The thesis is focused on assessment of fatigue behaviour of austempered ductile iron with nodular graphite. Optimal period of transformation was determined based on the best combination of stress and strain characteristics established by tensile test. Cyclic response and low-cycle fatigue life were studied under both stress-control and longitudinal strain-control mode at room temperature. For both modes, shapes of cyclic hardening curves are dependent on stress amplitude. Cyclic deformation curves (CDC) were fitted by power regression function. Results were compared with CDC established by multiple step test in both modes with verification of the influence of cyclic creep (high stress levels, stress-control mode). Experimental data of S-N curves are in agreement with the Manson-Coffin and the Basquin law. Fatigue and cyclic parameters were compared. Fatigue life time in high-cycle fatigue region was determined. Experimental data were fitted by suitable regression functions. Regression parameters and fatigue limit were established by means of each regression function. Experimental data in low- and high-cycle fatigue regions were used to construct S-N curve and to determine relevant parameters. Discontinuity of experimental data was not observed. Low-cycle fatigue behaviour was predicted. Approximation of tolerance bands was realized in high-cycle and both high and low cycle fatigue regions.

Un suivi des processus microstructuraux prenant place au cours de la fatigue oligocyclique de l’aluminium pur est assuré par la technique d’émission acoustique EA par ces deux types: émission continue et discrète. Cette technique est intéressante car elle permet de suivre l’évolution dynamique de la structure tout le long de l’essai. Les différents stades du comportement macroscopique du matériau au cours des sollicitations cycliques sont clairement différenciés par l’activité acoustique. Nous distinguons cinq stades : écrouissage primaire, adoucissement primaire, écrouissage secondaire, adoucissement secondaire et rupture. Les trois premiers stades mettent en jeu des phénomènes microstructuraux liés à la plasticité du matériau tandis que des phénomènes relatifs à l’endommagement (micro et macro-fissuration) dominent les derniers stades. L’EA continue résulte de l’effet cumulatif de nombreux mouvements de dislocations de faible amplitude et décorrélés entre eux. Cette plasticité continue diminue au cours du 1er stade mais copie l’évolution de la réponse macroscopique de l’échantillon au cours des stades suivants. Ce comportement est lié aux structures de dislocations établies à travers les différents stades de fatigue. En revanche, l’EA de type discret enregistrée lors des trois premiers stades est associée à un autre type de plasticité : la plasticité intermittente, se manifestant à travers des mouvements coopératifs de grande ampleur, les avalanches de dislocations. Ces avalanches de dislocations génèrent des signaux acoustiques de tailles variables, distribuées en loi de puissance. La plasticité intermittente est alors invariante d’échelle tandis que la plasticité continue met en jeu des mouvements ayant une taille caractéristique. Nous mettons ainsi en évidence pour la première fois la coexistence de ces deux types de plasticité dans un matériau cubique à faces centrées CFC, qui ne sont donc pas incompatibles. Au cours des deux derniers stades de fatigue, les signaux acoustiques enregistrés se catégorisent également en deux groupes: l’un est caractérisé par des invariances d’échelle, l’autre associé à une taille caractéristique. La première catégorie comprend des signaux acoustiques indépendants, apparaissant aléatoirement au cours des cycles. Ces signaux sont générés par des phénomènes de microfissuration au sein du volume de l’échantillon (nucléation, percolation…). Le second groupe, réunit des signaux acoustiques générés quasiment au même niveau de contrainte sur plusieurs cycles successifs et ayant une signature acoustique quasi identique. Nous nommons ces signaux multiplets en référence à la sismologie. Nous émettons l'hypothèse que de tels multiplets d’EA sont la signature de la propagation, cycle après cycle, d'une fissure de fatigue dont la trace peut être vu post-mortem avec les stries de fatigue sur une surface de fracture, ou encore la signature de frottements entre les aspérités présentes de part et d’autre des lèvres de fissures. / An analysis of microstructural processes taking place during low-cycle fatigue of pure aluminum is performed by the Acoustic Emission technique (AE) with its two types: continuous and discrete. The main interest of this technique is that it enables the following of the dynamic evolution of the microstructure during the fatigue test. We distinguished five fatigue stages: primary hardening, primary softening, secondary hardening, secondary softening and failure. The various stages of the material’s macroscopic behavior during cyclic loading are clearly differentiated by the acoustic activity. During the first three stages, mainly microstructural phenomena related to plasticity of material are taking place, whereas damage (micro and macro-cracking) dominate the last two stages. The continuous AE results from the cumulative effect of many uncorrelated dislocations’ movements of low amplitude. This continuous plasticity decreases during the 1st stage but reproduces the evolution of the macroscopic behavior of the sample during following