Multiscale approach to micro/macro fatigue crack growth in 2024-T3 aluminum panel

When two contacting solid surfaces are tightly closed and invisible to the naked eye,the discontinuity is said to be microscopic regardless of whether its length is short or long.By this definition,it is not sufficient to distinguish the difference between a micro-and macro-crack by using the length parameter.Microcracks in high strength metal alloys have been known to be several centimeters or longer.Considered in this work is a dual scale fatigue crack growth model where the main crack can be micro or macro but there prevails an inherent microscopic tip region that is damaged depending on the irregularities of the microstructure.This region is referred to as the"micro-tip"and can be simulated by a sharp wedge with different angles in addition to mixed boundary conditions.The combination is sufficient to model microscopic entities in the form of voids,inclusions,precipitations,interfaces,in addition to subgrain imperfections,or cluster of dislocations.This is accomplished by using the method of"singularity representation"such that closed form asymptotic solutions can be obtained for the development of fatigue crack growth rate relations with three parameters.They include:(1)the crack surface tightness*represented by o/=0.3-0.5 for short cracks in region I,and 0.1-0.2 for long cracks in region II,(2)the micro/macro material properties reflected by the shear modulus ratio*(=micro/macro varying between 2 and 5)and(3)the most sensitive parameter d*being the micro-tip characteristic length d*(=d/do)whose magnitude decreases in the direction of region I II.The existing fatigue crack growth data for 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum sheets are used to reinterpret the two-parameter da/dN=C(K)nrelation where K has now been re-derived for a microcrack with surfaces tightly in contact.The contact force will depend on the mean stress m or mean stress ratio R as the primary parameter and on the stress amplitude a as the secondary parameter.     

Integrated peak spectral intensity for in situ crack detection

This paper presents an integrated peak spectral intensity method for in situ detection of a fatigue crack in a metallic material. The method employs a laser beam to illuminate the notch root of a central slot machined on test specimens. The diffracted images are digitized, recorded and processed on a personal computer. Subsequent image processing and analysis yield information from which fatigue crack initiation on the specimen is determined. The technique is applied to aluminium alloy specimens subjected to a cyclic tensile load with a constant stress amplitude. Unlike previous techniques, the present technique enables recording of speckle images and the subsequent detection of fatigue crack initiation without the necessity of unloading the test specimen from the testing machine.     

Impact toughness of EK-181 ferritic-martensitic chromium (12%) steel under loading by concentrated bending

The low-temperature fracture of a high-temperature low-activated ferritic-martensitic EK-181 chromium (12%) steel (RUSFER-EK-181: Fe-12Cr-2W-V-Ta-B) is studied using impact and static concentrated bending tests as a function of the specimen dimensions (standard, small), the type of stress concentrator (V-shaped notch, fatigue crack), and the temperature (from −196 to +100°C). The ductile-brittle transition temperature falls in the range from −85 to +35°C. The temperature dependences of stress-intensity factor K _Ic and fracture toughness J _Ic are determined. The severest type of impact toughness tests is represented by tests of V-notched specimens with an additional fatigue crack and two lateral V-shaped notches (three-sided V-shaped notch with a central fatigue crack). The fracture energy of the steel depends on the type of stress concentrator and the specimen dimensions and is determined by the elastic energy and the plastic deformation conditions in the near-surface layers of a specimen, which are controlled by the lateral notches. At the same test temperature, the impact toughness and the fracture toughness are interrelated. Irrespective of the type of specimen (including notches and a fatigue crack), the ferritic-martensitic steel exhibits the same fracture mechanism.     

Analysis of crack propagation data for a strain ageing and a stabilized mild steel tested under R=0 and R=−1 loading conditions

Comparative studies of crack propagation in a strain ageing and a stabilized mild steel were carried out under axial loadings of the R = 0 and R = ?1 types. The results show the rate of fatigue crack propagation is dependent on both the tensile and the compressive stresses in the fatigue cycles, the compression stresses being less effective than the equivalent tensile stresses in causing crack growth. An equation is presented relating the rate of fatigue crack growth to a stress intensity range which is factored to allow for the variations in fatigue damage associated with the tensile and compressive parts of the stress cycle.     

