Lecture 14

Fatigue & Creep in Engineering

Materials
(Chapter 8)

Chapter 8 - 1

Fatigue
Fatigue = failure under applied cyclic stress.
specimen compression on top
bearing

bearing

motor

counter

flex coupling
t
tension
i on b
bottom
tt

Stress varies with time.

-- key parameters are S,

S m, and
cycling frequency

max
m

min

time

Key points: Fatigue...

--can cause part failure, even though max < y.

--responsible
ibl ffor ~ 90% off mechanical
h i l engineering
i
i ffailures.
il
Chapter 8 - 2

Fatigue: Definitions
Asymmetric
Symmetric

Random
d

Chapter 8 - 3

Fatigue: Definitions

Chapter 8 - 4

--no fatigue if S < Sfat

For some materials,

there is no fatigue
limit!

S = stress aamplitude

Fatigue limit, Sfat:

S = stress amplitude

Types of Fatigue Behavior

unsafe

case for
steel (typ.)

Sfat
safe
10 3

10 5
10 7
10 9
N = Cycles to failure

unsafe

case for
Al (typ.)

safe
10 3

10 5
10 7
10 9
N = Cycles to failure
Chapter 8 - 5

Ex: Fatigue in 7075-T6 Aluminum

Alloy

Chapter 8 - 6

Rate of Fatigue Crack Growth

Crack grows incrementally

da
m
K
dN

typ. 1 to 6

~ a

increase in crack length per loading cycle

Failed rotating shaft

crack origin

-- crack grew even though

Kmax < Kc
-- crack grows faster as
increases
crack gets longer
loading freq. increases.

Chapter 8 - 7

Fatigue Failure in Ductile Materials

(Aluminum)

Chapter 8 - 8

Fatigue Failure in Brittle Material

Chapter 8 - 9

Importance of Mean Stress

Chapter 8 - 10

1. Impose compressive
surface stresses
(to suppress surface
cracks from growing)

S = stress a
amplitude

Improving Fatigue Life

--Method 1: shot peening

near zero or compressive m

moderate tensile m
Larger tensile m
N = Cycles to failure

--Method 2: carburizing

shot

putt
surface
into
compression

2. Remove stress
concentrators.

Adapted from
Fig. 8.24, Callister &
Rethwisch 8e
8e.

bad
bad

C-rich
C
rich gas

better
better

Adapted from
Fig. 8.25, Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.
Chapter 8 - 11

Effect of Surface Compressive

Stresses

Chapter 8 - 12

Effect of Surface Compressive

Stresses
Hardened
Case depth by
Carburization (or
Nitriding)

In compression

Micro-indentation
marks

Chapter 8 - 13

Environmental Effects

Thermal cycle..stress cycle..Thermal fatigue.

Chapter 8 - 14

Creep
Sample deformation at a constant stress () vs. time

Primary Creep: slope (creep rate)

decreases with time.
Secondary Creep: steady-state
i.e., constant slope /t)
Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate)
increases with time, i.e. acceleration of rate.

Adapted from
Fig. 8.28, Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.
Chapter 8 - 15

Creep: Temperature Dependence

Occurs at elevated temperature, T > 0.4 Tm (in K)

tertiary
primary

secondary

elastic

Chapter 8 - 16

Secondary Creep
Strain rate is constant at a given T,
-- strain hardening is balanced by recovery
stress exponent (material parameter)

Qc

s K 2 exp

RT
n

strain rate
material const.

applied stress
Stress
s (MPa)

S
Strain rate
increases
g
with increasing
T,

activation energy for creep

( t i l parameter)
(material
t )

200
100

427C
538C

40
20
10

10 -2
10 -1
Steady state creep rate

649C
1
s (%/1000hr)

