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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 1


Failure of Engineering Materials
(Callister: Chapter 8)
After completing this section, you should understand the
principles and application of the following concepts used to
characterize engineering materials:
Ductile vs. Brittle Fracture
Fracture Toughness
concepts and equations
stress intensity factor, fracture toughness, plane strain fracture
toughness
Impact Tests
Fatigue Test
Creep Test
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 2
Failure
The fracture of any material occurs in two steps:
Crack formation
Crack propagation
The failure of engineering materials is classified in terms of being:
Ductile: significant plastic deformation prior to fracture
Brittle: little or no plastic deformation prior to fracture
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 3
Ductile Fracture
Ductile fracture of many
engineering metals results in a
cup and cone fracture
surface.
This is created by a process
known as microvoid
coalescence.
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 4
Brittle Fracture
Brittle fracture involves very little plastic
deformation
The fracture surface is usually flat and
perpendicular to the applied stress.
A brittle fracture surface often shows
Chevron markings, or
A series of fan-like ridges or river pattern
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 5
Brittle Fracture
Crack propagation in brittle fracture
can be either:
Transgranular: through the grains
(Also called cleavage)
Intergranular: along the grain
boundaries
In both cases, the surface usually appears
shiny because the facets reflect light.
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 6
Stress Concentrations
When a perfect solid is loaded in
tension, the normal stress is the same
in any part of the specimen.
A
F
=
If a flaw (e.g. a small crack) exists
inside the specimen, the free surfaces
cannot transmit any load.
The stress is concentrated at the
edges of the crack.
The material adjacent to the crack must
carry the additional load.
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 7
Stress Concentrations
The degree of concentration of the stress depends on:
the size of the crack, a
and,
the radius of the crack tip,
t
.
The stress concentration factor
is the ratio of the maximum
stress to the average stress
2
1
0
2

t
m
a


2
1
0
2

= =
t
m
t
a
K

ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 8


Fracture Toughness
A crack will propagate when the stress reaches some
critical value.
A more convenient approach to describing the
behaviour of a material that contains a crack is to use
the Stress Intensity Factor, K
a Y K =
Y is a geometric factor that depends on crack and
specimen size
is the average stress (i.e. F/A)
a is the crack size
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 9
Fracture Toughness
There are four uses of the variable, K, that are intimately related
and you must not confuse:
K
t
the stress concentration factor
the ratio of the maximum stress to the average stress
K the stress intensity factor
Associated with the geometry of the component
K
C
the critical stress intensity factor (Fracture Toughness)
For a given applied stress, this is the stress intensity factor that will
cause a crack to propagate.
For a given flaw size, K
C
is geometry dependent
K
IC
the Plane Strain Fracture Toughness
This is reported as a material property. It is the minimum value of
Fracture Toughness for the material
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 10
Crack-Opening Modes
Mode I is the most common
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 11
Fracture Toughness
a
w
t
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 12
Plane Strain Fracture Toughness of Some Materials
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 13
Fracture Toughness: Example 1
An aluminum alloy is subjected to a constant stress of 150 MPa. What is
the maximum tolerable flaw size that will avoid fast fracture?
(K
IC
=30 MPa m
1/2
,
y
=375 MPa, Y=1)
a Y K
IC
=

1
2

=
Y
K
a
IC

1
150 1
30
2

=
cm
m
27 . 1
10 27 . 1
2
=
=

cm a 27 . 1
max
=
Edge Crack: a
max
= 1.27cm
Internal Crack a
max
= 2.54cm
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 14
MPa 300 =
Fracture Toughness: Example #2
What is the minimum value of K
IC
needed to ensure that a plate with a
yield strength of 300 MPa and external flaws as large as 0.5 mm will
plastically deform before fast fracture can occur when subjected to a
tensile load? (Y=1.1)
? = a
a Y K
IC
=
m mm a
4
10 5 5 . 0

= =
? =
4
10 5 300 1 . 1

>
IC
K
m MPa K
IC
13 >
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 15
The Impact Test
The Impact test measures a materials ability to absorb kinetic
energy.
This quality is often referred to as the Toughness of the material.
( )
f
h h g E =
0

Charpy
Izod
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 16
The Impact Test
Impact Test Data: Energy absorbed and/or % shear fracture
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 17
The Ductile-to-Brittle Transition
Temperature has a significant influence on the toughness of
BCC metals. (Steel is the most important example)
At low temperatures, they are brittle while at higher temperatures
they are more ductile.
One approach to designing
structures is to define a
Transition Temperature,
below which the material
should be considered brittle
This is the Ductile-to-Brittle
Transition Temperature
(DBTT)
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 18
The Ductile-to-Brittle Transition
There are three accepted methods of determining the DBTT
E
n
e
r
g
y
Temperature
T E T for minimum energy
T
B
T
D
DBTT
E
B
E
D
E
avg
DBTT
E
min
10
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 19
The Fatigue Test
When a component is subjected to a cyclic stress, it may fail by
a process known as fatigue.
From a designers point of view, fatigue can be a particularly
dangerous form of failure because:
it occurs over time
it occurs at stress levels that are not only lower than the UTS, they
can even be lower than the yield strength.
The cyclic stress causes small cracks to form and grow until
they are large enough to cause fast fracture.
a Y K
IC
=
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 20
The Fatigue Test
Fatigue tests are conducted
by subjecting a series of
samples to an alternating
stress.
To approximate the in-service
conditions, one can control
the:
maximum stress
minimum stress
frequency
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 21
The Fatigue Test
Calculated test variables are:
The stress range
min max
=
r
The stress amplitude
2
min max


