Fatigue and static strength of notched and unnotched aluminum-alloy and steel specimens

This paper describes a method of presentation of fatigue data on three commonly used aircraft materials, 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys and normalized SAE 4130 steel, such that variations in fatigue strength with stress-concentration factor can be shown. Comparisons of the fatigue strengths of 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 aluminum are made for the most useful range of stress-concentration factors. Static-strength results of notched and unnotched specimens of the three materials are presented to show how the strength varies with some parameters of the stress concentration. Comparison of the data with one theory for the strength of cracked specimens was made.     

Low-cycle fatigue of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy in biaxial bending

The uniaxial and biaxial low-cycle-fatigue life of 7075-T651 aluminum alloy in completely reversed bending is investigated. Uniaxial data is obtained from a cantilever specimen, and round and elliptical simply supported plate specimens are used for nominal strain biaxialities of 1∶1, 1∶075 and 1∶0.50 in the plane of the specimen. Experimental data is correlated on the basis of the total octahedral shearing strain range in which the dependent component strains are calculated using the “effective value” of Poisson's ratio for elastic-plastic loading. Good agreement is obtained oetween the uniaxial and biaxial data when the total octahedral shearing-strain range is plotted against the number of cycles to failure in logarithmic coordinates. Also, it is shown that, in anisotropic materials, the directional uniaxial and biaxial low-cycle properties can be predicted from fatigue properties in any one direction if the anisotropy of fracture ductility is known.     

A model for predicting the retardation effect following a single overload

Many engineering components are subjected to variable amplitude loading history. It is well known that retardation in fatigue crack growth occurs due to application of single overloads in a constant amplitude loading block. Many models have been proposed to capture this counter intuitive phenomenon which has resulted in improved understanding of retardation effect following tensile overloads and consequently resulting in better life prediction models. The proposed study is focused on to evaluation of retardation in fatigue life due to application of a single overload. A model for prediction of crack growth and crack growth rate following single overloads is presented. Several modifications to Wheeler’s growth idea are proposed, which incorporate a consideration for effective stress intensity factor, based on Elber’s concept of crack closure, relationship between overload ratio and the Wheeler’s exponent, and fatigue growth rate calculations. The results presented here show that plastic zone interaction following overload and the consideration of crack closure explain retardation effect following a single overload. Correlation between analysis and experimental data obtained from several sources in literature show that the scheme, is robust and provides an insight into the nonlinear aspect of crack growth results. The model has been tested for 2024-T3 aluminum alloy and 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and thorough calibrations performed, established the fidelity of the program.     

Fatigue and damage tolerance behaviour of corroded 2024 T351 aircraft aluminum alloy

The fatigue and damage tolerance behaviour of pre-corroded 2024 T351 aluminum alloy specimens has been investigated and compared to the behaviour of the uncorroded material. The experimental investigation was performed on specimens pre-corroded in exfoliation corrosion environment and included the derivation of S–N and fatigue crack growth curves as well as measurements of fracture toughness. The fatigue crack growth tests were performed for different stress ratios R. To obtain reference material behaviour all mechanical tests were repeated under the same conditions for uncorroded specimens. For the corroded material an appreciable decrease in fatigue resistance and damage tolerance was obtained. The results of the experimental investigation were discussed under the viewpoint of corrosion and corrosion-induced hydrogen embrittlement of the 2024 aluminum alloy. The need to account for the influence of pre-existing corrosion on the material’s properties in fatigue and damage tolerance analyses of components involving corroded areas was demonstrated.     

Crack growth in bi-material laminates

Growth rates of fatigue cracks have been measured in laminates fabricated by adhesively bonding layers of 2024-T351 and 7075-T6 aluminum alloys. The laminates had either two or four layers, with equal thicknesses and numbers of layers of each alloy. Fatigue-crack-propagation tests were performed with through-cracks, giving a crack-divider geometry, the results being compared to those for the two alloys tested in monolithic form. Crack-propagation rates in the bi-material laminates were intermediate between those of the monolithic alloys, with the slower growth in 2024-T351 tending to dominate over a portion of the growth-rate range. Fracture toughnesses of the laminates are also discussed.     

