Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF)

High Cycle Fatigue (HCF)

What is Fatigue?

The ASTM definition.....
The process of progressive localized permanent structural change
occurring in material subjected to conditions which produce fluctuating
stresses and strains at some point or points and which may culminate in
crack or complete fracture after a sufficient number of fluctuations.


Translation:

Cyclic damage leading to local cracking or fracture.





Time


Design
Requirements

Material
Properties

Historical

Basic Engineering
Properties


Strength,
Creep

1960s - 1970s

Add ... Fatigue

HCF, LCF, TMF


Late 1970s

Add ... Damage
Tolerance

Crack Growth



Requirements have evolved for Gas Turbine Engines....
Emphasis today is on Cyclic Properties...

High Cycle Fatigue 8 Allowable vibratory stresses

Low Cycle Fatigue 8 Crack initiation life
8 1/1000 to small crack
8 Component
retirement

Crack Growth 8 Remaining life from crack
8 Safety inspection
interval
8 Inspection size
requirement


Emphasis today is on Cyclic Properties...
For Crack I nitiation, High Cycle Fatigue
(HCF) and Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) are
treated separately. Why?

General distinction for Gas Turbines:


HCF - Usually high frequency, due to resonant
vibration. Failure criteria based on allowable
stresses. Millions of Cycles


LCF - Usually low frequency, due to engine
start/stop or throttle cycles. Accurate life
prediction required. Thousands of Cycles
Turbine Disk Design Requirements
Environmentally friendly
Fatigue cracking resistance
initiation
propagation
Creep resistant
Strong
Lightweight
Predictable/Inspectable
Affordable
Environmentally stable
Nickel Superalloy Balances All Requirements
Most Severe Structural Challenge: High structural loads, fatigue, & creep
Combustor, Turbine Components
Present a Severe Thermal Fatigue Cracking Challenge
Mechanical fatigue, caused
by cyclic thermal strains
High temperature
accelerates fatigue damage
Exacerbated by crack tip
oxidation
Fatigue is a Major Challenge for Many Engine Components,
Including Fan Blades
Caused by Load Cycling
Occurs at cyclic loads well below
the Ultimate Strength
High Cycle Fatigue (HCF)
Caused by vibration/flutter
Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF)
Caused by engine cycling
fatigue crack initiation site
Compressor blade tested in
a vibratory fatigue test rig
Cyclic vs. Monotonic Curves: Behavior can be significantly different ...
From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley &
Sons, NY, 1980

Crack Size: How big is big? ...

HCF: S-N Curves ...



8 Initially used to address HCF for allowable
stress, but what about predicting actual cycles
of life? ...



8 HCF cycle prediction is more of a statistical
estimate with a large scatter allocation,
instead of an exact science
P&WA Stress Control HCF Test Apparatus
Specimen Fully Reversed Stress/Strain Cycle
S/N Plot
Alternating Stress Amplitude:
o
o o
a
=

max min
2
Mean Stress:
o
o o
0
2
=
+
max min
Stress Ratio:
R =
o
o
min
max
Stress Range:
Ao o o =
max min
Basic Cycle
Terms to Remember
8

Soderberg (USA, 1930)
o o
a
e
m
y
S S
+ = 1
8

Goodman (England, 1899)
o o
a
e
m
u
S S
+ = 1
8

Gerber (Germany, 1874)
o o
a
e
m
u
S S
+
|
\

|
.
|
=
2
1
(Where S
e
is the fully reversed endurance limit.)
Cyclic Deformation Parameters: Fatigue loop illustration ...
Fatigue: How do HCF and LCF fit with
Stress vs. Life? ...
* Exists in theory only
HCF: S-N Curves ...
8

Fatigue Strength is the Maximum Stress that can
be repeatedly applied for a specified number of
cycles (typically 10
7
) without failure. Titanium
alloys are curve fit to 10
9
cycles.
HCF: Notes on Approaches ...
8

Soderberg is highly conservative and seldom
used
8

Actual test data usually falls between
Goodman & Gerber Curves
8

This is not a large difference in the theories
when the mean stress is small in relation to
the alternating stress.
8

