Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF)

High Cycle Fatigue (HCF)

What is Fatigue?
 
The ASTM definition.....
  “The  process  of  progressive  localized  permanent  structural  change 
occurring in material subjected to conditions which produce fluctuating 
stresses and strains at some point or points and which may culminate in 
crack or complete fracture after a sufficient number of fluctuations.”
 
 
                                        Translation:
         “Cyclic damage leading to local cracking or fracture.”
 
Requirements have evolved for Gas Turbine Engines....
Emphasis today is on Cyclic Properties...
  Design Material
Time Requirements Properties
 

Historical Basic Engineering Strength,

Properties Creep
 

1960’s - 1970’s Add ... Fatigue HCF, LCF, TMF

 

Late 1970’s Add ... Damage Crack Growth

Tolerance
 Emphasis today is on Cyclic Properties...

High Cycle Fatigue Allowable vibratory stresses
 
Low Cycle Fatigue Crack initiation life
1/1000 to small crack 
                                                    Component
retirement
 
Crack Growth Remaining life from crack
                                                    Safety 
inspection interval
                                                    Inspection 
size requirement
For Crack Initiation, High Cycle Fatigue
(HCF) and Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) are
treated separately. Why?
 
General distinction for Gas Turbines: 
 
 
HCF - Usually high frequency, due to resonant 
vibration.  Failure criteria based on allowable 
stresses.  Millions of Cycles 
 
 
LCF -  Usually low frequency, due to engine 
start/stop or throttle cycles. Accurate life 
prediction required.  Thousands of Cycles
 Turbine Disk Design Requirements
Most Severe Structural Challenge: High structural loads, fatigue, & creep

• Environmentally friendly
• Fatigue cracking resistance
initiation
propagation
• Creep resistant
• Strong
• Lightweight
• Predictable/Inspectable
• Affordable
• Environmentally stable

Nickel Superalloy Balances All Requirements

 Combustor, Turbine Components
Present a Severe Thermal Fatigue Cracking Challenge

• Mechanical fatigue, caused

by cyclic thermal strains

• High temperature
accelerates fatigue damage

• Exacerbated by crack tip

oxidation
Fatigue is a Major Challenge for Many Engine Components,
Including Fan Blades

• Caused by Load Cycling

• Occurs at cyclic loads well below

the Ultimate Strength

fatigue crack initiation site • High Cycle Fatigue (HCF)

Caused by vibration/flutter

• Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF)

Caused by engine cycling

Compressor blade tested in 
a vibratory fatigue test rig
Cyclic vs. Monotonic Curves: Behavior can be significantly different ... 

From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley & 
Sons, NY, 1980
Crack Size: How big is big? ...
HCF: S-N Curves ...

Initially used to address HCF for allowable 
stress, but what about predicting actual cycles 
of life? ... 
 
 
 

HCF cycle prediction is more of a statistical 
estimate with a large scatter allocation, 
instead of an exact science 
P&WA Stress Control HCF Test Apparatus
Specimen Fully Reversed Stress/Strain Cycle S/N Plot
 Basic Cycle

Terms to Remember
 max   min
Alternating Stress Amplitude: a 
2

Mean Stress:
 max   min
0 
2

 min
Stress Ratio: R
 max
Stress Range:
   max   min
 a m
Soderberg (USA, 1930)  1
Se S y
a m
Goodman (England, 1899)  1
Se Su
2
 a   m
Gerber (Germany, 1874)           1
Se  Su 

(Where Se is the fully reversed endurance limit.)

Cyclic Deformation Parameters: Fatigue loop illustration ...  
Fatigue: How do HCF and LCF fit with
Stress vs. Life? ...

* Exists in theory only
HCF: S-N Curves ...

 Fatigue  Strength is  the Maximum Stress that can

be  repeatedly  applied  for  a  specified  number  of
cycles    (typically  107)  without  failure.    Titanium
alloys are curve fit to 109  cycles.
HCF: Notes on Approaches ...

Soderberg is highly conservative and seldom
used

Actual test data usually falls between
Goodman & Gerber Curves

This is not a large difference in the theories
when the mean stress is small in relation to
the alternating stress.