stages. This behavior is related to the dislocation structure established during the various fatigue stages. On the other hand, the discrete AE recorded at the time of the first three stages is associated to another type of plasticity: intermittent plasticity. This plasticity is associated to co-operative dislocation movements of great amplitude; dislocation avalanches. These dislocation avalanches generate acoustic signals power law distributed in amplitude and energies. Intermittent plasticity is then scale invariant while continuous plasticity is associated to dislocation movements with a characteristic size. We highlight for the first time the coexistence of these two types of plasticity in FCC materials, which are therefore not incompatible. During the last two stages of fatigue, the recorded acoustic signals are categorized in two groups: the first one is characterized by scale invariance whereas the other is associated to a characteristic size. The first category comprises independent acoustic signals, appearing randomly during cycles. These signals are generated by micro-cracking events within the volume of the sample (nucleation, percolation…). The second group contains acoustic signals generated almost at the same stress level during several successive cycles and having a nearly identical acoustic signature. We name these signals multiplets in reference to seismology. We put forth the hypothesis that such AE multiplets are the signature of fatigue crack propagation, one cycle after the other, whose trace can be observed post-mortem with fatigue striations on fracture surface, or a signature of frictions between the asperities present on both sides of the crack.

Background and Objective: Nickel-base superalloys, strengthened by a high volume fraction of Ni3Al precipitates, have been the undisputed choice for turbine discs in gas turbines as they exhibit the best available combination of elevated temperature tensile strength and resistance to low cycle fatigue (LCF), which are essential for a disc alloy. Alloy 720LI is a wrought nickel-base superalloy developed for disc application and exhibit superior elevated temperature tensile strength and LCF properties. It is distinct from contemporary disc alloys because of its chemistry, (especially Ti, Al and interstitial (C and B) contents), processing and heat treatment. However, literature available in open domain to develop an understanding of these properties in alloy 720LI is rather limited. This study was taken up in this background with an objective of assessing the tensile and LCF properties exhibited by alloy 720LI within a temperature regime of interest and understand the structure-property correlations behind it. Tensile Behavior: The effect of temperature and strain rate on monotonic tensile properties were assessed at different temperature in the range of 25 – 750°C (0.67 Tm) at a strain rate of 10-4 s-1 and strain rate effects were explored in detail at 25, 400, 650 and 750°C at different strain rates between 10-5 s-1 and 10-1 s-1. Yield and ultimate tensile strength of the alloy remains unaffected by temperature till about 600°C (0.58Tm) and 500°C (0.51Tm), respectively, beyond which both decreased drastically. Negligible strain rate sensitivity exhibited by the alloy at 25 and 400°C indicated that flow stress is a strong function of strain hardening rather than strain rate hardening. However at 650 and 750°C, especially at low strain rates, strain rate sensitivity is relatively high. TEM studies revealed that heterogeneous planar slip involving shearing of precipitates by dislocation pairs was prevalent under strain rate insensitive conditions and more homogeneous slip was evident when flow stresses were strain rate sensitive. The planarity of slip is also considered responsible for the deviation in experimental data from the Ludwick–Hollomon power-law at low plastic strains in regimes insensitive to strain rate. Irrespective of strain rate sensitivity and degree of homogeneity of slip, fracture mode remained ductile at almost all the conditions studied. Dynamic Strain Ageing: Alloy 720LI exhibits jerky flow in monotonic tension at intermediate temperatures ranging from 250-475°C. After considering all known causes for serrated flow in materials, the instability in flow (Portevin-LeChatelier (PLC) effect) is considered attributable to dynamic strain ageing (DSA), arising from interactions between diffusing solute atoms and mobile dislocations during plastic flow. As the temperature range of DSA coincided with typical bore and web temperatures of turbine discs, its possible influence on tensile properties is considered in detail. No significant change in tensile strength, ductility, or work hardening is observed, due to DSA, with increase in temperature from smooth to serrated flow regime. However strain rate sensitivity, which is positive in smooth flow regime turned negative in the serrated flow regime. Analysis of serrated flow on the basis of critical plastic strain for onset of serrations revealed that in most of the temperature-strain rate regimes studied, alloy 720LI exhibits ‘inverse’ PLC effect which is a phenomenon that has not been fully understood in contrast to ‘normal’ PLC effect observed widely in dilute solid solutions. Other characteristics of serrated flow viz., stress decrement and strain increment between serrations are also analyzed to understand the mechanism of DSA. Though