Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline materials

Cyclic deformation and fatigue properties of very fine-grained metals and alloys

Failure of metals III: Fracture and fatigue of nanostructured metallic materials

Fatigue properties and crack behavior of ultra-fine and nanocrystalline pure metals

The experimental results on fatigue resistance of ultra-fine grain metals produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD) are reviewed with regard to two major characteristics of cyclic damage initiation and failure—fatigue limit and fatigue crack growth rate. The fatigue limit benefits considerably from grain refinement down to submicrocrystalline scale. Factors affecting the fatigue limit are discussed in the light of SPD-processing and resultant ultra-fine grain structure. Contrasting with the fatigue limit, the fatigue crack growth threshold deteriorates after SPD in comparison to that of ordinary polycrystals. Possible mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation and propagation are discussed and the guidelines for manufacturing are provided towards enhancement and optimization of fatigue performance.

Fatigue limit and crack growth in ultra-fine grain metals produced by severe plastic deformation

Ultrafine grained low carbon (0.15 wt.% C) steel produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was tested for investigating fatigue properties, including cyclic softening and crack growth rate. Emphasis was placed on investigating the effect of load ratio on the fatigue crack growth rates of ultrafine grained microstructure. The ECAPed steel exhibited cyclic softening. After the first cycle, the tension and compression peak stresses decreased gradually with the number of cycles. Fatigue crack growth resistance and the threshold of ECAPed ultrafine grained steel were lower than that of an as-received coarse grained steel. This was attributed to a less tortuous crack path. The ECAPed steel exhibited slightly higher crack growth rates and a lower ΔKth with an increase in R ratio. The R ratio effect on growth rates and ΔKth was basically indistinguishable at a lower load ratio (R>0.3) compared with other alloys, indicating that the contribution of the crack closure vanished. This was explained by the fact that finer grained materials produce a lower opening load Pop due to a relatively less serrated crack path. Consequently, Kmin can reach Kop readily with a smaller increment of load ratio. The crack growth rate curve for the ECAPed ultrafine grained steel exhibited a linear extension to the lower growth rate regime than that for the coarse grained as-received steel. This behavior can be explained by a reverse crack tip plastic zone size (rp) that is always larger than the grain size.

Fatigue properties of ultrafine grained low carbon steel produced by equal channel angular pressing

Ultrafine grained (UFG) low carbon (0.15 wt.% C) steel produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was tested for investigating the effect of load ratio on the fatigue crack growth rate. Fatigue crack growth resistance and threshold of UFG steel were lower than that of as-received coarse grained steel. It was attributed to the less tortuous crack path. The UFG steel exhibited slightly higher crack growth rates and a lower △K_th with an increase of R ratio. The R ratio effect on crack growth rates and △K_th was basically indistinguishable at lower load ratio (R>0.3), compared to other alloys, which indicates that contribution of the crack closure vanishes. The crack growth rate curve for UFG steel exhibited a longer linear extension to the lower growth rate regime than that for the coarse grained as-received steel.

Myung-Il Choi

Papers

Fatigue properties of ultrafine grained low carbon steel produced by equal channel angular pressing

Fatigue crack growth behavior in ultrafine grained low carbon steel

Improvement of Fatigue Properties in Ultrafine Grained Pure Ti after ECAP(Equal Channel Angular Pressing)