P&W has found the most success with the
Goodman approach
HCF: A Christienson Diagram Contains all of
this information ...
HCF: An example of Pratt’s Goodman
diagram which combines Stress Amplitude and
Mean Stress Effects ...

The discontinuous slope on the x-axis modifies
for the yield value instead of the ultimate as
required by a traditional Goodman Diagram.
HCF: Cyclic limits ...
107 cycles - Most other alloys
109 cycles - Titanium, certain Nickel Blade
Alloys
109 cycles - ????? (Proposed following the
HCF Initiative)
9
Why no actual 10 Testing?

Present frequency capability is 200 Hz,
which is 1.6 years!!

Assuming 25 tests on two machines, this is
20 years to characterize a single material !!!

Target now is 2000 Hz for coupon testing,
which is 2 months for a single test.
HCF: Elastic Stress-Life Relationship ...
HCF Notches: Parameters of Interest ...
 
Parameter               Description 
 
  Kt              Elastic Stress 
Concentration 
 
  Kf              Fatigue Notch 
Factor (KfKt) 
 
                    Material constant 
(related to grain size) 
 
  r             Notch radius 
 
  q                  Notch sensitivity 
HCF Notches: Neuber proposed the
following relationship ...

Kt  1
Kf  1
1  / r

Kf 1 1
q 
Kt  1 1  / r

Where:
Se(notched)=Se(unnotched) / Kf

In the previous equations, the notched value
would then be substituted.
LCF Testing: Verification ...

Three primary ways of verification testing:

Subcomponents

Spin Pit

Ferris Wheel
P&WA Strain Control LCF/TMF Test Apparatus
LCF Testing: Typical set-up involves
uniaxial loading ...
Cyclic Fatigue: Testing Parameters of Interest ...

                  Strain Range - 
 
Stress Range - P/A = max - min
 
Max. Tensile Stress - T
 
Mean Stress - m = 0.5*(max + min)
 
Inelastic Strain - i, p
  -
Temperature T
Cyclic Loading: Key Relationships ...

 
E
       Elastic Modulus,                               (monotonic) or            (cyclic)
e  e
 min
            Stress Ratio,  R
 max

 tot   elastic   inelastic where  inelastic   plastic   creep


Max. Stress,   max   mean 
2

Min. Stress,   min   mean 
2
Total Strain = Elastic Strain Range + Plastic Strain Range
 

 tot   e   p

1

   Where                             and     n'
 p  2 
E  2K '

    n'

 tot   2 
E  2 K '
LCF: Pratt & Whitney Definition ...

Nucleation to detectable crack.

Initiation is a 1/32” crack along the surface.

The acceptable probability of occurrence of
an LCF crack as 1 crack occurring in a
sample size of 1000 (1/1000 or B.1) having
a 1/32 inch long crack at the predicted
minimum life.
LCF: Characteristics ...
From stress/strain cycling in the plastic
range at significantly higher stresses than for
HCF.

The stress/strain cycles that cause LCF
cracking are produced by significant engine
power level changes.

Microscopic changes in a material that has
been subjected to LCF cycling may be seen
after only a few cycles.
Microscopic dislocations in the crystal
structure.
The dislocations link up to form
cracks.
Depends on the stresses and
orientation of the individual grain.

Highly statistical in nature.
LCF: What are the parameters? ...
LCF: Mean Stress Effects must be included ...
 
Simple approach by J. Morrow: 
 
 Su  Sm  N 0.12   0.6 N 0.6
 t  3.4 f f f  
E
 
 
 
Alternative approach by Smith, Watson & 
Topper (1970): 
 
 max  a E    f 
2
 2 N  2b   f  f E  2 N  b c  
 
where max=m+a and a is the alternating strain 
Notch LCF: Overall philosophy ...
 
Kt < ~1.5 
 
Local stress-strain calculated 
 
Smooth LCF curves used 
 
Kt > ~1.5 
 
Local stress-strain calculated 
 
Notch LCF curves used usually mean 
stress/strain range, temperature corrected 
Notch LCF: Strain Range-Mean Stress
Curves ...

