Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Failure Analysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2024) | Viewed by 5426

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering for Innovation, Università del Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: fatigue; welded joints; experimental mechanics; FEM; damage models; low-cycle fatigue; aluminum foam; residual stress
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The comprehension of the fatigue, creep, and fracture behavior of metallic materials is fundamental in order to assess the reliability of structural components. In this field, research progress helps to improve technical problems and constitutes a direct contribution to the safety of society.

All these phenomena have been largely studied, starting from the publication of the first scientific papers about fatigue in the second half of the XIX century and the quick development of the fracture mechanics approach in the latter years of the XX century, up to the development of analytical models of creep in recent years, several theoretical and experimental models have been proposed to pragmatically address these problems. However, technological improvements in the manufacturing process and the introduction of completely new ones, e.g., additive manufacturing, force us to rethink, adapt to, and even develop new analytical, numerical, and experimental tools.

This Special Issue intends to collect several articles on all the aspects that help to determine the failure of metallic materials. Research contributions and reviewer surveys on the identification, evaluation, and measurement of the damage process involving fatigue, creep, and fracture behavior, considering both a theoretical and/or an experimental approach, are welcome. Presentations of industrial cases illustrating the use of analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques for the study of the failure of metallic components in the automotive, aeronautical, and mechanical sector are also welcome.

Dr. Riccardo Nobile
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fatigue
  • creep
  • fracture
  • failure
  • mechanical behavior

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 5579 KiB  
Article
Small Punch Test to Estimate the Threshold Stress in Aggressive Environments by Incremental Step Loading
by Borja Arroyo, Laura Andrea, José A. Álvarez, Sergio Cicero, Federico Gutiérrez-Solana and Luis Abarca
Metals 2024, 14(11), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14111234 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 427
Abstract
The present work is a relevant advance in the validation of the incremental step loading technique (ASTM F1624 standard) when applied to Small Punch tests (SPT) for the threshold load determination of medium- and high-strength steels in aggressive environments, as a novel alternative [...] Read more.
The present work is a relevant advance in the validation of the incremental step loading technique (ASTM F1624 standard) when applied to Small Punch tests (SPT) for the threshold load determination of medium- and high-strength steels in aggressive environments, as a novel alternative to conventional time-consuming tests under constant load. It completes previous works by the authors on this topic, extending a methodology to estimate the threshold stress from SPT tests in aggressive environments, covering the whole range of hardness marked by ASTM F1624 as the main goal. This is achieved by calibrating a model of the material’s hardness by the use of a coefficient in function of it. For this purpose, four medium- and high-strength steels of 33, 35, 50 and 60 HRC (Hardness Rockwell C) are exposed to three different cathodic polarization hydrogen embrittlement environments of 1, 5 and 10 mA/cm2 in 1N H2SO4 acid electrolyte connected to a platinum anode. Threshold stresses in these circumstances are obtained by uniaxial specimens following ASTM F1624 and compared to their homologous threshold loads obtained by Small Punch tests according to the authors’ original methodology proposal. Finally, the aforementioned model, consisting of a correlation based on composing an elastic and a plastic part, is calibrated for a hardness ranging 33–60 HRC, this being the main original contribution of this work; the elastic part is dependent just on the elastic-to-plastic transition SPT load, while the plastic part is ruled by a material hardness-dependent coefficient. This technique supposes an advance in engineering tools, due to its applicability in situations of material shortage, such as in-service components, welded joints, local areas, complex geometries, small thicknesses, etc., often present in aerospace, automotive or oil–gas, among others. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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16 pages, 48525 KiB  
Article
Damage Prediction in the Wire Drawing Process
by Álvaro González, Marcela Cruchaga, Diego Celentano and Jean-Philippe Ponthot
Metals 2024, 14(10), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14101174 - 16 Oct 2024
Viewed by 549
Abstract
In this study, the prediction of damage in the wire drawing process of 2011 aluminum alloy was investigated through both experimental and numerical methods. A comprehensive experimental setup was designed involving 20 cases of wire drawing with varying die angles (10° [...] Read more.
In this study, the prediction of damage in the wire drawing process of 2011 aluminum alloy was investigated through both experimental and numerical methods. A comprehensive experimental setup was designed involving 20 cases of wire drawing with varying die angles (10°, 15°, 21°, 27°, and 34°) and reductions (21%, 29%, 31%, and 38%). Each case was tested three times, and the drawing forces, as well as occurrences of wire breakage, were recorded. The mechanical behavior of the material was firstly characterized using uniaxial tensile tests, whose results were used to determine the material parameters of both the hardening Voce law and those of uncoupled and coupled damage models. Then, the numerical simulations of the wire drawing process were performed using a finite element model, accounting for axisymmetric conditions and mesh convergence analysis to ensure accuracy. The previously characterized damage models were applied to evaluate their fracture prediction capabilities. A novel presentation method using three-dimensional graphs was employed to indicate the level of damage for each angle and reduction, providing greater sensitivity and insight into the damage values. Good agreement between the experimental and numerical data was demonstrated for the bilinear coupled damage model, validating its effectiveness. This study contributes to a better understanding of damage prediction in the wire drawing process, with implications for improving industrial practices and material performance evaluations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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23 pages, 8690 KiB  
Article
The Triaxiality Effect on Damage Evolution in Al-2024 Tensile Samples
by Álvaro González, Diego Celentano, Marcela Cruchaga and Jean-Philippe Ponthot
Metals 2024, 14(10), 1103; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14101103 - 26 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 517
Abstract
The effect of triaxiality on the evolution of damage in Al-2024 aluminum cylindrical specimens is studied in this work. Uncoupled and coupled damage models, all of them explicitly dependent on triaxiality, are assessed and compared. These models are characterized by tensile tests on [...] Read more.
The effect of triaxiality on the evolution of damage in Al-2024 aluminum cylindrical specimens is studied in this work. Uncoupled and coupled damage models, all of them explicitly dependent on triaxiality, are assessed and compared. These models are characterized by tensile tests on cylindrical specimens without notches, to obtain the material parameters for each model. The capability of each model to predict fracture when different positive triaxial conditions evolve is then evaluated through tensile tests on notched cylindrical specimens. In particular, the damage index, evaluated at the fracture strain level, is compared with the experimental results validating the models. Moreover, the triaxiality evolution in the different specimens is studied in order to assess its effect on damage, demonstrating that the fracture strain decreases at greater triaxiality values. Observations through scanning electron microscopy confirm this pattern; i.e., an increase in triaxiality reveals a shift in the fracture mechanism from a more ductile condition in the original specimens to a more brittle one as the notch radius decreases. In addition, bilinear damage evolution is proposed to describe the physical behavior of the material when the Lemaitre coupled model is considered. In such a case, special attention must be devoted to the material characterization since coupling between hardening material parameters and damage affects the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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18 pages, 7849 KiB  
Article
Exploring Mechanical Properties Using the Hydraulic Bulge Test and Uniaxial Tensile Test with Micro-Samples for Metals
by Jian Bao, Haoran Ding, Zhiquan Zuo and Jian Peng
Metals 2024, 14(8), 917; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14080917 - 13 Aug 2024
Viewed by 868
Abstract
The hydraulic bulge test with micro-samples is expected to be useful in the damage assessment of long-service-period metals to understand the degeneration of their mechanical properties. Since the hydraulic bulge test has a different stress state from the classical uniaxial tensile test, we [...] Read more.
The hydraulic bulge test with micro-samples is expected to be useful in the damage assessment of long-service-period metals to understand the degeneration of their mechanical properties. Since the hydraulic bulge test has a different stress state from the classical uniaxial tensile test, we need to understand their correlation and differences. In this study, the hydraulic bulge test and the uniaxial tensile test are employed to analyze the mechanical properties of three typical metals used in pressure vessels: 316L, 16MnDR, and Q345R. By utilizing Kruglov’s vertex thickness and Panknin’s curvature radius equivalent, the pressure–displacement curves from the hydraulic bulge test are converted into biaxial stress–strain curves. Based on the equivalent plastic energy model, the biaxial stress–strain curves are converted into uniaxial stress–strain curves with an error less than 10% in the strain hardening stage, achieving the unified characterization of mechanical properties under different stress states. Moreover, the hydraulic bulge test provides a more extensive strain hardening stage, and the fracture strains are 9–16.5% larger than those of uniaxial tensile test. This paper provides a reference for using the hydraulic bulge test with micro-samples in studying the mechanical properties and presents the advantages of this novel test method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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20 pages, 17699 KiB  
Article
Effect of Hydrogen on Fatigue Life and Fracture Morphologies of TRIP-Aided Martensitic Steels with Added Nitrogen
by Tomohiko Hojo, Akihiko Nagasaka, Junya Kobayashi, Yuki Shibayama and Eiji Akiyama
Metals 2024, 14(3), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14030346 - 17 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1280
Abstract
The effects of hydrogen on the tensile properties, fatigue life, and tensile and fatigue fracture morphologies of nitrogen-added ultrahigh-strength transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided martensitic (TM) steels were investigated. The total elongation and number of cycles to failure (Nf) of the hydrogen-charged [...] Read more.
The effects of hydrogen on the tensile properties, fatigue life, and tensile and fatigue fracture morphologies of nitrogen-added ultrahigh-strength transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP)-aided martensitic (TM) steels were investigated. The total elongation and number of cycles to failure (Nf) of the hydrogen-charged TM steels decreased with the addition of nitrogen; in particular, adding 100 ppm of nitrogen decreased the total elongation and Nf of the TM steels. The quasi-cleavage cracking around the AlN occurred near the sample surface, which is the crack propagation region, although dimples appeared at the center of the fracture surface in the tensile samples. The initial fatigue crack initiated at the AlN precipitate or matrix/AlN interface, located at the notch root. During crack propagation, new cracks were initiated at the AlN precipitates or matrix/AlN interfaces, while quasi-cleavage crack regions were observed around the AlN precipitates. The decrease in the total elongation and Nf of the hydrogen-charged TM steel with 100 ppm of added nitrogen might be attributable to the crack initiation around the AlN precipitates formed by a large amount of hydrogen trapped at the AlN precipitates and matrix/AlN interfaces, and to the dense distribution of AlN, which promoted crack linkage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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17 pages, 5199 KiB  
Article
In Situ Fatigue Damage Monitoring by Means of Nonlinear Ultrasonic Measurements
by Andrea Saponaro and Riccardo Nobile
Metals 2024, 14(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14010011 - 21 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1150
Abstract
In the present work, the results of acoustic nonlinear response of ultrasonic wave propagation when monitoring the progress of damage induced by fatigue on notched C45 carbon steel specimens have been reported. Two ultrasound probes were fixed to the specimens during the tests. [...] Read more.
In the present work, the results of acoustic nonlinear response of ultrasonic wave propagation when monitoring the progress of damage induced by fatigue on notched C45 carbon steel specimens have been reported. Two ultrasound probes were fixed to the specimens during the tests. The input signal was sinusoidal type, while the corresponding ultrasound response signal was acquired and recorded at each stage of the test by means of a digital oscilloscope. A nonlinear frequency study was performed on the acquired data to evaluate the change in the second- and third-order nonlinearity coefficients of β1 and β2, respectively, on the tested specimens. Ultrasonic results were correlated to plastic strain at the notch tip in the initial phases of fatigue and stiffness degradation. The results showed a significant increase in second-order nonlinearity β1 in the early stages of fatigue life. Subsequently, starting from about 30–40% of the fatigue life, the nonlinearity of β1 increases. Before final failure, from 80 to 85% of fatigue life, the second-order nonlinearity further increases in the crack propagation stages. The nonlinear parameter of the third-order β2 was less sensitive to damage than the parameter β1, showing a rapid increase only starting from approximately 80 to 85% of the fatigue life. The proposed method proved to be valid for detective damage induced by fatigue and to predict the lifetime of metal materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fatigue, Creep Behavior and Fracture Mechanics of Metals)
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