Fatigue based three-dimensional structural design optimisation studies implementing the generalised Frost–Dugdale crack growth law

Experimental studies of fatigue crack growth in aluminium alloys have shown that, at the low-to-mid stress intensity factor range, there is often a log-linear relationship between the crack length and the fatigue life. These observations have led to the development of the generalised Frost–Dugdale crack growth law, which allowed the accurate prediction of fatigue crack growth from Region I. For this research paper the ‘generalised Frost–Dugdale’ law was used to perform an optimisation study of 7050-T7451 Aluminium structures. The structural optimisation procedure proposed integrates geometrical modelling, structural analysis and optimization into one complete and automated computer-aided design process. The results from the structural optimisation study compared the ‘generalised Frost–Dugdale’ law and the traditional Paris law. Gradient-less, gradient-based optimisation algorithm and an enumeration scheme were considered in this investigation. The enumeration scheme takes advantage of a cluster computer architecture which enables a visualisation of the solution space allowing verification and validation of the optimisation algorithm. The results indicated that the optimal geometrical shape and predicted fatigue life depended on the crack sizes, structural geometry, boundary conditions and fatigue crack growth law. As a result, this procedure illustrates that for the design of light weight structures, a fatigue based optimisation used in conjunction with visualisation of the solution space may provide a viable design methodology. The importance of non-destructive inspection (NDI) and its role in determining optimal structural geometries is also revealed. Furthermore, the possibility of the application of the generalised Frost–Dugdale model in design optimisation has been demonstrated. This procedure has the potential to be applied to structures with complex structural configurations taking into account crack propagation in Region I.     

Initiation and propagation of fatigue crack in pure aluminium single crystals

The fatigue crack initiation and propagation in the pure aluminum single crystals with different orientations are investigated. Acoustic Emission (AE) technique is used to monitor the fatigue crack initiation and propagation data. The results show that the acoustic emission technique could be used for detecting fatigue crack initiation and propagation. The total counts of AE are plotted as a function of the number of fatigue cycles, and change in slope of the curve corresponded to the initiation of the fatigue crack. The fatigue crack initiation and propagation are related to the specimen crystalline orientation. Specifically, they depend on the ratio K of the Schmid factor of the secondary slip system, to that of the primary one. The greater the ratio K, the easier the fatigue crack initiates and the faster the fatigue crack propagates. When the ratio K is equal or close to one, the fatigue crack grows either along a cleavage plane which intersects both the primary plane and the secondary one or along the primary slip plane and the secondary one. Growth along alternating planes can also occur giving rise to a zigzag path. When the ratio K is much less than one, the fatigue crack grows along the primary slip plane only. The results are explained with a model for the faceted mode of fatigue crack growth.     

An Investigation of Random Fatigue Strength of K-Type Tubular Joints and Crack Propagation Behaviors

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Experimental Investigation and Finite Element Analysis of Fatigue Crack Growth in Pipes Containing a Circumferential Semi-elliptical Crack Subjected to Bending

In this paper, a circumferential external surface flaw in a metallic round pipe under cyclic bending loading is considered. Because of very rapid changes in the geometrical parameters around the crack front region, the mesh generation of this region must be done with great care. This may lead to an increase in the run time which makes it difficult to reach valid results and conclusions. Because of the advantages of the sub-modeling technique in problems which need very high mesh density, this method is used. Stress intensity factors in mode I condition are determined using three-dimensional finite element modeling with 20 node iso-parametric brick elements in the ANSYS 9.0 standard code and the singular form of these finite elements at the crack front. In order to estimate the analysis error, the structural parameter error in energy norm criterion was used. Because of the advantages of non-dimensional analysis, this method is employed, and the stress intensity factors are normalized. For the analysis of the fatigue crack growth, the Paris law is used. The propagation path of the surface flaw is obtained from the diagram of aspect ratio versus relative crack depth. The fatigue crack growth analysis (the relative crack depth against loading cycles diagram) of different initial crack aspect ratio under cyclic loading is also considered. Fatigue shape development of initially semi-elliptical external surface defects is illustrated. The effect of the Paris exponent (material constant) on fatigue crack propagation is shown as well. Moreover, the fatigue crack growth of several specimens is assessed experimentally using a manually-constructed experimental set up. Finally, the experimental results obtained by cyclic bending loading tests are compared with the numerical results. The experimental results show good conformity with the finite element results.     

