Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical

Engineering Science
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The effect of friction on crack propagation in the dovetail fixings of compressor discs
R L Burguete and E A Patterson
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 1998 212:
171
DOI: 10.1243/0954406981521132

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 171

The effect of friction on crack propagation in the

dovetail fixings of compressor discs

R L Burguete* and E A Patterson

Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Sheffield

Abstract: Stress frozen photoelasticity has been used to model dovetail compressor blade fixings.
During loading a known coefficient of friction was applied and the effect of the variation of this
parameter on crack initiation and propagation was investigated. Data were recorded from the speci-
men using an automated computer aided polariscope based on the method of phase stepping.
Isochromatic and isoclinic data were collected and used to determine the stress distribution, the stress
intensity factor and the crack propagation direction. The method to predict the direction of crack
propagation has been improved so that photoelastic data can be used reliably for this purpose. Three
values of the coefficient of friction were used for two different dovetail geometries. It was found that
the initial values of the mode II stress intensity factors were higher for a lower friction coefficient.
An increase in crack length produced a corresponding decrease in the mode I stress intensity factor
and a decrease in the mode II value. It was concluded that the coefficient of friction influenced crack
growth at all stages of crack growth because it affects the relative levels of the mode I and mode II
stress intensity factors. This has an effect on the direction of the maximum principal stress direction
and so on the direction of crack propagation.

Keywords: stress frozen photoelasticity, dovetail compressor blade fixings, coefficient of friction,
automated computer aided polariscope, direction of crack propagation

NOTATION 1 INTRODUCTION

a crack length Certification of aero engine discs is now strongly depen-

K effective stress intensity factor where dent on being able to predict modes of failure. An area
eff
K =√(K2 +K2 ) of major concern is the contact interfaces between the
eff I II
K,K mode I and mode II stress intensity factors disc and its blades. This interface often takes the form
I II
K normalization factor for stress intensity of a dovetail joint or a series of such joints, which is
0
factors sometimes referred to as a fir-tree joint. Two types are
MCST maximum circumferential stress theory used, namely those in which the disc slot runs circumfer-
r radial coordinate in polar coordinate system entially on the periphery of the disc and those in which
R surface roughness the disc periphery contains a series of axial slots. Both
a
types of dovetail joints are the subject of this investi-
h tangential coordinate in polar coordinate gation. A knowledge of the initiation site and subsequent
system growth path of a fatigue crack greatly assists in
r crack tip radius determining the mode of failure and the severity of its
s ,s components of Cartesian stress consequences. In addition, knowledge of the stress inten-
x y
s ,s components of principal stress sity factors at the various stages of growth are used to
1 2
w measured isoclinic parameter ascertain the service life of such components (1).
y theoretical isoclinic parameter The method of stress frozen photoelasticity is a valuable
tool for the investigation of such problems. Within the
field of photoelastic stress analysis the determination of
stress intensity factors is well documented (2), as are the
The MS was received on 26 March 1997 and was accepted for publication
on 12 August 1997. techniques for predicting the direction of crack growth
* Present address: British Aerospace Airbus Limited, Filton, Bristol. (1). Although this type of problem has been looked at in
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172 R L BURGUETE AND E A PATTERSON

the past (1, 3–5), the detail with which the components
were modelled was less than has been performed in this
study. Previous investigations have neglected to include
the effect of friction on crack initiation and growth. In this
study it has been possible to address these issues due to
the development of techniques for controlling friction at
the contact interface in stress frozen photoelasticity (6).
Further, the methods of predicting the crack path using
photoelasticity have been improved.
In the work described below a combination of photo-
elastic techniques and fracture mechanics concepts have
been used to predict the direction of crack growth and
the associated stress intensity factors for cracks in dove-
tail fixings. This was done for two different dovetail geo-
metries under three different friction conditions.

