Part 2 Engineering Materials Review

Lecture 1- Solidification Casting

Why do Metals Solidify?

- Above the melting temperature (energy of liquid melt > energy of solid)
- Below the melting temperature (energy of solid < energy of liquid)
- Volume free energy (Energy/Volume/Gibb’s Free Energy)

Form a Spherical Solid Nucleus

- Creating a spherical solid nucleus lowers volume free energy
- Creating a spherical solid nucleus creates a surface which has energy

Forming a Stable Nucleus

- Nucleus lowers its overall energy by shrinking (unstable nucleus)
- Nucleus lowers its energy by growing (stable nucleus)

Undercooling
- At the melting temperature, Tm, Gibbs Free Energy = 0
- As temperature drops below Tm, the volume free energy (Gibbs Free Energy) increases
- Critical radius ‘r*’ decreases
- Easier to form a stable nucleus with undercooling

Examples
- Lead (Tm = 327 C, Surface energy 33.3*10^-7 J/cm2, max undercooling 80 C)
- Iron (Tm = 1535 C, Surface energy 204*10&-7 J/cm2, max undercooling 295 C)

How Solids Nucleate

- Homogeneous nucleation (spontaneous formation of solid in the liquid)
- Heterogeneous nucleation (solid nuclei form at interface like container wall; lower critical radius)
- Intentional addition of insoluble impurities to nucleate solid
- Sites for heterogeneous nucleation
- Nucleating agents, grain refiners
- More grain refiners added to the melt; more nuclei form, smaller solidified grain size

Solidification in a Mould
- Metal solidifies against the cold mold wall
- Grows away from the wall; solid-liquid interface is a plane; plane breaks down into cells

Dendrites
- Cells break down into dendrites
- Dendrites are tree-like structures
- Tree branches correspond to close-packed crystal directions

Dendritic Growth
- Atoms add to the crystal along preferred directions
- Trunk and branches; snow flake shape- ex. Water, UO2, nickel based super alloy

Crystals in Industrial Casting

- Each nucleated crystal at the mould wall has its own orientation
- Heterogeneous nucleation = lots of nuclei; equiaxed grains
- Columnar grains grow parallel to heat flow direction
- Slower growth and fewer nuclei away from mould walls; growth direction towards center
Grain Size in Castings
- Large grain sizes are expected in castings with slow solidification rates
- Grain refiners, nucleating agents can reduce cast grain size
- Wrought metals have smaller grain sizes (cold work, recrystallization)

Cast Parts vs. Machined Parts

- Casting produces parts that are near their final shape
- Minimal machining and surface finishing required
- Can produce parts that would be too intricate or time consuming to machine from block of metal
- Machining allows the designer more control over the mechanical properties of the final product
- Smaller grain size for higher strength; generally better toughness for wrought metal
- Usually better chemical homogeneity

Steels for Machinability

- Steels are purposely alloyed with extra manganese and sulfur
- Forms manganese sulfide inclusions in the steel; inclusions elongate during hot rolling
- When tool hits inclusion, chip breaks off; easy chip formation = good machinability

Casting Processes
- Casting for further processing
- 1. Ingot casting: Liquid metal is poured into large mould (generally rectangular)
- Upon solidification, the casting undergoes further forming operations
- Casting for net shape: Sand casting, die casting, lost wax, lost foam
- 2. Continuous Casting: High productivity casting process (not a discrete process like ingot casting, no limit
on the volume of the tundish)
- Skin solidifies in mold for structural integrity
- Water spray allows full solidification
- 3. Sand Casting: Aluminum engine blocks are cast in Windsor (Nemak); molten metal is poured into metal
casting made of compacted sand/clay/water (green sand) and the metal is cast around the sand core
- Gating system controls the flow of metal into the sand mould
- Risers allow a reservoir of molten metal to feed the solidifying casting as it shrinks
- Cores are inserted into the mold to created internal hollow sections (Sand Casting)
- 4. Die Casting: Common with light metals such as zinc, aluminum, and magnesium

