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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Use of Slow Strain Rate Tensile Testing to Assess the Ability of Several Superalloys to Resist Environmentally-Assisted Intergranular Cracking

Intergranular fatigue crack initiation and growth due to environmental degradation, especially at notched features, can often limit the fatigue life of disk superalloys at high temperatures. For clear comparisons, the effects of alloy composition on cracking in air needs to be understood and compared separately from variables associated with notches and cracks such as effective stress concentration, plastic flow, stress relaxation, and stress redistribution. The objective of this study was to attempt using simple tensile tests of specimens with uniform gage sections to compare the effects of varied alloy composition on environment-assisted cracking of several powder metal and cast and wrought superalloys including ME3, LSHR, Udimet 720(TradeMark) ATI 718Plus(Registered TradeMark) alloy, Haynes 282(Trademark), and Inconel 740(TradeMark) Slow and fast strain-rate tensile tests were found to be a useful tool to compare propensities for intergranular surface crack initiation and growth. The effects of composition and heat treatment on tensile fracture strain and associated failure modes were compared. Environment interactions were determined to often limit ductility, by promoting intergranular surface cracking. The response of various superalloys and heat treatments to slow strain rate tensile testing varied substantially, showing that composition and microstructure can significantly influence environmental resistance to cracking.

fatigue(materials)↗
NASA NTRS1984

Fracture mechanics and surface chemistry investigations of environment-assisted crack growth

It is pointed out that environment-assisted subcritical crack growth in high-strength steels and other high-strength alloys (particularly in hydrogen and in hydrogenous environments) is an important technological problem of long standing. This problem is directly related to issues of structural integrity, durability, and reliability. The terms 'hydrogen embrittlement' and 'stress corrosion cracking' have been employed to describe the considered phenomenon. This paper provides a summary of contributions made during the past ten years toward the understanding of environmentally assisted crack growth. The processes involved in crack growth are examined, and details regarding crack growth and chemical reactions are discussed, taking into account crack growth in steels exposed to water/water vapor, the effect of hydrogen, reactions involving hydrogen sulfide, and aspects of fracture surface morphology and composition. Attention is also given to the modeling of crack growth response, crack growth in gas mixtures, and the interaction of solute atoms with the crack-tip stress field.

Wei, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Characterization of Cracking and Crack Growth Properties of the C5A Aircraft Tie-Box Forging

Detailed destructive examinations were conducted to characterize the integrity and material properties of two aluminum alloy (7075-T6) horizontal stabilizer tie box forgings removed.from US. Air Force C5A and C5B transport aircraft. The C5B tie box forging was,found to contain no evidence of cracking. Thirteen cracks were found in the CSA,forging. All but one of the cracks observed in the C5A component were located along the top cap region (one crack was located in the bottom cap region). The cracks in the C5A component initiated at fastener holes and propagated along a highly tunneled intergranular crack path. The tunneled crack growth configuration is a likelv result of surface compressive stress produced during peening of the .forging suijace. The tie box forging ,fatigue crack growth, fracture and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) properties were characterized. Reported herein are the results of laboratory air ,fatigue crack growth tests and 95% relative humidity SCC tests conducted using specimens machined from the C5A ,forging. SCC test results revealed that the C5A ,forging material was susceptible to intergranular environmental assisted cracking: the C5A forging material exhibited a SCC crack-tip stress-intensity factor threshold of less than 6 MPadn. Fracture toughness tests revealed that the C5A forging material exhibited a fracture toughness that was 25% less than the C5B forging. The C5A forging exhibited rapid laboratory air fatigue crack growth rates having a threshold crack-tip stress-intensity factor range of less than 0.8 MPa sup m. Detailed fractographic examinations revealed that the ,fatigue crack intergranular growth crack path was similar to the cracking observed in the C5A tie box forging. Because both fatigue crack propagation and SCC exhibit similar intergranular crack path behavior, the damage mechanism resulting in multi-site cracking of tie box forgings cannot be determined unless local cyclic stresses can be quantified.

