafting on the meso deformation and fracture behaviour of a Ni-based single crystal superalloy at room temperature: In-situ observation and simulation

Microstructural rafting of Ni-based single-crystal(SC) superalloys is inevitable at elevated temperatures during long-term service with mechanical loading, which significantly affects the mechanical behaviour of the material. In this study, the effects of rafting on the mesodeformation and fracture behaviour of a Ni-based SC superalloy under cyclic and tensile loads were investigated using in situ scanning electron microscopy(SEM), digital image correlation(DIC), and crystal plasticity finite element method(CP-FEM) simulations. The results indicated that the tensile strength decreased significantly in the rafted specimens. In the cyclic tests, both the virgin and rafted specimens showed an increase in the maximum shear strain with cycle number. The interaction of cross-slip bands was captured by in situ SEM-DIC around the micro-notch of the virgin specimens during the tensile test, while a more homogeneous local deformation field was observed in the rafting specimens. In addition,the fracture behaviour was strongly influenced by the rafting morphology. The crack exhibited instantaneous and long-range fracture features along the octahedral plane as it propagated in the rafting specimen, whereas it deflected over a short distance between the crystallographic planes at an early stage in the virgin specimen, which is consistent with the CP-FEM results.Furthermore, the CP-FEM results for the crack initiation direction on(111) dominant slip plane were consistent with the in situ SEM observations.

Simulation of top-down crack propagation in asphalt pavements

Top-down crack in asphalt pavements has been reported as a widespread mode of failure.A solid understanding of the mechanisms of crack growth is essential to predict pavement performance in the context of thickness design,as well as in the design and optimization of mixtures.Using the coupled element free Galerkin (EFG) and finite element (FE) method,top-down crack propagation in asphalt pavements is numerically simulated on the basis of fracture mechanics.A parametric study is conducted to isolate the effects of overlay thickness and stiffness,base thickness and stiffness on top-down crack propagation in asphalt pavements.The results show that longitudinal wheel loads are disadvantageous to top-down crack because it increases the compound stress intensity factor (SIF) at the tip of top-down crack and shortens the crack path,and thus the fatigue life descends.The SIF experiences a process "sharply ascending—slowly descending—slowly ascending—sharply ascending again" with the crack propagating.The thicker the overlay or the base,the lower the SIF; the greater the overlay stiffness,the higher the SIF.The crack path is hardly affected by stiffness of the overlay and base.

An Improved Peridynamic Model with Energy-Based Micromodulus Correction Method for Fracture in Particle Reinforced Composites

We introduce an improved bond-based peridynamic(BPD)model for simulating brittle fracture in particle reinforced composites based on a micromodulus correction approach.In the peridynamic(PD)constitutive model of particle reinforced composites,three kinds of interactive bond forces are considered,and precise definition of mechanical properties for PD bonds is essential for the fracture analysis in particle reinforced composites.A new micromodulus model of PD bonds for particle reinforced composites is proposed based on the equivalence between the elastic strain energy density of classical continuum mechanics and peridynamic model and the harmonic average approach.The damage of particle reinforced composites is defined locally at the level of pairwise bond,and the critical stretch criterion is described as a function of fracture energy based on the composite failure theory.The algorithm procedure for the improved BPD model based on the finite element/discontinuous Galerkin finite element method is brought forward in detail.Several numerical examples are performed to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm in analysis of elastic deformation,crack nucleation and propagation in particle reinforced composites.Additionally,the impact of distribution,shape and size of particles on the fractures of composite materials are also investigated.Numerical results demonstrate that the improved BPD model can effectively be used to analyze the fracture in particle reinforced composites.