Solidification of Alloys
- Nature favours the solidification of ‘purer’ copper (Ex. Cartridge brass 70Cu-30Zn)
- Initial dendrites from at <30Zn
- Extra zinc is rejected to remaining liquid
- Final liquid to solidify is high in zinc
- Zinc concentration gradient between center of dendrite and outer dendrite surface (dendritic coring)

Casting Defects- Gas Porosity

- Liquid metal can dissolve more gas than solid metal
- Gas porosity forms spherical holes as gas comes out of the liquid during solidification
- Hydrogen porosity is common in aluminum welds

Casting Defects- Shrinkage Porosity

- Metal shrinks as it solidifies
- Riser feeds liquid metal to solidifying casting
- Without a source of liquid to compensate for solidification shrinkage
- Shrinkage porosity forms between dendrite arms or along grain boundaries
Lecture 2- Diffusion

What is Diffusion?
- Diffusion is material transport by atomic motion
- Inhomogeneous materials can become homogeneous by diffusion
- For an active diffusion to occur, the temperature should be high enough to overcome energy barriers to
atomic motion

Diffusion Mechanisms
- How do atoms move? What mechanisms allow for diffusion?
- Vacancy diffusion: self-diffusion; substitutional diffusion
- Self-diffusion is diffusion in 1 component material when all atoms that exchange positions are same type
- Interstitial diffusion: smaller atoms move through the spaces between lattice atoms
- Interdiffusion: 2 elements mutually diffusing into each other

Vacancy Diffusion
- Vacancies in the matrix
- Always in motion; temperature provides energy
- Material (atom) flow occurs in the direction opposite the vacancy flow
- Example: Impurity atoms can move into the vacancy and diffuse through the material
- To jump from lattice site to lattice site, atoms need energy to break bonds with neighbours
- Energy comes from the thermal energy of atomic vibrations
- An activation energy (Em) has to be supplied to the atom so that it could break inter-atomic bonds and
squeeze through its neighbours and move into the new position

Interstitial Diffusion
- Interstitial sites (free spaces) between regular atom sites in the crystal lattice
- Smaller atoms (Ex. H, B, C, N, O) squeeze into these sites
- Interstitial diffusion is generally faster than vacancy diffusion
- Weaker bonding of interstitials to the surrounding atoms
- Many more vacant interstitial sites than vacancy sites

Interdiffusion- (Ex. Cu and Ni)

- Occurs due to a concentration gradient
- Flux- atoms diffuse from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration
- Flux of atoms is defined as the number of atoms crossing a unit area normal to the flux direction in unit
time; J = flux = moles (mass) diffusing/ (SA * time)

Steady-State Diffusion
- Flux proportional to concentration gradient
- Concentration profile: Concentration of atoms or molecules of interest as function of position in sample
- Concentration gradient: slope at a particular point on the concentration profile
- Fick’s First Law: J = -D*partial derivative of c/ partial derivative of x
- Concentration gradient is the driving force for flux in the x direction
- Diffusion coefficient is in m2/s ( proportionality constant between flux and gradient)
- Minus sign means that diffusion is down the concentration (high to low)
- D = D0*e-Q/RT (Temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient)
- Diffusion requires a certain minimum energy to occur (Q = activation energy)
- The higher the activation energy, the harder it is for diffusion to occur
- High values of Q lower the diffusivity and there by the diffusion rate

Vacancy Diffusion
- In order for an atom to jump to an adjacent lattice site, the site must be vacant
 - Requires the formation of a vacancy; Qv = activation energy to form vacancy
- Assume number of vacancies doesn’t change at a given temperature
- The atom must have enough energy to squeeze past its neighbours in order to migrate to adjacent site
- D is proportional to e-(Qv +Qm)/RT

Interstitial Diffusion
- No vacancy is required
- Concentration of interstitial atoms is small compared to number of interstitial holes
- There will always be an empty interstitial site to jump into
- If interstitial content is very high, diffusion can be slowed
- Q = Qmigration only

