Hybrid Measurement of CT and Strain Distribution of Internal Crack Using Synchrotron High-Energy Monochromatic X-Rays

Using high-energy monochromatic X-rays of energy 66.4keV from the synchrotron radiation source, SPring-8, we have developed a system to perform a hybrid measurement of imaging of cracks and strain distribution around cracks. This system was applied to a fatigue crack made in a round bar made of carbon steel with a diameter of 4 mm. Computed tomography of the specimen gave the three-dimensional shape of a thumb-nail crack. High tensile strain ahead of the crack was measured at the applied maximum stress, while the strain on the crack face was low because of stress relief due to crack opening. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) increased near the crack tip under loading, and then decreased after unloading. The recoverable part of FWHM by unloading was caused by the steep distribution of the applied stress in the vicinity of the crack tip. The FWHM increased by plastic deformation does not change when unloaded. The measured distributions of the lattice strain and FWHM agreed well with those of the elastic and plastic strains calculated by the finite element method, respectively.