This doctoral thesis is concerned with fatigue life of welded structures. Several topics related to fatigue of welded structures are treated such as; weld defects and their influence on fatigue performance of welded structures, fatigue life prediction using LEFM (Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics), fatigue testing, welding simulation, residual stress prediction and measurement and their influence on fatigue life. The work that is reported in this doctoral thesis is part results of the Nordic R&D project QFAB (Quality and Cost of Fabricated Advanced Welded Structures) and the Swedish R&D project LOST (Light Optimized Welded Structures). One of the main objectives is to compare different welding processes for the fatigue performance, weld quality and gain understanding of the weld defects, their appearance in different welding processes and their effect on fatigue life. Another main objective is to study welding residual stresses and their effect on fatigue. The design rules are in some cases conservative and especially on the weld root sides the knowledge about the residual stress field may improve the life prediction. The aim is to develop simplified procedures for analysis of residual stresses, their relaxation and influence on fatigue life. Fatigue testing of Hybrid Nd: YAG laser/MAG and MAG welded (tandem arc solid wire, flux cored wire, tandem flux cored wire) non-load carrying cruciform joints was carried out. Four batches were produced, tested and the results were compared. The local weld geometry of the cruciform welded joints was measured and analyzed. Residual stress measurement was carried out close to the toe region using X-ray diffraction. Weld defects, in most cases cold laps, in the cracked specimens were measured. Further fatigue testing, weld defect assessment and residual stress and local weld geometry measurements were carried out on joints welded with flux cored and metal cored arc wires. Two-and three dimensional LEFM crack growth analysis were carried out in order to predict the influence of weld defects, local weld geometry and residual stresses. Residual stresses in multi-pass welded tube-to-plates were studied for two different tubular joint configurations; a three-pass single-U weld groove for maximum weld penetration and a two-pass fillet (no groove) welded tube-to-plates for minimum weld penetration. Torsion fatigue tests were performed in order to study crack propagation from the weld root. Mode III propagation from the lower and upper weld toe on the same tubular joints was also studied. Some tubes were stress relieved (PWHT) and some were fatigue tested with internal static pressure. A three dimensional finite element welding simulation of the multi-pass welded tubular joint was carried out. The calculated temperatures in the transient thermal analysis were compared with measured temperatures. The FE predicted residual stresses in the as-welded conditions were verified with hole drilling strain gage measurements. The residual stresses were used as internal stresses in the finite element model for the torsion fatigue simulation in order to study the cycle by cycle relaxation of the residual stresses in constant amplitude torsion loading. A two dimensional finite element welding simulation procedure was developed in order to predict welding residual stress. The predicted residual stresses were used together with a developed 2D LEFM subroutine to predict the fatigue life, crack path and the effect of residual stresses on weld root defects. The developed simulation subroutines were validated with results found in the literature. Residual stresses measurement, two-and three dimensional welding simulations were carried out in fillet welded joints in order to study the three dimensional effects of the welding process, boundary conditions and modelling technique on the formation of residual stresses. / QC 20100706

The studied material is an A356 Al alloy, used to produce engine cylinder heads for the automotive industry by die casting process. The material displays a quite coarse dendritic microstructure in a eutectic matrix, with a mean grains size of 25 microns, intemetallic precipitates and porosities. The tensile properties are strongly affected by testing temperature, with a quite sensitive drop of the Young's modulus, the Yield stress as the temperature was raised. The isothermal fatigue life dropped of markedly (approximately 10 times) when the testing temperature is raised from 120 to 280 °C, under strain control. From the themomechanical in-phase cyclic tests, with temperature varying from (120 to 280 oC), it was possible to observe that life is quite similar to the isothermal fatigue test at 280 oC. In this case, the more sensitive damage caused the in-phase mechanical and thermal cycle take place at the highest temperature. Relaxation tests indicated two distinct behaviors, with the temperature of 240°C being a threshold. At lower temperatures, the material hardens cyclically whereas it softens cyclically at higher temperatures. From the fatigue crack growth results, it was observed that temperature and wave shape has a strong influence on the crack growth rate as well as on the stress intensity threshold. Considering sinusoidal wave shape (10 Hz), as the temperature increased the DKth decreased and the crack propagation rate increased. However, the rate as da/dN change with temperature is quite similar, as an indicative that the micromechanism of crack growth has not changed due to the high frequency used, and it was due only to loss of mechanical strength. An elastic-visco-plastic non-isothermal constitutive law was identified for the material. For the cast material studied in this work, the mechanical behavior parameters are statistically distributed. However, it was shown that the model was able to reproduce, with a reasonable approximation, the stress - strain relationship at different temperatures, for the isothermal and anisothermal cases.