考虑微动磨损的钢丝微动疲劳裂纹扩展寿命预测研究

微动疲劳是矿井提升钢丝绳主要失效形式之一,在钢丝微动疲劳过程中,微动磨损严重影响钢丝微动疲劳裂纹扩展特性,进而制约钢丝微动疲劳断裂机制,故开展考虑微动磨损的钢丝微动疲劳裂纹扩展寿命预测研究至关重要. 运用自制钢丝微动疲劳试验机开展钢丝微动疲劳试验和拉伸断裂试验,通过高速度数码显微系统揭示微动疲劳过程中钢丝微动磨损演化、裂纹萌生和扩展及断裂特性,基于摩擦学和断裂力学理论,运用有限元法、循环迭代法和虚拟裂纹闭合技术建立了考虑微动磨损的钢丝微动疲劳裂纹扩展寿命预测模型,并进行试验验证. 结果表明:采用微动疲劳过程稳定阶段磨损系数预测钢丝微动磨损演化可保证预测正确性,微动疲劳过程中钢丝主要为I型裂纹扩展模式,考虑微动磨损的钢丝微动疲劳裂纹扩展寿命预测值和试验值吻合较好,验证了预测模型正确性.      

考虑T-stress的非正态随机参数疲劳裂纹扩展寿命的可靠性分析

基于断裂力学的疲劳裂纹扩展寿命问题的研究常常将裂纹尖端应力展开项的高次项忽略,引起了裂纹扩展模拟的误差,本文考虑高次项T-stress对裂纹扩展角的影响,对裂纹扩展过程做了数值模拟,结果显示相同裂纹扩展长度下,考虑T-stress会延长裂纹扩展寿命。文章首先采用修正的Paris-Erdogan 公式计算了两端承受均布拉伸载荷的边缘斜裂纹板的疲劳裂纹扩展寿命,裂纹扩展方向采用两参数修正的最大拉应力准则。由于结构尺寸,材料特性和载荷等因素具有不确定性,导致疲劳裂纹扩展过程带有一定的随机性,本文以材料属性和载荷为随机变量,在随机有限元法的基础上,结合计算可靠度的四阶矩法,Edgeworth级数展开方法,提出随机参数服从任意分布时的结构疲劳裂纹扩展寿命可靠度的计算方法。分析了参数为非正态分布时的平板裂纹扩展寿命可靠度随裂纹扩展的变化过程。本文方法可预测工程中板裂纹的扩展行为,以及预测裂纹板的可靠度。     

Electric-field-induced fatigue crack growth in ferroelectric ceramics

Electric-field-induced fatigue crack growth in pre-cracked PZT ferroelectric ceramics is experimentally investigated in this work. It is found that the crack open and close under an alternating electric field is a major mechanism of crack propagation. The experimental results also show that the frequency, waveform, as well as the amplitude ratio, of the electric loading, play important roles in electric-field-induced fatigue cracking. Empirical formulations of fatigue crack propagation rates are obtained based on the experimental results. It is revealed that the crack grows at a nearly constant rate when the loading frequency is below 100 Hz. However, with the increase of the loading frequency over 125 Hz, the crack propagation rate diminishes rapidly.     

Life prediction of thermally cracked railway wheels: Growth estimation of cracks with arbitrary shape

A computer program for railway wheel life prediction has been developed incorporating an elastoplastic calculation of both the residual stress field induced by shoe-braking and the superposed alternating rolling contact stresses. The possibilities of unstable propagation of surface cracks, crack arrest, fatigue propagation through a complex stress field and crack detention on reaching the threshold value have been accounted for. An approximate method for crack growth prediction is used providing bounds for instantaneous crack front position and estimations of crack shape within short computing times. Some examples of application for an UIC R7 wheel are presented.     

Experimental study and BEM analysis of fatigue crack growth in a cracked heterogeneous body

A model for analysing a soft-hard heterogeneous body with a crack in the hard region is presented in this paper. The result of fatigue experiments shows that mechanical heterogeneity affects the rate of propagation of fatigue crack. Meanwhile the results computed by BEM for cracked heterogeneous bodies under cycling loading indicate that the smaller the distance between the crack and the interface of hard and soft regions is, the smaller the amplitude of crack opening displacement, COD and ofJ-integral as well at the same step during the fatigue crack growth will be. The effect of heterogeneity on the rate of fatigue crack propagation is shown by the variation of J. The smaller the distance of the crack to the interface is, the smaller the rate of fatigue crack growth will be.     

