A NEW METHOD FOR DETECTION AND

QUANTIFICATION OF FRETTING FATIGUE DAMAGE

E.B. Shell
*
, D. Eylon
**
*
Center for Materials Diagnostics, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-0121, USA
**
Graduate Materials Program, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469-0240, USA
ABSTRACT
A new method has been developed for detection and quantification of fretting fatigue
damage in gas turbine engine alloys. Profilometry data taken by white light interference
microscopy was used to evaluate the likelihood of crack initiation in fretted surfaces. Crack
initiation in fretting samples was preceded by two precursors. First, an increase in the surface
roughness in the slip region followed by an increase in the population and power of closely
spaced asperities. The combination of these two factors has led to a detection and
quantification method capable of differentiating between the slip and stick regions in a fretted
component. A Fretting Fatigue Damage Parameter (FFDP) has been established that can be
measured and used to assess the localized degree of damage of a component. When used in
cooperation with a life prediction methodology, the FFDP may be used to calculate residual
life in laboratory samples. In addition, the FFDP may be used in field inspections during
maintenance and as a criterion for removal of parts from service. This could lead to the
development of more reliable depot nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques for fretting
fatigue prone components.
1. INTRODUCTION
Fretting fatigue has long been recognized as an important mode of failure in the service of
mechanical components that are not intended to have a relative motion, but because of
vibrational loads or deformations experience minute cyclic relative motions [1]. Such damage
can result in a considerably lower component life. Fatigue strength under fretting fatigue
conditions may be as low as 30% of the plain fatigue strength, depending upon the material
and loading conditions [2]. This increased rate of damage accumulation, along with the
unpredictability of the actual conditions experienced in use, necessitate a means for non-
destructive examination of the surface and prediction of the remaining service life.
Fretting fatigue is a surface and near-surface phenomena. Thus, surface NDE techniques
may be particularly useful in the detection of fretting fatigue damage. However, this may be
complicated by the initial surface conditions of the material. Because fretting damage is a
very localized phenomenon, techniques developed to detect fretting damage must have a
reasonably high spatial resolution. Although much research has been devoted to the
understanding of fretting mechanisms, no characterization methodologies have been
established for quantifying the level of fretting damage.
E.B. Shell, D. Eylon, A New Method for the Detection of Fretting
Fatigue Damage, LiMAT-2001, 2nd International Conference on
Light Materials for Transportation Systems, Pusan, Korea, May 2001
1.1 Need for an Improved Fretting Damage Detection Method
Currently, the procedure for the inspection of fretting fatigue critical components (e.g., as
turbine engine fan blades and disks) is simply a visual inspection for the presence of any large
surface irregularities during depot inspections. This led to the removal of many blades and
disks either: (1) before there was a substantial amount of fretting damage, or (2) due to less
dangerous surface deformation such as sliding wear.
In addition, this criterion has been proven ineffective when compared to laboratory-tested
samples. In fact, laboratory-testing conditions frequently lead to failure in samples where the
roughness of the surface is less than 3 m, well below what could be called a large surface
irregularity during inspection. A new method that would allow for a better understanding of
the fretting process is, therefore, needed. This may be achieved through observation of the
inherent changes that may be universally observed, leading to the ability to quantify fretting
damage and calculate residual component life.
1.2 Concept of Precursor Damage Detection
Because fretting fatigue is a surface and near-surface phenomena, surface NDE techniques,
particularly optical techniques, lend themselves to the detection and characterization of
fretting damage. Most surface techniques are specifically designed for the detection of
surface cracks. However, because high strength materials, such as titanium and nickel-based
alloys, have relatively low fracture toughness, methods that are used to detect cracks are
inherently unsafe and require frequent inspection. In fact, some high strength materials may
not form a detectable crack before 95-99% of life has expired.
Instead of crack detection, it may be more beneficial to assess the material on the basis of
the likelihood of or potential for crack initiation. This may be accomplished by evaluating the
condition of the surface through such parameters as roughness and asperity spacing. These
parameters relate, on a microscopic level, the material surface finish to the very localized
stress concentration at the bases of the asperities geometry and spacing.
It is postulated that through fretting action, the morphology of these asperities changes.
This change allows, through an analysis of the roughness and the spacing between adjacent
asperities, an inference to be made as to the condition of the material and the changes that
have occurred due to the vibrational loading of the sample. The fretting damage level may
then be evaluated through profilometric observations and analysis based on the non-
destructive characterization of the asperities on the surface.
