Chapter

6
Mechanical Properties
of Metals - Part II

Fatigue of Metals

Metals often fail at much lower stress at cyclic loading

compared to static loading.
Crack nucleates at region of stress concentration and
propagates due to cyclic loading.
Failure occurs when
cross sectional area
of the metal too small
to withstand applied
Fracture started here
load.
Figure 6.19

Fatigue fractured
surface of keyed
shaft

Final rupture

(After Metals Handbook, vol 9, 8th ed., American Society of Metals, 1974, p.389)

Fatigues Testing

Alternating compression and tension load is applied on

metal piece tapered towards center.

Figure 6.21
Figure 6.20

Stress to cause failure S

and number of cycles
required N are plotted
to form SN curve.
Figure 6.23
(After H.W. Hayden, W.G. Moffatt, and J.Wulff, The structure and Properties of Materials, vol. III, Wiley, 1965, p.15.)

Cyclic Stresses

Different types of stress cycles are possible (axial,

torsional and flexural).

Figure 6.24

Mean stress = m

max min
2

Stress range = r max min

Stress amplitude = a

max min
2

min
Stress range = R
max

Fatigue
specimen compression on top

bearing

motor

bearing

counter

flex coupling
tension on bottom

max

Stress varies with time.

m
-- key parameters are S (max- m), max,
min
and frequency

Key points: Fatigue...

--can cause part failure, even though max < c (normally

two third ).
--causes ~ 90% of mechanical engineering failures.

S
time

Fatigue Design Parameters

Fatigue limit, Sfat:

S = stress amplitude

--no fatigue if S < Sfat

case for
steel (typ.)

unsafe
Sfat
safe
10

Sometimes, no
fatigue limit, number of
cycles to failure is
depend on the
fatigue strength.

Adapted from Fig.

8.19(a), Callister 7e.

10
10
10
N = Cycles to failure

S = stress amplitude

case for
Al (typ.)

unsafe

safe
10

Adapted from Fig.

8.19(b), Callister 7e.

10
10
10
N = Cycles to failure

Factors Affecting Fatigue Strength

Stress concentration: Fatigue strength is reduced by

stress concentration.

Surface roughness: Smoother surface increases the

fatigue strength.

Surface condition: Surface treatments like carburizing

and nitriding increases fatigue life.

Environment: Chemically reactive environment, which

might result in corrosion, decreases fatigue life.

Fatigue Crack Propagation Rate

Notched specimen used.

Cyclic fatigue action is generated.
Crack length is measured by change in potential
produced by crack opening.

Figure 6.27
(After Metals Handbook, Vol 8, 9th ed., American Society of Metals, 1985, p.388.)

Creep in Metals
Creep is progressive deformation
under constant stress.
Important in high temperature
applications.
Primary creep: creep rate
decreases with time due
to strain hardening.
Secondary creep: Creep
rate is constant due to
simultaneous strain hardening and recovery process.
Tertiary creep: Creep rate
increases with time leading
to necking and fracture.

Figure 6.30

,e

Creep Test

Creep test determines the effect of temperature and

stress on creep rate.
Metals are tested at constant stress at different
temperature & constant temperature with different
stress.
High temperature
or stress

Medium temperature
Figure 6.33
or stress
Creep strength: Stress to produce
Low temperature
Minimum creep rate of 10-5%/h
or stress
Figure 6.32

At a given temperature.

Creep Test (Cont..)

Creep rupture test is same as creep test but aimed at

failing the specimen.
Plotted as log stress versus log rupture time.
Time for stress rupture decreases with increased
stress and temperature.

Larsen Miller Parameter

Larsen Miller parameter is used to represent creepstress rupture data.

P(Larsen-Miller) = T[log tr + C]
T = temperature(K), tr = stress-rupture time h
C = Constant (order of 20)

Also,
or

P(Larsen-Miller) = {T(0C) + 273}(20+log tr)

P(Larsen-Miller) = {T(0F) + 460}(20+log tr)

At a given stress level, the log time to stress rupture

plus constant multiplied by temperature remains
constant for a given material.

Larsen Miller Parameter

If two variables of time to rupture, temperature and stress
are known, 3rd parameter that fits L.M. parameter can be
determined.