Chapter 8 - 17

A better & more informative

Creep Equation
Material constant
depending on
creep mechanism
h i

Grain size

Activation energy
gy for
Self-diffusion

Applied stress

m & b depend on the creep mechanism

Chapter 8 - 18

Mechanisms of Creep
The mechanism of creep depends on temperature and
stress. The various methods are:
Bulk diffusion (Nabarro-Herring creep)
Dislocation climb -here the strain is actually
accomplished by climb
Climb-assisted glide here the climb is an enabling
mechanism,, allowingg dislocations to gget around obstacles
Grain boundary diffusion (Coble creep)
Thermally activated glide e.g., via cross-slip
Chapter 8 - 19

Mechanisms of Creep
p
Things to know
Dislocations related creep.. m = 4-6, and b = 0. It has a strong
dependence on the applied stress and no grain size dependence.
Nabarro Herring Creep (Bulk
Nabarro-Herring
(B lk Diffn)..m
Diffn)
= 1,
1 and b = 2.
2 Atoms
At
diffuse through the lattice causing grains to elongate along the stress axis; it
creep has a weak stress dependence and a moderate grain size dependence.
Coble Creep (Grain boundary diffusion).
diffusion) m = 1,
1 and b = 3.
3 Atoms diffuse
along grain boundaries to elongate the grains along the stress axis. This causes
Coble creep to have a stronger grain size dependence than Nabarro-Herring
creep.
p Here,, Q(g
Q(grain boundaryy diffusion)
ff
) < Q(self
Q( f diffusion),
ff
), Coble creepp
occurs at lower temperatures than Nabarro-Herring creep.
Thermally activated glide e.g., via cross-slip
Chapter 8 - 20

Creep Failure
Failure: along grain boundaries.
g.b. cavities
applied
stress

Chapter 8 - 21

Creep Failure in S-590 Alloy

fig_08_31

Chapter 8 -

Prediction of Creep Rupture Lifetime

Estimate rupture time
S-590 Iron, T = 800C, = 20,000 psi

Ti
Time
to
t rupture,
t
tr

20
10
data for

Strress (103 psi)

100

T (20 log t r ) L
function of
applied stress
time to failure (rupture)

temperature

S-590 Iron
12

16

20

24

1
28

(1073 K )(20 log t r ) 24 x103

103 L (K-h)

Ans: tr = 233 hr
Chapter 8 - 23

Estimate the rupture time for

S 590 Iron,
S-590
Iron T = 750C,
750C = 20,000
20 000 psi
Solution:

T (20 log t r ) L
20

function of
applied stress
time to failure
fail re (rupture)
(r pt re)

temperature

10
data for

(1023 K )(20 log

g t r ) 24 x10 3

Stre
ess (103 p
psi)

100

Time to rupture, tr

S-590 Iron
1
12

Ans: tr = 2890 hr

16

20

24

28

103 L (K-h)

Chapter 8 - 24

To Increase Creep
p Rupture
p
Resistance:
1) Use large grain size material, highly
grains or a single
g crystal.
y
directions g
2) Use heavy alloying (grain boundary
g dislocation drag
g etc.))
drag,
3) Use high melting point material
g modulus of elasticity
y
4)) Use high
material
Make sure its justifiable ($$$$$...)
Chapter 8 - 25

SUMMARY
Engineering materials not as strong as predicted by theory
Flaws act as stress concentrators that cause failure at
stresses lower than theoretical values.
Sharp corners produce large stress concentrations
and
d premature
t
failure.
f il
Failure type depends on T and :
-For
For simple fracture (noncyclic and T < 0.4Tm), failure stress
decreases with:
- increased maximum flaw size,
- decreased T,,
- increased rate of loading.

- For fatigue (cyclic :

- cycles
y
to fail decreases as increases.

- For creep (T > 0.4Tm):

- time to rupture decreases as or T increases.

Chapter 8 - 26

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Reading: Study chapter 8 thoroughly. Study the
solutions of Chapter 8 problems very well. Do not
memorize but try understanding the concepts
behind the solutions

Chapter 8 - 27