Piascik, Robert S.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Experimental and Finite Element Modeling of Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth for the K-Decreasing Test Method

The experimental methods to determine near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate data are prescribed in ASTM standard E647. To produce near-threshold data at a constant stress ratio (R), the applied stress-intensity factor (K) is decreased as the crack grows based on a specified K-gradient. Consequently, as the fatigue crack growth rate threshold is approached and the crack tip opening displacement decreases, remote crack wake contact may occur due to the plastically deformed crack wake surfaces and shield the growing crack tip resulting in a reduced crack tip driving force and non-representative crack growth rate data. If such data are used to life a component, the evaluation could yield highly non-conservative predictions. Although this anomalous behavior has been shown to be affected by K-gradient, starting K level, residual stresses, environmental assisted cracking, specimen geometry, and material type, the specifications within the standard to avoid this effect are limited to a maximum fatigue crack growth rate and a suggestion for the K-gradient value. This paper provides parallel experimental and computational simulations for the K-decreasing method for two materials (an aluminum alloy, AA 2024-T3 and a titanium alloy, Ti 6-2-2-2-2) to aid in establishing clear understanding of appropriate testing requirements. These simulations investigate the effect of K-gradient, the maximum value of stress-intensity factor applied, and material type. A material independent term is developed to guide in the selection of appropriate test conditions for most engineering alloys. With the use of such a term, near-threshold fatigue crack growth rate tests can be performed at accelerated rates, near-threshold data can be acquired in days instead of weeks without having to establish testing criteria through trial and error, and these data can be acquired for most engineering materials, even those that are produced in relatively small product forms.

Smith, Stephen W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Transient Reliability Analysis Capability Developed for CARES/Life

The CARES/Life software developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center provides a general-purpose design tool that predicts the probability of the failure of a ceramic component as a function of its time in service. This award-winning software has been widely used by U.S. industry to establish the reliability and life of a brittle material (e.g., ceramic, intermetallic, and graphite) structures in a wide variety of 21st century applications.Present capabilities of the NASA CARES/Life code include probabilistic life prediction of ceramic components subjected to fast fracture, slow crack growth (stress corrosion), and cyclic fatigue failure modes. Currently, this code can compute the time-dependent reliability of ceramic structures subjected to simple time-dependent loading. For example, in slow crack growth failure conditions CARES/Life can handle sustained and linearly increasing time-dependent loads, whereas in cyclic fatigue applications various types of repetitive constant-amplitude loads can be accounted for. However, in real applications applied loads are rarely that simple but vary with time in more complex ways such as engine startup, shutdown, and dynamic and vibrational loads. In addition, when a given component is subjected to transient environmental and or thermal conditions, the material properties also vary with time. A methodology has now been developed to allow the CARES/Life computer code to perform reliability analysis of ceramic components undergoing transient thermal and mechanical loading. This means that CARES/Life will be able to analyze finite element models of ceramic components that simulate dynamic engine operating conditions. The methodology developed is generalized to account for material property variation (on strength distribution and fatigue) as a function of temperature. This allows CARES/Life to analyze components undergoing rapid temperature change in other words, components undergoing thermal shock. In addition, the capability has been developed to perform reliability analysis for components that undergo proof testing involving transient loads. This methodology was developed for environmentally assisted crack growth (crack growth as a function of time and loading), but it will be extended to account for cyclic fatigue (crack growth as a function of load cycles) as well.

Nemeth, Noel N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Fracture toughness of advanced ceramics at room temperature

Results of round-robin fracture toughness tests on advanced ceramics are reported. A gas-pressure silicon nitride and a zirconia-toughened alumina were tested using three test methods: indentation fracture, indentation strength, and single-edge precracked beam. The latter two methods have produced consistent results. The interpretation of fracture toughness test results for the zirconia alumina composite is shown to be complicated by R-curve and environmentally assisted crack growth phenomena.