Ou study focuses on the effects of phase transformations on crack propagation. We want to understand the changes of fracture toughness during welding. In this work, fracture toughness is expressed by J-integral. There are many experimental methods to obtain the critical toughness JIC but they are impractical for our investigation during phase transformation. That is the reason why we have proposed a method coupling mechanical tests, digital image correlation and finite element simulation. The fracture tests are implemented on pre-cracked single edge notched plate sample which is easy for machining and heat conduct during phase transformation. The tests are conducted at different temperatures until rupture. Digital image correlation gives us the displacement information on every sample. Each test is then simulated by finite element where the fracture toughness is evaluated by the method G-Theta at the crack propagation starting moment found by potential drop method and digital image correlation technical. Two materials have been studied, 15Cr-5Ni martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steel and 16MND5 ferritic low carbon steel. For these two materials, different test temperatures were chosen before, during and after phase transformation for testing and failure characterization of the mechanical behavior. Investigation result shows that metallurgical phase transformation has an influence on fracture toughness and further crack propagation. For 15-5PH, the result of J1C shows that the as received 15-5PH has higher fracture toughness than the one at 200°C. The toughness is also higher than the original material after one cycle heat treatment probably due to some residual austenite. Meanwhile, pure austenite 15-5PH at 200°C has higher fracture toughness than pure martensitic 15-5PH at 200°C. For 16MND5, the result also proves that the phase transformation affects fracture toughness. The as received material has bigger J1C than the situation where it was heated to 600°C. On the other hand, the material at 600°C just before isothermal bainite transformation after the austenitization during cooling process also has higher fracture toughness than the one at 600°C before austenitization. These two conclusions are consistent well with the result of 15-5PH. But the final situation of 16MND5 after one cycle heat treatment has a slightly smaller J1C than the receiving situation. It means that one cycle heat treatment hasn't an significant influence on 16MND5fracture toughness. Conclusions show that one should pay attention to the heating period before austenitization of the substrate material when people do the welding as the higher temperature will bring the lower fracture toughness during this process. While during cooling period, the fracture toughness doesn't change a lot during, before or after the cooling induced phase transformation. Even for 15-5PH, it has a better fracture toughness after the martensite transformation than before.

The mechanical behavior of a high pressure die cast AM60B Mg alloy is studied. Constant load amplitude fatigue tests were conducted at room, elevated and cold temperatures, with a stress ratio of R=0.1, and frequency of 30 Hz. The objective was to identify the possible effects of temperature on fatigue life cycle. In addition, fatigue crack propagation tests were conducted to ascertain the fatigue response of the alloy and determine its fatigue crack growth rate as a function of the applied stress ratio, experimentally, analytically and computationally, using Walker’s model. The results demonstrated that temperature had a significant influence on the fatigue life, and that the life increased at cold temperature but decreased at elevated temperature as compared to that evaluated at room temperature. In this study, the limit for applicability of LEFM was established for AM60B magnesium alloy. In addition, fatigue crack propagation test results were used to evaluate the coefficients of the Paris model.

This thesis presents a new modeling framework and application methodology for the study of aircraft structures. The framework provides a ‘cradle-to-grave’ approach to structural analysis of a component, where structural integrity encompasses all phases of its lifespan. The methodology examines the holistic structural design of aircraft components by integrating fatigue and damage tolerance methodologies. It accomplishes this by marrying the load inputs from a fatigue analysis for new design, into a risk analysis for an existing design. The risk analysis incorporates the variability found from literature, including recorded defects, loadings, and material strength properties. The methodology is verified via formal conceptualization of the structures, which are demonstrated on an actual hydraulic accumulator and an engine nacelle inlet. The hydraulic accumulator is examined for structural integrity utilizing different base materials undergoing variable amplitude loading. Integrity is accomplished through a risk analysis by means of fault tree analysis. The engine nacelle inlet uses the damage tolerance philosophy for a sonic fatigue condition undergoing both constant amplitude loading and a theoretical flight design case. Residual strength changes are examined throughout crack growth, where structural integrity is accomplished through a risk analysis of component strength versus probability of failure. Both methodologies can be applied to nearly any structural application, not necessarily limited to aerospace.

