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Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels
                                            Charles G. Lester IV
                                             Ph: 404-576-5921
                                         Chuck.LesterIV@gmail.com
                                                 10/12/2011


       Overview
       Overview .................................................................................................................................... 1
       Personal Background .................................................................................................................. 1
       Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) ..................................................................................... 2
       Automotive Applications ............................................................................................................ 2
       Steels Characterized in Fatigue Testing ....................................................................................... 3
       Experimental Method.................................................................................................................. 5
       Experimental Results .................................................................................................................. 6
       Summary .................................................................................................................................. 10
       Future Work ............................................................................................................................. 10


       Personal Background
                 B.S. Mechanical Engineering – Clarkson University
                 B.S. Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management – Clarkson University
                 M.S. Materials Science and Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology
                 Experience as a full-time employee managing a laboratory that tested construction
                  materials for code compliance and product development
                 Experience as an intern running fatigue tests and analyzing fatigue data for a steel
                  manufacturer
                 Experience running electric and hydraulic universal test frames
                 Career objective is to combine knowledge from various degrees and perform research
                  focused on the mechanical behavior of materials
                 Future goal is to broaden knowledge base to other materials used in structural
                  applications (e.g. FCC, HCP, composites)




                                                                                                                                                         1
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


       Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS)
              Used in automotive applications due to improved properties over conventional high-
               strength steels
                   o Better formability to create complex shapes
                   o Better weldability
                   o Improved dent resistance
              Objective is to maintain strength with minimal losses in ductility (i.e. increase toughness)
               by optimizing the microstructure
              Increase in toughness potentially provides superior fatigue resistance to conventional
               high strength steels, however other factors need to be considered, such as
                   o The accommodation of strain within the microstructure
                   o Interfacial energy at grain boundaries and interfaces
                   o Dislocation motion and interactions
              By reducing the gauge thickness and improving the cross-section, reductions in overall
               component weight can be realized. Weight reductions therefore require replacing
               conventional high-strength steels with more ductile AHSS to maintain fatigue resistance.


       Automotive Applications




              Grade is tailored to applications based on hardness, tensile strength, formability,
               weldability and fatigue properties
                    o Tailored by precipitation hardening, grain refinement, work hardening, solid
                        solution hardening, bake hardening, etc.
              For example, the fatigue properties of an automotive wheel are more critical than the
               fatigue properties of a door, therefore different microstructures should be considered for
               each application




                                                                                                              2
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels
           Steels Characterized in Fatigue Testing
   •       HR590                                            •   HR590DP, Dual Phase
             – Continuous Cast, Hot-Rolled                        – Continuous Cast, Hot-Rolled
             – 3.2mm thick sheet                                  – 3.2mm thick sheet
             – Precipitation strengthened ferrite                 – Martensite strengthened ferrite
                 matrix                                               matrix
             – Tensile Strength Grade: 590MPa                     – Tensile Strength Grade: 590MPa
             – Average Yield Strength: 570MPa                     – Average Yield Strength: 420MPa
             – Ultimate Strength: 650MPa                          – Ultimate Strength: 640MPa
             – Uniform Elongation: 10.8%                          – Uniform Elongation: 11.3%

Table 1: Chemical composition of steels tested

                              C    Mn      Si   Cr    Nb     V     Ti    Al    P     S     N
    HR 590                  0.0855 1.36   0.12 0.043 0.042 0.005 0.034 0.017 0.012 0.006 0.0041
    HR 590DP                0.0599 1.194 0.122 0.497 0.002 0.006 0.003 0.032 0.014 0.001 0.0056


                      700
                      600
       Stress (MPa)




                      500
                      400
                                             Regime of Low-Cycle Fatigue
                      300                    Testing
                                                                               HR590
                      200
                                                                               HR590DP
                      100
                        0
                            0             0.05             0.1              0.15             0.2
                                                         Strain
Figure 1: Monotonic stress-strain behavior of steels tested




                                                                                                      3
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels




                                                  Thickness



                          (a)                                              (b)

