Sang-Kee Lee

Fatigue crack propagation of super duplex stainless steel with dispersed structure and time-frequency analysis of acoustic emission

The fatigue crack propagation of super duplex stainless steel was investigated for the effect of various volume fractions of the austenite phase by changing the heat treatment temperature. We also analyzed acoustic emission signals obtained during the fatigue crack propagation by the time-frequency analysis method. As the temperature of the heat treatment increased, the volume fraction of austenite decreased and coarse grain was obtained. The specimen treated at 1200 had a longer fatigue life and slower rate of crack growth. Results of time-frequency analysis of acoustic emission signals during the fatigue test showed the main frequency of 200-300 kHz to have no correlation with heat treatment and crack length, and the 500 kHz signal to be due to dimples and separation of inclusion.

High-temperature fatigue strength of crack-healed Al2O3 toughened by SiC whiskers

Al2O3 reinforced by SiC whiskers (Al2O3/SiC-W) was sintered in order to investigate the fatigue strength of crack-healed specimens at high temperature. A semi-elliptical surface crack of 100μm in surface length was introduced on each specimen surface. These specimens were crack-healed at 1300°C for 1 h in air, and static and cyclic fatigue strengths were systematically investigated at room temperature, 900°C, and 1100°C by three-point bending. The static and cyclic fatigue limits of the crack-healed specimens were more than 70% of the average bending strength at each testing temperature. Crack-healed specimens of Al2O3/SiC-W were not sensitive to static and cyclic fatigues at room temperature and high temperatures. Therefore, the combination of crack-healing and whisker reinforcement can play an important role in increasing static and cyclic fatigue strengths at high temperature.

Development of structural ceramics having large crack-healing ability and fracture toughness

Al2O3 reinforced by SiC whiskers (Al2O3/SiC-W) was hot pressed to investigate the crack-healing behavior. Semi-elliptical surface cracks of 50 to 450μm in surface length were introduced using a Vickers indenter. The specimens containing pre-cracks were crack-healed at temperatures between 1000°C and 1300°C for 1h in air, and their strengths were measured by three-point bending tests at room temperature and elevated temperatures between 400°C and 1300°C. The results show that Al2O3/SiC-W possesses considerable crack-healing ability. The surface cracks with length of 2c=100μm could be healed by crack-healing at 1200°C or 1300°C for 1h in air. The maximum crack size that can be healed for Al2O3/SiC-W is 2c=200μm. Fracture toughness of the material was also determined. As expected, the SiC whiskers made their Al2O3 tougher.