the activation energy determined using stress decrements suggest that carbon atoms could be responsible for locking of dislocations, based on its influence on mechanical properties and also on its temperature regime of existence, weak pinning of dislocations by substitutional solute atoms are considered responsible for DSA in alloy 720LI. LCF Behavior: LCF studies were carried out under fully reversed constant strain amplitude conditions at 25, 400 and 650°C with strain amplitudes ranging from 0.4-1.2%. Different cyclic stress responses observed depending on the imposed conditions are correlated to the substructures that evolved. Low level of dislocation activity and interactions observed in TEM is considered the reason behind stable cyclic stress response at low strain amplitudes at all temperatures. TEM studies also show that secondary γ’ precipitates that are degraded through repeated shearing are responsible for the continuous softening, observed after a short initial hardening phase, at higher strain amplitudes. Studies at 400°C show manifestation of DSA on LCF behavior at 400°C in the form increased cyclic hardening which tends to offset softening effects at higher strain amplitudes. Plastic strain dependence of fatigue lives exhibited bilinearity in Coffin-Manson plots at all temperatures. TEM substructures revealed that planar slip with deformation concentrated on slip bands is the major deformation mode under all the conditions examined. However, homogeneity of deformation increases with increase in strain and temperature. At 25°C, with increasing strain, increased homogeneity manifested in the form of increased number of slip bands. At 650°C, with increase in strain, increased dislocation activity in the inter-slip band regions lead to increased homogeneity. It is also seen that fine deformation twins that form at 650°C and low strain amplitudes play a role in aiding homogenization of deformation. Unlike other alloy systems where an environmental effect or a change in deformation mechanism leads to bilinearity in Coffin – Manson (CM) plots, our study shows that differences in distribution of slip is the reason behind bilinear CM plots. While the properties and behavior of alloy 720LI under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions over a range of temperatures could be rationalized on the basis of deformation substructures, the thesis opens up the door for further in-depth studies on deformation mechanisms in 720LI as well as other disc alloys of similar microstructure.

This study mainly addresses the problem of estimating the prior earthquake damage on the response of reinforced concrete structures to future earthquakes. The motivation has arisen from the heavy damages or collapses that occurred in many reinforced concrete structures following two major earthquakes that recently occurred in the Marmara Region, Turkey. The analysis tool employed for this purpose is the package named IDARC2D. Deterioration parameters of IDARC&#039 / s hysteretic model have been calibrated using a search method. In the calibration process experimental data of a total of twenty-two beam and column specimens, tested under constant and variable amplitude displacement histories, has been used. Fine-tuning of deterioration parameters is essential for more realistic predictions about inelastic behavior and structural damage. In order to provide more realistic damage prediction, three ranges of parameters are proposed. Some damage controlling structural parameters have been assessed via a large number of two-dimensional section analyses, inelastic time history and damage analyses of SDOF systems and seismic vulnerability analyses of reinforced concrete buildings. Inelastic time history and damage analyses of numerous SDOF systems have been carried out to determine whether the loading history has an effect on damage and dissipated hysteretic energy. Then this emphasis is directed to the analyses of MDOF systems. In the analyses of the SDOF systems, various forms of constant and variable amplitude inelastic displacement reversals and synthetic ground motions composed of one of the four earthquake records preceded or followed by its modified records acted as a prior or successive earthquake, have been used. The analyses of two five-story R/C buildings have been caried out using synthetic accelerograms comprised of base input provided by the two recorded ground motions. It is shown that both damage progression and cumulative hysteretic energy dissipated along a path seem to depend on the number and amplitude of cycles constituting the path. However, final damage and accumulated hysteretic energy dissipated along a loading path are independent of the ordering of the same number and amplitude cycles along the path. There is a nonlinear relationship between the earthquake excitation intensity and final damage attained in the end. Increase in the acceleration amplitude leads to exponential increase in damage. As the prior earthquake intensity increases the damage from the succeding main earthquake decreases. A definite ground motion acting as prior and successive earthquake causes substantially different amount of damage. Prior earthquake damage does not substantially affect the maximum drift response in future larger earthquakes. A MDOF frame type structure with aprior damage suffers less overall damage in an earthquake in comparison with the one without a prior damage.