P&W has found the most success with the
Goodman approach
HCF: A Christienson Diagram Contains all of
this information ...
HCF: An example of Pratts Goodman
diagram which combines Stress Amplitude and
Mean Stress Effects ...
8

The discontinuous slope on the x-axis modifies
for the yield value instead of the ultimate as
required by a traditional Goodman Diagram.
HCF: Cyclic limits ...
8

10
7
cycles - Most other alloys
8

10
9
cycles - Titanium, certain Nickel Blade
Alloys
8

10
9
cycles - ????? (Proposed following the
HCF Initiative)
Why no actual 10
9
Testing?
8

Present frequency capability is 200 Hz,
which is 1.6 years!!
8

Assuming 25 tests on two machines, this is
20 years to characterize a single material !!!
Target now is 2000 Hz for coupon testing,
which is 2 months for a single test.
HCF: Elastic Stress-Life Relationship ...
HCF Notches: Parameters of I nterest ...

Parameter Description

K
t
Elastic Stress
Concentration

K
f
Fatigue Notch
Factor (K
f
sK
t
)

Material constant
(related to grain size)

r Notch radius

q Notch sensitivity
HCF Notches: Neuber proposed the
following relationship ...
K
K
r
f
t
= +

+
1
1
1 /
q
K
K r
f
t
=

=
+
1
1
1
1 /
Where:
S
e
(notched)
=S
e
(unnotched)
/ K
f
8

In the previous equations, the notched value
would then be substituted.
LCF Testing: Verification ...
Three primary ways of verification testing:
8

Subcomponents
8

Spin Pit
8

Ferris Wheel
P&WA Strain Control LCF/TMF Test Apparatus
LCF Testing: Typical set-up involves
uniaxial loading ...
Strain Range - Ac

Stress Range - Ao = P/A = o
max
- o
min


Max. Tensile Stress - o
T


Mean Stress - o
m
= 0.5*(o
max
+ o
min
)

Inelastic Strain - c
i
, c
p


Temperature
-
T
Cyclic Fatigue: Testing Parameters of I nterest ...

Elastic Modulus, (monotonic) or (cyclic)

E
e
=
o
c
A
A
o
c
e
Stress Ratio,

R =
o
o
min
max
A A A c c c
tot elastic inelastic
= +
A A A c c c
inelastic plastic creep
= + where
Max. Stress, o o
o
max
= +
mean
A
2
Min. Stress,

o o
o
min
=
mean
A
2
Cyclic Loading: Key Relationships ...

Total Strain = Elastic Strain Range + Plastic Strain Range


A A A c c c
tot e p
= +
Where and

Ao
E
A
A
c
o
p
n
K
=
|
\

|
.
| 2
2
1
'
'
A
A A
c
o o
tot
E K
n
= +
|
\

|
.
| 2
2
1
'
'
LCF: Pratt & Whitney Definition ...
8

Nucleation to detectable crack.
8

Initiation is a 1/32 crack along the surface.
8

The acceptable probability of occurrence of
an LCF crack as 1 crack occurring in a
sample size of 1000 (1/1000 or B.1) having
a 1/32 inch long crack at the predicted
minimum life.
LCF: Characteristics ...
8

From stress/strain cycling in the plastic
range at significantly higher stresses than for
HCF.
8

The stress/strain cycles that cause LCF
cracking are produced by significant engine
power level changes.
8

Microscopic changes in a material that has
been subjected to LCF cycling may be seen
after only a few cycles.

Microscopic dislocations in the crystal
structure.

The dislocations link up to form
cracks.

Depends on the stresses and
orientation of the individual grain.
8

Highly statistical in nature.

LCF: What are the parameters? ...
LCF: Mean Stress Effects must be included ...

8Simple approach by J. Morrow:

( )
Ac c
t
u m
f f f
S S
E
N N =

+

34
0 12 0 6 0 6
.
. . .




8Alternative approach by Smith, Watson &
Topper (1970):

( )
( ) ( ) o c o o c
max a f
b
f f
b c
E N E N = ' + ' '
+
2
2
2 2


where o
max
=o
m
+ o
a
and c
a
is the alternating strain
Notch LCF: Overall philosophy ...

