Quantification of the effects of crack tip plasticity on environmentally-assisted crack growth rates in LWR environments

Author(s):  
Tetsuo Shoji ◽  
Zhanpeng Lu ◽  
He Xue ◽  
Kentaro Yoshimoto ◽  
Mikiro Itow ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Lianyong Xu

Creep-fatigue interaction would accelerate the crack growth behaviour and change the crack growth mode, which is different from that presenting in pure creep or fatigue regimes. In addition, the constraint ahead of crack tip affects the relationship between crack growth rate and fracture mechanics and thus affects the accuracy of the life prediction for high-temperature components containing defects. In this study, to reveal the role of constraint caused by various specimen geometries in the creep-fatigue regime, five different types of cracked specimens (including C-ring in tension CST, compact tension CT, single notch tension SENT, single notch bend SENB, middle tension MT) were employed. The crack growth and damage evolution behaviours were simulated using finite element method based on a non-linear creep-fatigue interaction damage model considering creep damage, fatigue damage and interaction damage. The expression of (Ct)avg for different specimen geometries were given. Then, the variation of crack growth behaviour with various specimen geometries under creep-fatigue conditions were analysed. CT and CST showed the highest crack growth rates, which were ten times as the lowest crack growth rates in MT. This revealed that distinctions in specimen geometry influenced the in-plane constraint level ahead of crack tip. Furthermore, a load-independent constraint parameter Q* was introduced to correlate the crack growth rate. The sequence of crack growth rate at a given value of (Ct)avg was same to the reduction of Q*, which shown a linear relation in log-log curve.


Author(s):  
Giovambattista Bilotta ◽  
Mandana Arzaghi ◽  
Gilbert Hénaff ◽  
Guillaume Benoit ◽  
Clara Moriconi ◽  
...  

Gaseous hydrogen substantially reduces fracture properties such as threshold stress intensity factor and crack growth resistance in the precipitation-hardened martensitic stainless steel investigated in this study. Fatigue crack propagation tests were performed on CT specimens under different atmospheres (hydrogen pressures from 0.09 to 40 MPa) on the Hycomat test bench, at the Pprime Institute in Poitiers, France. A strongly enhanced crack growth regime was identified at high hydrogen pressure and low-frequency loading. Crack growth rates obtained at a constant load under same pressure levels suggest that a combination of tensile stresses above a threshold (KIscc) and fatigue cycles contribute to the hydrogen embrittlement at the crack tip. These experimental results were compared to the finite element simulation results obtained by a recently developed cohesive zone model at the crack tip. A specifically developed traction-separation law which is suitable to describe the gradual degradation of cohesive stresses under monotonic and cyclic loadings, and which is furthermore sensitive to the hydrogen concentration was used. The effects of the different testing conditions, in terms of loading frequency and hydrogen pressure, on the modeling results are discussed. It was shown that the model qualitatively predicts the detrimental influence of gaseous hydrogen on the crack growth rates.


1976 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Do¨ner

Existing crack growth laws which consider time and temperature effects are examined. Based on phenomenological observations, as well as mechanistic considerations, one of these laws is modified in order to provide an improved, universal elevated temperature crack growth law. It is assumed that there are essentially three processes through which crack growth rates are affected: decrease in strength and modulus with temperature, oxidation damage at the crack tip and creep damage at the crack tip. The rate controlling mechanism(s) which may be associated with each of these processes are discussed. The type of experiments which are needed for the determination of material constant(s) that describe the contribution from each process are outlined. The modified crack growth law, when applied to publish data on HS-188 alloy, results in a prediction of the crack growth rates within a factor of 2.5, in the temperature range of 873–1144 K and at cycle frequencies ranging from 0.01 to 10 Hz.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Akama

Fatigue tests were performed to estimate the coplanar and branch crack growth rates on rail and wheel steel under non-proportional mixed mode I/II loading cycles simulating the load on rolling contact fatigue cracks; sequential and overlapping mode I and II loadings were applied to single cracks in the specimens. Long coplanar cracks were produced under certain loading conditions. The fracture surfaces observed by scanning electron microscopy and the finite element analysis results suggested that the growth was driven mainly by in-plane shear mode (i.e., mode II) loading. Crack branching likely occurred when the degree of overlap between these mode cycles increased, indicating that such degree enhancement leads to a relative increase of the maximum tangential stress range, based on an elasto–plastic stress field along the branch direction, compared to the maximum shear stress. Moreover, the crack growth rate decreased when the material strength increased because this made the crack tip displacements smaller. The branch crack growth rates could not be represented by a single crack growth law since the plastic zone size ahead of the crack tip increased with the shear part of the loading due to the T-stress, resulting in higher growth rates.


Author(s):  
Bruce C. Bunker ◽  
William H. Casey

Although dissolution reactions involving water can etch and decompose oxides, truly catastrophic failures of oxide structures usually involve fractures and mechanical failures. Geologists and geochemists have long recognized that water and ice both play key roles in promoting the fracture and crumbling of rock (see Chapter 17). Freezing and thawing create stresses that amplify the rate at which water attacks metal–oxygen bonds at the crack tip. The interplay between water and stressed oxides also leads to common failures in man-made objects, ranging from the growth of cracks from flaws in windshields to the rupture of optical fibers in communication systems. In this chapter, we outline how mechanical deformations change the reactivity of metal–oxygen bonds with respect to water and other chemicals, and how reactions on strained model compounds have been used to predict time to failure as a function of applied stress. The basic phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking is illustrated in Figure 16.1. Cracks can propagate through oxide materials at extremely fast rates, as anyone who has dropped a wine glass on the floor can attest. High-speed photography reveals that when glass shatters, cracks can spread at speeds of hundreds of meters per second, or half the speed of sound in the glass. At the other end of the spectrum, cracks in glass can grow from preexisting flaws so slowly that only a few chemical bonds are broken at the crack tip per hour. Because mechanical failures are associated with cracking, it is critical for design engineers to understand the factors that control crack growth rates for this enormous range of crack velocities (a factor of 1012). In addition, because it is difficult to measure crack velocities slower than 10−8 m/second, it is often necessary to make major extrapolations from measured data to predict the long-term reliability of glass and ceramic objects. Will an optical fiber under stress fail in 1 year or 10 years? Answering this question can require accurate extrapolations down to crack growth rates as low as 10−10 m/second.


2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1771-1779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Korsunsky ◽  
Xu Song ◽  
Jonathan Belnoue ◽  
Terry Jun ◽  
Felix Hofmann ◽  
...  

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