Thierry Palin-Luc

A volumetric energy based high cycle multiaxial fatigue citerion

Abstract A reliable design of industrial parts against high-cycle multiaxial fatigue requires a fatigue criterion capable of predicting both the stress gradient and the load-type effects. These effects are very important in the transfer of fatigue data from specimen to component. By using the concept of volume influencing fatigue crack initiation proposed by Palin-Luc and Lasserre with an energy based approach, a new criterion is presented. Based on the strain-work density given to the material, this proposal is usable whatever the constant amplitude loading is: in and out-of-phase combined loadings, with or without mean stress. Its predictions are compared both with a total of 38 experiments on four materials (a mild steel, two high strength steels and a spheroidal graphite cast iron) and with the predictions of local criteria (Crossland, Dang Van, Papadopoulos and Morel). The comparison shows that the predictions of the volumetric proposal are very good and less scattered than those of the local approaches, especially for loadings with mean stresses or under non-proportional loadings.

Comparative study and link between mesoscopic and energetic approaches in high cycle multiaxial fatigue

Abstract Multiaxial fatigue analysis can be categorized into several viewpoints, i.e. empirical formulae, methods based on stress invariants, critical plane approaches, models using averages of stress quantities and energetic considerations. The aim of this paper is not to survey the current state of knowledge concerning multiaxial fatigue but to critically examine two endurance criteria so as to prove that a direct link can be established between them. The first of the two methods, proposed by Papadopoulos, has been built by exploring the fatigue of metals from the mesoscopic scale, that is from the scale of the metal grains of a metallic aggregate. The localized plastic strains developping in some less favourably oriented crystals is considered to be the main cause of fatigue crack nucleation. According to relationships between macroscopic and mesoscopic quantities, this model is finally expressed in terms of the usual macroscopic stresses relative to an elementary material volume. The second approach proposed by Froustey and Lasserre is an energetic based criterion. It has been deduced from experimental observations concerning multiaxial endurance limit and states that crack initiation occurs as soon as the total strain energy density exceeds a critical value. This paper shows that the critical value of the accumulated mesoscopic plastic strain used by Papadopoulos to characterize the endurance limit can be estimated with the global strain energy density at the macroscopic scale. Indeed, it is demonstrated that when dealing with in-phase or out-of-phase synchronous sinusoidal constant amplitude loadings, a single analytical formulation of these criteria can be written either with stress quantities or with energetic ones describing thus the same physical phenomenon. The mean stress influence is discussed; the predictions of the two approaches are similar when the material remains quasi elastic. Another important result concerns the phase difference of the stress tensor components. Very few approaches are able to predict the independence of the fatigue strength on the phase difference between normal and shear stresses. The two proposed criteria reflect this phenomenon which has been experimentally observed for many metals subjected to combined bending-torsion loading. Nevertheless, this independence with regard to the phase shift is no more effective when dealing with some biaxial stress systems with two normal stresses. In this case the two models are consistent with the experimental results since they show a marked influence of the phase difference.

Elastic-plastic transition in iron: Structural and thermodynamic features

The structural and thermodynamic features of the elastic-plastic transition in armco iron and its plastic deformation are studied. Energy storage in iron is shown to have a nonlinear character and be accompanied by wavelike heat dissipation. To describe the energy balance in the plastically deformed metal, a theoretical model is proposed based on a statistical description of the evolution of an ensemble of typical mesodefects (microshears). Moreover, a procedure is developed to experimentally determine the dependence of the potential of the medium on the mesodefect density using infrared scanning data.

Experimental investigations of anomalous energy absorption in nanocrystalline titanium under cyclic loading conditions

An infrared thermographic scanning technique has been used to study the energy absorption and dissipation under cyclic loading conditions in the nanostructural bulk titanium obtained by severe plastic deformation of an initial coarse-grained material. It is established that the character of energy absorption in the nanocrystalline material exhibits qualitative changes, which are related to specific features of interactions in the ensemble of grain-boundary defects. The mechanisms of energy absorption are explained within the framework of notions of a new class of critical phenomena in mesoscopic systems with defects featuring structure-scaling transitions.

Crack path in aeronautical titanium alloy under ultrasonic torsion loading

This paper discusses features of fatigue crack initiation and growth in aeronautical VT3-1 titanium alloy under pure torsion loading in gigacycle regime. Two materials: extruded and forged VT3-1 titanium alloys were studied. Torsion fatigue tests were performed up to fatigue life of 109 cycles. The results of the torsion tests were compared with previously obtained results under fully reversed axial loading on the same alloys. It has been shown that independently on production process as surface as well subsurface crack initiation may appear under ultrasonic torsion loading despite the maximum stress amplitude located at the specimen surface. In the case of surface crack initiation, a scenario of crack initiation and growth is similar to HCF regime except an additional possibility for internal crack branching. In the case of subsurface crack, the initiation site is located below the specimen surface (about 200 µm) and is not clearly related to any material flaw. Internal crack initiation is produced by shear stress in maximum shear plane and early crack growth is in Mode II. Crack branching is limited in the case of internal crack initiation compared to surface one. A typical ‘fish-eye’ crack can be observed at the torsion fracture surface, but mechanism of crack initiation seems not to be the same than under axial fatigue loading.

