DBTT and Fatigue

Charpy Impact Test

Read off scale

ENERGY ABSORBED

A283 Steel

Specification of Transition Temperature and Design

Rule of Thumb
minimum allowable notch toughness is usually 20-30 J at the lowest operating temperature.

CVN number cannot be used in design calculations (unlike y or KIc). Useful for quality control and comparison of similar materials No ductile brittle transition for many metals
E.g. no DBT for FCC (Al alloys, Cu alloys), but there is DBT for BCC, HCP alloys e.g. steeels

For steels as carbon conc.

yield stress but DBTT and shelf energy

Effect of %C on DBTT
Schematic
DBT Upper Shelf E

y
DBTT

%C

Fatigue

Variable Amplitude Fatigue

Characterization of Fatigue Loading

Mean Stress

Load

m =
Stress Range

max + min
2

r = max min
Stress Amplitude

a =

max min
2

Stress Ratio

R=

min max

General Fatigue Behaviour

Low Cycle Fatigue High Cycle Fatigue

Plot S-N Curve Decreasing stress amplitude leads to increase in life At low enough stresses, some materials show a fatigue limit Steel but not aluminum

Fatigue limit (or endurance limit) is the stress amplitude at which fatigue failure does not occur Also, or otherwise, can define a fatigue strength as being the stress amplitude level for failure to occur in a specified number of cycles (e.g. 107)

Fatigue

There can be considerable variability in fatigue behaviour, especially in initiation

Fatigue
Cyclic stresses cause crack nucleation and growth Failure when crack grows to critical length Single largest cause of failure Cracks start at stress concentration points Cracks usually nucleate in the first 10-20 % of service life Majority of time is associated with crack growth
Therefore cracks can be found by inspection of structures.

BEACHMARKS

Fatigue
fatigue beachmarks (macro) or striations (micro) indicate crack origin and growth characteristics final failure may be ductile or brittle tensile stresses are required, no fatigue is found under compressive loading
High Magnification. Electron Microscope

STRIATIONS

Mechanism of Fatigue Crack Growth

new striation

Two Stages of Fatigue

1. Crack Initiation (Stage I) 2. Crack Growth (Stage II)

Factors which affect Fatigue Life

1. Mean Stress as mean stress increases fatigue life decreases

Factors which affect Fatigue Life

2. Surface Treatments Shot Peening (residual compressive stresses) Case Hardening

Factors which affect Fatigue Life

3. Good Design

Bad design

Good design

Effect of Stress Concentrations

stress concentrations may be: mechanical surface damage corrosion pitting sharp corners (design) residual stress from manufacturing

Fatigue Testing

Axial, bending, torsion or combined Uniaxial, biaxial, or triaxial Fatigue at room temperature, other temperatures Fatigue with environmental effects

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