Kt Kmax max Kt Kmin min

Strain Range,    E max

E min

Where:
 Kmax & Kmin are temp. correction factors on strain at max and min
stress points
K vs. T is derived from LCF tests at various temperatures
Kt is the geometric stress concentration factor
max & min are the nominal max and min stresses
Emax & Emin are elastic moduli at the max and min stress points
Notch LCF: Notch Factors ...

Kt, K, and K relate local behavior to nominal:
Notch LCF: Surface stresses and strains in
stress concentration areas are important
and need to be calculated ...
 
 
Three methods used most often: 
 
Linear Rule - elastic equivalent stress 
method 
 
Neuber Rule - ideally for plane stress cases 
 
Glinka Method - energy based method 
Notch LCF: Linear Rule ...
Notch LCF: Neuber Rule ...
 Notch LCF: Neuber Rule for Cyclic
Loading must be solved incrementally...

Reversed  loading  cyclic    curves  assumes

kinematic hardening and relates  using cyclic
  curve  with  a  2X  stress-strain  multiplier
from the new reference origin.
Notch LCF: Glinka Relationship ...
Cumulative Damage: How is it done? ...
 
Definition - The means by which the damage
associated with a complex stress history may be
calculated or estimated by allowing the combining
cycles of different stress magnitudes. 
 
Why is this needed? 
Military combat missions have many in-flight 
throttle excursions. 
Reduce mission into major and minor (or sub) 
cycles 
Major (Type I) cycle is the largest overall strain excursion 
in the mission. 
Full power excursions from intermediate, or above, to idle 
and back are called Type III cycles. 
These excursions generally impact the overall life. 
Excursions of smaller magnitude (Type IV) are generally 
not damaging.* 
 
* This may be untrue for some components 
Cumulative Damage: Methodology ...
 
Many different methods have been proposed 
 
Linear cumulative damage - Miner’s Rule - appears to do the 
best job for the type of stress excursions encountered in jet 
engine operation. 
 
ni
Miner’s Rule states:    1 
Ni
Where: 
    Ni is life capability for stress excursion I 
    ni is the actual number of occurrences of excursion I 
 
The basic assumption is that fatigue damage is cumulative 
and the life capability of a part will be exhausted when the 
sum of the life fractions reaches 1.0 
 Cumulative Damage: Cycle counting using
the ASTM Rainflow technique determines
pairs ...

The pairs are A-D, B-C, E-F, and G-H.
Cyclic Stress-Strain Behavior: Derived from loci of cyclic endpoints ... 
 Constitutive Modeling Approach

3.5E+07
Constant 1
3.0E+07
Constant 2
Parameter 2.5E+07 Constant 3

2.0E+07

1.5E+07

1.0E+07

5.0E+06

0.0E+00
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Temperature (F)

Rate dependent test data Model parameter temperature ANSYS analysis of

and model correlation dependencies constitutive specimen
 Constitutive Modeling Approach

specimen correlation specimen prediction component analysis

Understanding Metallurgical Aspects of Fatigue
Metallurgical Aspects...

Relevant Topics:
 Crystal Structure
      

 Deformation Mechanisms
      

 Crack Initiation .. Sequence of Events
      

 Visual Aspects - Fractography
      
Deformation for crystal structures can be visualized like a sliding row
of bricks...
Metals have a highly ordered crystal structure...

 
 
Cubic Arrangement
 
 
 
 
 
Hexagonal Close-Packed

     Structure
   Zn, Mg, Be, -Ti, etc.
 
Two predominant deformation mechanisms in metals...

   Dislocation:  occurs at all temperatures,
      but is predominant at lower temperatures.
 
           Diffusion:  important at higher temperatures,
                  especially above one half the melting temperature
  

    
 Can you find the Illustrated Dislocation Defect?

Edge dislocation.  (a)  “Bubble-raft” model of an imperfection in a crystal structure.  
Note the extra row of atoms.  (b)  Schematic illustration of a dislocation.  [Bragg and 
Nye, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), A190, 474, 1947.]
Pure metals are easily deformed. Several methods are used to inhibit
deformation...