Final Thoughts About Q

- Q is not a function of temperature
- Ask yourself, “Why is Q lower for…”
- Interstitial diffusion
- Lattices with lower coordination numbers
- Lower melting temperature materials
- Grain boundary diffusion than bulk lattice diffusion
- Smaller interstitial atoms

Mechanics of Diffusion
- Bulk diffusion/ Fast diffusion paths

Factors that Influence Diffusion

- Temperature (Diffusion rate increases with an increase of temperature)
- Diffusion mechanism (Interstitial diffusion is usually faster than vacancy diffusion)
- Diffusing and host species (Do and Q are different for every solute, solvent pair
- Microstructure (Diffusion faster in polycrystalline vs. single crystal materials
- Accelerated diffusion along grain boundaries and dislocations

Diffusion and Defects

- Self-diffusion of silver atoms in a sample of polycrystalline silver
- Q for lattice (volume) diffusion = 192 kJ/mol ; Q for grain boundary diffusion = 84.5kJ/mol
- Volume diffusion is generally slower than grain boundary diffusion at lower temperatures
- Diffusion along the sample surface is the fastest
- At elevated temperatures, volume diffusion catches up and surpasses grain boundary diffusion
- Much more lattice volume than grain boundary area
- Polycrystalline silver with a room temp grain size of 35 micrometers
- Volume diffusion dominates above 973 K

Non-Steady State Diffusion

- Concentration profile and concentration gradient are changing with time
- The chances of the concentration profile given by differential equation (Fick’s second law)
- Einstein-Smoluchowski equation relates time and diffusion distance (x 2 = 6Dt)

Carburizing Surface of Steel

- At high temperatures, steel gears are exposed to methane, a carbon containing gas
- Carbon diffuses into the gear surface
- Example of Fick’s Second Law- Gas diffusing into a solid; carburizing gas into steel
 Lecture 3- Phase Diagrams

Quantifying Solidification
- Alloys include brass, bronze, steel, cast iron
- Engineers need to know melting temperatures, microstructures, etc.
- Phase diagrams plot the liquid and solid phase regions over a range of temperatures/compositions
- Phase diagrams allow engineers to determine the expected microstructure of an alloy
- Phase diagrams are road maps for materials – temperature, pressure, composition

Why a 2-Phase Region?

- Pure substances have a single, unique melting temperature
- Alloys melt over a temperature range
- Composition changes with temperature within a two-phase region

Hume-Rothery Rules
- <15% difference in atomic size
- Same crystal structure (FCC, BCC, etc.)
- Similar electronegativity
- Valence (host metal will dissolve more of a second metal with higher valence)
- If you break 1 or more rules, only partial solubility
- Isomorphous phase diagram obeys the Hume-Rothery rules

Phase Diagrams
- Nature chooses the lowest energy state
- Lattice strain increases the crystal energy
- At some point, nature lowers the energy (mismatched atoms separate into own lattice)

Lever Rule
- Compositions of the two phases at opposite ends (weight percent)
- Overall composition between the ends (weight percent)
- Weight fraction of one phase is balanced by the side opposite (inverse to that phase)
- This inverse side length is divided by the length of the entire lever to get the weight fraction of the phase

Phase Diagram Terms

- Liquidus: temperature above which all liquid exists
- Eutectic: L α + β
- Eutectic Phase Transformation: maximum solid solubility at eutectic temperature

Eutectic Microstructures
- Lamellar eutectic: layers of each phase
- Divorced eutectic: particles of one phase embedded in a sea of the other phase

Cooling Curve for Eutectic

- Eutectic reaction occurs at an invariant point on the phase diagram
- Unique temperature and composition
- Temperature remains constant while the eutectic forms (similar to pure substance)
- Liquid cools  eutectic formseutectic cools
- Eutectic composition liquid ALWAYS cools to form eutectic solid (layers of α + β)

