bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stress induced martensite at the crack tip in NiTi alloys during fatigue loading
Authors: Sgambitterra E. , Bruno L. , Maletta C.
Published: July 2018

Crack tip stress-induced phase transformation mechanisms in nickel-titanium alloys (NiTi) were analyzed by Digital Image Correlation (DIC), under fatigue loads. In particular, Single Edge Crack (SEC) specimens, obtained from a commercial pseudoelastic NiTi sheet, and an ad-hoc experimental setup were used, for direct measurements of the near crack tip displacement field by the DIC technique. Furthermore, a fitting procedure was developed to calculate the mode I Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), starting from the measured displacement field. Finally, cyclic tensile tests were performed at different operating temperature, in the range 298-338 K, and the evolution of the SIF was studied, which revealed a marked temperature dependence.
The specific heat loss combined with the thermoelastic effect for an experimental analysis of the mean stress influence on axial fatigue of stainless steel plain specimens
Authors: Meneghetti G. , Ricotta M. , Atzori B.
Published: July 2018

The energy dissipated to the surroundings as heat in a unit volume of material per cycle, Q, was recently proposed by the authors as fatigue damage index and it was successfully applied to correlate fatigue data obtained by carrying out fully reversed stress- and strain-controlled fatigue tests on AISI 304L stainless steel plain and notched specimens. The use of the Q parameter to analyse the experimental results led to the definition of a scatter band having constant slope from the low- to the high-cycle fatigue regime. In this paper the energy approach is extended to analyse the influence of mean stress on the axial fatigue behaviour of unnotched cold drawn AISI 304L stainless steel bars. In view of this, stress controlled fatigue tests on plain specimens at different load ratios R (R=-1; R=0.1; R=0.5) were carried out. A new energy parameter is defined to account for the mean stress effect, which combines the specific heat loss Q and the relative temperature variation due to the thermoelastic effect corresponding to the achievement of the maximum stress level of the stress cycle. The new two-parameter approach was able to rationalise the mean stress effect observed experimentally. It is worth noting that the results found in the present contribution are meant to be specific for the material and testing condition investigated here.
Study of short cracks under biaxial fatigue
Authors: Lopez-Crespo P. , Moreno B. , Garcia-Gonzalez A. , Zapatero J. , Lopez-Moreno A.
Published: July 2018

In this paper a methodology for evaluating crack initiation under biaxial conditions is presented. The methodology consists of evaluating the crack length automatically with digital processing of highmagnification images of the crack. The methodology was applied to study five different strain conditions on a low carbon ferritic-pearlitic steel specimen with tubular shape. A hole of 150 ?m diameter was drilled to enforce the crack to initiate at a particular spot. Different combinations of axial and torsional strains were analysed during the initiation stage of the crack. The setup employed allowed detection of the crack to within 6 ?m from the edge of the hole on average and monitoring of the crack during early stages. Fatigue crack propagation curves clearly showed oscillations due to microstructure. It was also observed that these oscillations decreased as the torsional component of the strain was increased.
Electrical resistivity and ultrasonic measurements during sequential fracture test of cementitious composite
Authors: Veselý V. , Konený P. , Lehner P. , Pieszka D. , Žídek L.
Published: July 2018

Cracks in cover of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures significantly influence the ingress of deleterious species causing decrease in durability of these structures. The paper is focused on the effect of fracture process on two selected physical parameters of concrete – the electrical resistivity and the ultrasonic pulse passing time – which might be employed as the quality indicator of concrete cover within (nondestructive) procedure(s) of assessment of the structural durability. The concrete electrical resistivity and ultrasonic passing time were investigated here with respect to two variants of treatment of the test specimens’ surface (the pre-dried surface and the wet surface). Test configuration of three-point bending of notched beam was utilized to control the crack propagation; the fracture process passed through several loading–unloading sequences between which the electrical resistivity and ultrasonic passing time readings over the fractured region were performed. Equivalent elastic crack model was used for estimation of the fracture advance (described via the effective crack length) at the loading stages corresponding to the resistivity and ultrasonic measurements. Relationships between changes of both the concrete resistivity and ultrasonic pulse passing time and the effective crack length is determined and discussed.
Duplex S-N fatigue curves: statistical distribution of the transition fatigue life
Authors: Paolino D.S. , Tridello A. , Geng H.S. , Chiandussi G. , Rossetto M.
Published: July 2018