Fig. 1 Comparison of the predicted crack path by different

2 THEORY
2.1 Crack initiation
The prediction of the position of crack initiation is
not well defined in engineering terms. There is some
doubt as to where this occurs, and the processes of
nucleation and stage I growth are not fully understood.
Mechanisms associated with crack initiation and propa-
gation, such as fretting fatigue, are also poorly under-
stood. Parks et al. (3) initiated their artificial cracks at
the point of maximum tangential stress. This gave arti-
ficial cracks of a similar form to those observed in real
fatigue failures. More detailed work by Ruiz and his
co-workers (4, 5) identified the location of maximum
damage as the point of maximum shear-slip work, and
this approximately coincides with the point of maximum
tangential stress. In this investigation the initiation site
cannot be controlled with sufficient precision to dis-
tinguish between these two locations. Hence nominally
the position of maximum tangential stress has been used,
because it is readily identified from photoelastic data.
This assumes that surface flaws are homogeneously dis-
tributed and will form the site of a crack initiation.
2.2 Crack propagation
In this study the assumption will be that, after initiation,
crack propagation occurs as stage II growth according
to Forsyth’s (7) description of fatigue crack growth. This
is done for simplicity as to attempt to include stage I
and II growth in the determination of crack path would
necessitate knowledge of the transition between stage I
and II growth. Stage I growth occurs at and immediately
post-initiation and is strongly dependent on microstruc-
tures; such cracks often grow with a strong shear compo-
nent. Most cracks move to stage II growth with
increasing crack length, which is characterized by macro-
scopic effects with crack growth dominated by mode I
displacements. The propagation of the crack in stage II
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
methods based on photoelastic data and the maximum
circumferential stress theory (MCST )
has been predicted in this study assuming brittle failure.
It is considered that this is a valid assumption consider-
ing the type of materials used to manufacture com-
pressor discs.
There are a number of theories that have been pro-
posed to predict the direction of crack propagation (8).
Among these methods the use of the position of the
maximum strain energy density, the location of the maxi-
mum principal stress and the position of the maximum
circumferential or tangential stress are the most
common. Maiti and Smith (8) have shown that stress
and strain methods are more reliable than those based
on strain energy criteria. This is especially true when
there is a mixed mode crack. Added to this the stress-
and strain-based methods have a more readily under-
stood physical basis which essentially states that failure
will occur in the direction perpendicular to the largest
stress or strain.
In this study the method used for determining the
direction of crack growth has been developed from that
used by Nurse and Patterson (1). The method adopted
by them was based on the maximum circumferential
stress that exists at the crack tip. The direction of the
maximum circumferential stress was approximated by
using the Perigean angle to determine crack growth
direction. There are, however, problems with this
straightforward method when the ratio of K to K
II I
becomes too high; i.e. over 0.7, the predicted crack path
diverges by more than 10 per cent from that obtained
using the maximum circumferential stress theory
(MCST ), as can be seen in Fig. 1.
In this study a method has been developed that uses
photoelastic data to predict the direction of crack propa-
gation which matches exactly the values determined
using the MCST. To demonstrate this, the equations for
stress around a crack tip, developed by Westergaard (9),
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 THE EFFECT OF FRICTION ON CRACK PROPAGATION IN THE DOVETAIL FIXINGS OF COMPRESSOR DISCS 173

can first be written as

A B
K h h 3h
s = I cos 1−sin sin
x √(2pr) 2 2 2

A B
K h h 3h
− II sin 2+cos cos (1)
√(2pr) 2 2 2

A B
K h h 3h
s = I cos 1+sin sin
y √(2pr) 2 2 2
K h h 3h
+ II sin cos cos (2)
√(2pr) 2 2 2
K h h 3h
t = I sin cos cos
xy √(2pr) 2 2 2