Alpha Phase After Cooling

- Proeuctectic alpha phase formed
- Remaining liquid (at the eutectic composition) solidifies as layers of alpha and beta phase
- As the entire solid cools, composition of alpha phase decreases according to solubility limit
 - 60Pb-40Sn Liquid cools liquid cools/ proeutectic α formseutectic formsproeutectic α/eutectic cools

Proeutectic and Eutectic Solid

- Liquid is at the eutectic composition
- Liquid transforms to eutectic solid
- Pro-eutectic alpha sits and watches
- Eutectic solid consists of α & β

Further Observations
- On cooling from the liquid, there can only be 1 pro-eutectic constituent

Lecture 4 – Phase Diagrams of Steel

Strengthening Mechanisms
- Cold Work
- Grain Size Control
- Solid Solution (Alloying)
- Precipitation Hardening

Precipitation Hardening
- Limited solid solubility
- Alloys that exhibit complete solid solubility have only one solid phase
- Decreasing solid solubility with temperature
- Composition less than maximum solid solubility

Solution Treatment
- 1) Single Phase Alpha Region – Hold to dissolve any beta
- 2) Quickly cool to room temp- diffusion too slow for β to form; supersaturated α, not at equilibrium
- 3) Heat to intermediate temp- diffusion is faster, fine dispersion of β phase particles form, particles
coarsen with time at temperature, process is referred to as ‘aging’
- 4) Cool back to room temperature

Precipitation Sequence
- Supersaturated alpha is heated
- Atoms cluster into small, thin disks
- G.P. zones are effective dislocation blockers- increase in hardness and strength

Hardness vs. Time

- Overaging- individual particles grow larger, but fewer of them – less effective in blocking dislocations

Aging Response
- Peak hardness is a function of time and temperature
- Low temperatures gives a higher peak hardness but at a longer aging time
- Peak hardness corresponds to low ductility

Natural Aging
- Some aluminum alloys experience appreciable precipitation hardening at room temperature
- Necessary to refrigerate after solution treatment and quench
- Application: Rivets, driven while soft, age harden in place

Wrought Aluminum Alloys

- Wrought aluminum alloys are divided into 2 groups
- 1) Strengthened by precipitation hardening
 - 2) Strengthened by alloying and cold work
- Most common precipitation hardened alloy is 6061 aluminum

Heat Treatment Conditions

- O Temper- Annealed, recrystallized, stable microstructure
- T4- Solution treated, quenched to room temperature to produce supersaturated alpha phase
- T6- Solution treated, quenched, artificially aged to maximum hardness

Between the Dendrites

- Solid crystal structure has a max solubility for solute atoms
- As the material solidifies, it accepts solute up to its limit
- The rest is rejected to the liquid; rejects impurity atoms into the liquid
- All the area between the dendrites is filled with this liquid that has increased solute and impurity levels

Segregation
- Solute levels increase in liquid up to eutectic composition
- Final liquid to solidify has a eutectic composition
- May lead to undesired effects i.e. sulfur in iron
- Final structure is cored dendrites with eutectic solid between the dendrites
- Low solute levels at dendrite core
- Eutectic liquid composition  eutectic solid
- Can’t use lever laws because phase composition isn’t at equilibrium

Sulfur in Steel
- Sulfur generally limited to 0.035% in steel
- Sulfur segregates to liquid during solidification
- Very last liquid to solidify is enriched in sulfur
- Fe-31.6% S eutectic melts at 989 C
- Steel (Fe-0.2%C) melts around 1500 C
- Steel can tear during hot rolling process at 1000 C

Intermetallic Compounds
- Based on specific stoichiometry
- Intermetallic compounds melt and solidify at a specific temperature just like elements
- ‘Congruent’ transformation exhibit no composition change
- Eutectic reactions have a composition change and are not congruent

Intermediate Phases
- Solubility around a stoichiometric composition
- Line composition (intermetallic compound) becomes a phase field- variation in composition

Iron Phases
- Ferrite (α) – BCC structure – up to 912 C
- Austenite (ϒ) – FCC structure – 912 to 1394 C
- Delta Ferrite (δ) – BCC Structure – 1394 up to 1538 C
- Liquid – 1538 C and above