In recent years, very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF) behavior of metallic materials has become a major point of interest for researchers and industries. The needs of specific industrial fields (aerospace, mechanical and energy industry) for structural components with increasingly large fatigue lives, up to 1010 cycles (gigacycle fatigue), requested for a more detailed investigation on the experimental properties of materials in the VHCF regime. Gigacycle fatigue tests are commonly performed using resonance fatigue testing machines with a loading frequency of 20 kHz (ultrasonic tests). Experimental results showed that failure is due to cracks which nucleate at the specimen surface if the stress amplitude is above the conventional fatigue limit (surface nucleation) and that failure is generally due to cracks which nucleate from inclusions or internal defects (internal nucleation) when specimens are subjected to stress amplitudes below the conventional fatigue limit. Following the experimental evidence, the Authors recently proposed a new statistical model for the complete description of SN curves both in the high-cycle-fatigue (HCF) and in the VHCF fatigue regions (Duplex S-N curves). The model differentiates between the two failure modes (surface and internal nucleation), according to the estimated distribution of the random transition stress (corresponding to the conventional fatigue limit). No assumption is made about the statistical distribution of the number of cycles at which the transition between surface and internal nucleation occurs (i.e., the transition fatigue life). In the present paper, the statistical distribution of the transition fatigue life is obtained, according to the statistical model proposed. The resulting distribution depends on the distance between the HCF and the VHCF regions and on the distribution of the random transition stress. The estimated distribution can be effectively used to predict, with a specified confidence level, the number of cycles for which an internal nucleation may probabilistically occur in a VHCF test and it is also informative for properly choosing the end of HCF tests in terms of number of cycles. A numerical example, based on experimental datasets taken from the literature, is provided.
Stress triaxiality influence on damaging micromechanisms in a pearlitic ductile cast iron
Authors: Di Cocco Vittorio , Iacoviello Francesco , Rossi Alessandra , Cavallini Mauro
Published: July 2018

In the last decades, damaging micromechanisms in ductile cast irons (DCIs) have been widely investigated, considering both the matrix microstructure and the loading conditions influence. Considering the graphite nodules, they were initially considered as voids embedded and growing in a ductile metal matrix (especially considering ferritic ductile cast irons). Recent experimental results allowed to identify a more complex role played by the graphite nodules, depending on the matrix microstructure. In this work, damaging micromechanisms in a pearlitic DCI were investigated by means of tensile tests performed on notched specimen, mainly focusing the role played by graphite elements and considering the stress triaxiality influence.
Identification of the plastic zone using digital image correlation
Authors: Rossi M. , Sasso M. , Chiappini G. , Mancini E. , Amodio D.
Published: July 2018

In this paper Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is used to study the evolution of the plastic zone close to a crack tip. A modified CT-specimen was used in order to fulfill the plane stress condition. The strain field around the crack tip was measured using two cameras and stereo DIC, so that out-of-plane movements are taken into account. Then, the Virtual Fields Method was used to identify the plastic zone, looking at the parts of the specimen which deviates from the linear elastic behavior. With such approach, it was possible to individuate the onset of plasticity close to the crack tip and follow its evolution. A comparison with FEM results is also provided.
On the notch sensitivity of cast iron under multi-axial fatigue loading
Authors: Livieri P. , Maggiolini E. , Tovo R.
Published: July 2018

This work deals with the notch sensitivity of sharp notches under multi-axial fatigue loading. The main discussion concerns the differences in notch sensitivity at high cycle fatigue regime, between tensile, torsional and combined loading. For this comparison, this paper considers a large set of fatigue experimental tests and several computing simulations analyzed with several notch theories for predicting fatigue life of a component. The considered experimental data, taken from literature, deal with the fatigue behavior of cast iron circumferentially V-notched specimens under tension, torsion, and combined loading mode. This paper tries to apply several techniques for theoretical strength assessment and to compare different procedures. The examined procedures need the computation of many parameters, focusing on the importance of using the tensile resistance to set these parameters or using both tensile and torsion resistances. However, the improvements obtained by means of the more complex procedures are not noteworthy, compared to the overall scatter. In author’s opinion, the differences in notch sensitivity under tensile and torsional loading remain questionable.
Investigation of very high cycle fatigue by thermographyc method
Authors: Crupi V. , Epasto G. , Guglielmino E. , Risitano G.
Published: July 2018

Nowadays, many components and structures are subjected to fatigue loading with a number of cycles higher than 107. In this scientific work, the behaviour of two kinds of tool steel was investigated in very high cycle fatigue regime. The fatigue tests were carried out at the frequency of 20 kHz and in fully reversed tensioncompression mode (R = -1) by means of an ultrasonic fatigue testing equipment. The radiometric surface temperature was detected during all the test by means of an IR camera in order to extend the Thermographic Method and the Energetic Approach in very high cycle fatigue regime. The failure mechanism of the investigated steels was evaluated by means of several experimental techniques (scanning electron microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Optical Microscopy).
Mechanical behaviour of wood T-joints. Experimental and numerical investigation
Authors: dos Santos C.L. , Morais J.J.L. , de Jesus A.M.P.
Published: July 2018