=
a
The fatigue ratio
max
min

= R
2
min max

+
=
m
The mean stress
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 22
The Fatigue Test
A single fatigue test subjects a specimen to a specified stress
profile and measures the number of cycles to failure.
The results of a series of tests are plotted as Stress Amplitude
vs. log(cycles to failure) on an S-N curve.
10
2
10
3
10
4
10
5
10
6
10
7
N
100
0
300
200
S
400
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 23
Reading Logarithmic Scales
Locate the following numbers on the scale
5
90
15
35
2.5
1 10 100
Where is zero?
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 24
SN Curves
Fatigue failure is a statistical event.
S-N curves are really showing the probability of failure
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 25
The Fatigue Test
Many ferrous (iron-based) materials
exhibit a Fatigue Limit (Endurance
Limit)
below this stress amplitude, they will
not fail by fatigue
Most non-ferrous materials do not have
a fatigue limit.
Their fatigue strength is usually
expressed as the maximum stress for
no failure after some specific number of
cycles.
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 26
Fatigue Failures
Fatigue failures often leave tell-tale features called beach marks
on the fracture surface.
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 27
Factors in Fatigue Life
Fatigue failure is controlled by how difficult it is to start and
propagate a crack.
Anything that makes this process easier will reduce a
components fatigue life.
Good Things
Smooth surfaces
Hard surfaces
Residual compressive
stresses (a compressive
stress helps to keep a crack
closed)
Bad Things
Rough surfaces (deep
scratches, dents)
Stress concentrations
Corrosive environments
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 28
Fatigue Failure.
De Havilland Comet: G-ALYP/6003
January 10
th
1954
1290 flights
Total flying time: 3681 hours
Crashed from 25,000ft
Further crashes occurred
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 29
Fatigue Failure.
De Havilland Comet
The Investigation
Cyclic pressure testing of a grounded aircraft
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 30
Fatigue Failure.
De Havilland Comet
The Cause of Failure
Fatigue crack propagation from rivet holes
Hatch
Corner of Hatch Fatigue Cracks
Rivet Hole
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 31
Fatigue Failure.
Improvements following Comet disasters
improved design
improved inspection
improved materials
Fatigue cracking of fuselages is still relatively common
BUT
Catastrophic failure of fuselages is not common
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 32
Fatigue Failure.
Aloha Airlines Flight 243
April 28
th
1988
The Problem
of Old Aircraft
90,000 flights
19 years old
..at 24,000ft, both pilots heard a load clap or whooshing sound, followed by
a wind noise behind themThe captain observed thatthere was blue sky
where the first class ceiling had been..
All required
safety checks
had been done
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 33
Creep of Materials
Creep is the time dependent deformation of a material
subjected to a constant stress. (usually less than the yield stress)
It is generally only significant when the temperature is greater
than 0.4T
m
(T
m
=melting temperature on an absolute scale)
A creep test measures strain as a function of time at a
constant stress and temperature.
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 34
The Creep Test
The data from a creep test is plotted as strain vs. time
Secondary creep is characterized by a constant creep rate.
t
s

=

&
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 35
Stress and Temperature Effects
Remember that, at any temperature, dislocations will move if a
large enough stress is applied.
During the recovery phase of the annealing process:
Dislocations were able to rearrange themselves due to the
increased thermal energy.
Similarly,
increasing the deformation temperature allows
dislocations to move under a lower applied stress.
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 36
The Creep Test
Increasing the stress or the temperature has the same general
effect on the creep behaviour:
initial strain increases
steady-state creep rate increases
rupture life is decreased
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 37
The Creep Test
Empirical relationships are commonly used to describe the
steady-state creep rate:
For a specific temperature:
K
1
and n are material constants
n
K =
1
&
n c
RT
Q
K

= exp
2
&
For any temperature:
K
2
and Q
c
are constants
Q
c
is called the activation energy for creep
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 38
The Creep Test
The results from a series of creep tests can be plotted on a
stress-rupture curve.
Find the time to rupture at 538C if
the stress is 80 MPa.
What is the maximum service
temperature of a component that
must last 10,000hrs at 50 MPa?
hrs 4000
10 4
3


C T
C T C
o
o o
590
538 649

> >
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 39
Mechanisms for Creep Deformation in Metals
Thermal Activation of Dislocations
Increasing the temperature can provide the additional energy
required to move pinned dislocations
Diffusion of Atoms
Atoms physically move in response to the applied stress
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 40
Improving Creep Resistance
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ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 41
Summary
How do materials fail?
Plastically deform:
accumulate damage,
reduce in area,
fracture
Fracture due to existing defects
Cyclic loading
Propagate cracks by fatigue processes,
fracture
Deform by creep at elevated temperatures,
accumulate damage,
reduce in area,
fracture
ES 021 Chap 8 - Failure 42
Summary
In Chapters 7 and 8, we have covered the types of tests used to
determine the material properties used by engineers to design
load bearing components.
These are the issues that you will have to consider in your
designs.
Static Loads Tensile (compressive) properties
Dynamic Loads Impact, Fatigue
Detectable or known flaws Fracture Mechanics
Temperature Effects Tensile properties, Impact, Creep
Environmental Aspects corrosion, abrasion, chemical reactions

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