The effect of relative humidity and coatings on the torsional fatigue of aluminum

Fatigue tests in reversed torsion were run on 2024-T351 aluminum alloy specimens in (1) uncoated state, (2) anodized with 0.1-mil (0.0025-mm) coating and (3) chromate conversion coating. Tests on all three groups were run at low (20–25 percent), medium (55–60 percent), and high (86–91 percent) relative humidity. Tests were run at stress levels of 90, 117, 138 MPa (13,000, 17,000, and 20,000 psi). Results of test on anodized and on uncoated specimens showed no effect due to a change in relative humidity. Chromate coating showed an effect on fatigue life at low humidity but showed no effect at medium or at high humidity. The anodized coating caused a decrease in fatigue life when compared to uncoated specimens.     

Prediction of fatigue crack growth life under variable-amplitude loading using finite element analysis

This article presents an elastic-plastic study aiming at predicting the fatigue crack growth (FCG) of 2024-T3 aluminum alloys under variable-amplitude loading. The proposed analysis needs the estimation of the residual stress distribution ahead of the crack tip during propagation. An elastic-plastic FE analysis has been implemented for modeling FCG using Chaboche's model. The FE study has been carried out through consideration of the loading history effect using the memory rules. Three different loading spectra have been applied in this work. The obtained results have been compared to the experimental ones and it has been proved that the suggested model has a better prediction of the FCG lives of cracked 2024-T3 aluminum alloy structures subjected to variable-amplitude loading.     

J resistance curves in aluminum SEN specimens using Moiré interferometry

TheU _y -displacement field obtained by white-light moiré interferometry were used to estimate the approximate far- and near-fieldJ-integral values associated with the subcritical crack growths in fatigue precracked 7075-T6 and blunt notched and fatigue precracked 2024-0 and 5052-H32 aluminum, single-edged notch (SEN) specimens. The initial phases of theJ-resistance curves for the somewhat brittle 7075-T6 and the two ductile 2024-0 and 5052-H32 aluminum SEN specimens are presented. Paper was presented at the 1987 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Houston, TX on June 14–19.     

Fatigue-life prediction by an order statistics treatment of acoustic-emission signals

In fatigue, both the crack-propagation rates and the cumulative acoustic-emission activity are known to be related to the applied stress-intensity range. By considering the energy balance during crack propagation and the relation of strain energy release to the acoustic-emission characteristics, a formal relation between acoustic emission amplitudes and initial fatigue-crack-propagation rates has been derived. Continuous monitoring of acoustic emission during low cycle (tension-tension) fatigue tests has been conducted on aluminum 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 alloys, until fracture. Initial crack sizes and orientations in the fatigue specimens were randomly distributed. Every few hundred cycles, the acoustic signal having the highest peak amplitude was recorded as the extreme acoustic-emission event for the elapsed period. The extreme peak amplitudes, related to extreme crack-propagation rates, were shown, by an order statistics treatment, to be extremally distributed. Statistical, nondeterministic, approach to fatigue considers that only extreme crack-propagation rates are vital to fatigue lives. Knowledge of the distribution function of propagation rates is therefore essential in design for fatigue. Such knowledge can now be obtained in a nondestructive manner, during service in real time, by analyzing the distribution of amplitudes of acoustic-emission signals emitted during cyclic stressing. The statistical treatment enables the prediction of the number of cycles left until failure. Predictions performeda posteriori, based on results gained early in each fatigue test, were in good agreement with actual fatigue lives. The amplitude distribution analysis of the acoustic signals emitted during fatigue tests has been proven to be a feasible nondestructive method for predicting fatigue life.     