Results of a double-shear single-dowel wood connection tested under monotonic quasi-static compression loading are presented and discussed in this paper. The wood used in this study was a pine wood, namely the Pinus pinaster species, which is one of the most important Portuguese species. Each connection (specimen) consists of three wood members: a centre member, loaded in compression along the parallel-tograin direction and two simply supported side members, loaded along the perpendicular-to-grain direction (Tconnection). The load transfer between wood members was assured by means of a steel dowel, which is representative of the most common joining technique applied for structural details in wooden structures. The complete load-slip behaviour of the joint is obtained until failure. In particular, the values of the stiffness, the ultimate loads and the ductility were evaluated. Additionally, this investigation proposed non-linear 3D finite element models to simulate the T-joint behaviour. The interaction between the dowel and the wood members was simulated using contact finite elements. A plasticity model, based on Hill’s criterion, was used to simulate the joint ductility and cohesive damage modelling was applied to simulate the brittle failure modes (splitting) observed in the side members of the joint. The simulation procedure allowed a satisfactory description of the non-linear behaviour of the T-joint including the collapse prediction.
Modelling probabilistic fatigue crack propagation rates for a mild structural steel
Authors: Correia J.A.F.O. , de Jesus A.M.P. , Fernández-Canteli A.
Published: July 2018

A class of fatigue crack growth models based on elastic–plastic stress–strain histories at the crack tip region and local strain-life damage models have been proposed in literature. The fatigue crack growth is regarded as a process of continuous crack initializations over successive elementary material blocks, which may be governed by smooth strain-life damage data. Some approaches account for the residual stresses developing at the crack tip in the actual crack driving force assessment, allowing mean stresses and loading sequential effects to be modelled. An extension of the fatigue crack propagation model originally proposed by Noroozi et al. (2005) to derive probabilistic fatigue crack propagation data is proposed, in particular concerning the derivation of probabilistic da/dN-?K-R fields. The elastic-plastic stresses at the vicinity of the crack tip, computed using simplified formulae, are compared with the stresses computed using an elasticplastic finite element analyses for specimens considered in the experimental program proposed to derive the fatigue crack propagation data. Using probabilistic strain-life data available for the S355 structural mild steel, probabilistic crack propagation fields are generated, for several stress ratios, and compared with experimental fatigue crack propagation data. A satisfactory agreement between the predicted probabilistic fields and experimental data is observed.
FEM simulation of a crack propagation in a round bar under combined tension and torsion fatigue loading
Authors: Citarella R. , Lepore M. , Maligno A. , Shlyannikov V.
Published: July 2018

An edge crack propagation in a steel bar of circular cross-section undergoing multiaxial fatigue loads is simulated by Finite Element Method (FEM). The variation of crack growth behaviour is studied under axial and combined in phase axial+torsional fatigue loading. Results show that the cyclic Mode III loading superimposed on the cyclic Mode I leads to a fatigue life reduction. Numerical calculations are performed using the FEM software ZENCRACK to determine the crack path and fatigue life. The FEM numerical predictions have been compared against corresponding experimental and numerical data, available from literature, getting satisfactory consistency.
Some experimental observations of crack-tip mechanics with displacement data
Authors: Mokhtari M. , Lopez-Crespo P. , Moreno B. , Zanganeh M.
Published: July 2018

In the past two decades, crack-tip mechanics has been increasingly studied with full-field techniques. Within these techniques, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) has been most widely used due to its many advantages, to extract important crack-tip information, including Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), Crack Opening Displacement, J-integral, T-stress, closure level, plastic zone size, etc. However, little information is given in the literature about the experimental setup that provides best estimations for the different parameters. The current work aims at understanding how the experimental conditions used in DIC influence the crack-tip information extracted experimentally. The influence of parameters such as magnification factor, size of the images, position of the images with respect the crack-tip and size of the subset used in the correlation is studied. The influence is studied in terms of SIF and T-stress by using Williams’ model. The concept of determination of the K-dominance zone from experimental data has also explored. In this regard, cyclic loading on a fatigue crack in a compact tension (CT) specimen, made of aluminium 2024-T351 alloy, has been applied and the surface deformation ahead of the crack tip has been examined. The comparison between theoretical and experimental values of KI showed that the effect of subset size on the measured KI is negligible compared to the effect of size of the image.
Multi-scale approach for the analysis of the stress fields at a contact edge in fretting fatigue conditions with a crack analogue approach
Authors: Montebello C. , Pommier S. , Demmou K. , Leroux J. , Mériaux J.
Published: July 2018