L.M. Diagram of several alloys

Example: Calculate time to cause 0.2% creep strain in gamma

Titanium aluminide at 40 KSI and 12000F
From fig, p = 38000
38000 = (1200 + 460) (log t0.2% + 20)
After N.R. Osborne et. al., SAMPE Quart, (4)22;26(1992)

t=779 h

Recent Advances: Strength + Ductility

Coarse grained low strength, high ductility

Nanocrystalline High strength, low ductility (because
of failure due to shear bands).
Ductile nanocrystalline copper : Can be produced by
Cold rolling at liquid nitrogen temperature

Additional cooling after each pass

Controlled annealing

Cold rolling creates dislocations

and cooling stops recovery
25 % microcrystalline grains
in a matrix of nanograins.

Fatigue Behavior of Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials and Ultrafine Ni are found
to have higher endurance limit than
microcrystalline Ni.
Fatigue crack growth is increased in the
intermediate regime with decreasing grain
size.
Lower fatigue crack growth threshold Kth
observed for nanocrystalline metal.

MECHANICAL FAILURE
ANALYSIS

Fracture mechanisms

Ductile fracture

Brittle fracture

Occurs with plastic

deformation
Fracture
behavior:

Little or no plastic
deformation

Very
Moderately
Brittle
Ductile
Ductile

%AR or %EL Large Moderate Small

Ductile
fracture is usually
desirable!

Ductile:
warning before
fracture

Brittle:
No
warning

Example: Failure of a Pipe

Ductile failure:
--one piece
--large deformation

Brittle failure:
--many pieces
--small deformation
Figures from V.J. Colangelo and F.A.
Heiser, Analysis of Metallurgical Failures
(2nd ed.), Fig. 4.1(a) and (b), p. 66 John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987. Used with
permission.

Fracture of Metals Ductile Fracture

Fracture results in separation of stressed solid into two

or more parts.
Ductile fracture : High plastic deformation & slow
crack propagation.
Three steps :
Specimen forms neck and
cavities within neck.
Cavities form crack and
crack propagates towards
surface, perpendicular to stress.
Direction of crack changes to
450 resulting in cup-cone
fracture.

Moderately Ductile Failure

Evolution to failure:
necking

Resulting
fracture
surfaces

void
nucleation

void growth
and linkage

shearing
at surface

fracture

50
50mm
mm

(steel)
100 mm
particles
serve as void
nucleation
sites.

From V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser,

Analysis of Metallurgical Failures (2nd
ed.), Fig. 11.28, p. 294, John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., 1987. (Orig. source: P.
Thornton, J. Mater. Sci., Vol. 6, 1971, pp.
347-56.)

Fracture surface of tire cord wire

loaded in tension. Courtesy of F.
Roehrig, CC Technologies, Dublin,
OH. Used with permission.

Brittle Fracture

No significant plastic
deformation before fracture.
Three stages:
Plastic deformation concentrates
dislocation along slip planes.
Microcracks nucleate due to
shear
stress where dislocations are
blocked.
Crack propagates very fast to
fracture.
Figure 6.11 & 6.13

SEM of ductile fracture

SEM of brittle fracture

Ductile and Brittle Fractures

Ductile fracture

Brittle Fracture

Brittle Fractures (cont..)

Brittle fractures are due to defects like
Folds
Undesirable grain flow
Porosity
Tears and Cracks
Corrosion damage
Embrittlement due to atomic hydrogen

At low operating temperature, ductile to

brittle transition takes place

Temperature
Increasing temperature...
--increases %EL

Ductile-to-Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT)...

Impact Energy

FCC metals (e.g., Cu, Ni)

BCC metals (e.g., iron at T < 914C)

polymers
Brittle

More Ductile
High strength materials ( y > E/150)

Temperature
Ductile-to-brittle
transition temperature

Adapted from Fig. 8.15,

Callister 7e.

Design Strategy:
Stay Above The DBTT!
Pre-WWII: The Titanic

WWII: Liberty ships

Problem: Used a type of steel with a DBTT ~ Room temp.

Sinking of Titanic: Titanic was made up of steel which has
ductile brittle transition temperature 2oC. On the day of sinking,
sea temperature was 20C which made the structure highly brittle
and susceptible to more damage.

SUMMARY
Engineering materials don't reach theoretical strength.
Flaws produce stress concentrations that cause
premature failure.
Sharp corners produce large stress concentrations
and premature failure.
Failure type depends on T and stress:
- for noncyclic and T < 0.4Tm, failure stress decreases with:
- increased maximum flaw size,
- decreased T,
- increased rate of loading.

- for cyclic :

- cycles to fail decreases as D increases.

- for higher T (T > 0.4Tm):

- time to fail decreases as or T increases.