The possibility of the life prediction model for nickel-base single crystal blades has been studied. The fatigue-creep (FC) and thermal fatigue-creep (TMFC) as well as creep experiments have been carried out with different hold time of DD3. The hold time and the frequency as well as the temperature range are the main factors influencing on the life. An emphasis has been put on the micro mechanism of the rupture of creep, FC and TMFC. Two main factors are the voiding and degeneration of the material for the creep, FC and TMFC experiments. There are voids in the fracture surfaces, and size of the voids is dependent on the loading condition. Generally, the rupture mechanism is the same for creep, FC and TMFC. If the loading can be simplified to the working conditions of the turbine blades, i.e. the hold time is at the top temperature and maximum stress, a linear life model is satisfactory to the life prediction of nickel-base single crystal superalloy from the experimental study in this paper. The temperature and the stress level of the nickel-base single crystal (SC)blades are not uniform. To predict the life of SC blades, one should consider the cycles of the temperature and stress as well as the oxidation simultaneously. In the past 30 years, there are many works on the mechanical behavior and description, such as the inelastic constitutive relationships, plastic, fracture, isothermal creep and fatigue and thermal fatigue as well as oxidation[1-3]. There are also special software (program) to analyze the deformation and life of nickel-base single crystal structures, such as blades. In order to apply to the engineering more conveniently, there should be a life prediction model for the blades. The model should not be too complex, but take more influential factors as possible into consideration.
An Experimental Study of the Effects of Hold Time on the Thermal Fatigue of 18-8 Cb Steel