Influence of water cavitation peening with aeration on fatigue behaviour of SAE1045 steel

Water cavitation peening (WCP) with aeration is a recent potential method in the surface enhancement techniques. In this method, a ventilation nozzle is adopted to improve the process capability of WCP by increasing the impact pressure, which is induced by the bubble collapse on the surface of components in the similar way as conventional shot peening. In this paper, fatigue tests were conducted on the both-edge-notched flat tensile specimens to assess the influences of WCP on fatigue behaviour of SAE1045 steel. The notched specimens were treated by WCP, and the compressive residual stress distributions in the superficial layer were measured by X-ray diffraction method. The tension-tension (R = S_min/S_max = 0.1, f = 10 Hz) fatigue tests and the fracture surfaces observation by scan electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted. The experimental results show that WCP can improve the fatigue life by inducing the residual compressive stress in the superficial layer of mechanical components.     

Uninterrupted and accelerated vibrational fatigue testing with simultaneous monitoring of the natural frequency and damping

A mechanical system's modal parameters change when fatigue loading is applied to the system. In order to perform an accelerated vibration-based fatigue test these changes must be taken into account in order to maintain constant-stress loading. This paper presents an improved accelerated fatigue-testing methodology based on the dynamic response of the test specimen to the harmonic excitation in the near-resonant area with simultaneous monitoring of the modal parameters. The measurements of the phase angle and the stress amplitude in the fatigue zone are used for the real-time adjustment of the excitation signal according to the changes in the specimen's modal parameters. The presented methodology ensures a constant load level throughout the fatigue process until the final failure occurs. With the proposed testing methodology it is possible to obtain a S-N point of the Woehler curve relatively quickly and to simultaneously monitor the changes of the specimen's natural frequency and damping loss factor. The presented methodology with real-time control is verified on an aluminum Y-shaped specimen (10⁶ load cycles are achieved in 21 min) and is applicable to a specimen with arbitrary geometry. Besides the faster completion of the fatigue test the methodology can be adopted for the validation of the vibrational fatigue analysis.     

时效、断续载荷和再溶处理对于铝铜合金的疲劳过程的影响

【摘　要】本文研究了各种处理对于含铜1％、2％和4％的铝合金在疲劳载荷下ΔE和T_m的变化的影响,并进行了相应的金相观测。用Al-1％Cu合金所进行的试验指出,当外加扭应变较大时,ΔE和T_m曲线的形状类似于高纯铝或工业纯铝;当扭应变较小时,或在室温进行预先时效后,曲线的形状类似于Al-4％Cu合金。这些结果都可以根据溶质原子对于位错的交互作用的看法得到解释。对于Al-1％Cu和Al-2％Cu合金进行了断续的疲劳载荷试验,结果证明了ΔE在疲劳后期的上升是由于试样里出现了集中的粗滑移区,而不是由于疲劳载荷引起了过时效从而使试样发生软化的结果。用Al-4％Cu合金进行了疲劳和再溶处理的试验,根据ΔE和T_m曲线的表现情况来看,认为如在ΔE的后期上升后立即对试样进行再溶处理,即可以使试样回复到原来的状态,但当ΔE上升过了一个时期以后,由于试样中已有裂缝出现,对试样进行再溶处理,反足以加速试样的断裂。根据实验结果,可以总结出两个具有实际意义的推论:(1)由于粗滑移带的出现是形成疲劳裂缝的先声,所以有可能通过测量ΔE的方法来查知初发裂缝的形成;(2)通过加入合金元素和进行热处理的方法,可以推迟粗滑移带的出现,从而提高铝合金试样的疲劳寿命。     

