Showing papers on "Fatigue limit published in 2022"

On the origins of fatigue strength in crystalline metallic materials

Abstract: Metallic materials experience irreversible deformation with increasing applied stress, manifested in localized slip events that result in fatigue failure upon repeated cycling. We discerned the physical origins of fatigue strength in a large set of face-centered cubic, hexagonal close-packed, and body-centered cubic metallic materials by considering cyclic deformation processes at nanometer resolution over large volumes of individual materials at the earliest stages of cycling. We identified quantitative relations between the yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength, fatigue strength, and physical characteristics of early slip localization events. The fatigue strength of metallic alloys that deform by slip could be predicted by the amplitude of slip localization during the first cycle of loading. Our observations provide a physical basis for well-known empirical fatigue laws and enable a rapid method of predicting fatigue strength as reflected by measurement of slip localization amplitude. Description Slipping into fatigue Materials that are cyclically deformed become easier to break due to fatigue. However, tying fatigue strength to microstructure has been challenging. Stinville et al. used nanometer-resolution digital image correlation to observe the slip localization on the surface of a wide range of alloys (see the Perspective by Omar and El-Awady). They found that after one deformation cycle, the amplitude of the early slip localization events determines fatigue strength. This observation helps to provide a physical basis for well-known fatigue laws and paves the way to easily predicting fatigue strength. —BG Observations of slip amplitude on the surface of a metal after deformation predict fatigue strength.

Fatigue behaviour of notched laser powder bed fusion AlSi10Mg after thermal and mechanical surface post-processing

Abstract: Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) as an additive manufacturing technology offers high potential to fabricate parts with complex geometries layer-by-layer. However, these parts have inhomogeneous microstructure and very poor surface quality in their as-built condition. The presence of high surface irregularities especially in the downskin surfaces is a challenging issue that can directly influence their mechanical performance especially under fatigue loading conditions. Hence, applying post-treatments to modulate these imperfections can play a critical role. In this study, the individual and hybrid effects of different post-treatments including T6 heat treatment and shot peening on microstructure, mechanical properties and fatigue behaviour of LPBF V-notched AlSi10Mg specimens were investigated. Two different shot peening processes were applied on both as-built and heat treated specimens using steel and ceramic shots with different Almen intensity, shot diameter and shot hardness. The specimens were comprehensively characterized in terms of microstructural features, surface morphology and surface roughness. Mechanical properties including microhardness and residual stresses were measured and fatigue behaviour of the specimens was determined using a stair-case method; fracture surfaces were also critically analyzed. The results of the analysis performed both on the smooth section and the notched section (including notch root, up and down skin areas) indicated the importance of the choice of shot peening parameters with respect to the target geometry and its material properties. In this case, the shot peening treatment with smaller media and lower intensity was more efficient in terms of surface modification and homogenization especially in the downskin surfaces leading to higher fatigue strength. The significant finding of this study is that by pairing the heat treatment and shot peening, the effect of the presence of the notch can be masked obtaining almost the same fatigue strength for the notched specimens as the un-notched counterparts.

High-temperature failure mechanism and defect sensitivity of TC17 titanium alloy in high cycle fatigue

Abstract: Crack initiation is an essential stage of fatigue process due to its direct effect on fatigue failure. However, for titanium alloys in high-temperature high cycle fatigue (HCF), the crack initiation mechanisms remain unclear and the understanding for the defect sensitivity is also lacking. In this study, a series of fatigue tests and multi-scale microstructure characterizations were conducted to explore the high-temperature failure mechanism, and the coupled effect of temperature and defect on TC17 titanium alloy in HCF. It was found that an oxygen-rich layer (ORL) was produced at specimen surface at elevated temperatures, and brittle fracture of ORL at surface played a critical role for surface crack initiation in HCF. Besides, internal crack initiation with nanograins at high temperatures was a novel finding for the titanium alloy. Based on energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and transmission electron microscope characterizations, the competition between surface and internal crack initiations at high temperatures was related to ORL at surface and dislocation resistance in inner microstructure. The fatigue strengths of smooth specimens decreased at elevated temperatures due to the lower dislocation resistance. While the fatigue strengths of the specimens with defect were not very sensitive to the temperatures. Finally, a fatigue strength model considering the coupled effect of temperature and defect was proposed for TC17 titanium alloy.