8K
t
< ~1.5

8Local stress-strain calculated

8Smooth LCF curves used

8K
t
> ~1.5

8Local stress-strain calculated

8Notch LCF curves used usually mean
stress/strain range, temperature corrected
Notch LCF: Strain Range-Mean Stress
Curves ...
Strain Range,
Ac
o o
=
K K
E
K K
E
t t max max
max
min min
min
Where:
K
max
& K
min
are temp. correction factors on strain at max and min
stress points
K vs. T is derived from LCF tests at various temperatures
K
t
is the geometric stress concentration factor
o
max
&
o
min
are the nominal max and min stresses
E
max
& E
min
are elastic moduli at the max and min stress points
Notch LCF: Notch Factors ...
K
t
, K
o
, and K
c
relate local behavior to nominal:
Notch LCF: Surface stresses and strains in
stress concentration areas are important
and need to be calculated ...


Three methods used most often:

8Linear Rule - elastic equivalent stress
method

8Neuber Rule - ideally for plane stress cases

8Glinka Method - energy based method
Notch LCF: Linear Rule ...
Notch LCF: Neuber Rule ...
Notch LCF: Neuber Rule for Cyclic
Loading must be solved incrementally...
Reversed loading cyclic
oc
curves assumes
kinematic hardening and relates
oc
using cyclic
oc
curve with a 2X stress-strain multiplier
from the new reference origin.
Notch LCF: Glinka Relationship ...
Cumulative Damage: How is it done? ...

Definition - The means by which the damage
associated with a complex stress history may be
calculated or estimated by allowing the combining
cycles of different stress magnitudes.

Why is this needed?
8Military combat missions have many in-flight
throttle excursions.
8Reduce mission into major and minor (or sub)
cycles
8Major (Type I) cycle is the largest overall strain excursion
in the mission.
8Full power excursions from intermediate, or above, to idle
and back are called Type III cycles.
8These excursions generally impact the overall life.
8Excursions of smaller magnitude (Type IV) are generally
not damaging.*

* This may be untrue for some components
Cumulative Damage: Methodology ...

8Many different methods have been proposed

8Linear cumulative damage - Miners Rule - appears to do the
best job for the type of stress excursions encountered in jet
engine operation.

8Miners Rule states:
n
N
i
i

=
1
Where:
N
i
is life capability for stress excursion I
n
i
is the actual number of occurrences of excursion I

8The basic assumption is that fatigue damage is cumulative
and the life capability of a part will be exhausted when the
sum of the life fractions reaches 1.0
Cumulative Damage: Cycle counting using
the ASTM Rainflow technique determines
pairs ...
The pairs are A-D, B-C, E-F, and G-H.
Cyclic Stress-Strain Behavior: Derived from loci of cyclic endpoints ...
Constitutive Modeling Approach
ANSYS analysis of
constitutive specimen
Model parameter temperature
dependencies
Rate dependent test data
and model correlation
0.0E+00
5.0E+06
1.0E+07
1.5E+07
2.0E+07
2.5E+07
3.0E+07
3.5E+07
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Temperature (F)
P
a
r
a
m
e
t
e
r
Constant 1
Constant 2
Constant 3
Constitutive Modeling Approach
specimen correlation specimen prediction component analysis
Metallurgical Aspects...


Relevant Topics:
8 Crystal Structure
8 Deformation Mechanisms
8 Crack Initiation .. Sequence of Events
8 Visual Aspects - Fractography

Understanding Metallurgical Aspects of Fatigue
Deformation for crystal structures can be visualized like a sliding row
of bricks...



Cubic Arrangement





Hexagonal Close-Packed
Structure
Zn, Mg, Be, o-Ti, etc.


Metals have a highly ordered crystal structure...

Dislocation: occurs at all temperatures,
but is predominant at lower temperatures.

Diffusion: important at higher temperatures,
especially above one half the melting temperature



Two predominant deformation mechanisms in metals...

Can you find the I llustrated Dislocation Defect?
Edge dislocation. (a) Bubble-raft model of an imperfection in a crystal structure.
Note the extra row of atoms. (b) Schematic illustration of a dislocation. [Bragg and
Nye, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), A190, 474, 1947.]