This paper describes a novel method to model the stress gradient effect in fretting-fatigue. The analysis of the mechanical fields in the proximity of the contact edges allows to extract nonlocal intensity factors that take into account the stress gradient evolution. For this purpose, the kinetic field around the contact ends is partitioned into a summation of multiple terms, each one expressed as the product between nonlocal intensity factors, Is, Ia, Ic, depending on the macroscopic loads applied to the mechanical assembly, and spatial reference fields, ds, da, dc, depending on the local geometry of the part. This description is obtained through nonintrusive post-processing of FE computation and is conceived in order to be easily implementable in the industrial context. By using as input the macroscopic load, the procedure consists in computing a set of nonlocal stress intensity factors, which are an index of the severity of the stress field in the proximity of the contact edges. This description has two main advantages. First, the nonlocal stress intensity factors are independent from the geometry used. Secondly, the procedure is easily applicable to industrial scale FE model..
Numerical measures of the degree of non-proportionality of multiaxial fatigue loadings
Authors: Bolchoun A. , Kaufmann H. , Sonsino C. M.
Published: July 2018

The influence of the non-proportional loadings on the fatigue life depends on the material ductility. Ductile materials react with a shortening of lifetime compared to proportional loading conditions. For a semiductile material there is almost no difference between proportional and non-proportional loadings with respect to the fatigue life. Brittle materials show an increase of the lifetime under non-proportional loadings. If fatigue life assessment is performed using stress-based hypotheses, it is a rather difficult task to take into account material ductility correctly, especially the fatigue life reduction as displayed by ductile materials. Most stress-based hypotheses will compute a longer fatigue life under non-proportional loading conditions. There are also hypotheses, which already include quantitative evaluation of the non-proportionality (e.g. EESH, SSCH and MWCM). Anyway in order to improve assessment for ductile materials, some sort of numerical measure for the degree of non-proportionality of the fatigue loading is required. A number of measures of this kind (or non-proportionality factors) were proposed in the literature and are discussed here: - the factor used in EESH is a quotient of stress amplitudes integrals, - the factor according to Gaier, which works with a discrete stress tensor values in a scaled stress space, - the factor according to Kanazawa, which makes use of plane-based stress values, - the factor used in MWCM, which exploits stress values in the plane with the highest shear stress amplitude, a new non-proportionality factor, which is based on the correlation between individual stress tensor components, is proposed. General requirements imposed on the non-proportionality factors are discussed and each of the factors is evaluated with respect to these requirements. Also application with the stress-based hypotheses is discussed and illustrated using the experimental data for aluminum and magnesium welded joints under constant and variable amplitude loadings.
Evaluation and visualization of multiaxial stress and strain states under non-proportional loading
Authors: Itoh T. , Sakane M. , Morishita T.
Published: July 2018

This paper presents a simple method of determining stresses and strains and a severity of loading history under non-proportional loadings with defining the rotation angles of the maximum principal stress and strain in a three dimensional stress and strain space. Based on the method, non-proportional stress and strain ranges are derived and applicability of the range to the life evaluation for low carbon steel under non-proportional random strain paths are discussed. The strain range taking account of intensity of loading path reducing life can be suitable parameter for multiaxial fatigue life evaluation under multiaxial non-proportional loading. This paper also shows a method of visually presenting the principal stress and strain that assists designers to understand the loading mode whether proportional or non-proportional under 3 dimensional (6 stress/strain components) multiaxial loading.
Shortcuts in multiple dimensions: the multiaxial racetrack filter
Authors: Meggiolaro M.A. , Castro J.T.P. , Wu H.
Published: July 2018

Filtering techniques have been proposed for multiaxial load histories, usually aiming to filter out non-reversals, i.e. sampling points that do not constitute a reversal in any of its stress or strain components. However, the path between two reversals is needed to evaluate the equivalent stress or strain associated with each event. Filtering out too many points in such path would almost certainly result in lower equivalent stresses or strains than expected. To avoid such issues, it is important to consider how a measured multiaxial loading path deviates from its course using some metric, such as the von Mises stress or strain. In this work, a multiaxial version of the racetrack filter is proposed, which is able to perform efficient filtering even for 6D nonproportional histories. In the Multiaxial Racetrack algorithm, the stress or strain history is represented in a 6D space, only requiring from the user a desired scalar filtering amplitude r. For uniaxial histories, the proposed algorithm exactly reproduces the classic racetrack filter. The efficiency of the proposed Multiaxial Racetrack filter is qualitatively verified from a tension-torsion history example, showing the reduction in the number of data points for larger filter amplitudes r. The procedure can efficiently filter out non-damaging events but preserving the overall multiaxial path shape and multiaxial reversion points, which usually do not coincide with the reversion points of individual stress or strain components.
Time and frequency domain models for multiaxial fatigue life estimation under random loading
Authors: Carpinteri Andrea , Spagnoli Andrea , Ronchei Camilla , Vantadori Sabrina
Published: July 2018

