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At least 235 records · Page 13

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NASA NTRS1999

Evaluation of Pressurization Fatigue Life of 1441 Al-li Fuselage Panel

A study was conducted to evaluate the pressurization fatigue life of fuselage panels with skins fabricated from 1441 Al-Li, an attractive new Russian alloy. The study indicated that 1441 Al-Li has several advantages over conventional aluminum fuselage skin alloy with respect to fatigue behavior. Smooth 1441 Al-Li sheet specimens exhibited a fatigue endurance limit similar to that for 1163 Al (Russian version of 2024 Al) sheet. Notched 1441 Al-Li sheet specimens exhibited greater fatigue strength and longer fatigue life than 1163 Al. In addition, Tu-204 fuselage panels fabricated by Tupolev Design Bureau using Al-Li skin and ring frames with riveted 7000-series aluminum stiffeners had longer pressurization fatigue lives than did panels constructed from conventional aluminum alloys. Taking into account the lower density of this alloy, the results suggest that 1441 Al-Li has the potential to improve fuselage performance while decreasing structural weight.

Bird, R. Keith↗

NASA NTRS2000

Effect of Crystal Orientation on Fatigue Failure of Single Crystal Nickel Base Turbine Blade Superalloys

High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) induced failures in aircraft gas-turbine engines is a pervasive problem affecting a wide range of components and materials. HCF is currently the primary cause of component failures in gas turbine aircraft engines. Turbine blades in high performance aircraft and rocket engines are increasingly being made of single crystal nickel superalloys. Single-crystal Nickel-base superalloys were developed to provide superior creep, stress rupture, melt resistance and thermomechanical fatigue capabilities over polycrystalline alloys previously used in the production of turbine blades and vanes. Currently the most widely used single crystal turbine blade superalloys are PWA 1480/1493 and PWA 1484. These alloys play an important role in commercial, military and space propulsion systems. PWA1493, identical to PWA1480, but with tighter chemical constituent control, is used in the NASA SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine) alternate turbopump, a liquid hydrogen fueled rocket engine. Objectives for this paper are motivated by the need for developing failure criteria and fatigue life evaluation procedures for high temperature single crystal components, using available fatigue data and finite element modeling of turbine blades. Using the FE (finite element) stress analysis results and the fatigue life relations developed, the effect of variation of primary and secondary crystal orientations on life is determined, at critical blade locations. The most advantageous crystal orientation for a given blade design is determined. Results presented demonstrates that control of secondary and primary crystallographic orientation has the potential to optimize blade design by increasing its resistance to fatigue crack growth without adding additional weight or cost.

Arakere, Nagaraj K.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Bithermal Low-Cycle Fatigue Evaluation of Automotive Exhaust System Alloy SS409

This investigation provides, for the first time, cyclic strainrange-controlled, thermomechanical fatigue results for the ferritic stainless steel alloy SS409. The alloy has seen extensive application for automotive exhaust system components. The data were generated to calibrate the Total Strain Version of the Strainrange Partitioning (TS-SRP) method for eventual application to the design and durability assessment of automotive exhaust systems. The thermomechanical cyclic lifetime and cyclic stress-strain constitutive behavior for alloy SS409 were measured using bithermal tests cycling between isothermal extremes of 400 and 800 C. Lives ranged up to 10,000 cycles to failure with hold-times of 0.33 to 2.0 minutes. The bithermal fatigue behavior is compared to isothermal, strain-controlled fatigue behavior at both 400 and 800 C. Thermomechanical cycling was found to have a profound detrimental influence on the fatigue failure resistance of SS409 compared to isothermal cycling. Supplementary bithermal cyclic stress-strain constitutive tests with hold-times ranging from 40 seconds up to 1.5 hours were conducted to calibrate the TS-SRP equation for extrapolation to longer lifetime predictions. Observed thermomechanical (bithermal) fatigue lives correlated well with lives calculated using the calibrated TS-SRP equations: 70% of the bithermal fatigue data fall within a factor of 1.2 of calculated life; 85% within a factor of 1.4; and 100% within a factor of 1.8.