 Dispersion strengthening
      

 Solid solution strengthening
      

 Precipitation hardening
      

 Microstructure control (grain size and morphology, precipitate 
      

control, etc.)
Solid Solution Strengthening: Perturbations to crystal lattice retard
dislocation motion...
Precipitation Hardening: Local areas of compositional and/or
structural differences retard dislocation motion...
Grain Boundary Strengthening: Crystallographic and/or
compositional boundary. Strengthens at low temperature; but weak
link at high temperature...
Grain Boundary Resistance: Will resist dislocation motion at the
boundary...
Grain Boundaries Illustrated: Notice the vacancies and excess atoms at boundaries...
Grain Boundary Mechanics:
 
Crystallographic and/or compositional boundary. Strengthens at low
temperature; weak link at high temperature...
Persistent Slip Band Formation:
A product of cyclic deformation important to fatigue initiation for ductile
metals ...

From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley 
& Sons, NY, 1980
Diffusion: A high temperature deformation mechanism ... 
Diffusion: Usually considered at temperatures above half the melting
point ( K) ...
 
Melting Point (F) 1/2 Melting Point (F)

Aluminum 1220 379

Titanium 3035 1288

Nickel 2647 1094

Iron 2798 1170

Cobalt 2723 1132

Ice 32 -213
Grain Boundary Sliding: A diffusion controlled deformation process ...
Grain Boundary Sliding: Can provide large deformation at boundary with
relatively small intergranular deformation ...
Fatigue Crack Initiation: Occurs when enough local deformation
damage accumulates to produce a crack ...

        from dislocations - as in slip
 
        from diffusion - as in grain boundary sliding
 
        or from both
Fracture Stages: Steps of an Idealized Fatigue Process ...
 
Stage I Crystallographic Fracture, along a few planes, brittl
appearance, at angle to principal loading direction.
 
 
Stage II Usually transgranular, but numerous fracture planes
to principal loading direction.  Striations often seen at high
magnification for more ductile alloys.
 
 
Stage III Final fracture; brittle, ductile or both.
Fracture Stages: Fatigue origin often at a Mechanical or Metallurgical
Artifact ...

Schematic of stages I and II transcrystalline microscopic fatigue crack growth.

Typical Fatigue Fractures: Several Common Features ...
 
 
1. Distinct crack initiation site or sites.
 
2. Beach marks indicative of crack growth arrest.
 
3. Distinct final fracture region.
Fatigue Features: Initiation sites . . .
Fatigue Features: Beach marks ...
Fatigue Features: Final Fracture ...

Final Fracture

Fatigue Area
Ramberg-Osgood Relationship: Describes cyclic inelastic behavior ...
IN100, (Tests Conducted in Air at 650°C, Frequency, = 0.33 Hz)
Typical Failure Modes: General Characteristics ...
 
Failure Mode                                        Some General Characteristics
Overstress                               Rapid fracture, may be ductile or brittle, large
                      deformation, often transgranular, often the final stage
                      of some other fracture mode.
 
Creep/Stress Rupture              Usually long term event, large deformation,
                       intergranular, elevated temperature
 
High Cycle Fatigue                Often short term event, small deformation,
                      transgranular
 
Low Cycle Fatigue                 Moderate time event, moderate deformation, fracture
                     dependent on time/temp.  
 
Thermomechanical Fatigue   Moderate time event, subset of LCF with deformation
                     due largely to thermally induced stresses, fracture
                     usually shows heavy oxidation/alloy depletion
Cyclic Behavior Must be Modeled: After Tensile yield, there are two models
which describe compressive behavior ...

Isotropic
- assumes symmetrical behavior in tension and compression.
 
Kinematic
       - assumes yield stress, following inelastic deformation, is degraded ...
 
Hardening Models: Defines the Bauschinger effect ...
 Cyclic Effects on Stress-Strain Behavior: Progressive changes occur during cyclic
loading ...

                                                                                             Material: Copper in 3 Conditions

From Metal Fatigue in Engineering, H.O. Fuchs and R.I. Stephens, John Wiley & 
Sons, NY, 1980
Summary:

        Cyclic properties are important to our product.
 
 Principal deformation mechanisms are slip at low temperature and diffusion
      

at high temperature.
 
 Cracking can be crystallographic, transgranular, or intergranular.
      

 
 Simple deformation models can be used to consolidate data and predict loca
      

stresses and strains.