Peritectic Reaction
- L + δ  ϒ (Liquid + delta ferrite transform to austenite)

Eutectic Reaction in Steel

- L  ϒ + C (Liquid transforms to austenite + cementite)
Eutectoid Reaction
- Eutectic: Liquid transforms to 2 different solids
- Eutectoid: Solid A transforms to Solid B + Solid C
- The transformation of austenite is the most important reaction in steel
- Austenite transforms to a layered structure of ferrite + cementite called PEARLITE
- ϒ  α + C (Pearlite is α + C)
- Ferrite = soft and ductile
- Cementite = strong and hard but brittle

Steel’s Excellent Properties

- Majority of steel produced is hypoeutectoid
- Mix of ferrite and pearlite
- Ferrite = soft and ductile (Ductility, toughness)
- Pearlite (ferrite + cementite) provides strength
- More carbon = more pearlite = more strength
- Wear resistance (fully pearlite steels are used for train rails)

Alloying Elements in Steel

- Steel (Fe + C) is alloyed to improve its properties
- Strength- Manganese
- Fluidity- Silicon
- Low temperature toughness- Nickel
- Corrosion resistance chromium (Stainless steel has 12% chromium)
- High temperature strength- Molybdenum
- Grain refinement – Titanium

Steel Classification
- American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)/ Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
- 1- carbon steel, 2- nickel, 3-nickel-chromium, 4- molybdenum, 5- chromium, 6- chromium vanadium
- 2nd digit- 10-plain carbon, 11-free machining(+ sulfur)
12- Free machining ( + Phosphorus & sulfur), 13- Manganese
- 3rd and 4th (and 5th) give carbon content Digits/100  1020 = 20/100 = 0.2
- Plain carbon steels also contain 0.3-0.9 manganese, 0.25 silicon

Annealing Heat Treatment

- Annealing thoroughly softens the steel
- Heat into all austenite region
- Furnace cool = near equilibrium
- Large ferrite grains; coarse pearlite layers
- Compute the amount of ferrite and pearlite off the phase diagram
- Different from process anneal used for recrystallization after cold work

Normalizing Heat Treatment

- Homogenizes the steel
- Equal distribution of alloying elements
- Heat well into all austenite region
- Air cool = non-equilibrium cool
- Amount of ferrite and pearlite departs from the phase diagram calculation
- Finer grain structure and thinner layers in the pearlite compared to annealing
- Smaller grans and finer pearlite = more strength
Quenching of Steel
- Heat steel to the austenite region and quench
- Not enough time for diffusion of C atoms into ferrite and cementite phases
- Departure from the phase diagram
- Steel forms martensite (BCT)
- Hard, strong, brittle, basis for high strength steels
- Additional heat treatments restore some ductility and toughness

Formation of Martensite
- Extra carbon atoms are trapped in the austenite lattice
- Strain builds up as the steel cools
- Needle-like shears occur in the FCC lattice as it wants to transform to BCC
- Extra carbon atoms now trapped in the transformed iron
- Transformed lattice is BCT not equilibrium BCC
- Z axis elongate s to accommodate the extra carbon atoms (x = y ≠ z)

Hardness of Martensite
- Harness of martensite is a function of the carbon content
- More carbon = harder martensite
- Much harder than ferrite + pearlite

How Fast Do You Have To Quench?

- Phase diagrams show phases present under equilibrium conditions
- Very slow heating and cooling
- Continuous Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagrams
- Show expected microstructure for various cooling rates
- Allow determination of how fast you must cool to form martensite

Hardenability
- Ease of a steel to from martensite upon quenching
- Higher hardenability= slower critical cooling rate
- Alloy steels can be quenched slower than plain carbon steels and still form all martensite
- Alloy steels are more hardenable
- Hardenability increases as carbon content increases, alloy content increases, austenite grain size
increases, less grain boundaries to form pearlite, & homogeneity of the steel increases (uniform)