基于实测载荷谱的重载铁路货车车钩钩尾框剩余寿命预测

随着我国重载铁路货车运行规模及开行频次的增加, 车钩钩尾框断裂破坏问题日益严重. 本文以国产16/17型车钩钩尾框(锻造E级钢)为研究对象, 首先通过系统的材料试验获得了锻造E级钢的基本力学性能和断裂性能参数; 其次建立了含初始裂纹缺陷的钩尾框有限元模型; 最后基于实测线路载荷谱, 采用NASGRO方程开展了伤损钩尾框剩余寿命预测. 计算结果表明: 当裂纹形貌比a/c为0.8, 0.5, 0.3时计算得到的车钩钩尾框剩余寿命逐渐减小, 疲劳裂纹从深度2 mm扩展至20 mm的计算剩余寿命分别为36, 32, 26万公里, 均不足一个段修期; 3种裂纹形貌比下裂纹扩展至12 mm后的剩余寿命占比均较小, 仅为总剩余服役里程的4.7%, 4.0%, 2.2%, 因此可将12 mm作为钩尾框损伤容限止裂判据较为合理; 为研究近门槛区对裂纹扩展寿命的影响, 当裂纹形貌比为0.5且初始裂纹的尺寸降低至0.5 mm时, 裂纹将处于裂纹扩展门槛区附近, 剩余服役里程约为156万公里, 约为2 mm初始裂纹的4.9倍, 跨越了三个段修期. 论文研究结果可为重载铁路货车钩尾框检修周期的优化提供基本参考.      

Dislocation pile-up model of fatigue thresholds for 2024- and 7075-alike aluminium alloys

Two parameters, K_max^* and δK_th^*, are presented to describe fatigue threshold behaviour and damage under any load ratio without invoking crack closure. Modelled are two fatigue thresholds that are coherently related to fatigue limit δσ_FL; they predict the fundamental threshold curves for aluminium alloys. By using a continuous configuration of dislocations in pile-up, fatigue limit behaviour is simulated as pile-up of dislocations against grain boundaries. A fatigue limit is determined in terms of a critical condition at which a fictitious microcrack associated with the pile-up corresponds to the onset of propagation. These two fatigue thresholds are attainable as the local stresses at the crack front approaching the fatigue limit. Microstructure is incorporated in the model to account for the effect on threshold behaviour. As a result, two fatigue threshold criteria are required. Quantitative assessment of the two criteria requires only knowledge of the conventional material properties in conjunction with microstructure. The micromechanical modelling exhibits a strong dependence of fatigue thresholds upon local microstructure.     

Approaches to dynamic fracture modelling at finite deformations

The focus of the present paper is on the finite element modelling of dynamic fracture based on the concept of locally enriched element shape functions in the vicinity of the crack, in line with the eXtended Finite Element Method (X-FEM). For this purpose, the proper governing equations for the case of a propagating crack within a hyperelastic material is established, including the definition of the concept of material motion which kinematically describes the progression of the crack. Furthermore, two different approaches to describe the material degradation and separation are proposed. The first approach, denoted the material crack driving force model, is based on the concept of material (or configurational) forces associated with the material motion. The basic motivation is that, in this context, a driving force is identified at the crack tip, which points in the direction of maximum energy release upon crack propagation. An additional interesting feature of this force is that the projection in the crack propagation direction corresponds to the energy released for such a propagation, whereby an intuitive criterion for crack propagation based on the direction and magnitude of this force is proposed. The second approach is based on the classical cohesive zone concept, extended to include rate effects to capture experimentally observed phenomena such as growing process zones during propagation as well as limited crack propagation speeds well below the theoretical limit. Both models are investigated and compared in a couple of numerical examples in the latter part of the paper, showing both the predictive capabilities as well as some limitations of the two approaches. It has also been shown that, for a specific set of parameters, the two models can reproduce (almost) the same response.     

Effect of plastic zone on the fatigue crack propagation behavior between two fatigue cracks

In this study, the fatigue crack propagation behavior in the stress interaction field between two different fatigue cracks is studied by experiment and finite element analysis. In the experiment, the offset distance between two cracks and the applied stress are varied to create different stress interaction fields. The size of the plastic zone area is used to examine the crack propagation path and rate. Three types of crack propagation in the interaction field were found by experiment, and the crack propagation behavior of two cracks was significantly changed as different stresses were applied. The size of the plastic zone obtained by finite element analysis can be used to explain crack propagation behavior qualitatively.     