Bien que l’amorçage de fissure joue un rôle important en fatigue, ses mécanismes ne sont pas encore pleinement compris. Des critères d'amorçage basés sur des mécanismes physiques de déformation plastique ont été proposés mais ne sont pas faciles à utiliser et à valider, car ils nécessitent des variables locales à l'échelle du grain. L'étude présente vise à établir un critère d'amorçage en fatigue oligocyclique, utilisable sous chargement d'amplitude variable.Le comportement mécanique de l'acier inoxydable AISI 316L étudié a été caractérisé en fatigue oligocyclique. Il a été modélisé par un schéma autocohérent utilisant une loi de plasticité cristalline basée sur l'évolution des densités de dislocations. L'endommagement de surface a été suivi pendant un essai de fatigue à l'aide d'un dispositif de microscopie optique in situ. Les fissures présentes après 2000 cycles ont été analysées et leurs caractéristiques cristallographiques calculées.Comme les grains de surface montrent une déformation plus importante à cause d'un moindre confinement par les grains voisins, il est nécessaire de définir une loi de localisation spécifique aux grains de surface. La forme proposée fait intervenir une variable d'accommodation intergranulaire, sur le modèle de la loi de localisation de Cailletaud-Pilvin. Elle a été identifiée à partir de simulations par éléments finis. L'état des contraintes et des déformations dans les grains de surface a alors été simulé. Des indicateurs d'amorçage potentiels ont ensuite été comparés sur une même base expérimentale. Deux indicateurs pertinents de l'endommagement en fatigue ont pu être obtenus. / Although crack initiation is proved to play an important role in fatigue, its mechanisms have not been fully understood. Some crack initiation criteria based on physical mechanisms of plastic deformation have been defined. However, these criteria are not easy to use and valid, as they need local variables at the grain scale. The present study aims at establishing a crack initiation criterion in low-cycle fatigue, which should be usable under variable amplitude loading conditions.Tension-compression fatigue tests were first carried out to characterize the mechanical behavior of the stainless steel AISI 316L studied. The mechanical behavior was simulated using a self-consistent model using a crystalline plastic law based on dislocation densities. The evolution of surface damage was observed during a fatigue test using an in situ optical microscopic device. Cracks were analyzed after 2000 cycles and their crystallographic characteristics calculated. As surface grains exhibit larger strain because they are less constraint by neighbor grains, a specific numerical frame is necessary to determine stress state in surface grains. A localization law specific to surface grains under cyclic loading was identified from finite element simulations. The proposed form needs an intergranular accommodation variable, on the pattern of the localization law of Cailletaud-Pilvin. Stress-strain state in surface grains was simulated. Potential indicators for crack initiation were then compared on a same experimental data base. Indicators based on the equivalent plastic strain were found to be suitable indicators of fatigue damage.