Effects of loading condition on very-high-cycle fatigue behaviour and dominant variable analysis

The specimens of a high carbon chromium steel were quenched and tempered at 150°C,180°C and 300°C.Such specimens were tested via rotating bending and a push-pull type of axial loading to investigate the influences of loading condition on the behaviour of very-high-cycle fatigue(VHCF).Experimental results show the different influences of inclusion size on the fatigue life for the two loading conditions.Predominant factors and mechanism for the fine-granular-area(FGA)of crack origin were discussed.In addition,a reliability analysis based on a modified Tanaka-Mura model was carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of inclusion size,stress,and KFGA to the life of VHCF crack initiation.     

A statistical model of fatigue failure incorporating effects of specimen size and load amplitude on fatigue life

Among many contributing factors, the load range, number of load cycles and specimen geometry (including configuration and size) are three major variables for fatigue failure. Most existing statistical fatigue models deal with only one or two of these three variables. According to the statistical distribution of microcracks with respect to their size and spatial location, a weakest-link probabilistic model for fatigue failure is established to incorporate the combined effect of load range, number of load cycles and specimen size. The model reveals a compound parameter of load range and number of load cycles reminiscent of the empirical formulae of fatigue stress-life curve and its correlation with another compound parameter of cumulative failure probability and specimen size. Four sets of published fatigue test data are adopted to validate the model.     

Development of multiple drywall with high sound insulation performance

Experimental studies for the development of multiple drywalls with a high sound insulation performance are performed. Firstly, a means of preventing the sound insulation deterioration due to the coincidence effect at high frequencies is investigated by layering two plasterboards with different physical characteristics. Based on the results, a double drywall with a sound insulation performance of R_w = 61 is developed. Further more, a double drywall of R_w = 64 , a triple drywall of R_w = 86 and a quadruple drywall of R_w = 90 are developed.     

Dc breakdown of low pressure gas in long tubes

The gas breakdown was experimentally investigated in dc electrical field in long discharge tubes. The measurements were performed in the tube of radius R=4 mm, whereas the inter-electrode gap values varied in the range L=2-230 mm. The conventional Paschen law was shown to hold in short discharge tubes for which L/R?1. At L/R>1 the breakdown curves Udc(p) are shifted not only to lower pressure p values but also to higher dc voltage Udc values with the gap value increasing, i.e., one must employ the modified law of gas breakdown Udc(pL,L/R). However in long tubes the breakdown curve pattern experiences qualitative changes. At L/R>20 increasing L makes the dc breakdown curves to shift to higher Udc values, their minima being observed almost at the same gas pressure value. That is, for small gaps with increasing distance between the electrodes, the breakdown curves shift to the left on the scale of the gas pressure at a constant voltage at the minimum, and for long tubes with increasing distance between the electrodes, the breakdown curves shift upward on the scale of the voltage with the same gas pressure at the minimum. Theoretical treatment reveals that for gas breakdown in a long tube the rates of ionization via electron impact and diffusion loss to the tube wall must be equal.     

Determination of interfacial parameters in fiber-polymer systems from pull-out test data using a bilinear bond law

We propose a new model for characterization of strength properties of fiber-polymer interfaces by means of a single fiber pull-out test. Our model is based on shear-lag analysis using a bilinear bond law (stress–slip relationship) which, in turn, is a simplified representation of the true stress behavior as a function of strain for cold-drawing polymers. According to this law, the fiber-polymer interface is subjected to the following successive processes: (1) linear loading within the elastic region; (2) yielding and subsequent bond strengthening with increasing strain; (3) local debonding and interfacial crack propagation along the interface; (4) post-debonding friction. Both crack propagation and extension of the yielded zone can be stable and unstable, depending on the values of interfacial parameters and the load applied to the free fiber end. The procedure of construction of theoretical force–displacement curves for a pull-out test is described in detail. Theoretical curves exhibit such features as multiple kinks and non-linear regions, whose positions and shape are related to interfacial parameters. By fitting experimental curves with theoretical ones, these parameters can be determined for each separate pull-out specimen. Practical examples are provided for basalt fiber–polypropylene and glass fiber–polypropylene specimens.     