金属结构材料腐蚀疲劳寿命预测模型的研究进展

腐蚀疲劳是工业装备的主要失效模式之一.随着新技术的不断发展,航空航天、轨道交通、海洋设施等重大装备向着高可靠性、长寿命及智能化方向发展,亟需准确、高效的腐蚀疲劳寿命预测方法.论文对金属材料的腐蚀疲劳损伤机理进行了简要总结并对寿命预测模型进行了系统归纳与评述,提出未来的研究趋势与方向.具体地,首先介绍了腐蚀坑的萌生和生长、裂纹萌生及扩展的机理;其次总结了预腐蚀疲劳的断裂力学及损伤力学寿命预测模型,再次归纳了腐蚀疲劳的断裂力学、损伤力学及数据驱动寿命预测模型;进一步地,综合概括了现有寿命预测模型的优点和不足;最后,基于当前的研究指出未来可能的发展方向,一方面可以借助三维成像技术实现蚀坑向裂纹转变阶段和短裂纹扩展阶段的可视化研究,以改进现有的断裂力学模型;另一方面可以建立新型的多尺度多阶段寿命预测模型或利用新兴的数据驱动-物理融合方法实现腐蚀疲劳寿命预测.     

狭长缺口根部萌生的小裂纹扩展分析

根据伴随着小裂纹延展过程中不同力学参数相互作用的分析研究基础之上,我们就疲劳小裂纹的扩展特性进行了分析,根据不扩展裂纹性质对小裂纹的长度范围进行了讨论,探讨了狭长缺口根部萌生的小裂纹扩展速率, 并研究了不扩展裂纹形成机理,推演出不扩展裂纹长度计算方法,发展出一种预测小裂纹扩展行为的方法,借助这种方法可以实现裂纹萌生寿命的预测,与疲劳设计相结合可以进一步提高构件安全性与可靠性．不扩展小裂纹的长度可以通过计算定量得到,它与材料的疲劳极限、裂纹门槛值及缺口尺寸等参数紧密相关．以理论数据为依据,可以设计出针对一定材料及尺寸的试样,使其在一定荷载条件下不扩展裂纹长度达到宏观可观测的范围,进而降低小裂纹测量方面的技术难度,进一步验证不扩张裂纹形成机理．     

基于裂纹闭合效应的高载迟滞预测模型修正

裂纹闭合效应通常是导致I 型裂纹扩展在高载作用下发生迟滞效应的主要因素之一．本文采用汽车薄板QSTE340TM 材料，针对不同应力比，高载比条件下疲劳裂纹扩展行为进行了实验研究．论文通过断面分析，针对各参数对裂纹闭合效应的具体影响进行了分析讨论，认为裂纹作用区域随裂纹扩展而动态变化，从而提出了一种对有效应力强度因子幅的修正方法．通过在原有模型中引入幂函数形式的动态变量α，表征裂纹闭合效应的作用比例随裂纹长度的动态变化，取得了较好的效果．     

Modelling of crack growth under cyclic contact loading

The paper describes a general computational model for modelling of subsurface fatigue crack growth under cyclic contact loading of mechanical elements. The model assumes that the initial fatigue crack develops along the slip line in a single crystal grain at the point of the maximum equivalent stress. The position and magnitude of the maximum equivalent stress are determined with the Finite Element Analysis of the equivalent contact model, which is based on the Hertzian contact conditions with the addition of frictional forces. The Virtual Crack Extension method is then used for simulation of the fatigue crack propagation from the initial to the critical crack length, when the surface material layer breaks away and a pit appears on the surface. The pit shapes and relationships between the stress intensity factor and the crack length are determined for various combinations of contacting surface curvatures and contact loadings. The computational results show that the model reliably simulates the subsurface fatigue crack growth under contact loading and can be used for computational predictions of surface pitting for various contacting mechanical elements.     

A variational approach for evaluation of stress intensity factors using the element free Galerkin method

A variational meshfree method has been developed to evaluate the stress intensity factors of mixed mode crack problems. The stiffness is evaluated by regular domain integrals and shape functions are determined by both the radial basis function (RBF) interpolation and the moving least-square (MLS) method. The stress intensity factors are obtained by two boundary integrals with variation of crack length. Applications of the proposed technique to two-dimensional fracture mechanics have been presented and comparisons are made with benchmark solutions. Finally, the application of the proposed method to modelling fatigue crack growth is presented.     

谱载荷下疲劳裂纹扩展随机规律的实验研究

简要介绍了谱载荷下疲劳裂纹扩展试验的理论基础、方法和过程。讨论了各种数据处理方法对参数估计的影响,研究了疲劳裂纹扩展的随机规律。由试验得到的疲劳裂纹扩展试验数据估计了裂纹扩展方程的参数,计算出结构可靠度曲线,通过对试验结果的分析难证了以下结论：以时间为参量的裂纹扩展随机过程模型和以裂纹长度为参量的模型在一定条件下是统一的;数据处理方法的选择与可靠性分析的结果有密切的联系;裂纹扩展寿命受裂纹扩展队机