1.3 Fracture Mechanics Basis for Profilometric Damage Criteria
The theoretical basis for a profilometric description of fretting damage accumulation lies in
the fracture mechanics that may be used to describe the stress field, on a microscopic level,
near the surface of the material. An equation that may be used to describe the stress intensity
at the front of a semi-elliptical flaw on the surface of a sample is: K (a/), where is
the applied stress, a is the length of flaw, and is the radius of curvature of the elliptical flaw.
In a two-dimensional analysis of asperities on the surface of a sample this equation may be
applicable. In this case, we cannot accurately measure the radius of curvature of the asperity
bases. However, we can make an inference into the curvature at the bases of the asperities
based upon the spacing between asperities. The average radius of curvature between adjacent
asperities is then directly proportional to the average spacing between asperities. For every
sample there will be a continuous range of asperity spacing present on the surface of the
material. However, the range of most interest is that of a low asperity spacing that would lead
to a smaller radius of curvature and, thus, higher localized stress intensity near the surface.
As for the investigation of the asperity height, it is impractical to analyze each individual
asperity. But, we can use the calculated roughness of given area of analysis to provide a
statistical inference of the average asperity height, which is directly proportional to the
surface roughness of the material.
Combining the asperity spacing and surface roughness over a given area leads to a better
understanding of crack initiation from fretting fatigue-related surface damage.
2. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES
2.1 Materials
The forging stock for the material used on this work was a double VAR melted Ti-6Al-4V
63.5mm diameter bar stock from Teledyne Titanium produced in accordance with AMS4928,
and supplied in mill-annealed condition: 705C/2 hr/AC [3]. Chemistry was acceptable in
accordance with AMS4928 as shown in Table 1, as well as the beta-transus temperature as
determined by DTA.
Table 1: Chemistry of Teledyne Titanium Heat No. TE01
Element Ti Al V Fe O N Transus C
Top bal. 6.27 4.19 0.20 0.18 0.012 990
Bottom bal. 6.32 4.15 0.18 0.19 0.014 1003
AMS4928 bal. 5.50-6.75 3.50-4.50 0.30 max 0.20 max 0.050 max -------
The 63.5mm diameter bar stock was cut into 200 400mm long forging performs forged in
one campaign in a 400mm long closed-end channel-die, with the intended plate size of
400x150x20mm on an 8,000 ton mechanical press. Dies were initially heated to 150C.
Glass-lubricant coated bars were preheated to 940C +/- 10C for 30 minutes in a continuous
furnace and rapidly transferred to the press. After a one stroke forging, pieces were air-
cooled. The average strain rate at impact (for plain strain case) was calculated to be 9/sec.
Forging was followed by a vacuum anneal at 700C/2hr to stabilize microstructure and
normalize hydrogen content that might have been picked up during de-scaling, and followed
by 930C/1hr ST and another 700C/2hr vacuum anneal. This practice is similar to the one
used for forging gas turbine engine fan-blades, and resulted in a duplex microstructure with
60vol% equiaxed primary alpha (Fig.1) with good fatigue strength. Tensile results of one
plate at 5x10
-4
(s
-1
) are shown in Table 2. The higher modulus in the transverse direction
indicates processing texture.
Table 2: Room temperature tensile results of plate #7
Location Orientation UTS (MPa) YS (MPa) El (%) Modulus (GPa)
Center-long L 976 929 21.2 116
Center-long L 981 931 19.0 124
center-trans T 997 947 21.0 121
center-trans T 993 937 19.2 134
2.2 Mechanical Testing
Details of the fretting fatigue procedures are provided elsewhere [4]. In brief, the test
system is an axial fatigue test machine in which the gripping system allows the development
of a slip region on the samples surface. The samples measure 100 mm in length, 10 mm in
width, and 2 mm in thickness. The sample is clamped at each end by two flat pads (25.4 mm
in length), also machined from the same Ti-6Al-4V plate. When a cyclic stress is applied, a
slip and stick zone is developed on the sample. The samples were tested using a variety of
surface finish conditions. These included samples that were finished with a RMS#8 finish
and samples that were carefully polished, both tested with Ti-6Al-4V fretting pads.
2.3 Profilometry
White light interference microscopy was used to measure the surface topography before
and after the samples were subjected to load. This fast technique is capable of a lateral
surface resolution of 0.2 m and a vertical/height resolution of 3 nm. The details of the
instrument are provided elsewhere [5].
From the surface height maps, two evaluations of the data are performed. (a) A Fourier
transform of the surface from which the Power Spectral Density (PSD) can be plotted against
Spatial Frequency is calculated. It has been postulated that fretting fatigue cracks initiate
when the surface features reach a critical spatial frequency. As the concentration of high
spatial frequencies in the surface increases, cracks are able to initiate easier. (b) The
roughness of the sample is evaluated; either quantitatively by a roughness calculation or
qualitatively by viewing a line-scan of the sample surface.