The main objective of the project was to establish a fracture-mechanics energy-based approach for the design of structural adhesive joints under cyclic loading. This required understanding how an adhesive system behaved near its fatigue threshold, and how the key factors affected this behavior in a fresh undegraded joint. The investigated factors were mode ratio (phase angle), substrate material, surface treatment and surface roughness (both affecting the bond strength), bondline thickness and load ratio. It was first required to understand how the adhesive system behaved under quasi-static loading by examining a fracture mechanics-based design approach for adhesive systems with different substrate materials and geometries. Experiments were initially performed to characterize the strength of aluminum and steel adhesive systems based on the fracture envelope, critical strain energy release rate as a function of the mode ratio. Ultimate failure loads of aluminum and steel adhesive joints, having different overlap end conditions and different geometries were then experimentally measured. These values were compared with the failure loads extracted from the fracture envelope. Considering the toughening behavior of the adhesive in the fracture mechanics analyses, a very good agreement (average of 6%) was achieved between the predictions and experiments for all types of overlap end conditions and geometries. Different fatigue threshold testing approaches, which are commonly used in the literature or suggested by the ASTM standard, were evaluated for the cracked and intact fillet joints. Based on the experimental and analytical studies, the most appropriate technique for fatigue testing and characterization of adhesive systems was suggested. Comparing the mixed-mode near-threshold behavior of different adhesive systems with the fracture behavior and fatigue mode-I and mixed-mode high crack growth rates showed the high sensitivity of the mixed-mode near-threshold fatigue to the subtle changes in the interfacial bond strength. In order to make a baseline for the design of adhesive joints under cyclic loading, similar to the previous fracture tests and following the energy-based approach, fatigue behavior was characterized as a function of the loading mode ratio for aluminum and steel adhesive joints. The effect of substrate material, surface treatment, bondline thickness, surface roughness and fatigue testing load ratio on the near-threshold fatigue behavior of adhesives joints was evaluated experimentally. The experimental observations were then explained using finite element modeling. To generalize the conclusions, the majority of experiments and studies covered a broad range of crack growth rates, as low as fatigue threshold and as high as 10-2 mm/cycle. Having understood the significant testing and design parameters, an adhesive system can be designed based on a safe cyclic load that produces an insignificant (for automotive industry) or reasonably low but known crack growth rate (for aerospace industry).

The effect of retrogression and reaging heat treatment on corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior on AA7050 T73651 aluminum alloy is investigated. CT (Compact Tension) specimens are prepared in LS direction for fatigue crack growth tests . Samples are solution heat treated at 477 &deg / C and aged at 120 &deg / C for 24 h (T6 condition). After that, samples are retrogressed at 200 &deg / C for times of 1, 5, 30, 55 and 80 minutes in a circulating oil bath. Then, samples are re-aged at 120 &deg / C for 24 h (T6 condition). Hardness measurements are taken at different retrogression times and at the end of the heat treatment. Fatigue crack growth tests are performed at as received condition and at different retrogression times with sinusoidal loading of R=0.1 and f=1 in both laboratory air and corrosive environment of 3.5% NaCl solution. The highest fatigue crack growth resistance is observed for 30 min. and 5 min. retrogression for laboratory air and corrosive environment respectively. It is concluded that RRA can successfully be used to improve fatigue performance of this alloy.