高锁螺栓连接件动态拉伸响应与失效机理

飞机坠撞过程中结构的变形模式和吸能对乘员保护具有重要意义，而连接结构的载荷传递和失效形式是影响飞机结构变形的重要因素之一。为了获取航空高锁螺栓连接件在坠撞载荷下的动态响应和失效机理，基于抗剪型平头高锁螺栓设计了2种材料（2024-T3和7050-T7451）的单钉单搭接连接件，利用高速液压伺服材料试验机进行4种速度（0.01、0.10、1.00和3.00 m/s）下的拉伸测试，得到连接件的动态响应、极限载荷、能量吸收和失效模式随速度的变化规律，并分析了连接件的失效机理。结果表明，连接件的失效模式受母材和高锁螺栓/螺母材料强度影响较大，而受加载速度影响较小；当速度从0.01 m/s增加到3.00 m/s时，2024-T3连接件的极限载荷和能量吸收分别增加了2.17%和34.43%，7050-T7451连接件的极限载荷和能量吸收分别增加了5.53%和6.58%。     

Influence of strain rate on mechanical properties of 6061-T6 aluminum under uniaxial and biaxial states of stress

A technique is presented for determining mechanical properties of materials under dynamic tensile loads. A Dynapak metalworking machine was modified into a test fixture capable of producing the required dynamic loads for uniaxial and certain biaxial tensile tests. Results from uniaxial dynamic tests on 6061-T6 aluminum alloy are presented and compared to “static” data obtained from a universal testing machine. The dependence of tensile strength on strain rate and the augmenting effect of temperature on this dependence can be seen. The results of biaxial tests are described in terms of a modified form of the distortion-energy failure theory.     

Development of an apparatus for fatigue testing in vacuum

The development and use of a small, light-weight, remotely controlled fatigue apparatus are described. The particular application was for fatigue tests of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy in vacuums of 8.6×10^?8 to 4×10^?9 Torr. The fatigue life in vacuum was 1.8 times greater than the fatigue life in air based on the upper 95 percent confidence limit for tests in air and the lower 95 percent confidence limit for tests in vacuum.     

Surface hardness increase of 2024 aluminum alloy subjected to cyclic loading

Constant amplitude fatigue tests at R = 0.1, conducted on the aircraft aluminum alloy 2024 T3, have revealed an appreciable surface hardness increase of the alloy at the nano- and meso-scale during fatigue. The observed surface hardness changes could be monitored with confidence by means of nanoindentations. The degree of hardening increases with increasing number of fatigue cycles following exponential relations. With increasing fatigue stress level degree of hardening increases as well. The observed results provide a basis for developing concepts to early detect and also monitor fatigue damage accumulation in aluminum aircraft structures based on measurements of the material’s hardness changes by means of nanoindentations.     

“Models” of the fatigue process

Some of the instabilities in behavior of material and the structural readjustments that occur to alter the relationships between load and peak stress are discussed by visualizing each level of observation as a type of idealized “model” representing the structural behavior. Nonlinearities and chance effects occur in making predictions from models on the atomistic or crystalline scale to those of specimens, structural components, or full-scale structures. These nonlinear effects, together with the statistical aspects of material behavior, load history, and manufacturing variables, are emphasized to illustrate the difficulty in present-day practice of making any quantitative prediction of fatigue life or fatigue strength of the final product.     

A thin-sheet, combined tension and bending specimen

Validating stress intensity factor solutions for combined tension and bending is an arduous task because the necessary experimental data are not readily available. Toward this end, a tension and bending test specimen was designed to produce controllable levels of both tension stress and bending stress at the crack location. The specimen was made from 2024-T3 clad aluminum, which is commonly used in aircraft structures. The need for testing multiple specimens of various geometries and stress levels prompted the development of an analytical tool for specimen design. An extention of the Schijve line model, based on simple beam theory, was developed to calculate the stress distributions of tension and bending through the length of the specimen. A comparison of measured static strain levels with those predicted by the model showed the model to be accurate to within 5 percent, confirming its efficacy for specimen design. As expected, for the same remote stress (100 MPa), cracks in the tension and bending specimens grew faster than those in middle-cracked tension specimens.     

