Resistivity-Based Evaluation of the Fatigue Behavior of Cast Irons

Cast irons are used in particular for highly stressed components in the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, e.g., for crankcases and in the wind power industry, e.g., for rotor hubs. The mechanical properties of cast irons are strongly influenced by parameters like phase composition of the matrix, graphite shape, micro-pinholes, and micro-cracks. The measurement of the electrical resistance in the unloaded state and its change during cyclic loading offers the possibility to get detailed information about the actual defect density and the cyclic deformation behavior. In the scope of the present work, stress-controlled load increase tests and constant amplitude tests were carried out at ambient temperature with specimens of the perlitic cast irons EN-GJL-250 (ASTM A48 35B), EN-GJV-400, and EN-GJS-600 (ASTM 80-55-06). Beside electrical measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the microstructure and to correlate the change of microstructural details with cyclic properties.