Engineering structures and components are often subjected to random fatigue loading produced, for example, by wind turbulences, marine waves and vibrations. The methods available in the literature for fatigue assessment under random loading are formulated in time domain or, alternatively, in frequency domain. The former methods require the knowledge of the loading time history, and a large number of experimental tests/numerical simulations is needed to obtain statistically reliable results. The latter methods are generally more advantageous with respect to the time domain ones, allowing a rapid fatigue damage evaluation. In the present paper, a multiaxial criterion formulated in the frequency-domain is presented to estimate the fatigue lives of smooth metallic structures subjected to combined bending and torsion random loading. A comparison in terms of fatigue life prediction by employing a time domain methods, previously proposed by the authors, is also performed.
Competition between microstructure and defect in multiaxial high cycle fatigue
Authors: Morel F. , Guerchais R. , Saintier N.
Published: July 2018

This study aims at providing a better understanding of the effects of both microstructure and defect on the high cycle fatigue behavior of metallic alloys using finite element simulations of polycrystalline aggregates. It is well known that the microstructure strongly affects the average fatigue strength and when the cyclic stress level is close to the fatigue limit, it is often seen as the main source of the huge scatter generally observed in this fatigue regime. The presence of geometrical defects in a material can also strongly alter the fatigue behavior. Nonetheless, when the defect size is small enough, i.e. under a critical value, the fatigue strength is no more affected by the defect. The so-called Kitagawa effect can be interpreted as a competition between the crack initiation mechanisms governed either by the microstructure or by the defect. Surprisingly, only few studies have been done to date to explain the Kitagawa effect from the point of view of this competition, even though this effect has been extensively investigated in the literature. The primary focus of this paper is hence on the use of both FE simulations and explicit descriptions of the microstructure to get insight into how the competition between defect and microstructure operates in HCF. In order to account for the variability of the microstructure in the predictions of the macroscopic fatigue limits, several configurations of crystalline orientations, crystal aggregates and defects are studied. The results of each individual FE simulation are used to assess the response at the macroscopic scale thanks to a probabilistic fatigue criterion proposed by the authors in previous works. The ability of this criterion to predict the influence of defects on the average and the scatter of macroscopic fatigue limits is evaluated. In this paper, particular emphasis is also placed on the effect of different loading modes (pure tension, pure torsion and combined tension and torsion) on the experimental and predicted fatigue strength of a 316 stainless steel containing artificial defect.
Life estimation by varying the critical plane orientation in the modified Carpinteri-Spagnoli criterion
Authors: Ronchei Camilla , Carpinteri Andrea , Fortese Giovanni , Spagnoli Andrea , Vantadori Sabrina , Kurek Marta , agoda Tadeusz
Published: July 2018

The modified Carpinteri-Spagnoli (C-S) criterion is a multiaxial high-cycle fatigue criterion based on the critical plane approach. According to such a criterion, the orientation of the critical plane is linked to both the averaged directions of the principal stress axes and the fatigue properties of the material. The latter dependence is taken into account through a rotational angle, ?. Then, the multiaxial fatigue strength estimation is performed by computing an equivalent stress amplitude on the critical plane. In the present paper, some modifications of the original ? expression are implemented in the modified C-S criterion. More precisely, such modified expressions of ? depend on the ratio between the fatigue limit under fully reversed shear stress and that under fully reversed normal stress (in accordance with the original expression), and can be employed for metals ranging from mild to very hard fatigue behaviour. Some experimental data available in the literature are compared with the theoretical results in order to verify if the modified ?expressions are able to improve the fatigue strength estimation capability of the modified C-S criterion.
Estimation of stepwise crack propagation in ceramic laminates with strong interfaces
Authors: Náhlík L. , Štegnerová K. , Huta P.
Published: July 2018

During the last years many researchers put so much effort to design layered structures combining different materials in order to improve low fracture toughness and mechanical reliability of the ceramics. It has been proven, that an effective way is to create layered ceramics with strongly bonded interfaces. After the cooling process from the sintering temperature, due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion of individual constituents of the composite, significant internal residual stresses are developed within the layers. These stresses can change the crack behaviour. This results to the higher value of so-called apparent fracture toughness, i.e. higher resistance of the ceramic laminate to the crack propagation. The contribution deals with a description of the specific crack behaviour in the layered alumina-zirconia ceramic laminate. The main aim is to clarify crack behaviour in the compressive layer and provide computational tools for estimation of crack behaviour in the field of strong residual stresses. The crack propagation was investigated on the basis of linear elastic fracture mechanics. Fracture parameters were computed numerically and by author’s routines. Finite element models were developed in order to obtain a stress distribution in the laminate containing a crack and to simulate crack propagation. The sharp change of the crack propagation direction was estimated using Sih’s criterion based on the strain energy density factor. Estimated crack behaviour is qualitatively in a good agreement with experimental observations. Presented approach contributes to the better understanding of the toughening mechanism of ceramic laminates and can be advantageously used for design of new layered ceramic composites and for better prediction of their failure.
Effect of segregations on mechanical properties and crack propagation in spring steel
Authors: Žužek B. , Sedlaek M. , Podgornik B.
Published: July 2018