[Truncated abstract. Please see pdf format for complete text.] Over the years much work has been done on studying sequence effects under multilevel loading. Yet, the underlying fatigue mechanisms responsible for such interactions are not fully understood. The study of fatigue under complex loading histories begins by investigating strain interaction effects arising from simple 2-step loading sequences. Fatigue for all investigations were conducted under uniaxial push-pull mode in strain-control. Fatigue is traditionally classified as either low or high cycle fatigue (LCF and HCF respectively). The boundary for LCF and HCF is not well-defined even though the fatigue life of LCF is typically dominated by crack “initiation”, while for HCF, fatigue life is usually dominated by stable crack growth. The terms LCF and HCF, apart from referring to the low and high number of fatigue cycles required for failure, also bear little physical meaning in terms of describing the state of fatigue imposed. As a result, conventional definitions of the two distinct regimes of fatigue are challenged and a new method of classifying the boundary between the two regimes of fatigue is proposed. New definitions are proposed and the terms plastically dominant fatigue (PDF) and elastically dominant fatigue (EDF) are introduced as suitable replacements for LCF and HCF respectively. PDF refers to the condition of a material undergoing significant reverse plasticity during cyclic loading, while for EDF, minimal reverse plasticity is experienced. Systematic testing of three materials, 316 L stainless steel, 6061-T6 aluminium alloy and 4340 high strength steel, was performed to fully investigate the cycle ratio trends and “damage” accumulation behaviour which resulted from a variety of loading conditions. Results from this study were carried over to investigate more complex multilevel loading sequences and possible mechanisms for interaction effects observed both under 2-step and multi-step sequences were proposed. Results showed that atypical cycle ratio trends could result from loading sequences which involve combinations of strain amplitudes from different fatigue regimes (i.e. PDF or EDF). Mean strain effects on fatigue life were also studied. The objective of this study was to identify regimes of fatigue which are significantly influenced by mean strains. Results indicated that mean strains affected EDF but not PDF. 2-step tests, similar to those performed in earlier studies were conducted to investigate the effects of mean strain on variable amplitude loading. Again, atypical cycle ratio trends were observed for loading sequences involving combinations of PDF and EDF. It is understood that fatigue crack growth interaction behaviour and mean stress effects are two dominant mechanisms which can be used to explain cycle ratio trends observed. The significance and importance of proper PDF/EDF definition and specification are also stressed. The study of fracture mechanics is an important component of any fatigue research. Fatigue crack growth in 4140 high strength steel CT specimens, under conditions of plane stress and plane strain were studied. In this investigation, the effects of R and overload ratios were also studied for both plane stress and plane strain conditions. Results indicate that differences in the point of crack “initiation” under both plane stress and plane strain conditions decrease with increasing load range, while the extent of crack retardation as a result of overloading, is greater under plane stress than plane strain conditions. The extent of crack growth retardation increases with decreasing R ratios and increasing overload ratios. The final phase of this project involves the proposal of two practical models used to predict cumulative “damage” and fatigue crack propagation in metals. The cumulative “damage” model proposed takes the form of a power law and the exponent which governs “damage” accumulation can easily be calculated by knowing the failure life, Nf, for a given strain or load level. Predictions for the “damage” model performed better when compared to other popular cumulative “damage” models. The second model proposed predicts fatigue crack growth behaviour from known monotonic and smooth specimen fatigue data. There are several benefits of having a model that can predict fatigue crack growth from monotonic and smooth specimen fatigue data: a) traditionally, engineers had to rely on expensive and time-consuming crack propagation tests to evaluate and select materials for maximum fatigue resistance, and b) monotonic and smooth specimen fatigue data are readily available. The crack propagation model is proposed to alleviate the material selection process by providing engineers a means to rapidly eliminate and narrow down selections for possible material candidates.