Lu, Gui-Ying↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Primer In Advanced Fatigue Life Prediction Methods

Metal fatigue has plagued structural components for centuries, and it remains a critical durability issue in today's aerospace hardware. This is true despite vastly improved and advanced materials, increased mechanistic understanding, and development of accurate structural analysis and advanced fatigue life prediction tools. Each advance is quickly taken advantage of to produce safer, more reliable more cost effective, and better performing products. In other words, as the envelop is expanded, components are then designed to operate just as close to the newly expanded envelop as they were to the initial one. The problem is perennial. The economic importance of addressing structural durability issues early in the design process is emphasized. Tradeoffs with performance, cost, and legislated restrictions are pointed out. Several aspects of structural durability of advanced systems, advanced materials and advanced fatigue life prediction methods are presented. Specific items include the basic elements of durability analysis, conventional designs, barriers to be overcome for advanced systems, high-temperature life prediction for both creep-fatigue and thermomechanical fatigue, mean stress effects, multiaxial stress-strain states, and cumulative fatigue damage accumulation assessment.

Halford, Gary R.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Creep-Fatigue Interaction Testing

Fatigue fives in metals are nominally time independent below 0.5 T(sub Melt). At higher temperatures, fatigue lives are altered due to time-dependent, thermally activated creep. Conversely, creep rates are altered by super. imposed fatigue loading. Creep and fatigue generally interact synergistically to reduce material lifetime. Their interaction, therefore, is of importance to structural durability of high-temperature structures such as nuclear reactors, reusable rocket engines, gas turbine engines, terrestrial steam turbines, pressure vessel and piping components, casting dies, molds for plastics, and pollution control devices. Safety and lifecycle costs force designers to quantify these interactions. Analytical and experimental approaches to creep-fatigue began in the era following World War II. In this article experimental and life prediction approaches are reviewed for assessing creep-fatigue interactions of metallic materials. Mechanistic models are also discussed briefly.

Halford, Gary R.↗

NASA NTRS2001

The Effects of Shot and Laser Peening on Fatigue Life and Crack Growth in 2024 Aluminum Alloy and 4340 Steel

Fatigue and crack growth tests have been conducted on 4340 steel and 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, respectively, to assess the effects of shot peening on fatigue life and the effects of shot and laser peening on crack growth. Two current programs involving fixed and rotary-wing aircraft will not be using shot peened structures. Since the shot peening compressive residual stress depth is usually less than the 0.05-inch initial damage tolerance crack size, it is believed by some that shot peening should have no beneficial effects toward retarding crack growth. In this study cracks were initiated from an electronic-discharged machining flaw which was cycled to produce a fatigue crack of approximately 0.05-inches in length and then the specimens were peened. Test results showed that after peening the crack growth rates were noticeably slower when the cracks were fairly short for both the shot and laser peened specimens resulting in a crack growth life that was a factor of 2 to 4 times greater than the results of the average unpeened test. Once the cracks reached a length of approximately 0.1-inches the growth rates were about the same for the peened and unpeened specimens. Fatigue tests on 4340 steel showed that the endurance limit of a test specimen with a 0.002-inch-deep machining-like scratch was reduced by approximately 40 percent. However, if the "scratched" specimen was shot peened after inserting the scratch, the fatigue life returned to almost 100 percent of the unflawed specimens original fatigue life.

Everett, R. A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2002

High Temperature Tensile Properties and Fatigue Behavior of a Melt-Infiltrated SiC/SiC Composite

High temperature fatigue behavior of a woven, SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) was investigated in air at two temperatures. The reinforcement for the CMC consisted of 5HS Sylramic(Trademark) fabric with a [0deg/90deg]4s lay-up. The SiC matrix material was infiltrated into the fiber-preform with a slurry-cast, melt-infiltration process. Tensile and fatigue test specimens were machined from the CMC plates. Initially tensile tests were conducted to obtain the average values of tensile properties at 1038 and 1204 C. Subsequently, low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests with zero and two-hour hold-times at the maximum stress were conducted at the same two temperatures. Fatigue life data generated in the LCF tests were used to determine the geometric mean fatigue lives. In this paper, the tensile behavior and the fatigue durability of the CMC determined under different loading conditions are documented. In addition, reductions observed in the cyclic lives of the composite due to the two hour hold-time at maximum tensile stress are discussed.

Kalluri, Sreeramesh↗

NASA NTRS2002

Initial Assessment of the Effects of Nonmetallic Inclusions on Fatigue Life of Powder-Metallurgy-Processed Udimet(TM) 720