A B
K h h 3h
+ II cos 1−sin sin (3)
√(2pr) 2 2 2 Fig. 2 Orientation of principal, Cartesian and polar stress
components in the region around the crack tip
These expressions can be rewritten for a polar system of
stresses (see Fig. 2) by transforming them using
ferential and hence for these points the polar coordinate,
s =s cos2 h+s sin2 h−2t sin h cos h (4) h will be equal to the isoclinic angle, y when the crack
h x y xy
and coordinate system is aligned to the reference axes of the
polariscope.
t =s cos h sin h−s cos h sin h Hence, if the isoclinic parameter is measured in the
rh y x
+t (cos2 h−sin2 h) (5) region around the crack tip at the points where it equals
xy the polar angle h the circumferential stress is a principal
Substituting expressions (1), (2) and (3) into (4) gives stress. This method is an application of Mesnager’s the-
the circumferential component of stress as orem (10), which states that the principal stresses tan-
gent to a given stress trajectory are a maximum or
K h K h h
s = I cos3 − II 3 sin cos2 (6) minimum where an isoclinic cuts the stress trajectory at
h √(2pr) 2 √(2pr) 2 2 right angles. Such points are known as cupic points.
and similarly substituting (1), (2) and (3) into (5) gives
K h h 2.3 Determination of normalized stress intensity factors
t = I cos2 sin
rh √(2pr) 2 2
The determination of the mode I and II normalized stress

A B
K h h intensity factors was performed using the method
+ II 3 cos3 −2 cos (7)
√(2pr) 2 2 described by Nurse and Patterson (11), from data col-
lected using an automated polariscope. This overdeter-
To find the maximum value of the circumferential stress, ministic method, based on the mathematical approach
s , expression (6) is differentiated with respect to h and of Muskhelishvilli, uses a Fourier series to describe the
h
the derivative is equated to zero; thus stress field around the crack tip and this is fitted to the
K 3 h h K data using a Newton–Raphson iteration scheme. An
I cos2 sin + II assessment of the quality of fit is made and is expressed
√(2pr) 2 2 2 √(2pr)
by two parameters, which are the mean and variance of

A B
h 9 h the squared residuals.
× 3 cos − cos3 =0 (8) The stress intensity factor is normalized using the far
2 2 2
field stress and the crack length. The far field stress
The roots of this equation give the values of h at which cannot be determined precisely, so it is calculated
the maximum or minimum circumferential stress acts. approximately from the model dimensions and the loads
In practice, the first root is found to be the maximum. applied. The advantage of this method using the
It can be observed that the same roots substituted in Muskhelishvilli approach over other methods (12) that
expression (7) provide a zero value of shear stress, t . use the Westergaard equations is that a non-uniform
rh
Consequently, the maximum and minimum circumfer- passing stress field can exist and a determination of the
ential stresses are principal stresses. At points where this stress intensity factors can still be made. Westergaard’s
occurs the principal stresses must be radial and circum- equations assume a uniform applied stress field and
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174 R L BURGUETE AND E A PATTERSON

hence methods based on them do not work in the vicinity

of other singularities such as that generated by contact
between two bodies. This problem was addressed by
Dally and Chen (13), who used both the crack tip stress
field and a theoretical model of the stress field emanating
from a point contact to provide a fit to the experimental
data and hence obtained values for the crack tip stress
intensity factor. This procedure cannot work if the form
of the contact stress field is not known, such as when
two components of complex geometry are in contact, as
is the case in this study.

3 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
(a)

In this study two different designs of dovetail fixing were

analysed. The majority of procedures were the same for
each type of model but where this is not the case they
have been described under different headings denoting
the type of fixing.

3.1 Model preparation

The models of both types of fixing were manufactured
from sheets of epoxy resin MY750 (Ciba-Geigy, UK )
which was prepared according to the method developed
by Kenny (14). The resin was cast into large blocks and
then sheets nominally 4 mm thick were sliced from the
resin block. These were then abraded using a fine silicone
carbide paper to leave a smooth finish.