Un protocole expérimental a été développé dans cette thèse pour étudier l'influence de la microstructure héritée du procédé de fonderie dit Procédé à Modèle Perdu sur le comportement en fatigue oligocyclique des alliages Al-Si à température ambiante. Dans un premier temps, la microstructure des alliages étudiés a été caractérisée à la fois en 2D et en 3D. Les éprouvettes les plus appropriées et les plus représentatives et les régions d’intérêt où le suivi in-situ est réalisé (ROIs) ont été sélectionnées par une caractérisation préliminaire en tomographie aux rayons X. Cette caractérisation 3D est également nécessaire pour comprendre les mécanismes d’endommagement après rupture de l’éprouvette. Les observations in-situ réalisées en surface en utilisant un microscope longue distance (Questar) et en volume avec la tomographie aux rayons X permettent de suivre l’amorçage et la propagation des fissures et ainsi d'identifier la relation entre les mécanismes d’endommagement et les microstructures moulées. Les champs de déplacement et de déformation en 2D/3D mesurés à l'aide de la Corrélation d'Images Numériques et la Corrélation d’Images Volumiques permettent d'analyser la relation entre les champs mesurés et les mécanismes d'endommagement. L'analyse post-mortem et la simulation éléments finis ont permis de compléter l’analyse des mécanismes d’endommagement. Les grands pores favorisent l'amorçage de fissures car ils augmentent fortement le niveau de contrainte locale. Les inclusions dures (phase Si, intermétalliques au fer et phases au cuivre) jouent un rôle important dans l’amorçage et la propagation des fissures en raison des localisations de déformation sur ces inclusions / An experimental protocol was developed in this thesis in order to study the influence of casting microstructure on the fatigue behavior in Lost Foam Casting Al-Si alloys in tension and in Low Cycle Fatigue at room temperature. First of all, the microstructures of studied alloys were thoroughly characterized both in 2D and in 3D. The most suitable and representative specimens and Region of Interest (ROIs) where the in-situ monitoring was performed were selected through a preliminary characterization using X-ray tomography, which is also necessary to understand damage mechanisms after failure. In-situ observations performed on surface using Questar long distance microscope and in volume using X-ray tomography allow following cracks initiations and their propagations and thus allow identifying the relation between damage mechanisms and casting microstructure. 2D/3D displacement and strain fields measured using Digital Image Correlation and Digital Volume Correlation allows analyzing the relation between measured fields and damage mechanisms. Postmortem analysis and FEM simulation gave more information for the damage mechanisms. Large pores favor crack initiation as they strongly increase local stress level. Hard inclusions (Si phase, iron intermetallics and copper containing phases) also play an important role in crack initiation and propagation due to strain localizations at these inclusions

Multiple step tests under cyclic strain control have been performed using cylindrical specimens of cast polycrystalline Inconel 738LC superalloy at 23, 700, 500, 800 and 900 °C in laboratory atmosphere to obtain cyclic stress-strain curves. During cyclic straining of specimen were obtained cyclic hardening-softening curves. Their progress changed with temperature and strain amplitude. Evaluated cyclic stress-strain curves are shifted to lower stresses with increasing temperature. Surface relief was observed in fatigued specimens under SEM and metalography under optic microscopy. Slip markings were studied on specimen surface fatigued at 700 °C .Stress-strain response is compared and discussed in relation to the surface observations - persistent slip markings.

The main aim of this thesis is to define material parameters of Chaboche model of plasticity. Adjustment of the parameters has to correspond to the experimental datas. These datas are represented by an uniaxial strain controlled test curve for fewer than two cycles and also by cyclic stress-strain curve. After that, an cyclic tension-compresion test for various parameters of Chaboche´s model of plasticity is simulated in an ANSYS software. Finally, the most suitable configuration of Chaboche´s model of plasticity is used for cylindrical thick-walled body. Cylindrical body represents a simplified model of high-pressure tank of fuel (diesel) – rail in Common Rail system.