                                                                 Longitudinal
                      Transverse
                                                                 (Rolling Direction)
                      (Loading Direction)


Figure 2: Three-dimensional images of steels tested a) HR590 b) HR590DP


    Microstructural attributes of HR590            Microstructural attributes of HR590DP
      o Grain Size: ~10µm                             o Grain Size: ~10µm
      o Nearly all ferrite microstructure             o Ferrite/Bainite/Martensite microstructure
      o Pancaked grains                               o Less pancaking of grains
      o Inclusions up to >20µm                        o Inclusions up to <20µm
      o Centerline segregation consisting of          o Centerline segregation consisting of
        pearlite                                        martensite




                                                                                                    4
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


       Experimental Method
              Experiments involved mechanical testing, fractography, metallography

Table 2: Test parameters for fatigue testing
    Control Mode                                             Axial Strain
    Strain Rate                                             0.005/second
    Strain Amplitudes                 0.0200, 0.0170, 0.0140, 0.0110, 0.0080, 0.0050, 0.0035,
                                                      0.0029, 0.0023, 0.0020
    R-Ratio                                             1.0 (Fully Reversed)
    Waveform                                                 Triangular
    Failure Criteria                               50% of Estimated Max. Load

      Due to imperfect crystal structure localized plastic
       deformation can be unavoidable during extreme
       loading conditions, however in situ observations can
       be difficult to see
      By performing tests in strain control, stable hysteresis
       loops are formed with constant deformation
      Data is statistical, therefore a test plan is required that
       addresses outliers and deviations
      Test plan is designed to address the curvature of a
       strain-life curve that has a plastic and elastic
       component (i.e. bi-lineal relationship)
      Fractography was performed to determine crack
       initiation
      Specimens were acid etched to reveal microstructure


                                                                     Figure 3: Fatigue Test Apparatus




                        (a)                                                 (b)
Figure 4: Etched microstructures using a) Nital + Sodium Meta-bisulfite b) Nital




                                                                                                        5
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels
                            Experimental Results




Figure 5: Hysteresis loops for steels tested at 0Nf, 0.25Nf, 0.50Nf, 0.75Nf


                        1.0000                                                                                 1.0000
                                          Plastic Strain                                                                        Plastic Strain
                                          Elastic Strain                                                                        Elastic Strain
                                          Total Strain - Experimental Data                                                      Total Strain - Experimental Data
                                          Total Strain - Curve Fit                                                              Total Strain - Curve Fit
                        0.1000            Power (Plastic Strain)                                               0.1000           Power (Plastic Strain)
 Log Strain Amplitude




                                                                                        Log Strain Amplitude




                                          Power (Elastic Strain)                                                                Power (Elastic Strain)



                        0.0100                                                                                 0.0100
                                                                                                                                                        y = 0.2126x-0.457
                                                                                                                                                          R² = 0.9602


                        0.0010                                      y = 0.5126x-0.622                          0.0010
                                                                      R² = 0.9878

                                                y = 0.0081x-0.113                                                                                  y = 0.0092x-0.14
                                                  R² = 0.9573                                                                                        R² = 0.9428
                        0.0001                                                                                 0.0001
                                 100     1000     10000     100000 1000000                                              100     1000     10000      100000 1000000
                                       Log Reversals to Failure(2Nf)                                                          Log Reversals to Failure(2Nf)
                         (a)                                                                                                              (b)
Figure 6: Strain-Life curves for a) HR590 b) HR590DP




                                                                                                                                                                            6
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


                               700
                                                                                  2.0% Strain
                               650
                                                                                  1.1% Strain
                               600
    Avg. Alt. Stress (MPa)

                                                                                  0.5% Strain
                               550
                                                                                  0.2% Strain
                               500
                               450
                               400
                               350
                               300
                               250
                               200
                                  0.001   0.010   0.100   1.000      10.000   100.000   1000.000
                                                   Log(Cumulative Strain)

   Figure 7: Average alternating stress as a function of the total accumulated strain
   on the HR590 specimen taken at four representative strain levels