3.1.1 Circumferential dovetail

The circumferential dovetail models were machined
directly from the CAD (computer aided design) data
using a CNC (computer numerical control ) milling
machine. The profiles and external dimensions are all
exactly 21 times the size of the original to facilitate hand-
2
ling and data collection. This model was a two-dimen-
sional representation of a three-dimensional structure,
with the profiles being taken in the axial–radial plane
of the three-dimensional component. As the loading
required for these models was purely axial no special
loading frame was required. The circumferential dovetail
(b)
set-up is shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 (a) Diagram of the loading rig for a circumferential
3.1.2 Axial dovetails dovetail (inset shows how load is transferred between
the grip and specimen). (b) Photograph of loading rig
The models of axial compressor blade fixings were made prior to stress freezing
by directly transferring the profiles of the dovetails to a
CAD drawing. The other parts of the model were machine with numerical control. This resulted in the alu-
designed so that the relevant loads could be applied. A minium template having a very accurate dimension, thus
drawing of the axial dovetail and its loading rig are replicating the turbine disc profile as closely as possible
shown in Fig. 4. The axial dovetail models were manu- and making the epoxy specimens readily reproducible.
factured from a sheet of epoxy resin using an aluminium The specimen was 21 times bigger than the actual dove-
template and cutting out the external profile on a high- 2
tail, which made handling and data collection easier.
speed router. The aluminium template was made by The loading frame for the axial dovetail was designed
transferring the CAD data to a spark erosion cutting in the way shown for a number of reasons. Previous
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 THE EFFECT OF FRICTION ON CRACK PROPAGATION IN THE DOVETAIL FIXINGS OF COMPRESSOR DISCS 175

(a) (b)

Fig. 4 (a) Diagram of the loading rig for an axial dovetail (cutaway shows how circumferential load is
applied via bearings running along a non-parallel track). (b) Photograph of loading rig prior to
stress freezing

investigators have studied similar fixings and have
designed the models so that biaxial loads could be
applied (1, 4). They have done this by having a number
of blades in series on either side of a large rectangular
plate with loads applied to the blades and the plate. This
type of model is large and the fixings themselves are
small, making it difficult to analyse and manufacture
them. With the design shown here a single fixing can be
modelled which can be made large enough to be easily
handled but also small enough to fit easily in the stress
freezing ovens. The loads applied are both radial and
circumferential as in previous models (1, 4) and the real
component. The load is applied to the blade section in
the radial direction, causing it and the disc section to
move radially. The disc section is clamped by two pairs
of grips in the same position as shown in the inset in
Fig. 3a. The grips are free to slide on the rails which are
not parallel. This induces a circumferential tension in
the disc section that reacts with the applied load.
To verify that this loading scheme did provide the
required loads a finite element (FE ) analysis of it was
performed. The FE model was loaded, first using body
forces to simulate the spinning turbine. In the second
analysis circumferential symmetry was assumed along
the radial boundaries and a radial load was applied to
C02397 © IMechE 1998
the blade. The results of the second FE study can be
seen in Fig. 5 and show that for this loading method the
stress pattern is the same as the photoelastic model. The
photoelastic model shown here is a slice taken from a
complete three-dimensional compressor disc loaded by
spinning it in a stress freezing oven (15).
3.2 Control of the coefficient of friction
Control of the coefficient of friction during the stress
freezing process has been investigated previously by the
authors (6) and the same methods have been used again
to obtain various values of friction coefficient. The values
of surface roughness and coefficient of friction are given
in Table 1.
3.2.1 Circumferential dovetail
The R value of 1.15 mm was achieved by carefully rub-
a
bing the contacting surfaces using a medium grade (P400
grit) silicon carbide abrasive paper. The final profile was
checked by loading the specimen in the polariscope and
observing whether the fringe pattern was exactly the
same as from a machined-only component.
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176 R L BURGUETE AND E A PATTERSON