Tempering of Martensite
- Reheat martensite to 550-650 C
- Martensite begins to decompose
- Ferrite and cementite are the equilibrium phases
- Carbon comes out of M to form cementite
- Remaining M has a much lower carbon content
- Slight loss of strength/hardness, gain in ductility and toughness, tempered steel

Non-equilibrium Cooling
- Precipitation hardening
- Formation of small, uniformly dispersed second phase particles to strengthen the material
- Martensitic transformation in steels
- Formation of a hard, strong phase that does not occur under equilibrium conditions

Higher Carbon Steels

- Tool steels are used to work and shape metals, plastics, and wood
- Ex. Drill bits, rolling mills, dies for extrusion and stamping
 - Retain hardness, strength, and impact, resistance even at high temperatures
- Low cost and versatile properties (strength, hardness, machinability)
- Alloyed to produce superior wear, abrasion, and corrosion resistance

Gray Cast Iron

- High fluidity, makes most of carbon form graphite flakes not Fe3C
- Microstructure: Flakes of graphite, pearlite, ferrite
- Vibration damping: Machinery stands, good machinability

White Cast Iron

- Fluidity, not enough to make the carbon form graphite
- Microstructure: Pearlite and cementite, dendritic structure
- Wear resistant: too hard to machine (grinding only), high compressive stress

Why Gray and White?

- Related to fracture of cast iron
- Gray cast iron cracks propagate along graphite pearlite interface
- Fracture of gray cast iron surface looks gray
- Fracture of white cast iron reveals a white surface

Lecture 4- Fatigue, Creep, Corrosion

Corrosion Resistant Materials

- Stainless Steel (contains >12% chromium)
- Chromium forms a continuous oxide layer on the surface of the steel to block corrosion
- Three main types of stainless steels based on microstructures: ferritic, austenitic, martensitic
- Ferritic: soft and ductile
- Martensitic: hard and strong, lower toughness and ductility

Austenitic Stainless Steel

- Nickel alloying additions stabilize the FCC austenitic structure at room temp and below; not magnetic
- Ni provides added strength and corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures
- Applications: cutlery, food processing equipment, chemical vessels

Nickel and Its Alloys

- Pure nickel alloy (Nickel 200)
- Good strength, electrical conductivity, resistance to corrosion, high temperature oxidation
- FCC = formable
- Monel alloys = Ni + Cu (strength, weldability, corrosion resistance)
- Gas turbine engine alloys – superalloys have high temperature strength and oxidation resistance

Corrosion Costs
- 279$ billion dollars/year
- Product: contamination, loss of aesthetic appeal, loss of consumer confidence
- Plant shutdown: lost productivity, diversion of human resources
- Environmental factors: environmental damage, depletion of natural resources
- Legal aspects: regulatory compliance, penalties of regulatory non-compliance, litigation costs

Corrosion in the Oil Industry

- CO2, H2S, water, microbiological all causes of corrosion

Corrosion Triangle
 - For corrosion to proceed there must be an electrolyte to complete the circuit between the anode and the
cathode

Why do Metals Corrode?

- Metals occur naturally as oxides
- Can lower their energy by returning to oxide
- Grain boundary has higher energy than lattice
- Pure/alloyed metals (99.998 % 99.2 % Al corrosion rate increases by factor of 30000)

Uniform Corrosion
- Most common and cheapest form of corrosion
- Rust of exposed steel
- Mitigation: proper material selection, stainless versus carbon steel
- Coatings: galvanized steel
- Corrosion allowance: design the part thicker

Galvanic Corrosion
- Electrical potential difference between dissimilar metals (i.e. steel pipe brass fitting)
- Mitigation: proper material selection, insulate metals from each other)

Crevice Corrosion
- Localized form of corrosion associated with crack, crevices, lap joints, under gaskets and bolt heads
- Mitigation: proper material selection, design for complete drainage, close crevices by continuous welding
- Use closing methods other than rivets and bolts

Non-destructive Examination
- Traditional NDT methods: Ultrasonic testing, radiography, thermograph, eddy current/magnetic flux
- Use of Operational Data: pH, Flow Rate, pressure, temperature