Ti-6Al-4V manufactured by electron beam melting Keywords: Additive manufacturing, high-temperature tensile properties, low cycle fatigue, neutron diffraction, fatigue crack growth ISBN: 978-91-89325-27-2 (Printed) 978-91-89325-26-5 (Electronic) Ti-6Al-4V is the most widely used α+β titanium alloy in aerospace engine applications due to its high specific strength. Typically, the alloy is manufactured as castings or forgings and then machined to final geometry. These conventional manufacturing processes do however generate a lot of waste material, whereas additive manufacturing (AM) can potentially produce a near-net-shape geometry directly from the feedstock. In the past decade, electron beam melting (EBM), one of the powder bed fusion techniques, has been widely researched to build Ti[1]6Al-4V components. Still, the as-built material can contain defects such as gas pores that require post-processing, such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to produce nearly fully dense components. HIP treatment of conventionally cast Ti-6Al-4V is normally performed at 920 ˚C, 100 MPa for 2 hours. This same HIP treatment has then been adapted also for EBM-manufactured Ti-6Al-4V, which however results in coarsening of α laths and reduction of yield strength. Therefore, finding a more appropriate HIP treatment for this new type of Ti-6Al-4V material, i.e. EBM manufactured, would be of great benefit for the industry. Lowering the HIP treatment temperature to 800 ˚C and increasing the pressure to 200 MPa has recently been proven to close the porosity to a high degree while sustaining the high yield strength. In this thesis, the high-temperature tensile properties of EBM-manufactured Ti[1]6Al-4V subjected to a low-temperature (800 ˚C) HIP treatment were evaluated and compared with standard HIP-treated (920 ˚C) materials. Metallurgical characterization of the as-built, HIP-treated materials have been carried out to understand the effect of temperature on the microstructures. The standard HIP[1]treated material measured about 1.4x - 1.7x wider α laths than those in the low[1]temperature HIP treated and as-built samples, respectively. The standard HIP[1]treated material showed about 10 - 14% lower yield strength than other HIP treated materials. At 350 ˚C the yield strength decreases to about 65% compared to the room temperature strength for all tested materials. An increase in ductility vi programvaran NASGRO där livsförutsägelserna visade god överensstämmelse med experimentella livscykler i de flesta fall. vii Abstract Title: Microstructure and mechanical properties of low-temperature hot isostatic pressed Ti-6Al-4V manufactured by electron beam melting Keywords: Additive manufacturing, high-temperature tensile properties, low cycle fatigue, neutron diffraction, fatigue crack growth ISBN: 978-91-89325-27-2 (Printed) 978-91-89325-26-5 (Electronic) Ti-6Al-4V is the most widely used α+β titanium alloy in aerospace engine applications due to its high specific strength. Typically, the alloy is manufactured as castings or forgings and then machined to final geometry. These conventional manufacturing processes do however generate a lot of waste material, whereas additive manufacturing (AM) can potentially produce a near-net-shape geometry directly from the feedstock. In the past decade, electron beam melting (EBM), one of the powder bed fusion techniques, has been widely researched to build Ti[1]6Al-4V components. Still, the as-built material can contain defects such as gas pores that require post-processing, such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to produce nearly fully dense components. HIP treatment of conventionally cast Ti-6Al-4V is normally performed at 920 ˚C, 100 MPa for 2 hours. This same HIP treatment has then been adapted also for EBM-manufactured Ti-6Al-4V, which however results in coarsening of α laths and reduction of yield strength. Therefore, finding a more appropriate HIP treatment for this new type of Ti-6Al-4V material, i.e. EBM manufactured, would be of great benefit for the industry. Lowering the HIP treatment temperature to 800 ˚C and increasing the pressure to 200 MPa has recently been proven to close the porosity to a high degree while sustaining the high yield strength. In this thesis, the high-temperature tensile properties of EBM-manufactured Ti[1]6Al-4V subjected to a low-temperature (800 ˚C) HIP treatment were evaluated and compared with standard HIP-treated (920 ˚C) materials. Metallurgical characterization of the as-built, HIP-treated materials have been carried out to understand the effect of temperature on the microstructures. The standard HIP[1]treated material measured about 1.4x - 1.7x wider α laths than those in the low[1]temperature HIP treated and as-built samples, respectively. The standard HIP[1]treated material showed about 10 - 14% lower yield strength than other HIP treated materials. At 350 ˚C the yield strength decreases to about 65% compared to the room temperature strength for all tested materials. An increase in ductility viii was observed at 150 ˚C compared to that at room temperature, but the ductility decreased between 150 - 350 ˚C because of activation of different slip systems. The low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of such a modified HIP (low-temperature HIP) material is assessed at two different strain levels and compared with the corresponding LCF properties for the standard HIP material. Even though the modified HIP material had lowest minimum life cycles to failure, the overall fatigue performance is comparable with that of the standard HIP material. Also, fatigue life predictions were made from the measured defect size at the crack initiation site using NASGRO. The calculated life predictions showed good agreement with the experimental