taken to ensure that the models were loaded symmetri-

Fig. 5 Comparison between finite element model ( left) and
photoelastic model (right) (15) to validate the new
loading arrangement
3.2.2 Axial dovetails
As a result of the different machining processes, the nom-
inal surface roughnesses for the axial dovetails were
different to those achieved on the circumferential dove-
tails. The coefficient of friction was controlled in a simi-
lar way by using talc and altering the surface roughness.
The high values of surface roughness, R , are for the
a The site of maximum tangential stress at the interface
machined surface produced by the standard carbide-
tipped bit in the high-speed router. The low R value
a initiate, as has been discussed in the theory section
was achieved using a carborundum-tipped tool in the
same router. One of the tests was performed using a
surface roughness, R , of 3.98 mm and talc as a lubricant
a using a jeweller’s saw with the aid of a template which
so as to achieve a low coefficient of friction.
3.3 Stress freezing and data collection
The first stage in the loading procedure was to set up
the specimens as shown in Figs 3 and 4. Every care was
cally and level. The thermal cycle was then initiated and
comprised heating to 145 °C in six hours, maintaining at
this temperature for two hours and then cooling to 60 °C
in 14 hours (i.e. 6 °C/h). The loads applied are given
in Table 1.
After this first cycle the specimens were observed in
the oven without disturbing them using a hand-held
polariscope. This was to check that the loading had been
applied symmetrically by looking at the symmetry of the
fringe pattern. If they were not loaded symmetrically,
then the blade part of the model was adjusted and the
thermal cycle repeated. Correctly loaded specimens were
then carefully marked to ensure that exact repositioning
could be achieved after data collection. This was done
by using a fine felt-tip marker and gently scribing a line
(thickness#0.25 mm) across and perpendicular to one
of the contact interfaces. Later, the pieces were repos-
itioned by aligning the edges of this line.
After the first loading, the disc part of the specimen
was placed in a dark-field circular polariscope and an
image of the contact interface taken using a monochro-
matic CCD (change coupled device) camera (Panasonic
model WV-BP100) and video copy printer (Mitsubishi
model P70B). The specimen was then viewed in a plane
polariscope and the point of maximum tangential stress
at the interface found. This point is located by rotating
the specimen until the isoclinic contour is perpendicular
to the contact face, i.e. using Mesnager’s theorem (10).
The point at which this occurred was marked and the
specimen removed from the polariscope.
was then assumed to be the point at which a crack would
above. A small saw cut was made in the specimen at this
point perpendicular to the contact face. This was done
was clamped to the specimen and acted as a guide to the
saw blade. The jeweller’s saw ( Eclipse PS51 with blades
PS80) had a blade of thickness of 0.4 mm, resulting in
a cut width of approximately 0.45 mm.
The contact interface was then cleaned using a solvent
(Genklene, ICI, UK ) and prepared in the appropriate

Table 1 Surface roughness, surface preparation and coefficients of static friction for MY750

R (mm)
a
Friction Fringe constant
Mean SD* coefficient Lubricant [MPa/(fr/mm)] Applied load (N )

Circumferential dovetails
CID1 0.40 0.03 0.28 Talc 0.44 5.52
CID2 1.09 0.21 0.77 None 0.44 5.52
CID3 0.40 0.03 1.15 None 0.44 5.52
Axial dovetails
AXD1 3.98 0.63 0.27 Talc 0.46 3.3
AXD2 3.98 0.63 0.55 None 0.46 3.3
AXD3 1.02 0.14 0.80 None 0.46 3.3

* SD = standard deviation of sample.