Considerable efforts have been made over the last decades to improve performance of spring steels, which would increase the service time of springs and also allow vehicles weight reduction. There are different possibilities of improving properties of spring steels, from modifying the chemical composition of steels to optimizing the deformation process and changing the heat treatment parameters. Another way of improving steel properties is through refining the microstructure and reducing amount of inclusions. Therefore, the focus of the current investigation was to determine the effect of more uniform and cleaner microstructure obtained through electro-slag remelting (ESR) of steel on the mechanical and dynamic properties of spring steel, with special focus on the resistance to fatigue crack propagation. Effect of the microstructure refinement was evaluated in terms of tensile strength, elongation, fracture and impact toughness, and fatigue resistance under bending and tensile loading. After the mechanical tests the fracture surfaces of samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the influence of microstructure properties on the crack propagation and crack propagation resistance was studied. Investigation was performed on hot rolled, soft annealed and vacuum heat treated 51CrV4 spring steel produced by conventional continuous casting and compared with steel additional refined through ESR. Results shows that elimination of segregations and microstructure refinement using additional ESR process gives some improvement in terms of better repeatability and reduced scattering, but on the other hand it has negative effect on crack propagation resistance and fatigue properties of the spring steel.
The concept of the average stress in the fracture process zone for the search of the crack path
Authors: Matvienko Yu.G. , Semenova M.M.
Published: July 2018

The concept of the average stress has been employed to propose the maximum average tangential stress (MATS) criterion for predicting the direction of fracture angle. This criterion states that a crack grows when the maximum average tangential stress in the fracture process zone ahead of the crack tip reaches its critical value and the crack growth direction coincides with the direction of the maximum average tangential stress along a constant radius around the crack tip. The tangential stress is described by the singular and nonsingular (T-stress) terms in the Williams series solution. To demonstrate the validity of the proposed MATS criterion, this criterion is directly applied to experiments reported in the literature for the mixed mode I/II crack growth behavior of Guiting limestone. The predicted directions of fracture angle are consistent with the experimental data. The concept of the average stress has been also employed to predict the surface crack path under rolling-sliding contact loading. The proposed model considers the size and orientation of the initial crack, normal and tangential loading due to rolling–sliding contact as well as the influence of fluid trapped inside the crack by a hydraulic pressure mechanism. The MATS criterion is directly applied to equivalent contact model for surface crack growth on a gear tooth flank.
Static and fatigue experimental tests on a full scale fuselage panel and FEM analyses
Authors: Sepe Raffaele , Armentani Enrico , Caputo Francesco
Published: July 2018

A fatigue test on a full scale panel with complex loading condition and geometry configuration has been carried out using a triaxial test machine. The demonstrator is made up of two skins which are linked by a transversal butt-joint, parallel to the stringer direction. A fatigue load was applied in the direction normal to the longitudinal joint, while a constant load was applied in the longitudinal joint direction. The test panel was instrumented with strain gages and previously quasi-static tests were conducted to ensure a proper load transferring to the panel. In order to support the tests, geometric nonlinear shell finite element analyses were conducted to predict strain and stress distributions. The demonstrator broke up after about 177000 cycles. Subsequently, a finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out in order to correlate failure events; due to the biaxial nature of the fatigue loads, Sines criterion was used. The analysis was performed taking into account the different materials by which the panel is composed. The numerical results show a good correlation with experimental data, successfully predicting failure locations on the panel.
Methodological developments in the field of structural integrity analyses of large scale reactor pressure vessels in Hungary
Authors: Fekete Tamás
Published: July 2018

Buildings, structures and systems of large scale and high value (e.g. conventional and nuclear power plants, etc.) are designed for a certain, limited service lifetime. If the standards and guidelines of the time are taken into account during the design process, the resulting structures will operate safely in most cases. However, in the course of technical history there were examples of unusual, catastrophic failures of structures, even resulting in human casualties. Although the concept of Structural Integrity first appeared in industrial applications only two-three decades ago, its pertinence has been growing higher ever since. Four nuclear power generation units have been constructed in Hungary, more than 30 years ago. In every unit, VVER-440 V213 type light-water cooled, light-water moderated, pressurized water reactors are in operation. Since the mid-1980s, Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) analyses of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPV) have been conducted in Hungary, where the concept of structural integrity was the basis of research and development. In the first part of the paper, a short historic overview is given, where the origins of the Structural Integrity concept are presented, and the beginnings of Structural Integrity in Hungary are summarized. In the second part, a new conceptual model of Structural Integrity is introduced. In the third part, a brief description of the VVER-440 V213 type RPV and its surrounding primary system is presented. In the fourth part, a conceptual model developed for PTS Structural Integrity Analyses is explained.
Improvement of performance of ultra-high performance concrete based composite material added with nano materials
Authors: Jinchang Pang , Ronggui Liu
Published: July 2018