Quinn, George D.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Fracture Growth Testing of Titanium 6AL-4V in AF-M315E

The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) will demonstrate the performance of AF-M315E monopropellant in orbit. Flight certification requires a safe-life analysis of the titanium alloy fuel tank to ensure inherent flaws will not cause failure during the design life. Material property inputs for this analysis require testing to determine the stress intensity factor for environmentally-assisted cracking (K (sub EAC)) of Ti 6Al-4V in combination with the AF-M315E monopropellant. Testing of single-edge notched specimens SE(B) representing the bulk tank membrane and weld material were performed in accordance with ASTM E1681. Specimens with fatigue pre-cracks were loaded into test fixtures so that the crack tips were exposed to the monopropellant at 50 degrees Centigrade for a duration of 1,000 hours. Specimens that did not fail during exposure were opened to inspect the crack surfaces for evidence of crack growth. The threshold stress intensity value, KEAC, is the highest applied stress intensity that produced neither a failure of the specimen during the exposure nor showed evidence of crack growth. The threshold stress intensity factor of the Ti 6Al-4V forged tank material when exposed to AF-M315E monopropellant was found to be at least 22.0 kilopounds per square inch. The stress intensity factor of the weld material was at least 31.3 kilopounds per square inch.

AF-M315E↗
NASA NTRS1995

Time-dependent corrosion fatique crack propagation in 7000 series aluminum alloys

The goal of this research is to characterize environmentally assisted subcritical crack growth for the susceptible short-longitudinal orientation of aluminum alloy 7075-T651, immersed in acidified and inhibited NaCl solution. This work is necessary in order to provide a basis for incorporating environmental effects into fatigue crack propagation life prediction codes such as NASA-FLAGRO (NASGRO). This effort concentrates on determining relevant inputs to a superposition model in order to more accurately model environmental fatigue crack propagation.

Mason, Mark E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Fatigue crack propagation of nickel-base superalloys at 650 deg C

The 650 C fatigue crack propagation behavior of two nickel-base superalloys, Rene 95 and Waspaloy, is studied with particular emphasis placed on understanding the roles of creep, environment, and two key grain boundary alloying additions, boron and zirconium. Comparison of air and vacuum data shows the air environment to be detrimental over a wide range of frequencies for both alloys. More in-depth analysis on Rene 95 shows at lower frequencies, such as 0.02 Hz, failure in air occurs by intergranular, environmentally-assisted creep crack growth, while at higher frequencies, up to 5.0 Hz, environmental interactions are still evident but creep effects are minimized. The effect of B and Zr in Waspaloy is found to be important where environmental and/or creep interactions are presented. In those instances, removal of B and Zr dramatically increases crack growth and it is therefore plausible that effective dilution of these elements may explain a previously observed trend in which crack growth rates increase with decreasing grain size.

Gayda, J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Fatigue crack propagation of nickel-base superalloys at 650 deg C

The 650 C fatigue crack propagation behavior of two nickel-base superalloys, Rene 95 and Waspaloy, is studied with particular emphasis placed on understanding the roles of creep, environment, and two key grain boundary alloying additions, boron and zirconium. Comparison of air and vacuum data shows the air environment to be detrimental over a wide range of frequencies for both alloys. More in-depth analysis on Rene 95 shows at lower frequencies, such as 0.02 Hz, failure in air occurs by intergranular, environmentally-assisted creep crack growth, while at higher frequencies, up to 5.0 Hz, environmental interaction are still evident but creep effects are minimized. The effect of B and Zr in Waspaloy is found to be important where environmental and/or creep interactions are presented. In those instances, removal of B and Zr dramatically increases crack growth and it is therefore plausible that effective dilution of these elements may explain a previously observed trend in which crack growth rates increase with decreasing grain size.