L’Inconel 718 est un superalliage base nickel largement utilisé par les motoristes tels Safran Aircraft Engines pour l’élaboration des disques de turbine. Après forgeage des disques, un traitement de vieillissement appelé « Direct Aged » est appliqué. En service, le régime de croisière représente un temps de maintien sous chargement constant pour les disques. Bien que pas complètement compris, il est largement admis qu’un temps de maintien dans un cycle de fatigue a un effet néfaste sur le comportement en fissuration de l’Inconel 718 ainsi que d’autres superalliages. Cette étude porte donc sur la fissuration en fatigue-fluage dans l’Inconel 718 DA à 550°C et 650°C. Des essais sont menés pour des temps de maintien allant jusqu’à 1h. Des développements de la méthode de suivi de fissure par mesure de potentiel (DCPD) ont permis d’identifier la décharge-recharge (contribution de fatigue) d’un cycle de fatigue-fluage comme la partie la plus néfaste du cycle. L’application d’un temps de maintien amplifie cette contribution. Le temps de maintien induit également des fronts de fissure extrêmement courbes et tortueux, contrairement à de la fatigue pure. Une stratégie numérique a été développée, couplant la simulation 3D de la propagation et la méthode dite DCPD, permettant de réaliser des « essais numériques ». La propagation de fronts courbes et tortueux est simulée. Il a été démontré que le comportement en propagation est directement lié à la forme du front de fissure et son évolution. Des essais complexes ont été menés, sous vide, ou impliquant des surcharges. Lorsque l’effet du temps de maintien est annihilé, les morphologies complexes des fronts disparaissent. Elles sont alors associées à une inhibition locale de l’effet endommageant de l’environnement due à la plasticité et aux vitesses de déformation locales. Tous les essais présentés sont analysés en considérant l’effet de la vitesse de déformation locale qui influe largement le comportement en fissuration de l’Inconel 718. / Inconel 718 is a nickel-based superalloy widely used by aeroengines manufacturers like Safran Aircraft Engine to manufacture turbine disks. After forging, disks are given an ageing treatment called “Direct Aged”. In service, during cruise, these critical components handle hold-time periods at constant loading. It is well known, although not fully understood, that hold-time increases crack growth rates (CGR) in Inconel 718 as well as others superalloys. Therefore, this study focuses on crack propagation under hold-time conditions in DA Inconel 718, at 550°C and 650°C. Experiments were carried out for different hold-times, up to 1h. Developments on the crack monitoring technique (DCPD) led to the conclusion that the most damaging part of the cycle is load-reversal (fatigue contribution). This contribution is enhanced by the hold-time period. Holdtime leads to dramatically curved and tortuous crack front, contrary to pure fatigue cycles. A numerical framework was developed, combining crack growth and DCPD simulations, so that “numerical tests” can be carried out. Using this method, crack growth simulations were performed from curved and tortuous, experimentally reproduced, crack front. It was concluded that increased crack CGR under hold-time conditions are closely related to the crack front morphology and its evolution during propagation. More complex tests, with overloads or under vacuum, were carried out. When the hold-time effect is inhibited, complex morphologies vanish. Such morphologies were associated to local inhibition of the environmental damaging effect due to local high plastic strain and strain rates. The large variety of experiments, presented in this study, was then successfully analyzed considering the effect of local strain rates which greatly influence the crack growth behavior of Inconel 718.

Des fissures intergranulaires ont été observées sur des composants évoluant dans un environnement CO2 à haute température (550°C). Le matériau, un acier austénitique inoxydable de nuance 316H, est soumis à des sollicitations en fluage. L'objectif de la thèse est de permettre une meilleure compréhension du mécanisme d'endommagement par fluage et des effets de l'environnement sur l'apparition et la propagation de ces fissures. Une synergie entre la simulation par éléments finis et la mesure de champs cinématiques au moyen de la Corrélation d'Images Numériques (CIN) a été créée pour aborder ce problème avec une approche locale, à l'échelle de la microstructure. Une méthode de CIN adaptée au suivi de la fissuration basée sur l'utilisation des expressions de la Mécanique Linéaire Elastique de la Rupture a été développée. Une validation expérimentale sur essai de traction in-situ sur microéprouvettes pré-fissurées de matériau 316H est proposée. / At elevated temperature (550°C) in CO2 environment, intergranular creep cracks have been observed in thermally and environmentally aged 316H austenitic stainless steel. The objective of this work is to enhance the understanding of the creep crack mechanism and the effects of environment on crack initiation and growth. Some microtests on Single Edge Notched Tensile specimen (SENT) have been performed to better describe the interaction between chemistry and mechanics at the microstructural scale. A creep crack monitoring procedure using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) have been developped and assessed using Finite Element Modelling (FEM) of cracked bi-crystal. Based on a projection on Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics expressions, the crack parameters (crack tip position, orientation) can be determined and the growth can be measured. A validation on in-situ tensile tests on SENT 316H specimen is proposed.