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 THE EFFECT OF FRICTION ON CRACK PROPAGATION IN THE DOVETAIL FIXINGS OF COMPRESSOR DISCS
way to achieve the required friction coefficient. It was
then replaced in the loading rig inside the oven and the
blade and disc models were aligned using the line marked
previously. The stress–freezing cycle was then repeated,
with the specimens subject to the same loads as in the
earlier cycle.
After this stress–freezing cycle the disc part of the
specimen was removed and viewed in a circular dark-
field polariscope with the saw-cut carefully aligned to
the optical axes of the analyser. A highly magnified
image was taken of the area around the crack tip
(between ×9 and ×31) and printed using the video
copy printer. This image served as a permanent record
of the photoelastic fringe pattern as well as a means to
make precise measurements of the crack length and tip
radius. Prior to insertion in the polariscope, the speci-
men was smeared with a small quantity of benzyl ben-
zoate so as to reduce the scattering of light from the
surface. This was necessary to improve the quality of
the images which were subsequently to be recorded.
To obtain the normalized stress intensity factor (SIF )
of the crack, the method developed by Nurse and
Patterson (11) was used. The photoelastic fringe data
for the SIF calculation were taken using the automated
polariscope. This was a system based on the method of
phase stepping (16), which allows full-field data to be
collected around the crack tip and processed to generate
maps of isochromatic fringe order and isoclinic angle
around the crack tip. The isochromatic fringe data in
an annulus around the crack tip were used to evaluate
the stress intensity factor for the crack. The inner radius
of the annulus was five times the crack tip radius, r.
The outer boundary of the annulus was no greater than
40 per cent of the crack length, a. For longer crack
lengths the value 0.4a for the outer boundary meant
that data very close to the specimen edge or the loading
frame were included. In these cases a smaller outer limit
was used so as to omit these data, which might cause
errors in the determination of the stress intensity factor.
These data were then used in a computer program
which, as described in the theory section, used the
Muskhelishvilli approach and the multipoint overdeter-
ministic method developed by Sanford and Dally (12).
The data obtained from this process were the normal-
ized stress intensity factors K /K and K /K , where
I 0 II 0
K =s √(pa) and s is the applied or nominal stress.
0 0 0 5 DISCUSSION
The map of the isoclinic angle, y around the crack
tip was used to predict the direction of crack propa-
gation. An algorithm compared the polar coordinate h
for a point with its isoclinic angle y and points for
which this difference was less than 5° were flagged (i.e.
−5°∏ (h−y)∏5°). This operation was performed for
an array of 75×75 points or pixels in the map centred
on the crack tip. The average value of the polar coordi-
nate at all flagged points was taken to be the direction
of crack propagation.
The crack was then extended using the jeweller’s saw
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177
and the template as described above. If the propagation
angle was greater than 10° the crack was extended by
less than 2 mm. For lower propagation angles the crack
was extended for up to 5 mm. This ensured that if the
crack was ‘turning’ the curvilinear path followed was
approximated with some degree of fidelity by the short
straight extensions. Following this, the specimen was
cleaned and prepared again for a further stress–freezing
cycle. This whole process was repeated until the crack
had been extended to a length of approximately 13 mm
for the axial dovetails and 9 mm for the circumferential
dovetails. Beyond these lengths the remaining ligament
was too small to carry the loads.
A tensile specimen made from the same batch of
material as the dovetail joint was included in every
stress–freezing cycle. This specimen was used to deter-
mine the material fringe constants whose values are
given in Table 1. For each dovetail joint the variation
in fringe constant during the series of stress–freezing
cycles was very small [maximum standard deviation of
0.004 MPa/ (fringes/mm)], so the average value was
used for each series in evaluating the stress intensity
factor.
4 RESULTS
The results shown in Fig. 6 give the normalized stress
intensity factors, the ratio of mode I to mode II stress
intensity factors and the effective stress intensity factor
for the circumferential dovetails. The latter is calculated
as the vector sum of the two mode I and II values.
Figure 7 shows the results from the axial dovetail tests.
The data plotted are the same as for the circumferential
dovetail tests.
The degree of mode mixity indicated by the ratio of
stress intensity factors in effect determines the direction
of crack propagation, while the effect of the stress inten-
sity factor is indicative of the crack driving force. Typical
isochromatic fringe patterns are shown in Fig. 8 and the
pattern of the cracks subject to different coefficients of
friction are shown in Fig. 9.
The accuracy of the automated polariscope has been
evaluated previously by Haake et al. (16) and found
to be ±0.007 fringes and ±0.75° for the isoclinic
angle. The reliability of using the automated polari-
scope for determining stress intensity factors was
assessed by the same investigators ( 17) and found to
be excellent. The procedure for determining the direc-
tion of crack propagation is new but is a manifestation
of the well-known maximum circumferential stress
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 212 Part C
178 R L BURGUETE AND E A PATTERSON
Fig. 6 Normalized stress intensity factors as a function of crack length and friction coefficient for the
circumferential dovetails
theory and employs the equally well-established
Mesnager’s theorem. The integration of these two
theories has produced a powerful tool for photo-
elasticians interested in fracture mechanics, although
its use is not restricted to photoelasticity since the
procedure could easily be applied to data generated
from numerical analyses.
The use of saw-cuts or notches to represent cracks in
photoelastic analyses has been discussed in detail before
(18). It has been shown that at a distance more than 5
times the notch root radius, 5r from the crack tip, there
is no significant difference between a blunt notch and a
sharp crack. Consequently no data were collected within
this radius during this investigation.
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5.1 Circumferential dovetails
The first and most striking point that can be seen from the
results in Fig. 6 is that there is a strong correlation between
the mode II normalized stress intensity factor and the
coefficient of friction. For the lowest values of the friction
coefficient the K /K value is highest for the very short
II 0
cracks. The trend of K /K is downward as the friction
II 0
coefficient goes up. As the crack length increases the K /K
II 0
value decreases but at a slower rate for a lower coefficient
of friction. This effect may result from sliding that takes
place at the contact interface. When the coefficient of fric-
tion is low sliding can take place and for cracks perpendicu-
lar to the interface the crack opening stress, characterized
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 THE EFFECT OF FRICTION ON CRACK PROPAGATION IN THE DOVETAIL FIXINGS OF COMPRESSOR DISCS 179