The fatigue lives of modern powder metallurgy (PM) disk alloys are influenced by variabilities in alloy microstructure and mechanical properties. These properties can vary due to the different steps of materials/component processing and machining. One of these variables, the presence of nonmetallic inclusions, has been shown to significantly degrade low-cycle fatigue (LCF) life. Nonmetallic inclusions are inherent defects in powder alloys that are a by-product of powder-processing techniques. Contamination of the powder can occur in the melt, during powder atomization, or during any of the various handling processes through consolidation. In modern nickel disk powder processing facilities, the levels of inclusion contamination have been reduced to less than 1 part per million by weight. Despite the efforts of manufacturers to ensure the cleanliness of their powder production processes, the presence of inclusions remains a source of great concern for the designer. the objective of this study was to investigate the effects on fatigue life of these inclusions. Since natural inclusions occur so infrequently, elevated levels of inclusions were carefully introduced in a nickel-based disk superalloy, Udimet 720 (registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation), produced using PM processing. Multiple strain-controlled fatigue tests were then performed on this material at 650 C. Analyses were performed to compare the LCF lives and failure initiation sites as functions of inclusion content and fatigue conditions. A large majority of the failures in specimens with introduced inclusions occurred at cracks initiating from inclusions at the specimen surface. The inclusions could reduce fatigue life by up to 100 times. These effects were found to be dependent on strain range and strain ratio. Tests at lower strain ranges and higher strain ratios produced larger effects of inclusions on life.

Gabb, T. P.↗

NASA NTRS2002

NASA GRC Fatigue Crack Initiation Life Prediction Models

Metal fatigue has plagued structural components for centuries, and it remains a critical durability issue in today's aerospace hardware. This is true despite vastly improved and advanced materials, increased mechanistic understanding, and development of accurate structural analysis and advanced fatigue life prediction tools. Each advance is quickly taken advantage of to produce safer, more reliable, more cost effective, and better performing products. In other words, as the envelope is expanded, components are then designed to operate just as close to the newly expanded envelope as they were to the initial one. The problem is perennial. The economic importance of addressing structural durability issues early in the design process is emphasized. Tradeoffs with performance, cost, and legislated restrictions are pointed out. Several aspects of structural durability of advanced systems, advanced materials and advanced fatigue life prediction methods are presented. Specific items include the basic elements of durability analysis, conventional designs, barriers to be overcome for advanced systems, high-temperature life prediction for both creep-fatigue and thermomechanical fatigue, mean stress effects, multiaxial stress-strain states, and cumulative fatigue damage accumulation assessment.

Arya, Vinod K.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Electromagnetic Detection of Fatigue Cracks under Protruding Head Ferromagnetic Fasteners

The detection of fatigue cracks under installed fasteners has been a major goal of the aging aircraft NDE community. The Sliding Probe, Magneto-Optic Imager, Rotating Self-Nulling Probe, Low Frequency Eddy Current Array, and Eddyscan systems are among the instruments developed for this inspection. It has been verified that the detection of fatigue cracks under flush head aluminum and titanium fasteners can be accomplished with a high resolution by the above techniques. The detection of fatigue cracks under ferromagnetic and protruding head fasteners, however, has been found to be much more difficult. For the present work, the inspection for fatigue cracks under SAE 4340 Steel Hi-Lok fasteners is explored. Modifications to the Rotating Self-Nulling Eddy Current Probe System are presented which enable the detection of fatigue cracks hidden under the protruding head of the ferromagnetic fastener. Inspection results for samples with varying length EDM notches are shown, as well as a comparison between the signature from an EDM notch and an actual fatigue crack. Finite Element Modeling is used to investigate the effect of the ferromagnetic fastener on the induced eddy current distribution in order to help explain the detection characteristics of the system. This paper will also introduce a modification to the Rotating Probe System designed specifically for the detection of deeply buried flaws in multilayer conductors. The design change incorporates a giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensor as the pickup device to improve the low frequency performance of the probe. The flaw detection capabilities of the GMR based Self- Nulling Probe are presented along with the status of the GMR based Rotating Probe System for detection of deeply buried flaws under installed fasteners.

Wincheski, Buzz↗

NASA NTRS2004

The Effect of Hole Quality on the Fatigue Life of 2024-T3 Aluminum Alloy Sheet

This paper presents the results of a study whose main objective was to determine which type of fabrication process would least affect the fatigue life of an open-hole structural detail. Since the open-hole detail is often the fundamental building block for determining the stress concentration of built-up structural parts, it is important to understand any factor that can affect the fatigue life of an open hole. A test program of constant-amplitude fatigue tests was conducted on five different sets of test specimens each made using a different hole fabrication process. Three of the sets used different mechanical drilling procedures while a fourth and fifth set were mechanically drilled and then chemically polished. Two sets of specimens were also tested under spectrum loading to aid in understanding the effects of residual compressive stresses on fatigue life. Three conclusions were made from this study. One, the residual compressive stresses caused by the hole-drilling process increased the fatigue life by two to three times over specimens that were chemically polished after the holes were drilled. Second, the chemical polishing process does not appear to adversely affect the fatigue life. Third, the chemical polishing process will produce a stress-state adjacent to the hole that has insignificant machining residual stresses.

