Probabilistic Surface Layer Fatigue Strength Assessment of EN AC-46200 Sand Castings

The local fatigue strength within the aluminium cast surface layer is affected strongly by surface layer porosity and cast surface texture based notches. This article perpetuates the scientific methodology of a previously published fatigue assessment model of sand cast aluminium surface layers in T6 heat treatment condition. A new sampling position with significantly different surface roughness is investigated and the model exponents a 1 and a 2 are re-parametrised to be suited for a significantly increased range of surface roughness values. Furthermore, the fatigue assessment model of specimens in hot isostatic pressing (HIP) heat treatment condition is studied for all sampling positions. The obtained long life fatigue strength results are approximately 6% to 9% conservative, thus proven valid within an range of 30 µm ≤ S v ≤ 260 µm notch valley depth. To enhance engineering feasibility even further, the local concept is extended by a probabilistic approach invoking extreme value statistics. A bivariate distribution enables an advanced probabilistic long life fatigue strength of cast surface textures, based on statistically derived parameters such as extremal valley depth S v i and equivalent notch root radius ρ ¯ i . Summing up, a statistically driven fatigue strength assessment tool of sand cast aluminium surfaces has been developed and features an engineering friendly design method.

Determining alkali leaching during accelerated ASR performance testing and in field exposed cubes using cold water extraction (CWE) and µXRF

Considerable leaching of alkali metals was documented, both in concrete samples exposed to accelerated laboratory testing and field samples. CWE allowed to quantitatively determine the free alkali metal profiles as a function of the depth. However, CWE cannot account for the changes in the paste content towards a cast surface leading to a seemingly increase in alkali metals. The μXRF allowed to distinguish paste and aggregates. It allowed thereby to determine qualitative Na and K profiles in the cement paste phase of the concrete samples. The laboratory exposed samples showed a clear leaching profile into a depth of about 15 mm after 21 weeks of exposure at 60°C. Corresponding numbers for the 12 years field exposed cube were 50-60 mm. Alkali sorption by alkali silica gel was detected using the μXRF. For the laboratory exposed samples, the prisms prepared with Portland fly ash cement leached less alkali compared to the prisms prepared with ordinary Portland cement, as expected. The leaching in the middle of the prisms estimated based on the μXRF profiles agreed rather well with the level of alkali leaching determined based on the analysis of the leachate (i.e. the water below the samples during exposure).

Influence of Surface Finish and Porosity on the Fatigue behaviour of A356 Aluminium Casting Alloy

In casting parts, due to the manufacturing process, the presence of defects such as porosity, inclusions and oxide films is unavoidable. All these irregularities have a negative effect on the component performance. Several works have demonstrated that, among them, porosity is especially detrimental to the fatigue properties. As most fatigue failures nucleate at the surface of a material, casting defects at or near the surface and surface roughness become an extremely important factor in determining the fatigue strength of cast components. Very little research has been conducted into the influence of both surface quality and porosity on the fatigue behaviour of aluminium castings parts. In the present work, the effects of two different surface qualities (machined and as-cast) on fatigue behaviour of an A356 casting alloy were studied. The S-N curves obtained showed that the cast surface had higher fatigue strength than the machined one. The failure in cast specimens initiated predominantly from valleys of the rough surface near pores or inclusions. On the other hand, in machined surfaces, the cracks initiated directly from surface pores. Thus, the improvement in fatigue life was attributed to a longer crack “initiation” period.

Utilization of Fabric Formwork for Improving the Durability of Concrete from Supersulfated Cement

In this paper, the durability of fabric formwork-based concrete made from supersulfated cement was studied. The study involved comparison of chloride and carbonation resistance, pH values, and water absorption between of surfaces of SSC, the one being cast and the other cast in fabric formwork. It was shown that the use of fabric formwork minimized the pore volume near the surface, maintained the pH values at higher profile depths and showed improved durability when compared to the mould-cast surface. Carbonation depths were reduced by approximately 35% and calculated ab sorption rates were found to be approximately 40% lower at the fabric cast surface, indicating that fabric formwork is a promising aspect towards promoting the comeback of SSC in construction.