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), a kind of composite material characterized by ultra high strength, high toughness and high durability. It has a wide application prospect in engineering practice. But there are some defects in concrete. How to improve strength and toughness of UHPC remains to be the target of researchers. To obtain UHPC with better performance, this study introduced nano-SiO2 and nano-CaCO3 into UHPC. Moreover, hydration heat analysis, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and nanoindentation tests were used to explore hydration process and microstructure. Double-doped nanomaterials can further enhance various mechanical performances of materials. Nano-SiO2 can promote early progress of cement hydration due to its high reaction activity and C-S-H gel generates when it reacts with cement hydration product Ca(OH)2. Nano-CaCO3 mainly plays the role of crystal nucleus effect and filling effect. Under the combined action of the two, the composite structure is denser, which provides a way to improve the performance of UHPC in practical engineering.
Influence of the crack propagation rate in the obtaining opening and closing stress intensity factor by finite element method
Authors: Ricardo Luiz Carlos H. , Miranda Carlos Alexandre J.
Published: July 2018

Crack propagation simulation began with the development of the finite element method; the analyses were conducted to obtain a basic understanding of the crack growth. Today structural and materials engineers develop structures and materials properties using this technique as criterion design. The aim of this paper is to verify the effect of different crack propagation rates in determination of crack opening and closing stress of an ASTM specimen under a standard suspension spectrum loading from FD&E SAE Keyhole Specimen Test Load Histories by finite element analysis. The crack propagation simulation was based on release nodes at the minimum loads to minimize convergence problems. To understand the crack propagation processes under variable amplitude loading, retardation effects are discussed.
A multiaxial incremental fatigue damage formulation using nested damage surfaces
Authors: Meggiolaro Marco Antonio , Pinho de Castro Jaime Tupiassú , Wu Hao
Published: July 2018

Multiaxial fatigue damage calculations under non-proportional variable amplitude loadings still remains a quite challenging task in practical applications, in part because most fatigue models require cycle identification and counting to single out individual load events before quantifying the damage induced by them. Moreover, to account for the non-proportionality of the load path of each event, semi-empirical methods are required to calculate path-equivalent ranges, e.g. using a convex enclosure or the MOI (Moment Of Inertia) method. In this work, a novel Incremental Fatigue Damage methodology is introduced to continuously account for the accumulation of multiaxial fatigue damage under service loads, without requiring rainflow counters or path-equivalent range estimators. The proposed approach is not based on questionable Continuum Damage Mechanics concepts or on the integration of elastoplastic work. Instead, fatigue damage itself is continuously integrated, based on damage parameters adopted by traditional fatigue models well tested in engineering practice. A framework of nested damage surfaces is introduced, allowing the calculation of fatigue damage even for general 6D multiaxial load histories. The proposed approach is validated by non-proportional tensiontorsion experiments on tubular 316L stainless steel specimens.
Multiaxial fatigue of cast aluminium EN AC-42000 T6 (G-AlSi7Mg0.3 T6) for automotive safety components under constant and variable amplitude loading
Authors: Sonsino C.M. , Franz R.
Published: July 2018

Regarding the fatigue behaviour of EN AC-42000 T6 (A 356 T6), which is the most frequently used cast aluminium alloy for automotive safety components, especially under non-proportional constant and variable normal and shear stress amplitudes with changing principal stress directions, a poor level of knowledge was available. The reported investigations show that, under non-proportional normal and shear stresses, fatigue life is increased in contrast to ductile steels where life is reduced due to changing principal stress directions. This behaviour caused by the low ductility of this alloy (e < 10%) compared to quenched and tempered steels suggests the application of the Normal (Principal) Stress Hypothesis (NSH). For all of the investigated stress states under multiaxial constant and variable (Gaussian spectrum) amplitudes without and with mean stresses, the NSH was able to depict the life increase by the non-proportionality and delivered, for most cases, conservative but non-exaggerated results.
Designing aluminium friction stir welded joints against multiaxial fatigue
Authors: Susmel L. , Hattingh D. G. , James M. N. , Maggiolini E. , Tovo R.
Published: July 2018