Everett, Richard A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2007

An Investigation of High-Cycle Fatigue Models for Metallic Structures Exhibiting Snap-Through Response

A study is undertaken to develop a methodology for determining the suitability of various high-cycle fatigue models for metallic structures subjected to combined thermal-acoustic loadings. Two features of this problem differentiate it from the fatigue of structures subject to acoustic loading alone. Potentially large mean stresses associated with the thermally pre- and post-buckled states require models capable of handling those conditions. Snap-through motion between multiple post-buckled equilibrium positions introduces very high alternating stress. The thermal-acoustic time history response of a clamped aluminum beam structure with geometric and material nonlinearities is determined via numerical simulation. A cumulative damage model is employed using a rainflow cycle counting scheme and fatigue estimates are made for 2024-T3 aluminum using various non-zero mean fatigue models, including Walker, Morrow, Morrow with true fracture strength, and MMPDS. A baseline zero-mean model is additionally considered. It is shown that for this material, the Walker model produces the most conservative fatigue estimates when the stress response has a tensile mean introduced by geometric nonlinearity, but remains in the linear elastic range. However, when the loading level is sufficiently high to produce plasticity, the response becomes more fully reversed and the baseline, Morrow, and Morrow with true fracture strength models produce the most conservative fatigue estimates.

Przekop, Adam↗

NASA NTRS2007

Elevated Temperature Fatigue Endurance of Three Ceramic Matrix Composites

High-cycle fatigue endurance of three candidate materials for the acoustic liners of the Enabling Propulsion Materials Nozzle Program was investigated. The ceramic matrix composite materials investigated were N720/AS (Nextel 720, 3M Corporation), Sylramic S200 (Dow Corning), and UT 22. High-cycle fatigue tests were conducted in air at 910 C on as-machined specimens and on specimens subjected to tensile cyclic load excursions every 160 hr followed by thermal exposure at 910 C in a furnace up to total exposure times of 2066 and 4000 hr. All the fatigue tests were conducted in air at 100 Hz with a servohydraulic test machine. In the as-machined condition, among the three materials investigated only the Sylramic S200 exhibited a deterministic type of high-cycle fatigue behavior. Both the N720/AS and UT-22 exhibited significant scatter in the experimentally observed high-cycle fatigue lives. Among the thermally exposed specimens, N720/AS and Sylramic S200 materials exhibited a reduction in the high-cycle fatigue lives, particularly at the exposure time of 4000 hr.

Kalluri, Sreeramesh↗

NASA NTRS2007

Notch Fatigue Strength of a PM Disk Superalloy

New powder metallurgy (PM) disk superalloys, such as ME3, LSHR, and Alloy 10, have been developed in recent years which enable rim temperatures in turbine disk applications to approach 1300 F. Before these alloys can be utilized at 1300 F their long term durability must be ensured. One of the key requirements for disk rims is notch fatigue strength. This issue is extremely important and is a direct result of the blade attachment geometry employed at the disk rim. Further, the imposition of a dwell at maximum load, associated with take off and landing, can also affect notch fatigue strength. For these reasons a study has been undertaken to assess the notch dwell fatigue strength of a modern PM disk alloy through spin pit evaluation of a prototypical disk. The first element of this program involves screening potential heat treatments with respect to notch fatigue strength at 1300 F utilizing a conventional notch fatigue specimen with a stress concentration factor (K(sub t)) of 2 and a 90 sec dwell at peak load. The results of this effort are reported in this paper including the downselect of an optimal heat treatment, from a notch fatigue standpoint.

Gayda, John↗

NASA NTRS2007

Fatigue Life of Haynes 188 Superalloy in Direct Connect Combustor Durability Rig

The Direct Connect Combustor Durability Rig (DCR) will provide NASA a flexible and efficient test bed to demonstrate the durability of actively cooled scramjet engine structure, static and dynamic sealing technologies, and thermal management techniques. The DCR shall be hydrogen fueled and cooled, and test hydrogen coolded structural panels at Mach 5 and 7. Actively cooled Haynes 188 superalloy DCR structural panels exposed to the combustion environment shall have electrodischarge machined (EDM) internal cooling holes with flowing liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen combustion could therefore produce severe thermal conditions that could challenge low cycle fatigue durability of this material. The objective of this study was to assess low cycle fatigue capability of Haynes 188 for DCR application. Tests were performed at 25 and 650 C, in hydrogen and helium environments, using specimens with low stress ground (LSG) and electro-discharge machined (EDM) surface finish. Initial fatigue tests in helium and hydrogen indicate the low cycle fatigue life capability of Haynes 188 in hydrogen appears quite satisfactory for the DCR application. Fatigue capability did not decrease with increasing test temperature. Fatigue capability also did not decrease with EDM surface finish. Failure evaluations indicate retention of ductility in all conditions. Additional tests are planned to reconfirm these positive trends.

