Engineering topics

Welsch, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Welsch, G..

5 records

NASA NTRS1991

Fatigue damage accumulation in nickel prior to crack initiation

The accumulation of lattice defects during fatigue cycling of nickel was investigated by electrical resistivity measurements, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Dislocations and vacancy clusters were found to be the main defect types. During cycling of axial and flexural samples at constant load amplitude, the dislocations form a saturated structure early in the fatigue life. This saturated structure consists of a cellular dislocation matrix, in which persistent slip bands (PSBs) begin to operate after the saturation has been established. Vacancies and vacancy clusters are formed during fatigue as a consequence of repetitive dislocation glide in the PSB structure. When PSBs operate, the matrix is assumed to be dormant, allowing vacancies to accumulate preferentially in the PSBs. The increase in vacancy concentration then accounts for the monotonic accumulation of fatigue damage, which points to the importance of vacancy accumulation as a precursor to crack nucleation.

Grobstein, T. L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The high temperature deformation in cyclic loading of a single crystal nickel-base superalloy

The high temperature cyclic stress softening response of the single crystal nickel-base superalloy PWA 1480 was investigated. Specimens oriented near the 001- and 111-lines were tested at 1050 C in low-cycle fatigue and then microstructurally evaluated. The 001- and 111-line specimens had dissimilar flow behavior in monotonic tensile tests, but comparable softening in low-cycle fatigue. This softening was accompanied by rapid generation of dislocation networks at the gamma-gamma-prime interfaces and by a slower time-dependent coarsening of gamma-prime precipitates. Due to the rapid formation of a dislocation substructure at the gamma-gamma-prime interfaces, the cyclic stress softening could be modeled with an existing theory which related cyclic stress to the evolving microstructure and dislocation structure.

Gabb, T. P.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The low cycle fatigue deformation response of a single-crystal superalloy at 650 C

The cyclic stress-strain response and the associated deformation structure of the single crystal nickel-base superalloy PWA 1480 were investigated. Specimens of various crystallographic orientations were tested in low-cycle fatigue (LCF) at 650 C, resulting in a significant tension-compression anisotropy in initial yield strength associated with the shearing of gamma-prime precipitates by dislocation pairs, and a LCF cyclic hardening of the crystals associated with dislocation interactions occurring in the gamma phase. In specimens deforming by slip on a single slip system, dislocations of the primary slip system accumulated in the gamma matrix and formed seesile entanglements. In specimens deforming by slip on several slip systems, the dislocations of the different operative slip systems intersected in the gamma matrix and formed sessile arrangements.

Gabb, T. P.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The characteristics of gamma-prime dislocation pairs in a nickel-base superalloy

The gamma-prime dislocation pairs of a single crystal nickel-base superalloy, PWA 1480, after tensile and fatigue loading at 650 C are analyzed. The existence and extent of cube cross slip in octahedral slip, and the nature of gamma-prime dislocation pairs in primary cube slip are investigated. It is observed that the PWA 1480 specimens oriented near (001) and (-3 6 10) line directions deform by octahedral slip and specimens oriented near (-1 1 1) and (-2 3 4) lines deform by primary cube slip. It is determined that the overall dislocation distributions are more homogeneous in low cycle fatigue (LCF) loading than in monotonic tensile loading; however, the gamma-prime dislocation pair characteristics are similar for tensile and LCF test specimens. The data reveal that the gamma-prime dislocation pairs of octahedral slip specimens are near-screw and on the cube cross slip plane and for the cube slip specimens, the dislocation pairs are of various characters and on the primary cube slip plane.

Gabb, T. P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Fatigue crack layer propagation in silicon-iron

Fatigue crack propagation in metal is almost always accompanied by plastic deformation unless conditions strongly favor brittle fracture. The analysis of the plastic zone is crucial to the understanding of crack propagation behavior as it governs the crack growth kinetics. This research was undertaken to study the fatigue crack propagation in a silicon iron alloy. Kinetic and plasticity aspects of fatigue crack propagation in the alloy were obtained, including the characterization of damage evolution.

Birol, Y.↗