Fatigue Life of a SG Cast Iron under Real Loading Spectra: Effect of the Correlation Factor Between Bending and Torsion

This paper deals with the effect on life of the desynchronism between two variable amplitude load sequences in combined bending and torsion. Experiments were carried out on smooth specimens made of the EN-GJS800-2 cast iron. The comparison between experimental lives and predicted ones with the following fatigue life calculation methods is presented: Smith-Watson-Topper, Fatemi and Socie (method proposed by Bannantine), Wang and Brown, Socies proposal for high cycle fatigue, and Morel. If the scatter of experiments is considered, these experiments show a low effect of the correlation factor on life. All the simulated fatigue life calculation methods give good results for proportional loads, but their predictions are not good for non-proportional loads. Morels proposal seems to be the best to predict life of the tested material with our non-proportional fatigue test conditions.

Very High Cycle Fatigue Analysis of High Strength Steel with Corrosion Pitting

This work deals with very high cycle fatigue tests on high strength steel subject to the corrosive action of salt solution. Tests were carried out at constant load ratio R = -1 on corrosion treated and non-treated specimens and sea water flow specimens of R5 steel, which according to an International Classification Society of offshore systems is steel graded with the highest ultimate tensile strength to manufacture mooring chains and accessories intended to position mooring applications such as mooring of mobile offshore units, mooring of floating production units and mooring of offshore loading systems. Fatigue endurance on pre-corroded specimens was quite dispersed but with a mean value of 360 MPa, whereas for the non corroded specimens the fatigue endurance was located between 420 MPa at 105 - 106 cycles, and 380 MPa at 109 cycles. Concerning the sea water flow specimens, important increase in fatigue life is observed in reducing the applied load. Dispersion on fatigue endurance for the pre-corroded and sea water flow specimens was related to the complex process of corrosion on the specimen surface; nevertheless, the resulting pitting holes were associated to fracture origin in these specimens. Furthermore, fatigue failure origin was systematically localized at a circular, elliptical or irregular surface pitting hole formed during the corrosion process; special attention was focused on the pitting holes related to fatigue failure. Finite element results were obtained for the hemispherical voids placed on the specimen surface in order to determine the corresponding stress concentration; these results were associated with the real fracture origin pitting holes observed on specimens with pre-corrosion and sea water flow corrosion. Finally, some conclusions were obtained concerning pitting holes, stress concentration and fatigue life for the pre-corroded and sea water flow corroded specimens.

Simulation of the Stress-Strain Gradient Effect to Design Safe Components Against Multiaxial Fatigue*

Abstract This paper deals with the design philosophy against fatigue which is developed at the laboratory of the authors to take the stress-strain gradient effect into account. A deterministic energy based multiaxial fatigue criterion using the concept of volume influencing fatigue crack initiation is presented. Then, to estimate the probability distribution of the fatigue limit for metallic components, the weakest link concept has been combined with the previous non- local model. Finally, a volumetric multiaxial fatigue life calculation model is presented. This non-local approach gives good results on smooth and notched specimens made of two materials (SG cast iron and Ck45 steels) and on a real component.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of Multiscale Damage-Failure Transition in Very High Cycle Fatigue

Multiscale mechanisms of failure of metals (Armco iron, titanium, aluminum) are studied for high cycle and very high cycle fatigue. By correlating with the results of structural studies, a theoretical approach is developed to describe fatigue crack kinetics in damaged material under high cycle and very high cycle fatigue loading conditions. Stages of crack nucleation and propagation are analyzed using the profilometry data from the fracture surface. The scale invariance of fracture surface roughness is established, which allows an explanation of the self-similar nature of fatigue crack kinetics under high cycle and very high cycle fatigue. Variation of elastic-plastic properties of Armco iron under very high cycle fatigue is studied using an acoustic resonance method. It is found that the material density decreases during fatigue damage accumulation, with the minimum of the material density in the bulk of the specimen.

Ultrasonic fatigue testing device under biaxial bending

A new fatigue testing device has been developed to test specimens under biaxial loading at 20 kHz. A flat smooth specimen with a disc geometry is placed on a torus frame and cyclically loaded at the center of its upper face. Disc bending generates a biaxial proportional stress state at the center of the lower face. Any positive loading ratio can be applied. A cast aluminum alloy (used to produce cylinder heads) has been tested under biaxial bending using this device in order to determine its fatigue strength at 109 cycles under high hydrostatic pressure. Self-heating is moderate but macroscopic fatigue cracks after testing are very long. First results in VHCF regime are consistent with literature results obtained under similar stress state but in HCF regime and at 20 Hz.