Crystallographic Fatigue Crack Growth in Aluminum Single Crystals.

Abstract

Single crystals of aluminum were fatigued in cantilever bending to produce many Stage I (crystallographic) fatigue cracks along parallel (111) slip planes. The average rate of crack growth was measured as a function of the strain-intensity factor in both vacuum and humid air (81% RH). Three-dimensional replicas of Stage I cracks were examined by SEM and found to be very complex in morphology with many small secondary cracks branching from the primary cracks produced in air but not from those produced in vacuum. Environmentally assisted cleavage along these secondary cracking planes is thought to account for their formation in air. The secondary cracks subsequently 'blunt' the stress-intensity at the tip of the primary crack and retard its growth. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1972
Accession Number
AD0751603

Entities

People

  • David K. Benson
  • G. Gordon Shaw

Organizations

  • MRIGlobal

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum
  • Crystals
  • Intensity
  • Replicas
  • Single Crystals
  • Three Dimensional

Readers

  • Materials Science (Mechanical Engineering).