Torsional fatigue tests of anodized aluminum rods

Fatigue tests in reversed torsion were run on 2024-T351 aluminum-alloy specimens in (1) uncoated state and (2) anodized with 0.3 and 0.05-mil (0.0076- and 0.0013-mm) coatings. Tests on both groups were run at low (20–25 percent), medium (55–60 percent), and high (86–91 percent) relative humidity. One lot of uncoated specimens was tested that had been polished after machining, and one lot of anodized specimens was tested that had been polished before coating. Tests on uncoated and on anodized specimens were run at stress levels of approximately 13,000, 17,000 and 20,000 psi (89.62, 117.2 and 137.9 MPa, respectively). Results of tests on both coated and uncoated specimens showed longer fatigue life at low humidity than at high humidity. Little difference was found between tests at medium and at high humidity. No difference was found between polished and unpolished specimens. With coated specimens, the thickness of coating showed no effect on fatigue life. Comparing the results on coated and uncoated specimens at low humidity, coated specimens had a longer fatigue life. However, at high humidity, there was no significant difference.     

The fatigue of aluminum alloys subjected to random loading

This paper describes an expeirmental investigation which was carried out to determine the fatigue life of two aluminum alloys (2024-T3 and 6061-T6). They were subjected to both constant-strain-amplitude sinusoidal and narrow-band random-strain-amplitude fatigue loadings. The fatigue-life values obtained from the narrow-band random testing were compared with theoretical predictions based on Miner's linear accumulation of damage hypothesis. Cantilever-beam-test specimens fabricated from the aluminum alloys were subjected to either a constant-strain-amplitude sinusoidal or a narrow-band random base excitation by means of an electromagnetic vibrations exciter. It was found that the ε-N curves for both alloys could be approximated by three straight-line segments in the low-, intermediate- and high-cycle fatigue-life ranges. Miner's hypothesis was used to predict the narrow-band random fatigue lives of materials with this type of ε-N behavior. These fatigue-life predictions were found to consistently overestimate the acutal fatigue lives by a factor of 2 or 3. However, the shape of the predicted fatigue-life curves and the high-cycle fatigue behavior of both materials were found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.     

高速列车用6008铝合金动态变形本构与损伤模型参数研究

高速列车在实际服役过程中会经受复杂的应力状态和环境条件,铝合金型材以其优良的力学和加工性能被广泛应用于新型高速列车的吸能结构,其防撞性能对高速列车的安全运行至关重要。本文针对一种新型轨道车辆用材料6008-T4铝合金型材进行了多种力学性能测试,包括动静态拉压实验、准静态高低温实验、不同应力路径的断裂实验等,提出了一种计算局部断裂应变的新方法,进而标定和获取了Johnson-Cook本构和损伤模型参数。最后利用平板侵彻实验来对所获取的参数进行检验,发现模拟和实验结果吻合良好,说明本文所获取的参数和参数标定方法都是有效的。     

An investigation about interference fit effect on improving fatigue life of a holed single plate in joints

In this article, the effect of interference fit on fatigue life of holed plate of mechanical joints was investigated both experimentally and numerically. In the experimental part, fatigue tests were carried out on the holed specimens of Al 7075-T6 alloy in which oversized steel pins were force fitted to them. These fatigue tests were conducted on open hole specimen and specimens with 1, 1.5, 2 and 4% nominal interference fit sizes at different cyclic longitudinal loads. From these tests the stress-life (S–N) data for different interference fit sizes were obtained. The results show that interference fit increases fatigue life compared to open hole specimens. In the numerical part of the investigation, 3D finite element simulations have been performed to obtain stress (or strain) histories and distributions around the hole due to interference fit and subsequent cyclic longitudinal loading using FEM package. The stress history from finite element (FE) simulation was used to explain the reason for fatigue life improvement in the interference fitted specimens.     

复合材料胶接修补问题的试验研究和分析

用带中心裂纹的Ｌｙ１２ＣＺ铝合金板模拟飞机的损伤结构,对于不同的修补方式（单边和双边修补）,不同的补片材料（铝合金和复合材料）和几何尺寸以及脱胶等因素,进行了静强度和疲劳裂纹扩展试验． 实验表明． 胶结修补能明显地提高损伤结构的强度和疲劳寿命,同时实验还为修补实践的选材和几何参数的设计等提供了大量数据． 文中最后给出了修补结构疲劳裂纹的有限元计算估计,并与试验结果进行了比较和分析．