Nickel superalloys are used for high-temperature application in energetic and aerospace industry. They are exposed to aggressive environment at high temperatures with the interactions between fatigue and creep processes, high-temperature oxidation, corrosion and erosion. Lifetime extension of such strained parts while increasing the performance of particular machine is possible by applying protective surface coatings. The subject of this work is to investigate the fatigue failure mechanisms of superalloy Inconel 713LC at 800 °C and to compare these mechanisms between material with a protective coating based on Al-Si and material without coating. The location of initiation fatigue cracks, their propagation and the fatigue crack propagation rate in some areas were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Based on previous research it was found that the application of the coating AlSi has a positive effect on lifetime of alloy Inconel 713LC. These results were confirmed and estimated in the diploma thesis.

The aim of this thesis is to describe behavior of cracks in layered polymer materials. Quasi-brittle fracture (through the initiation and subsequent crack propagation mechanism) under low stresses is the most common mode of failure of polymer materials. In this case plastic deformations are localized in the vinicity of the crack tip and linear elastic fracture mechanics description of the crack behavior can be used. The knowledge of fracture parameters change during the crack propagation in multilayer body is a key point for establishing of the maximum load and consequently for the assessment of the residua lifetime. In contrast to homogeneous bodies the estimation of stress intensity factors for multilayer (composite) structure is numerically more elaborated and the fracture mechanics approach is complicated by the existence of interfaces between single layers, where material parameters are changed by a step. Special attention is paid to the configuration of a crack growing close to the material interface and along the interface. For the crack with tip on the material interface the effective values of stress intensity factor based on the crack stability criteria are estimated. It is shown that under special conditions (depending mainly on the elastic mismatch of materials) the existence of material interface has positive influence on the lifetime of the multilayered structure.

This doctoral thesis deals with the fatigue behaviour of AZ31 and AZ61 magnesium alloy casted by advanced methods of casting squeeze casting. Based on the regression functions and measured fatigue data were determined fatigue characteristics of these alloys. The work also extends into the area of fatigue cracks in the AZ31 alloy. Were measured fatigue crack propagation rate on modified cylindrical specimens. The paper also outlines the possibilities for describing the fatigue behaviour of AZ61 alloy in extremely low-cycle fatigue.

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In the past, the disagreement of near-threshold fatigue-crack growth (FCG) rate data generated from constant Kmax tests, high load ratio (minimum to maximum load) constant R tests, and ΔKeff based data was a mysterious issue. Because of the disagreement, a variety of test or analysis methods were created to correlate FCG rate data. It was suspected that the ASTM threshold test method using load reduction was inducing remote crack closure due to plastically deformed material, which caused elevated thresholds and slower rates than steady-state behavior. The first goal of this study was the development of a test method to eliminate remote closure during threshold testing. In order to avoid/minimize remote closure effect, compression-precracking methods were used to initiate a crack from a starter notch on compact specimens. Two materials with different fatigue crack surface profiles (flat or very rough) were tested and the results generated from the conventional ASTM precracking method and the compression-precracking test method were compared. In order to understand the disagreement of near-threshold data, crack-opening load measurements were performed from locally (near crack tip) installed strain gages instead of the remote gage (i.e., back face gage). Some careful specimen preparations were performed to avoid out-of-plane bending, to maintain straight crack fronts, and to ensure testing system linearity. It was known that remote gages, such as crack-mouth- opening-displacement-gages were insensitive to measuring load-strain records near threshold. By using local gages, the crack closure effects were clearly observed even in high load ratio (R) tests, like or higher than R = 0.7, and constant Kmax tests, which were believed to be crack closure free. By measuring load-reduced-strain records from local gages, crack-opening loads were able to correlate FCG rate data and showed that ΔKeff-rate data was unique for a wide variety of materials. By comparing (ΔKeff)th values, it may provide reasonable guidance for the material resistance against FCG. Because of “high R crack closure”, some theories considered in the past may need to be reconsidered. First, constant Kmax tests are not entirely crack-closure free. Second, there is no critical load ratio, Rc, to indicate the transition from crack-closure affected to crack-closure free data, and Kmax effects that appear in ΔKth-Kmax relations. Research has shown that the three dominate crack-closure mechanisms (plasticity-, roughness- and debris-induced crack closure) FCG rate behavior in the threshold regime from low to high load ratios.

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