From the profilometry data, the inherent spatial frequencies of the surface can be
investigated. Looking at the asperity spacing gives some insight into the likelihood of crack
initiation. So, instead of looking at the data in the spatial domain, it would be more useful to
investigate the spacing of the surface asperities by transforming the data into the frequency
domain. This enables the observation of local decreases in the asperity spacing that are
present in the slip region of fretting samples. The PSD-spatial frequency plot is generated by
a Fourier Transform of the 3-dimensional height data. This effectively transforms the data
from the space domain to the frequency domain, which enables an easier evaluation of the
inherent frequencies of the data set. Because the sample surface is nominally flat, the
maximum PSD occurs as the spatial frequency approaches zero, which represents a perfectly
flat surface. The higher range of spatial frequencies corresponds to small, closely spaced
asperities. This PSD plot represents a spatial frequency spectrum over the entire field of view
Fig.1 Ti-6Al-4V microstructure used in this study.
of the sample. So, when using this data to determine the presence of slip regions, care must
be taken to ensure that the sampling area and the reference area are uniform. If this is not the
case, the PSD levels for the data set will only be an average of the entire field. Likewise,
when determining fretting damage levels in a given area, the percentage of slip versus stick
regions must be taken into account to determine the true degree of damage.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The profilometry data resulted in two types of information; (a) the power spectral density,
which is the Fourier decomposition of the measured surface into its component spatial
frequencies, and (b) the surface roughness. While an increase in surface roughness due to
asperity yielding and microwelding is often associated with fretting fatigue damage [6], the
samples used in this study already had a machining roughness on the order of that expected
due to fretting wear. So, while a slight increase in roughness was seen, more promising
results are shown based upon the PSD data.
3.1 PSD-Spatial Frequency Analysis
Profilometric data has been proven effective in the qualitative detection of fretting fatigue
and fretting wear. By taking profilometry data from non-contacted, slip, and stick regions of
the same sample, differences in the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the surface data may be
seen. PSD-Spatial Frequency plots, such as that shown in Fig. 2, have shown that regions that
are damaged by fretting action contain a higher PSD value at higher spatial frequencies than
areas subjected solely to fatigue (non-contact region) or areas that were in the stick regime.
As can be seen, at very low spatial frequencies, all regions have high PSD values, indicating
that all regions are nominally flat. However, as higher spatial frequencies are considered, an
order of magnitude difference is seen between the slip and non-contact regions.
It is postulated that high spatial frequency asperities may be associated with fretting fatigue
crack initiation. So two related conclusions may be formed: (a) an area that has been fretted
will have a higher density of high spatial frequency asperities, and (b) an area that has a
Fig.2 PSD data for the partial slip, stick, and non-contact regions of a
fretting fatigue laboratory sample.
higher density of high spatial frequency asperities is likely to initiate cracks sooner. This is
justified by imagining each area between asperities as a stress concentration area. As the
frequency of the asperities gets higher, the average radius of curvature of the valleys between
the asperities decreases, thereby increasing the localized stress concentration factor at the
surface. These characteristics enable the detection of possible crack initiation sites at the
surface of the material through spatial frequency analysis before crack initiation occurs. The
detection of localized fretting damage can be seen in the following example. A scan of the
surface of a laboratory fretting fatigue sample is taken. The fretting scar is clearly visible in
the data shown in the background of Fig. 3. The data set is then separated into subsets as
shown by the gridlines. A PSD plot is generated from each of these regions. To better
compare the surface from stick, slip, and non-contacted regions, the PSD is compared for
discrete spatial frequencies (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 m
-1
). This enables a relative comparison
between adjacent regions in the sample. The data clearly shows that the slip region may
easily be detected through profilometry measurements. The PSD of the slip region is 2.5 to 7
times higher than the non-contact region, decreasing as the measurement is obtained back into
the stick region.
3.2 Fretting Fatigue Damage Parameter
Beyond using PSD data for the detection of fretting fatigue damage, PSD analysis is
promising in the quantification of fretting damage. This quantification is accomplished by
observing the relative differences between the fretted region and the region subjected solely to
plain fatigue. As seen in Fig. 4a, scans taken from samples of similar damage levels are not
identical, possibly the result of slightly different initial surface conditions. However, by
normalizing the fretting data with respect to data from the non-contact region (Fig. 4b), a
Fretting Fatigue Damage Parameter (FFDP), is derived: FFDP = PSD
slip
/ PSD
NC
. The
deviation of this parameter above unity is representative of the damage level of the area
examined and may be used to quantify the damage. It is thought that this parameter relates
directly to the likelihood of crack initiation relative to the starting condition of the material.