Comparison on plasticity of current-driven vortex lattices in as-grown and heavy ion irradiated microbridge Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+δ single crystals

From the I-V characteristics for as-grown and irradiated Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ single crystals at T=5 K in a magnetic field applied parallel to the c axis, we have seen two types of vortex dynamics near the depinning threshold. For the as-grown sample, at low field, the I-V curves show steps that clearly indicate a “fingerprint phenomenon” since they reflect the current dependence of differential resistance R_d=dV/dI. This can be ascribed to vortices flow through uncorrelated channels for the highly defective lattice. As fields sufficiently increase, these peaks merge, giving broader ones, indicating a crossover from filamentary strings to braid river. In contrast, in the irradiated sample, the pinning is found to be individual at low magnetic fields and collective when the vortex-vortex interactions are involved. Our result suggests a dynamic nature of the peak effect, in agreement with recent numerical simulations and experimental works.     

Nonreciprocal light birefringence in the R 3B7O13 X Boracites (R=Co, Cu, Ni; X=I, Br)

The field and angular dependences of nonreciprocal birefringence (NB), which is linear in magnetic field B and is due to magnetic-field-induced spatial dispersion, have been studied in the cubic (symmetry class T _d) paraelectric phase of the R ₃B₇O₁₃ X boracites (R=Co, Cu, Ni; X=I, Br) at a wavelength λ=633 nm. It is shown that the NB in crystals with different 3d and halogen ions exhibits the same anisotropy. The relation between the A and g parameters, A=2g, which determine the NB anisotropy, suggests that the microscopic mechanism of the NB is the manifestation of second-order magnetoelectric susceptibility at optical frequencies.     

铝在疲劳载荷作用下所发生的基本过程

【摘　要】进行了99.6％工业纯铝和99.99％高纯铝(退火和冷加工)的扭转疲劳试验,测定了经过各种应力循环数N以后的滞后迴线的形状和面积,从而算出了在每次循环中的能量消耗ΔE和最大抗扭矩T_m。对于所得到的ΔE-N曲线和T_m-N曲线进行了分析,并与在疲劳试验的各个阶段对于试样表面所作的金相观测结果作了比较,认为在试样中未出现局部滑移区以前,引起ΔE和T_m的基本过程是空位对于位错的钉紥作用,这是一种体积效应,但是在局部滑移区出现以后,这种滑移区引起额外的能量消耗,而对于T_m的影响并不显著,因而在这个阶段里T_m和ΔE的变化便不再彼此相对应。这种分析可以澄清过去文献中关于ΔE和T_m(代表硬度变化)在疲劳过程中的变化的许多互不一致的结果。假定实验所观测到的曲线是这两种过程(整体过程和局部过程)所引起的效应的迭加,并且假定这两种过程对于ΔE和T_m的贡献由于疲劳振幅的大小、试样的处理状态(退火或冷加工)以及所合杂质之不同而异,可以满意地解释实验所观测到的各种曲线的形状和位置。这个观点的正确与否还有待于进一步的实验证实。     

Ultrasonic sizing of short surface cracks

This paper presents a method for ultrasonic sizing of surface cracks based on time domain and frequency domain Rayleigh wave near-field analysis. The procedure allows for the entire range of ratio of crack depth to Rayleigh wavelength a/λ to be covered with one single measurement. In the time domain the time-of-flight method was extended to cracks smaller than the wavelength by correlation of the time delay of the transmitted Rayleigh wave with the crack depth. In the frequency domain, the inverse scattering problem was solved by comparison of the measured scattering coefficients and central frequencies of the reflected and transmitted Rayleigh waves with theoretical curves. The sizing procedure was demonstrated experimentally with narrow slots and real fatigue cracks. The out-of-plane displacement component was measured pointwise in the scattered near field by means of laser interferometry. The determination of the scattering parameters in the near field was enabled by a procedure that allows for the Rayleigh wave to be separated from the other modes scattered at the defect. The experimental results showed good accuracy and repeatability down to the smallest available ratio of crack depth to Rayleigh wavelength a/λ = 0.15.     