Gayda, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Low cycle fatigue behavior of conventionally cast MAR-M 200 AT 1000 deg C

The low cycle fatigue behavior of the nickel-based superalloy MAR-M 200 in conventionally cast form was studied at 1000 C. Continuous cycling tests, without hold times, were conducted with inelastic strain ranges of from 0.04 to 0.33 percent. Tests were also conducted which included a hold time at peak strain in either tension or compression. For the conditions studied, it was determined that imposition of hold times did not significantly affect the fatigue life. Also, for continuous cycling tests, increasing or decreasing the cycle frequency did not affect life. Metallographic analysis revealed that the most significant damage mechanism involved environmentally assisted intergranular crack initiation and propagation, regardless of the cycle type. Changes in the gamma morphology (rafting and rod formation) were observed, but did not significantly affect the failure.

Milligan, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Methods for predicting crack growth in advanced structures

Damage tolerance design and analysis is widely used in fracture critical military aircraft engine components. Linear elastic fracture mechanics techniques have been developed and verified. These are used to predict the crack propagation lives of complex geometries under mission cycling conditions. Research on methods necessary for the prediction of elevated temperature crack growth in advanced structures is reviewed. These include environmentally assisted time-dependent crack growth, non-linear fracture mechanics parameters for thermal mechanical fatigue crack growth, and finite element modeling of crack growth in composites.

Van Stone, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Fatigue crack initiation and propagation in several nickel-base superalloys at 650 C

The modes of crack initiation and propagation of several nickel-base superalloys have been examined after fatigue and creep-fatigue testing at 650 C. In fatigue, crack initiation was transgranular and frequently associated with porosity or inclusions in the higher strength alloys. These defects were usually located at the surface, except for tests at low strain ranges where larger, internal defects often initiated failure. Although fatigue crack initiation was transgranular, in those alloys with grain sizes of less than 15 microns, fatigue crack growth quickly became intergranular. This transition was environmentally assisted and did not occur for subsurface cracks until the crack broke through to the atmosphere. In the creep-fatigue cycle, which included a 900 s tensile dwell, crack initiation and propagation were both intergranular in all alloys.

Gayda, J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Slow Strain Rate Tensile Testing to Assess the Ability of Superalloys to Resist Environment-Assisted Intergranular Cracking

Intergranular fatigue crack initiation and growth due to environmental degradation, especially at notched features, can often limit the fatigue life of disk superalloys at high temperatures. For clear comparisons, the effects of alloy composition on cracking in air needs to be understood and compared separately from variables associated with notches and cracks such as effective stress concentration, plastic flow, stress relaxation, and stress redistribution. The objective of this study was to attempt using simple tensile tests of specimens with uniform gage sections to compare the effects of varied alloy composition on environment-assisted cracking of several powder metal and cast and wrought superalloys including ME3, LSHR, Udimet 720, ATI 718Plus alloy, Haynes 282, and Inconel 740. Slow and fast strain-rate tensile tests were found to be a useful tool to compare propensities for intergranular surface crack initiation and growth. The effects of composition and heat treatment on tensile fracture strain and associated failure modes were compared. Environment interactions were determined to often limit ductility, by promoting intergranular surface cracking. The response of various superalloys and heat treatments to slow strain rate tensile testing varied substantially, showing that composition and microstructure can significantly influence environmental resistance to cracking.

Heat resistant alloys↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effects of processing and microstructure on the fatigue behaviour of the nickel-base superalloy Rene95

Forms of the nickel-base superalloy Rene95 produced by three processing methods were evaluated in tensile, low cycle fatigue and fatigue crack propagation tests at 540 and 650 C. Two powder-metallurgy (PM) forms, hot-isostatically-pressed and extruded-and-forged, and a conventionally cast-and-wrought form were all given the same heat treatment. The extruded-and-forged form showed superior fatigue life in low strain range tests though the two PM forms exhibited nearly identical mechanical behavior in all other respects. Further, this life difference could not be explained by significant differences in the types, sizes or shapes of the defects initiating failure. The cast-and-wrought Rene95, however, had lower strength, ductility and fatigue life, but higher fatigue crack propagation resistance because of a larger grain size. It did not exhibit the environmentally-assisted intergranular mode of propagation which occurs in PM Rene95 and other fine-grained superalloys at these test temperatures and frequencies.

