Failures in Metallic Materials

• Non-Fracture • Fracture
 Mechanical  Non-fluctuating
 Chemical stresses
 Thermal  Fluctuating stresses
 Non-Fracture Failures

 Mechanical  Chemical  Thermal

Creep
Distortion Corrosion
Distortion
Wear Pitting Oxidation
Microstructural Changes
Fretting Segregation
Erosion
Cavitation
Indentation
Surface damage
 Fracture Failures

Fluctuating Stresses
 Mechanical  Chemical  Thermal
Fatigue Corrosion Thermal Fatigue

HCF Fatigue
LCF
Fretting Stress
Corrosion
Wear
 Fracture Failures

Non-Fluctuating Stresses
 Mechanical  Chemical  Thermal
– Overload Stress corrosion Creep

Tension H2 Embrittlement
Compression Liquid Metal
Bending Embrittlement
Torsion Exfoliation
Shear
 Failure Mechanisms of Engineering
Importance

Mechanical Failures Environmental Failures

– Ductile and Brittle Failures – Corrosion Failures
– Fatigue Failures – Corrosion-erosion Failures
– Distortion Failures
– Wear Failures

Mechanical-environmental Failures
 Stress corrosion cracking
 Hydrogen embrittlement
 Corrosion fatigue
 DUCTILE FRACTURE
Tearing of metal accompanied by appreciable gross
plastic deformation
Gray or fibrous appearance on fracture surface
Exhibit necking – Cup and cone formation
Microvoid formation and its coalescence – Dimpled structure

Dimples on a ductile fractured surface

 BRITTLE FRACTURE
Rapid crack propagation with less expenditure of energy
Without gross plastic deformation
Bright and granular appearance on fracture surface
Little or No necking – Plane strain condition
Intergranular / Transgranular mode

Intergranular mode Transgranular mode

 Identification of ductile/brittle failure

Macroscopic….comparison
Brittle
Ductile
– Characterized by rapid crack propagation
– Characterized by tearing of without appreciable plastic deformation
metals accompanied by gross
– Macroscopically they have a bright,
plastic deformation
granular appearance
– Macroscopically they have a
gray, fibrous appearance
 Identification of ductile/brittle failure

Macroscopic….comparison

Dull fibrous: ductile Chevron marks: brittle

 Identification of ductile/brittle failure

Microscopic….comparison
Ductile
– Microscopically they
occur by microvoid
formation and
coalescence
– Normally referred to as
dimpled rupture

Brittle
– Occur either by
transgranular (cleavage or
quasicleavage or
intergranular) cracking
 Identification of ductile failure
…assessment of type of loading

Tensile or Shear…comparison

Shear direction

5 m 20 m

Equiaxed dimples: tensile Elongated open-ended

Dimples: shear
 Identification of ductile failure
…assessment of type of loading

Torsional… B

Fracture
A

500 m

Region A Region B

5 m 10 m
 Identification of brittle failure
…assessment of strain rate

Brittle failure… intergranular/cleavage fracture

20 m 20 m

Relatively slow strain rate Relatively high strain rate