Identifying Sensitive Parameters at Fatigue Crack Nucleation Sites Using Microstructural Simulation Models

Abstract

High strength components exposed to cyclic loading such as gas turbine disks fail in an insidious manner, giving no prior indication that damage has occurred. Cracking takes place on a very small scale and the critical damage state is reached when the crack is very small. Unfortunately, cracks of these sizes are difficult to detect. Often, long crack damage is considered when performing fatigue diagnostics. However, an accurate onboard prognostic capability should consider total life as initiation and long crack growth. Prognostication of small cracks requires simulating fatigue damage accumulation from the evolution of micro scale damage initiation. This paper discusses methods for predicting the probability of fatigue failure from cracks starting on the micro scale. These methods predict the variation in fatigue life based on the statistical variation in the microstructure of the material. Material parameters at the metallic grain level are integrated with fundamental physics-based models to predict the damage as it accumulates.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA444474

Entities

People

  • Animesh Dey
  • Ganapathi Krishnan
  • K. S. Chandran
  • Robert G. Tryon

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Alloys
  • Application Software
  • Crack Tips
  • Fatigue Life
  • Fatigue Tests (Mechanics)
  • Grain Boundaries
  • Grain Size
  • Laboratory Tests
  • Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanics
  • Military Research
  • Nucleation
  • Shear Modulus
  • Simulations

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Materials Science (Mechanical Engineering).
  • Systems Analysis and Design