Gabb, TIm↗

NASA NTRS2010

Fatigue Resistance of the Grain Size Transition Zone in a Dual Microstructure Superalloy Disk

Mechanical property requirements vary with location in nickel-based superalloy disks. To maximize the associated mechanical properties, heat treatment methods have been developed for producing tailored microstructures. In this study, a specialized heat treatment method was applied to produce varying grain microstructures from the bore to the rim portions of a powder metallurgy processed nickel-based superalloy disk. The bore of the contoured disk consisted of fine grains to maximize strength and fatigue resistance at lower temperatures. The rim microstructure of the disk consisted of coarse grains for maximum resistance to creep and dwell crack growth at high temperatures up to 704 C. However, the fatigue resistance of the grain size transition zone was unclear, and needed to be evaluated. This zone was located as a band in the disk web between the bore and rim. Specimens were extracted parallel and transverse to the transition zone, and multiple fatigue tests were performed at 427 and 704 C. Mean fatigue lives were lower at 427 C than for 704 C. Specimen failures often initiated at relatively large grains, which failed on crystallographic facets. Grain size distributions were characterized in the specimens, and related to the grains initiating failures as well as location within the transition zone. Fatigue life decreased with increasing maximum grain size. Correspondingly, mean fatigue resistance of the transition zone was slightly higher than that of the rim, but lower than that of the bore. The scatter in limited tests of replicates was comparable for all transition zone locations examined.

Gabb, T. P.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Fatigue‐Related Countermeasures for Long‐Duration Exploration Missions

The NASA Human Research Program's (HRP) Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) supports and conducts research to mitigate deleterious outcomes related to fatigue, sleep loss, circadian desynchronization, and work overload. Objective evidence indicates that within the context of the International Space Station (ISS), sleep is reduced and there is circadian misalignment. Despite chronic sleep loss and high workloads; however, astronauts successfully complete their missions. Contributing to their success is not only the tremendous skills and capabilities of each astronaut, but also the collaborative team efforts amongst the crew, between flight and ground crews, and through real‐time care provided by medical personnel. It is anticipated that risks to human health and performance will increase in the context of exploration missions, where crewmembers will venture to deep space for extended durations and in small vehicles with limited communication with home. Hence, fatigue‐related countermeasures are being developed and/or validated that include unobtrusive monitoring technologies to detect fatigue‐related performance decrements, environmental countermeasures, and sleep education and training for flight and ground crews. Given that fatigue is an issue in current ISS missions, the BHP works collaboratively with Space Medicine operations to collect data in the operational environment, to validate fatigue-related countermeasures, and provide evidence‐based mitigations. Our presentation will summarize fatigue‐related operational research that is underway through NASA's BHP in partnership with its operational counterparts. Efforts include studies evaluating the effects of hypnotics, lighting protocols as countermeasures for circadian entrainment, and investigations involving education and training. This presentation will further identify, based on flight and terrestrial evidence, additional sleep and circadian countermeasures that may still be needed to support exploration missions. Lessons learned from transitioning research deliverables into ISS operations will also be discussed.

Whitmire, A.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Modified Spectral Fatigue Methods for S-N Curves With MIL-HDBK-5J Coefficients

The rainflow method is used for counting fatigue cycles from a stress response time history, where the fatigue cycles are stress-reversals. The rainflow method allows the application of Palmgren-Miner's rule in order to assess the fatigue life of a structure subject to complex loading. The fatigue damage may also be calculated from a stress response power spectral density (PSD) using the semi-empirical Dirlik, Single Moment, Zhao-Baker and other spectral methods. These methods effectively assume that the PSD has a corresponding time history which is stationary with a normal distribution. This paper shows how the probability density function for rainflow stress cycles can be extracted from each of the spectral methods. This extraction allows for the application of the MIL-HDBK-5J fatigue coefficients in the cumulative damage summation. A numerical example is given in this paper for the stress response of a beam undergoing random base excitation, where the excitation is applied separately by a time history and by its corresponding PSD. The fatigue calculation is performed in the time domain, as well as in the frequency domain via the modified spectral methods. The result comparison shows that the modified spectral methods give comparable results to the time domain rainflow counting method.

Irvine, Tom↗