Jointing of CFRP/5083 Aluminum Alloy by Induction Brazing: Processing, Connecting Mechanism, and Fatigue Performance

Abstract: Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is widely used in the lightweight design of high-speed trains due to its high specific strength. In order to further reduce the weight of the high-speed train body, it is necessary to study the joining process and fatigue properties of CFRP/aluminum alloys (CFRP/Al) structure. In this work, the CFRP plate and 5083P-O aluminum plate were successfully connected by an induction brazing method. The optimum parameters of induction brazing were determined to be an induction temperature of 290 °C, a normal pressure of 200 kPa, and a holding time of 5 s. After the 5083 plate was pre-anodized, the tensile strength of the CFRP/5083 joint reached a maximum value of 176.5 MPa. The anodization process introduced more surface micro-structures on the 5083 plate, leading to a better wetting behavior between CFRP and oxide film. Meanwhile, a new chemical bond, Al-O-C, was also formed at the interface of the CFRP/5083 joint. The fatigue limit of the CFRP/5083 joint was calculated to be 71.68 MPa through high-cycle fatigue (HCF) testing. The fatigue cracks initiated from the interface of CFRP/oxide film, and then propagated to base metal. Finally, the oxide film was peeled off from the base metal under shear stress, which contributed to the fracture of the CFRP/5083 joint. The bonding strength between CFRP and 5083 aluminum alloy is far from the conventional welded joints. Therefore, feasible approaches should be proposed to obtain a more robust bonding between CFRP and aluminum alloy in the future.

The effect of laser shock peening on surface integrity and high and very high cycle fatigue properties of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy

Abstract: • Two different laser shock peening pulse energy (10 J and 20 J) with square spots are used to treat the surface of the specimen. • Laser shock peening treatment reduced the fatigue life of specimens, tensile residual stresses were induced inside the specimens and they promote fatigue crack initiation and crack growth. • After LSP treatment of the specimen, fatigue cracks mostly initiated inside the specimen under the very high cycle fatigue range, and under the high cycle fatigue range, cracks initiated in the second phase particles on the material surface. Laser shock peening (LSP) as an emerging surface peening technology that is widely used in aerospace manufacturing. The effect of laser shock peening on surface integrity and high cycle fatigue (HCF) and very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) properties of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy was investigated in this study. Accordingly, the surface roughness, surface topography, microstructural, microhardness and residual stress of specimens treated with two different LSP pulse energy levels (10 J and 20 J) were analyzed. Additionally, the HCF and VHCF test was performed by ultrasonic fatigue test system. The results showed that surface roughness R a value and microhardness of LSP treated specimens increased by a maximum of 89.37% and 16.3% comparing to the untreated specimen, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis also showed that subgrain sizes were refined to the nanoscale. Furthermore, high-level compressive residual stresses (the maximum value about −210 MPa with 700 μm thickness) were introduced to the surface layer of the specimens. The S-N curve results showed that LSP treatment reduced the fatigue life of specimens, and the higher the laser pulse energy, the more obvious the effect of reduction. The fatigue fracture of specimens was analyzed via scanning electron microscope and residual stress distribution map. It is observed that fatigue cracks are predominantly initiated at fractured secondary phase particle locations in a VHCF range for untreated specimens. However, for LSP specimens, surface and internal crack initiation mechanisms were both observed. Under low and intermediate stress levels, the tensile residual stresses (which coexists with the compressive residual stresses) initiated fatigue cracks from the interior of the specimens; under high-stress levels, fatigue cracks were initiated at the material surface.

High-cycle fatigue properties of curved-surface AlSi10Mg parts fabricated by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing

Abstract: Purpose This study aims to uncover the multiscale relations among geometry, surface finish, microstructure and fatigue properties of curved-surface AlSi10Mg parts fabricated by powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigated the high-cycle tensile and bending fatigue behaviors of PBF-built AlSi10Mg parts with curved surfaces. Besides, the surface finish, porosity and microstructure around various curvatures were characterized. Meanwhile, the stress distributions of the fatigue specimens with curved surfaces under the dynamic tensile/bending loading were analyzed via theoretical analysis and ANSYS simulation. Findings The results showed that the as-built specimens with the smallest curvature exhibited the best surface quality, smallest grain sizes and thinnest grain boundaries. In addition, the tensile fatigue fracture occurred around the largest curvature position of fatigue specimens, which was consistent with the simulated fatigue safety factor results. Moreover, the bending fatigue specimens with the largest curvature presented the shortest fatigue life due to the highest bending and shear stresses along the loading direction. Originality/value So far, most studies have focused on the fatigue behavior of as-built AlSi10Mg parts with planar structures only. The investigation on fatigue properties of as-built AlSi10Mg parts with curved surfaces remains unexplored. This study provides new insights into the characterization and quantification of the fatigue performance of PBF-built metal parts with complex geometries, the knowledge of which can promote their adoption in real industries.