Fig. 7 Normalized stress intensity factors as a function of crack length and friction coefficient for the
axial dovetails

by the mode I stress intensity factor, is reduced by the slip-
ping that takes place. That is to say, there is a low limit to
the maximum force that the blade can apply to the disc
finger in the direction parallel to the contact interface, and
the shearing of the crack dominates.
The difference in the mode I and II values is particu-
larly apparent when considering the K /K ratio. This is
II I
also very much higher for the low friction case than for
either of the others; however, at longer crack lengths the
crack tip is further from the contact interface and the
normalized mode I stress intensity factor is dominant,
as for the higher values of the coefficient of friction.
At the longer crack lengths the value of the mode I
and the effective stress intensity factor are lower for
C02397 © IMechE 1998
the high levels of friction. This may result from move-
ment of the dovetail in the slot at low levels of friction,
which causes the contact interface to interfere with the
crack and hence limits the crack opening force. Some
evidence for this can be seen in Fig. 8. The two fringe
patterns in Fig. 8 show how for the shorter crack the
contact stress (proportional to the number and density
of the fringes) at the mouth of the crack is lower than
for the longer crack. It is suggested that this inter-
ference might be the cause of the attenuation of the
stress intensity factor. Alternatively, at high
coefficients of friction, the resultant contact force is
more oblique to the crack so that it has a smaller
crack opening component.
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180 R L BURGUETE AND E A PATTERSON

for the longer cracks in the axial dovetails are similar in

magnitude to those found in the circumferential dovetail
(see Fig. 6). At these crack lengths mode I displacements
are dominant. However, for m=0.55 initial mode mixity
is dominated by mode II, which increases dramatically
before decreasing until mode I displacements dominate
at longer crack lengths (see the middle panel in Fig. 7).
This is probably due to the crack’s initial orientation to
the contact interface and applied loading. When the
crack tip moves out of the region influenced by the con-
tact, the mode I displacement starts to be dominant. This
(a) occurs with a distinctive turn in the crack path, which
can be seen in Fig. 9. This appears to coincide with a
peak in the stress intensity factor.
Similar behaviour is observed with the high coefficient
of friction, but the transition from dominant mode II to
mode I is achieved more rapidly as a function of crack
length. This might be indicative of the intermediate value
of friction coefficient generating approximately equal
shear and tensile forces, with the high value creating
mainly shear forces. These effects cease to be significant
to the crack growth when the tip moves out of the con-
tact zone. These influences are apparent in the paths
(b) shown in Fig. 9.
Fig. 8 Comparison of contact stress due to interference at the
crack mouth for two circumferential dovetail models:
(a) long crack and (b) short crack 6 CONCLUSIONS

It has been shown that the method developed for pre-

dicting crack paths using the isoclinic angle from photo-
elastic data agrees with the maximum circumferential
stress theory. This method has been successfully used to
predict the crack path in models of compressor disc
dovetail fixtures.
Control of the coefficient of friction at the contact
interface during stress freezing has shown that crack
growth and propagation direction are affected by the
level of friction at the contact boundary. Generally, high
coefficients of friction produce lower stress intensity
factors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Mr R. Kay and Mr S.

Wiles for the careful preparation of models and loading
rigs. Financial support under EPSRC grant GR/J 09413
Fig. 9 Outlines of (a) axial and (b) circumferential dovetails
showing the crack paths for different friction
is also gratefully acknowledged.
coefficients

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and with the lowest coefficient of friction, quickly decay
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