Toughness & Impact Testing

- Charpy (common in USA) & Izod (non-metallic)
- Charpy: Energy absorption = impact energy

Crystal Structure and Toughness

- FCC metals show a ductile failure mode in impact testing regardless of temperature
- High energy absorption, deformation of test sample
- BCC metals show a dramatic variation from ductile to brittle fracture as the temperature decreases
- HCP metals are generally brittle in impact, low absorption energy, little deformation, some effect of temp

DBTT- Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature

- Average of upper and lower shelf impact energies
- Ductile (deformation) Brittle (flat fracture)
- DBTT decreases as carbon decreases
- Less carbon = material is ductile at lower temperatures
- Upper shelf energy reflects that lower carbon steels are more ductile
- Factors affecting DBTT:
- Carbon content
- Grain size: decreasing grain size lowers DBTT, smaller grains = more ductile at lower temps
- Alloying
- Other material types

Fatigue Failure
- Estimated to cause 90% of all failures of metallic structures
 - Fatigue failure is brittle-like (little plastic deformation) even in normally ductile materials
- Fatigue failure is sudden and catastrophic
- Associated with cyclic or fluctuating stresses
- Failure can occur at stresses considerably lower than tensile or yield strengths
- Cyclic stresses causing fatigue may be axial, flexural, or torsional
- 3 stages: Crack initiation (90% of fatigue life), crack propagation, final catastrophic failure

Fatigue Appearance
- Fatigue striations: evidence of crack propagation with each stress cycle, requires microscope
- Beachmarks: macroscopic surface feature representing 1000’s of striations
- Clamshell appearance, follow the Beachmarks toward the initiation site of the fatigue crack
- Area of casting porosity, inclusion or defect in the material

Fatigue: Cyclic Stresses

- Fatigue life decreases as the stress range or stress amplitude increase
- May not be periodic, may be random
- Convention for stress: tensile stress positive, compressive negative

Fatigue Endurance Limit

- Steel and ferrous alloys exhibit a stress amplitude below which fatigue failure does NOT occur no matter
how large the number of cycles
- Roughly ½ UTS (endurance limit)

Fatigue Strength and Life

- Nonferrous alloys don’t exhibit a fatigue endurance limit
- Number of cycles to failure decreases as stress amplitude increases
- Fatigue strength: stress at which fracture occurs after specified number of cycles
- Fatigue life: number of cycles to fail at specified stress level

Fatigue Design Considerations

- Avoid sharp corners that can act as stress raisers
- Replace sharp corners with radiused corners
- Position bolt and rivet holes away from stressed area
- Induce surface compressive stresses
- Smooth surfaces are preferred

Creep
- Creep: Time dependant deformation at elevated temperature T > 0.4 Tm
- At the beginning of the test, the sample deforms with the application of the load (e = s/E)
- Primary creep (Slope of strain curve decreases with time: work hardening)
- Secondary creep (Steady-state, rate of strain is constant, work hardening effect balanced by recovery
- Tertiary creep (Rapidly accelerating strain rate up to failure- formation of internal cracks)

Creep Mechanisms
- Grain boundary sliding at high temperatures
- No creep at low temperatures, smaller grains increase strength
- Creep strength is decreased at high temperatures, because smaller grains provide more boundary area for
sliding
- Dislocation climb: at elevated temperatures there is more energy available to form vacancies

Factors affecting Creep

- When stress or temperature is increased, instantaneous strain increases, steady state creep rate
increases, time to rupture decreases
Alloys for High-Temperature Use
- Creep is minimized in materials with:
- High melting temperatures
- High elastic modulus
- Large grain sizes: fewer grain boundaries to slide
- Materials resilient to creep: stainless steels, refractory metals, superalloys

Turbine Blades
- Polycrystalline blades are subject to creep by grain boundary sliding
- Single crystal turbine blades have no grain boundaries to allow sliding
- Directionality solidified cast turbine blades have all grain boundaries in one direction