Effect of shot peening on static and fatigue properties of self-piercing riveting joints

Abstract: The joint strength of self-piercing riveting is a key factor for evaluating riveting quality. Shot peening is a useful process to strengthen sheet metal. To improve the performance of self-piercing riveting joints, the shot peening process and self-piercing riveting process are combined in this work. The shot peening of AA5052-H32 aluminum alloy sheets, static and fatigue experiments of the self-piercing riveting joints are executed, the effects of shot peening on the mechanical performance of the joints are performed. The results show that: The shot peening process can induce residual compressive stress in the surface layer of aluminum sheets, which can improve the performance of the joints; In the shot peening process, the largest residual stress is around −187.3 ± 5.1 MPa; The shot peening process can improve the static strength of the joints by about 9.5%, and has little effects on the tensile failure forms of the joints; The fatigue strength of the shot-peened self-piercing riveting joints is increased by about 9.2%. The main fatigue failure type is the damage of the lower sheets at the contact zones with the rivet leg. The contact surfaces for the shot-peened self-piercing riveting joints are suffered less from the fretting damage than that of non-shot peened joints. The static strength, fatigue strength are increased, and the fatigue crack growth rate is decreased for shot-peened joints. The shot peening process can be innovatively combined with the self-piercing riveting process to improve self-piercing riveting joint performance. This work provides new ideas to improve the self-piercing riveting quality.

Morphological and mechanical characterisation of three-dimensional gyroid structures fabricated by electron beam melting for the use as a porous biomaterial.

Abstract: Additive manufactured porous biomaterials based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are a highly discussed topic in the literature. With their unique properties in terms of open porosity, large surface area and surface curvature, they are considered to have bone mimicking properties and remarkable osteogenic potential. In this study, scaffolds of gyroid unit cells of different sizes consisting of a Ti6Al4V alloy were manufactured additively by electron beam melting (EBM). The scaffolds were analysed by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to determine their morphological characteristics and, subsequently, subjected to mechanical tests to investigate their quasi-static compressive properties and fatigue resistance. All scaffolds showed an average open porosity of 71–81%, with an average pore size of 0.64–1.41 mm, depending on the investigated design. The design with the smallest unit cell shows the highest quasi-elastic gradient (QEG) as well as the highest compressive offset stress and compression strength. Furthermore, the fatigue resistance of all unit cell size (UCS) variations showed promising results. In detail, the smallest unit cells achieved fatigue strength at 106 cycles at 45% of their compressive offset stress, which is comparatively good for additively manufactured porous biomaterials. In summary, it is demonstrated that the mechanical properties can be significantly modified by varying the unit cell size, thus enabling the scaffolds to be specifically tailored to avoid stress shielding and ensure implant safety. Together with the morphological properties of the gyroid unit cells, the fabricated scaffolds represent a promising approach for use as a bone substitute material.

Effect of carburizing process on high cycle fatigue behavior of 18CrNiMo7-6 steel

Abstract: Carburizing heat treatment is widely used in the fabrication of gears to improve their fatigue performance. The effects of carburizing process on the material properties surface hardness, residual stresses, retained austenite of case-hardened 18CrNiMo7-6 and the consequential fatigue strength have not been studied in detail. In this research, the high-cycle fatigue performance of uncarburized and carburized 18CrNiMo7-6 gear steel were studied. In addition, the evolution processes of hardness, microstructure and residual stress of carburized specimens during the fatigue test were observed quasi-in situ. The initiation of fatigue cracks was also analyzed by SEM and the transformation of retained austenite during the fatigue test was observed by TEM. The results showed that the fatigue strength of carburized specimens has an increase-decrease trend with the increase of effective case depth. Besides, the fatigue failure mode of steel changes from surface failure to internal failure after being carburized, during which retained austenite plays an important part. In addition, if a large amount of retained austenite exists in the specimen with internal failure, the high-density twin martensite region formed by the retained austenite transformation can act as the crack initiation site, which is harmful to fatigue performance.