Miner, R. V.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Isothermal Damage and Fatigue Behavior of SCS-6/Timetal 21S [0/90](Sub S) Composite at 650 Deg C

The isothermal fatigue damage and life behaviors of SCS-6/Timetal 21S (0/90)s were investigated at 650 C. Strain ratcheting and degradation of the composite's static elastic modulus were carefully monitored as functions of cycles to indicate damage progression. Extensive fractographic and metallographic analyses were conducted to determine damage/failure mechanisms. Resulting fatigue lives show considerable reductions in comparison to (0) reinforced titanium matrix composites subjected to comparable conditions. Notable stiffness degradations were found to occur after the first cycle of loading, even at relatively low maximum stress levels, where cyclic lives are greater than 25,000 cycles. This was attributed to the extremely weak fiber/matrix bond which fails under relatively low transverse loads. Stiffness degradations incurred on first cycle loadings and degradations thereafter were found to increase with increasing maximum stress. Environmental effects associated with oxidation of the (90) fiber interfaces clearly played a role in the damage mechanisms as fracture surfaces revealed environment assisted matrix cracking along the (90) fibers. Metallographic analysis indicated that all observable matrix fatigue cracks initiated at the (90) fiber/matrix interfaces. Global de-bonding in the loading direction was found along the (90) fibers. No surface initiated cracks were evident and minimal if any (0) fiber cracking was visible.

Castelli, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Test and Evaluation of a Non-Chromate Finishing Agent

This research is focused on the design, development and implementation of an industry, military and commercial standard testing cell for surface coatings, which focuses on advanced non-chromate materials technology and their commercialization. Currently, within both private and commercial sectors, chromates are used in the corrosion prevention. processes. However, there is a great demand for chromate-free systems that are able to provide equal protection. At the end of this effort, it is intended that a patented alternative to chromate conversion coatings would be tested and processed for commercialization. Thus far, research studies have been concerned primarily with current corrosion knowledge and testing methods. Corrosion can be classified into five categories: The first type is uniform corrosion which is dominated by a uniform thinning due to an even and regular loss of metal. The second type is called localized corrosion in which most of the loss occurs in discrete areas. The third type, metallurgically influenced corrosion is a form of attack where metallurgy plays a significant role. The fourth type, titled mechanically assisted degradation is a form of attack where velocity, abrasion, and hydrodynamics control the corrosion process. The last type of corrosion is defined as environmentally induced cracking which occurs when cracks are produced under specific, premeditated stress. Oddly enough, with these varying classifications, there are not as many standardized corrosion testing sites. Two of the most common testing methods for corrosion are salt spray testing and filiform. Although neither has proven to be absolute, in terms of the resulting observations, our research aims to help provide data that may be used to support the standardization for corrosion testing. We would acquire and use a Singleton Cyclic Corrosion Testing Chamber. Singleton test chambers perform a wide range of commonly used catalytic corrosion tests. They are used throughout the industry, some of which are - automotive, aerospace, electronic and many more. In addition to this, Singleton test chambers are fully expandable to accommodate cyclic corrosion testing needs. Singleton chambers are also designed for complete compliance and conformity with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), military and commercial standards.

Gulley, H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The combined influence of chemical, metallurgical and mechanical factors on environment assisted cracking

The principal aim of the paper is to re-emphasize and focus on both the multidisciplinary nature of the environment assisted cracking or embrittlement phenomenon. The multiplicity of factors involved in the embrittlement process is indicated, the mutual dependence of these factors and the influences of mechanical and environmental conditions are considered, and the interactions of various factors in determining the overall embrittlement response are discussed. The need for an interdisciplinary approach for resolving the major differences and for understanding embrittlement is outlined.

Williams, D. P., III↗