Fractography

About: Fractography is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5043 publications have been published within this topic receiving 86068 citations.

Study of slant fracture in ductile materials

Abstract: Slant fracture is widely observed during crack growth in thin sheet specimens made of ductile materials, providing a good case for investigating three-dimensional criteria for mixed-mode ductile fracture. To gain an understanding of slant fracture events and to provide insight for establishing a slant fracture criterion, stable tearing fracture experiments on combined tension-torsion (nominal mixed-mode I/III) specimens and nominal Mode I Arcan specimens made of Al 2024-T3 are analyzed using the finite element method under three-dimensional conditions. Two types of finite element models are considered for the study of slant fracture: (a) combined tension-torsion specimens containing stationary, flat and slant cracks subject to loads corresponding to the onset of crack growth, and (b) stable tearing crack growth with slanting in a nominal Mode I Arcan specimen. Analysis results reveal that there exists a strong correlation between certain features of the crack-front effective plastic strain field and the orientation of the slant fracture surface. In particular, it is observed that (a) at the onset of crack growth in the combined tension-torsion experiments, the angular position of the maximum effective plastic strain around the crack front serves as a good indicator for the slant fracture surface orientation during subsequent crack growth; and (b) during stable tearing crack growth in the Mode I Arcan specimen, which experiences a flat-to-slant fracture surface transition, the crack growth path on each section plane through the thickness of the specimen coincides with the angular position of the maximum effective plastic strain around the crack front.

Effect of oxidation kinetics on the near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior of a nickel base superalloy

Abstract: The influence of oxidation kinetics on the near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior of a nickel base precipitation hardened superalloy was studied in air from 427° to 649 °C. The tests were conducted at 100 Hz and at load ratios of 0.1 and 0.5. The threshold ΔK values were found to increase with temperature. This behavior is attributed to oxide deposits that form on the freshly created fracture surfaces which enhance crack closure. As determined from secondary ion mass spectrometry, the oxide thickness was uniform over the crack length and was of the order of the maximum crack tip opening displacement at threshold. Oxidation kinetics were important in thickening the oxide on the fracture surfaces at elevated temperatures, whereas at room temperature, the oxide deposits at near threshold fatigue crack growth rates and at low load ratios were thickened by an oxide fretting mechanism. The effect of fracture surface roughness-induced crack closure on the near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior is also discussed.

Low-Cycle Fatigue Characteristics of Sn-Based Solder Joints

Abstract: Low-cycle, lap-shear fatigue behavior of Sn-based, Pb-free solder alloys, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3.5Ag-Cu, Sn-3.5Ag-Bi, and Sn-0.7Cu, were studied at room temperature using specimens with printed circuit board (PCB)/solder/PCB structure under total displacement of ±10 µm, 12 µm, 15 µm, and 20 µm. The fatigue lives of various solder joint materials, defined as 50% load drop, were correlated with the fracture paths and analyzed using the Coffin-Manson relation, Morrow’s plastic-energy dissipation model, and Solomon’s load-drop parameter. The Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-0.7Cu eutectics, and Sn-3.5Ag-Cu ternary alloys showed the same level of fatigue resistance, while Bi-containing alloys showed substantially worse fatigue properties. Cross-sectional fractography revealed cracks initiated at the solder wedge near the solder mask and subsequently propagated into the solder matrix in the former group of alloys, in contrast with the crack propagation along the solder/under bump metallurgy (UBM) interfaces in the Sn-3.5Ag-Bi alloys. Inferior fatigue resistance of Bi-containing alloys was ascribed to high matrix hardness, high stiffness, possible Bi segregation to the interface, and high residual stress in the interfacial area.

Fatigue behavior of TiNi foams processed by the magnesium space holder technique

Abstract: While the wide range of applications of TiNi alloys makes them highly appealing due to their shape memory and superelasticity properties, the production of TiNi in the porous form further enlarges their application fields. Porous TiNi alloys have been studied extensively for biomedical applications since their elastic modulus is similar to that of bone. Accordingly, TiNi foams have been widely characterized in terms of their various mechanical properties; however, their fatigue properties have not been well studied, even though this is of vital importance in structural applications such as medical implants. In the scope of this study, TiNi foams processed from prealloyed powders by the magnesium space holder technique were mechanically characterized by monotonic and cyclic compression tests. TiNi foams with a porosity range of 49–64 vol.%, which is suitable for bone ingrowth, were determined to have a compressive strength varying in the range 93.27–273.45 MPa. Moreover, the wide range of elastic modulus values obtained (2.93–8.71 GPa) is promising for fulfilling various requirements of different implant applications without causing stress shielding. On the other hand, the endurance limit of TiNi foams was determined to be 0.6 σ y , where σ y is the yield strength, independent of the porosity content. Fractography studies on the failed foams after fatigue testing revealed that the failure occurs by the coalescence of micro-cracks initiated from pore walls leading to macro-crack formation aligned at 45 ° with respect to the loading axis.