Ce travail vise à améliorer notre compréhension du comportement en fatigue à grand et très grand nombre de cycles d’un acier ferrito-martensitique dual phase, notamment les effets de la température et de la vitesse de déformation résultant de chargements cycliques à haute fréquence. L'effet de la fréquence sur la réponse en fatigue de l'acier DP600 a été étudié en effectuant des essais de fatigue sur une machine ultrasonique travaillant à 20 kHz et sur une machine conventionnelle travaillant à des fréquences inférieures à 100 Hz. Des études de fractographie et des observations microscopiques à la surface des échantillons ont été effectuées pour étudier les mécanismes de déformation et de rupture. De plus, la thermographie infrarouge in situ a été utilisée pour étudier la réponse thermique et les mécanismes dissipatifs du matériau lors des essais de fatigue. Les courbes S-N ont été déterminées à partir de chargements de fatigue ultrasoniques à 20 kHz et d’essais conventionnels à 30 Hz. La durée de vie pour une amplitude de contrainte donnée est plus élevée dans le cas de la fatigue ultrasonique bien que la limite de fatigue soit identique dans les deux cas. L’augmentation inévitable de la température en fatigue ultrasonique à fortes amplitudes de contraintes, ainsi que le comportement dépendant de la vitesse de déformation de la ferrite, en tant que structure CC, ont été trouvés comme les paramètres clés expliquant le comportement observé en fatigue, et la réponse thermique sous les fréquences faibles et ultrasoniques. Les écarts observés entre l’essai de fatigue conventionnel et celui ultrasonique ont été évalués à travers les mécanismes de mobilité des dislocations vis dans la phase ferritique de structure cubique centrée (CC). La durée de vie plus élevée et l’amorçage de la fissure principale sur une inclusion observés en fatigue ultrasonique ont été attribués au vieillissement dynamique résultant du fort auto-échauffement du matériau aux fortes amplitudes de contraintes. L'existence d'une transition du régime thermiquement activé au régime athermique avec l’augmentation de l'amplitude de contrainte a été mise en évidence. Au-dessous de la limite de fatigue, la déformation a lieu dans un régime thermiquement activé alors qu'elle est dans un régime athermique au-dessus de la limite de fatigue. En fatigue conventionnelle, la déformation est athermique pour toutes les amplitudes de contrainte. Une carte de transition a été produite en utilisant les résultats expérimentaux pour l'acier DP600 ainsi que les données disponibles dans la littérature pour d'autres aciers à base de ferrite, montrant ainsi la corrélation entre le mouvement des dislocations vis thermiquement activé et l'absence de rupture en fatigue à très grand nombre de cycle. / This work is an attempt towards a better understanding of the high cycle and very high cycle fatigue behaviors of a ferritic-martensitic dual-phase steel, with a regard to temperature and strain rate effects, resulting from accelerated fatigue loading frequencies. The influence of frequency on fatigue response of DP600 steel was investigated by conducting ultrasonic and conventional low frequency fatigue tests. Fractography studies and microscopic observations on the surface of specimens were carried out to study the deformation and fracture mechanisms under low and ultrasonic frequencies. Moreover, in situ infrared thermography was carried out to investigate the thermal response and dissipative mechanisms of the material under fatigue tests. The S-N curves were determined from ultrasonic 20-kHz fatigue loadings and conventional tests at 30 Hz. Fatigue life for a given stress amplitude was found to be higher in the case of ultrasonic fatigue whereas the fatigue limit was the same for both cases. Moreover, crack initiation was always inclusion-induced under ultrasonic loading while under conventional tests it occurred at slip bands or defects on the surface. The inevitable temperature increase under ultrasonic fatigue at high stress amplitudes along with the rate dependent deformation behavior of ferrite, as a body centered cubic (BCC) structure, were found as the key parameters explaining the observed fatigue behavior and thermal response under low and ultrasonic frequencies. The discrepancies observed between conventional and ultrasonic fatigue tests were assessed through the mechanisms of screw dislocation mobility in the ferrite phase as a BCC structure. The higher fatigue life and inclusion-induced crack initiations in the case of ultrasonic loading were attributed to the dynamic strain aging, which resulted from the high temperature increases at high stress amplitudes. The existence of a transition in deformation regime from thermally-activated to athermal regime under ultrasonic fatigue loading by increasing the stress amplitude was confirmed. Below the fatigue limit, deformation occurred in thermally-activated regime while it was in athermal regime above the fatigue limit. Under conventional loading deformation occurred in athermal regime for all stress amplitudes. From the analysis of the experimental data gathered in this work, guidelines were given regarding the comparison and interpretation of S-N curves obtained from conventional and ultrasonic fatigue testing. A transition map was produced using the experimental results for DP600 steel as well as data available in the literature for other ferrite based steels, showing the correlation between thermally-activated screw dislocation movement and the absence of failure in very high cycle fatigue.

[pt] O presente trabalho se baseia na teoria dos defeitos equivalentes, também conhecida como teoria de Murakami, que permite a predição da vida-fadiga de materiais estruturais adotando o parâmetro (raiz quadrada de area), responsável por uma equivalência quantitativa entre heterogeneidades microestruturais (inclusões metalúrgicas) existentes na região de análise do material e descontinuidades mecânicas (furos) usinados nos corpos de prova. Neste contexto, a tese propõe novas equações, a partir da teoria de Murakami, para prever falhas por fadiga em carregamentos ultralongos (fadiga de altíssimo ciclo, VHCF) do aço DIN42CrMo4, de larga aplicação na fabricação de eixos virabrequins para unidades geradoras de usinas termoelétricas. Corpos de prova do aço DIN42CrMo4 foram usinados com furos de diâmetros variando entre 0,18 mm e 0,70 mm e ensaiados num regime de fadiga de altíssimo ciclo, variando o valor da amplitude de tensão do ensaio, para assim determinar em quais condições o material falha e obter a curva experimental S-N do aço DIN42CrMo4 na presença de diferentes tamanhos de defeitos (furos). Os resultados experimentais permitiram o desenvolvimento de equações em função do parâmetro e curvas de Wohler do material, em conformidade com diferentes descontinuidades mecânicas nos corpos de prova e resistências à fadiga do material. Consequentemente, se estabeleceu uma metodologia que permite uma correlação entre inclusões metalúrgicas, tensão aplicada e vida superlonga em fadiga de eixos virabrequins em serviço em usinas termoelétricas. / [en] The present work is based on the theory of equivalent defects, also known as Murakami s theory, which allows the prediction of the fatigue life of structural materials by adopting the parameter (square root of area), responsible for a quantitative equivalence between microstructural heterogeneities (metallurgical inclusions) existing in the region analysis of the material and mechanical discontinuities (holes) machined in the specimens. In this context, the thesis proposes new equations, based on Murakami s theory, to predict fatigue failures in ultralong loads (very high cycle fatigue, VHCF) of DIN42CrMo4 steel, widely used in the manufacture of crankshafts for generating units of thermoelectric power plants. DIN42CrMo4 steel specimens were machined with holes with diameters varying between 018 mm and 0.70 mm and tested in a very high cycle fatigue regime, varying the value of the test stress amplitude, to determine under what conditions the material failure and obtain the experimental S-N curve of DIN42CrMo4 steel in the presence of different sizes of defects (holes). The experimental results allowed the development of equations as a function of the parameter and Wohler curves of the material, in accordance with different mechanical discontinuities in the test specimens and resistance to fatigue of the material. Consequently, a methodology was established that allows a correlation between metallurgical inclusions, applied stress and super-long fatigue life of crankshafts in service in thermoelectric power plants.