8 Solid solution strengthening
8 Precipitation hardening
8 Microstructure control (grain size and morphology, precipitate
control, etc.)

8 Dispersion strengthening

Pure metals are easily deformed. Several methods are used to inhibit
deformation...

Solid Solution Strengthening: Perturbations to crystal lattice retard
dislocation motion...

Precipitation Hardening: Local areas of compositional and/or
structural differences retard dislocation motion...

Grain Boundary Strengthening: Crystallographic and/or
compositional boundary. Strengthens at low temperature; but weak
link at high temperature...

Grain Boundary Resistance: Will resist dislocation motion at the
boundary...

Grain Boundaries I llustrated: Notice the vacancies and excess atoms at boundaries...

Grain Boundary Mechanics:

Crystallographic and/or compositional boundary. Strengthens at low
temperature; weak link at high temperature...

Persistent Slip Band Formation:
A product of cyclic deformation important to fatigue initiation for ductile
metals ...

From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley
& Sons, NY, 1980

Diffusion: A high temperature deformation mechanism ...


Melting Point (F)

1/2 Melting Point (F)

Aluminum

1220

379

Titanium

3035

1288

Nickel

2647

1094

Iron

2798

1170

Cobalt

2723

1132

Ice

32

-213

Diffusion: Usually considered at temperatures above half the melting
point (K) ...

Grain Boundary Sliding: A diffusion controlled deformation process ...

Grain Boundary Sliding: Can provide large deformation at boundary with
relatively small intergranular deformation ...

8 from dislocations - as in slip

8 from diffusion - as in grain boundary sliding

8 or from both

Fatigue Crack I nitiation: Occurs when enough local deformation
damage accumulates to produce a crack ...


Stage I Crystallographic Fracture, along a few planes, brittle
appearance, at angle to principal loading direction.


Stage II Usually transgranular, but numerous fracture planes normal
to principal loading direction. Striations often seen at high
magnification for more ductile alloys.


Stage III Final fracture; brittle, ductile or both.

Fracture Stages: Steps of an I dealized Fatigue Process ...


Fracture Stages: Fatigue origin often at a Mechanical or Metallurgical
Artifact ...

Schematic of stages I and II transcrystalline microscopic fatigue crack growth.


Typical Fatigue Fractures: Several Common Features ...


1. Distinct crack initiation site or sites.

2. Beach marks indicative of crack growth arrest.

3. Distinct final fracture region.


Fatigue Features: I nitiation sites . . .

Fatigue Features: Beach marks ...

Final Fracture
Fatigue Area
Fatigue Features: Final Fracture ...

IN100, (Tests Conducted in Air at 650C, Frequency, = 0.33 Hz)

Ramberg-Osgood Relationship: Describes cyclic inelastic behavior ...


Failure Mode Some General Characteristics
Overstress Rapid fracture, may be ductile or brittle, large
deformation, often transgranular, often the final stage
of some other fracture mode.

Creep/Stress Rupture Usually long term event, large deformation,
intergranular, elevated temperature

High Cycle Fatigue Often short term event, small deformation,
transgranular

Low Cycle Fatigue Moderate time event, moderate deformation, fracture
dependent on time/temp.

Thermomechanical Fatigue Moderate time event, subset of LCF with deformation
due largely to thermally induced stresses, fracture
usually shows heavy oxidation/alloy depletion

Typical Failure Modes: General Characteristics ...

I sotropic
- assumes symmetrical behavior in tension and compression.


Kinematic
- assumes yield stress, following inelastic deformation, is degraded ...



Cyclic Behavior Must be Modeled: After Tensile yield, there are two models
which describe compressive behavior ...

Hardening Models: Defines the Bauschinger effect ...

Cyclic Effects on Stress-Strain Behavior: Progressive changes occur during cyclic
loading ...

From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley &
Sons, NY, 1980

Material: Copper in 3 Conditions
8 Cyclic properties are important to our product.

8 Principal deformation mechanisms are slip at low temperature and diffusion
at high temperature.

8 Cracking can be crystallographic, transgranular, or intergranular.

8 Simple deformation models can be used to consolidate data and predict local
stresses and strains.

Summary: