Book Description

An investigation was performed to study the effects of slip character and crack closure on the propagation of small fatigue cracks in titanium- aluminum alloys. The materials examined were solution-treated Ti-4Al and Ti-8Al, as well as aged Ti-8Al. The propagation of naturally initiated surface cracks of depths as small as 25 micrometers was compared with the behavior of large through-thickness cracks. An extensometer was used to monitor crack closure throughout the large crack tests, and the closure behavior of the small cracks was measured using a computerized laser interferometric displacement gage having a displacement resolution of 0.01 micrometer. The measurements of crack closure were used to compute an effective stress intensity factor range. In all three alloys and for all test conditions, which included a range of stress levels and stress ratios, small cracks propagated faster than large cracks subjected to an equivalent Delta K, and the small cracks propagated under conditions that were significantly below the large-crack threshold, Delta K(th). Although the character and distribution of slip in Ti-Al alloys may have a dramatic influence on fatigue crack initiation and on the propagation of large cracks, this effect was minimal for small cracks.