values in most cases. In-situ neutron diffraction measurements on tensile test specimens were conducted, at both room temperature and at 350˚ C, for the standard and modified HIP-treated materials. The objective was to gain essential insights on how the crystal lattice strains relate to the macroscopic strengths in these specific microstructures. This investigation helped to understand the load partitioning between different slip planes and constituent phases in the microstructure at different temperatures. / Ti-6Al-4V är den mest använda α+β titanlegeringen i flygmotortillämpningar på grund av sin höga specifika hållfasthet. Vanligtvis tillverkas legeringen som gjutgods eller smide och bearbetas sedan till slutlig geometri. Dessa konventionella tillverkningsprocesser genererar dock en hel del avfallsmaterial, medan additiv tillverkning (AM) potentiellt kan producera en nästan slutgiltlig geometri direkt från råvaran. Under det senaste decenniet har elektronstrålesmältning (EBM), en av pulverbäddsfusionsteknikerna, undersökts mycket för att bygga Ti-6Al-4V-komponenter. Ändå kan det byggda materialet innehålla defekter såsom gasporer som kräver efterbearbetning, såsom varm isostatisk pressning (HIP) för att producera nästan helt täta komponenter. HIP[1]behandling av konventionellt gjutet Ti-6Al-4V utförs normalt vid 920 ˚C, 100 MPa under 2 timmar. Samma HIP-behandling har sedan anpassats även för EBM[1]tillverkat Ti-6Al-4V, vilket dock resulterar i förgrovning av α-lameller och minskning av sträckgränsen. Att hitta en mer lämplig HIP-behandling för denna nya typ av Ti-6Al-4V-material, dvs EBM-tillverkat, skulle därför vara till stor fördel för industrin. Att sänka HIP-behandlingstemperaturen till 800 ˚C och öka trycket till 200 MPa har nyligen visat sig stänga porositeten i hög grad samtidigt som den höga sträckgränsen bibehålls. Ti-6Al-4V används huvudsakligen i applikationer för flygmotorer upp till en maximal driftstemperatur på 300 ˚C. Därför studerades högtemperaturdragegenskaperna hos de olika HIP-behandlade EBM[1]byggmaterialen i detta forskningsarbete. Denna studie visade att duktiliteten påverkas av aktiveringen av olika glidsystem baserat på temperatur. Ytterligare neutrondiffraktionsexperiment utfördes tillsammans med in-situ dragprovning för att bestämma det aktiva glidsystemet vid en specifik temperatur. Utmattningsbeteendet hos det lågtemperaturbehandlade HIP-materialet utvärderas också genom lågcykelutmattningstestning och utmattningsspricktillväxttest. Utmattningsprestandan för det modifierade HIP[1]materialet utvärderades mot standard HIP- material och visade sig ha jämförbara utmattningsegenskaper. Förutsägelser om utmattningsliv utfördes med hjälp av vi programvaran NASGRO där livsförutsägelserna visade god överensstämmelse med experimentella livscykler i de flesta fall. / <p>Submitted papers or manuscripts have been excluded from the fulltext file.</p>

The aim of this dissertation work is the evaluation of the influence of nickel alloying on the structure and mechanical properties, both monotonic and dynamic, of nodular cast iron with ferritic and bainitic matrix. Two chock melts with 0.5 and 2.7 % Ni were used to study the nickel influence. The quantitative evaluation of structure of these melts using image analysis was done and basic tensile mechanical properties were determined. Subsequently, the time optimization of two-stage ferritic annealing and isothermal austempered heat treatment at 375 °C was performed with the aim to obtain optimal ferritic and bainitic structures with best static and dynamic mechanical properties. After ferritic annealing the nickel alloying contributes to substitution hardening of ferritic matrix which positively affects its strength and other mechanical properties. The higher nickel content in the bainitic structure causes the shift of phase transformation times to longer times which results in restricted production of small carbides and in bigger volume of retained austenite. These features were confirmed by observation in transmission electron microscope. Precise tensile and low cycle fatigue tests at temperatures 23 and – 45 °C were performed on the optimized structures of both nodular cast irons. As a result of the notch effect of graphite nodules, microplastic deformation of both nodular cast irons was observed at stresses which were lower than the yield stress. The Hollomon's equation very well describes the individual parts of tensile curves for both nodular cast irons including their mutual comparison. From the low cycle fatigue tests, the cyclic hardening/softening curves, the evolution of elastic modulus and hysteresis loop shape parameters, cyclic stress-strain curves and fatigue life curves were obtained for both temperatures and materials. Moreover, the decrease of retained austenite volume was measured by neutron diffraction and the evolution of surface relief was characterized during cyclic straining for both austempered nodular cast irons at both temperatures. On the basis of these results both cyclic plasticity and fatigue degradation mechanisms in relation to the cyclic strain localization were described for both nodular cast irons.