Fig.3 PSD data plotted at discrete spatial frequencies. The slip zone can be
seen in the background of the chart.
No Contact Slip Stick
3.3 Quantification of Damage and Residual Fatigue Life Predictions
The development of a refined quantification tool based upon PSD analysis presents a
number of challenges. The primary difficulty in developing a calibrated technique for the
prediction of residual life in components is the inability to actually determine the true
fractional life of a specific area. Because most fretting fatigue experiments do not yield
uniform damage across the slip line, there is a question as to what damaged area should be
considered for determination of the overall sample residual life. In fact, due to non-uniform
damage, only the area that is the most damaged will ultimately initiate the final failure and
should be considered at the nominal fractional life. This leads to another obstacle to making
quantitative measurements for life prediction purposes: the difficulty involved in using an
area analysis to search for a relatively localized phenomenon. In any sample or component
subjected to fretting fatigue, generally only a small region is subjected to the most severe
conditions. As a result, manually searching for this most damaged area is extremely time
consuming. However, a methodology based upon these techniques could implement
computer analysis of a large image to: first, break up the image into smaller, discrete regions;
second, perform a Fourier transform on each of these smaller regions; finally, through
comparison of the PSD curves determine the region representative of the highest degree of
damage. This method has been (roughly) performed manually for one sample. In this case,
the sample was scanned along the leading edge of the slip line as seen in Fig 5. The resulting
data, shown for a few spatial frequencies, shows that the FFDP is highest within 2 mm of both
edges of the sample. This increased level of damage near the edge corresponds to the location
of crack initiation as seen in failed test samples and should be used for residual life
calculation [7].
4. CONCLUSIONS
The objective of this work was to develop a new tool for the detection of fretting fatigue
damage in Ti-6Al-4V. In addition, characteristics of fretting fatigue damage were
investigated in order to develop damage quantification techniques. From this work, the
following conclusions were made:
Fig.4 (a) Data taken from the slip and non-contact regions from two sides of a
specimen. Both sides were subjected to identical loading conditions but
experienced slightly different machining conditions. (b) Data from two slip regions
normalized with respect to the non-contacted surface data. Both sides exhibit
identical degrees of damage.
(a) (b)
1. PSD-spatial frequency analysis has proven effective in the detection of fretting fatigue
damage. Differentiation between the slip, stick, and non-contact regions is possible with this
NDE technique.
2. The surface roughness increases in the slip zone compared to the non-contact and stick
zones. However, the machining lines and pre-existing roughness of the samples prevent this
measurement from being a reliable method of slip region detection.
3. Initial attempts at quantification have proven difficult due to the extremely localized nature
of failure initiation due to fretting fatigue. The technology is available that would permit this
method to be used as a NDE tool. However, further refinement and computerized data
analysis of the damaged region must be utilized for this method to be a mature, reliable
damage quantification technique.
4. A Fretting Fatigue Damage Parameter (FFDP) has been developed that may be used to
quantify the level of damage in a component.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Effort sponsored by the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) Multidisciplinary University
Research Initiative (MURI), under Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant number F49620-96-1-
0442. The cooperation of A. Hutson, Dr. T. Nicholas, Dr. S. Mall, Prof. M Niinomi, and Prof. S.
Gustafson in providing samples for examination is also greatly appreciated.
REFERENCES
[1] J.A. Collins, Failure of Materials in Mechanical Design. John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1981.
[2] R.A. Antoniou, T.C. Radtke, Mat. Sci. Eng. A237 (1997) 229-240.
[3] D. Eylon, "Summary of the Available Information on the Processing of the Ti-6Al-4V HCF/LCF
Program Plates"; UDRI report, October 1998, UDRI, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio.
[4] A.L. Hutson and T. Nicholas, Int. J. of Fatigue 21 (1999) 663-669.
[5] J.L. Schroeder, D. Eylon, E.B. Shell and T.E. Matikas, in Nondestructive Methods for Materials
Characterization, MRS, Fall Meeting, Symposium S, (1999) Paper No. S2.3.
[6] O. Vingsbo and S. Soderberg, Wear 126 (1988) 131.
[7] A. Hutson, unpublished research conducted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 1999.
Fig.5 Variation of the FFDP across the slip region of a fretting sample. The
schematic shows the location of the scans in the slip region.