Deformation behaviour, short crack growth and fatigue lives under multiaxial nonproportional loading

Experimental results of a research project on short crack growth under multiaxial nonproportional loading are presented. Fatigue lives, crack growth curves and the deformation behaviour of hollow tube specimens and notched specimens were investigated under combined tension and torsion loading. The results served as basis for the development of a cyclic plasticity model [During R, Hoffmeyer J, Vormwald M, Seeger T. A plasticity model for calculating stress-strain sequences under multiaxial nonproportional cyclic loading. In: Comput Mater Sci. 28(3-4);2003: 587-96; Wring R, Hoffmeyer J, Seeger T, Vormwald M. Constitutive modelling of nonproportional hardening, cyclic hardening and ratchetting. In: Proceedings of the seventh international conference on biaxial/multiaxial fatigue and fracture, DVM, Berlin; 2004. p. 291-6; Hoffmeyer J. Anrisslebensdauervorhersage bei mehrachsiger Beanspruchung auf Basis des Kurzrisskonzepts. PhD-Thesis, TU Darmstadt; 2004.] and a short crack model [Hoffmeyer J. Anrisslebensdauervorhersage bei mehrachsiger Beanspruchung auf Basis des Kurzrisskonzepts. PhD-Thesis, TU Darmstadt; 2004; During R, Hoffmeyer J, Seeger T, Vormwald M. Fatigue lifetime prediction based on a short crack growth model for multiaxial nonproportional loading. In: Proceedings of the seventh international conference on biaxial and multiaxial fatigue and fracture, DVM, Berlin; 2004. p. 253-8]. Stress-strain paths including nonproportional hardening and experimental fatigue lives of the unnotched specimens under different loading cases are discussed and compared with calculations. Load-time-sequences were in-phase, 45 degrees and 90 degrees out-of-phase loading with constant and variable amplitudes, torsion without and with superimposed static normal stress, and strain paths like box, butterfly, diamond and cross path. For the notched specimens fatigue lives under 0 degrees and 90 degrees out-of-phase loading are compared with calculations based on finite element results and the short crack model. During some tests the initiation, growth and orientation of short cracks was studied using the plastic replica technique. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.