The present paper investigates the accuracy of the Modified Wöhler Curve Method (MWCM) in estimating multiaxial fatigue strength of aluminium friction stir (FS) welded joints. Having developed a bespoke joining technology, circumferentially FS welded tubular specimens of Al 6082-T6 were tested under proportional and non-proportional tension and torsion, the effect of non-zero mean stresses being also investigated. The validation exercise carried out using the experimental results have demonstrated that the MWCM applied in terms of nominal stresses, notch stresses, and also the Point Method is accurate in predicting the fatigue lifetime of the tested FS welded joints, with its use resulting in life estimates that fall within the uniaxial and torsional calibration scatter bands.
On fatigue behavior of two spring steels. Part I: Wöhler curves and fractured surfaces
Authors: Angelova D. , Yordanova R. , Lazarova T. , Yankova S.
Published: July 2018

Symmetric fatigue in two spring steels is investigated in three groups of specimens. One of the groups (Steel EN10270-1SH/ DIN 17223C – C 0.82%, Mn 0.76%, Si 0.26%) has experienced rotating-bending fatigue in air, and the other two groups (Steel BS250A53/ DIN 55Si7 – C 0.56%, Mn 0.81%, Si 1.85%), torsion fatigue in-air and corrosion environment. Fatigue life-time data are obtained for both spring steels, and their corresponding Wöhler curves plotted and mathematically described. Surface short fatigue cracks are observed from origin to fracture by using acetate-foil replication technique, and their length, a, measured at the corresponding number of fatigue cycles, N. Those data are presented in plots “Crack lengths, a – Cycles, N” and a comparison made between both the steels. The fractured surfaces of all specimens have been studied and analyzed by the scanning-electron microscopy methods
Prediction of the critical stress to crack initiation associated to the investigation of fatigue small crack
Authors: Marhabi D. , Benseddiq N. , Mesmacque G. , Azari Z. , Nianga J.M.
Published: July 2018

Fatigue design is of vital importance to avoid fatigue small crack growth in engineering structures. This study shows that the critical fatigue design stress can be defined below the usual endurance limit, considered in rules and codes. The material constitutive behaviour is using linear isotropic elasticity. Lassere and Pallin-Luc [1-2] use the elastic energy and over-energy under uniaxial load (tension and rotating bending). The authors deduce the influencing critical stress value corresponding to sigma star. It’s a linear approach. We propose an over-energy under dissymmetrical rotating bending and expressed in the ellipse axes. An asymptotic approach is transformed the over-energy in polynomial function of critical stress. Unknown depend on experimental service conditions, endurance limit of tension and rotating bending of specimen. The fatigue database of 30NCD16 steel studied by Froustey and Dubar [3-13] is used. Critical stresses are evaluated (Fig. 2). The research done by Manning and all [4] has shown the small crack effect to be as large as 0.3 mm. Small crack and critical stress are illustrated here in as resulting from pure bending approach expressed by Bazant law [7]. It’s reproduces well the Kitagawa diagram [6] (Fig. 3). When the short cracks are hidden in the material, we shows that the number  cycles during small crack growth be significantly higher (Fig. 4) than the corresponding cycles of large cracks growth (ONI’s fatigue test) for the same physically crack size. Indeed its evolution can be blocked by a microstructural barrier (grain boundary, for example). Hence, the considerations of small crack growth are strongly influencing the fatigue life of a component or structure.
Multiaxial fatigue assessment of crankshafts by local stress and critical plane approach
Authors: Leitner M. , Grun F. , Tuncali Z. , Steiner R. , Chen W.
Published: July 2018

For multiaxially-loaded parts several stress-based fatigue assessment concepts are applicable mostly taking uniaxial test results as basis. These approaches work well in case of proportional loading states, but on contrary, for non-proportional stress conditions, implying a change of the principal stress direction, deviations in the fatigue life estimation may occur. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cyclic multiaxial material behavior experimentally and to proof the applicability of stress-based methods to assess the fatigue strength. The investigated base materials incorporate the commonly applied crankshaft steels 50CrMo4 and 34CrNiMo6 without surface-layer post-treatments. Extensive fatigue tests with small-scale specimens are performed to evaluate the material behavior under cyclic loading. The experiments include basic uniaxial characterizations, such as notch stress sensitivity and effect of loading type, including tests under tension, rotating bending, and torsion loading. Additionally, combined loading tests with proportional and non-proportional situations are presented to reveal the fatigue resistance for multiaxial stress states. Significant loading conditions, such as proportional stress under rotating bending and torsion, and further on, non-proportional effects like phase shifts and varying frequency ratios are presented. The local fatigue strength assessment is performed on the basis of the critical plane approach, whereat the normal and shear stresses are transformed in numerous cutting planes. Equivalent stress hypotheses are applied and compared with the experiments showing that the Huber-Mises-Hencky criterion fits well to the test results in case of proportional rotating bending and torsion loading.