Physical properties and anisotropies of the RNiGe3 series (R = Y, Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Lu)

We have studied RNiGe₃ (R=Y, Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Lu) single crystals by measuring crystal structure and stoichiometry, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, and specific heat. Clear anisotropies as well as antiferromagnetic ordering in the RNiGe₃ series (R=Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Tm) have been observed above 1.8 K from the magnetic susceptibility. A metamagnetic transition in this family (except for R=Sm) was detected at 2 K for applied magnetic fields below 70 kOe. The electrical resistivity of this series follows metallic behavior in the high temperature region. Below the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature a significant anisotropy is exhibited in the resistivity and magnetoresistance for different current directions. The anisotropic magnetic, transport, and thermal properties of RNiGe₃ compounds are discussed in terms of Ni site occupancy as well as a combination of the effect of formation of a magnetic superzone gap and the crystalline electric field.     

The effects of substructure on fatigue crack propagation

The correlation between the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks and the substructure formation was examined using aluminium specimens. The effects of substructures introduced by static and alternating stresses and those of the recovery of the substructure on the propagation rates of fatigue cracks were also studied. Observations of the substructures were made by means of the X-ray micro-beam technique. The principal results obtained are as follows:

1. At the time of fatigue crack initiation a definite substructure develops at the root of a notch made on the specimen edge.
2. The rate of fatigue crack propagation has a relation to the characteristics of the substructures at the tip of the fatigue cracks.
3. While the rates of propagation are retarded by static pre-strains, they increase in proportion to the degree of substructure formation due to alternating stresses.
4. The rates are usually reduced by the recovery after alternating deformation.

On the basis of the above results, the significance of substructures for fatigue fracture is discussed.     

机械视觉疲劳裂纹扩展试件自动定位安装方法

针对现有疲劳裂纹扩展试验中试件的安装定位仍采用操作繁琐、效率低下的手动安装问题,本文提出了一种基于机械视觉的疲劳裂纹扩展试件安装定位方法,首先,对试件及夹具图像进行采集、处理和分析,实现夹具、试件圆心坐标及半径的自动快速识别、孔差距离的精确测量;然后利用模糊PID算法来控制直流伺服电机运动定位,从而实现试件的正确安装定位;最后采用工业数字显微镜对不同时间点的试件位置偏差进行停机测量对比,实验结果表明：所提出方法能够对试件进行精确安装定位,最大偏差为0.122 mm,具有重要的理论和应用价值,并为其它类似基于机器视觉的检测定位方法提供了有价值的参考。     

Evolution of Crack Tip Constraint in a Mode II Elastic-Plastic Crack Problem

Numerous studies have shown that crack tip constraint has an important effect on the level of conservatism when crack extension is investigated in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. Constraint effect has been explored extensively in the past but mainly for pure mode I problems. Very few researchers have dealt with the effects of crack tip constraint on mode II or mixed mode I/II fracture in metallic materials. In this paper, the evolution of mode II constraint parameter Q in terms of applied external load is determined numerically for a test specimen under pure mode II loading. The finite element method is utilized to model the specimen and to study the range of validity of mode II constraint parameter determined from a Q—T diagram. The parameter Q calculated from the finite element simulation (or from the full field solution) is compared with the values of Q determined from the Q—T diagram. For low levels of load, the results of full field solution are shown to be consistent well with the results obtained from the Q—T diagram. However, when the external load increases significantly, the results of Q—T diagram are no longer accurate and mode II constraint parameter Q should be calculated directly from finite element results.