                               700
                                                                                  2.0% Strain
                               650
                                                                                  1.1% Strain
                               600
      Avg. Alt. Stress (MPa)




                                                                                  0.5% Strain
                               550
                                                                                  0.2% Strain
                               500
                               450
                               400
                               350
                               300
                               250
                               200
                                  0.001   0.010   0.100   1.000      10.000   100.000   1000.000
                                                   Log(Cumulative Strain)

   Figure 8: Average alternating stress as a function of the total accumulated strain
   on the HR590DP specimen taken at four representative strain levels




                                                                                                   7
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


                  700

                  600

                  500
   Stress (MPa)




                  400
                                                                             Cyclic @ 0.5Nf
                  300
                                                                             Monotonic @ 0.5Nf
                  200
                                                                             Experimental Data
                  100

                    0
                        0   0.005           0.01          0.015             0.02            0.025
                                               Total Strain

     Figure 9: Cyclic and monotonic stress-strain data for HR590




                  700

                  600

                  500
   Stress (MPa)




                  400
                                                                            Cyclic @ 0.5Nf
                  300
                                                                            Monotonic @ 0.5Nf
                  200
                                                                            Experimental Data
                  100

                    0
                        0   0.005           0.01          0.015             0.02            0.025
                                               Total Strain

     Figure 10: Cyclic and monotonic stress-strain data for HR590DP




                                                                                                    8
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


Table 3: Cyclic stress for strain resistance in MPa as calculated using the half-life data
parameters

    Steel                                         Life Level in Reversals
                      500          1000         5000          10000       50000        100000
      HR590           622           593          532           508         456          435
     HR590DP          553           520          452           426         370          349




Figure 11: Optical images of fracture surfaces of tested steels




Figure 12: SEM images of fracture surfaces near the point of crack initiation




                                                                                                9
Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels


       Summary
              Low–cycle fatigue testing was performed to characterize the mechanical properties of
               two steel microstructures that utilize different strengthening mechanisms to achieve the
               same tensile grade
              Fatigue data was quantitatively analyzed and microstructural attributes were qualitatively
               analyzed
              Using parameters from experimental data, a relationship for the magnitude of the
               resistance to a given amount of strain was developed and showed that the precipitation
               strengthened ferrite microstructure (HR590) showed more resistance to the onset of
               plastic deformation than the dual phase microstructure (HR590DP)
              Fatigue behavior is often complicated and cannot be completely described by uniaxial
               low-cycle fatigue testing
              Other elements that affect fatigue life are
                    o Changes in loading direction or combinations of loading directions
                    o Material sensitivity to geometric discontinuities
                    o Different distributions of stress (e.g. bending)
                    o Deformation within the high-cycle regime (e.g. bulk elastic)


       Future Work
              The motion and interaction of dislocations are of great importance when studying fatigue,
               therefore a more quantitative approach to characterizing the microstructure can be
               established to understand this phenomenon. This approach often involves the use of
               electron microscopy to see dislocation substructures.
              Although plastic deformation can occur in areas where the microstructure is non-
               homogeneous, elastic deformation is of importance when establishing fatigue criteria and
               therefore high-cycle fatigue testing should also be considered. For steel this may be used
               to establish a fatigue limit, however for other materials this may be required to establish
               service life.
              Components often have geometric discontinuities, or notches, that negatively impact
               fatigue life. For monotonic loading, notches are compensated for by a stress
               concentration factor based on geometry alone. Similar factors need to be established for
               fatigue, as the fatigue behavior is dependent on both the notch geometry and the
               sensitivity of the microstructure. Therefore, notch fatigue tests should be performed at
               stress amplitudes that elastically deform the material, but cause plastic deformation at the
               notch root.
              After the fatigue behavior of the material is clearly established, scale component tests in
               which dynamic loads are cyclically applied should be run to evaluate the true service life
               and establish criteria for combination loading.




                                                                                                              10

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  • 1. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Charles G. Lester IV Ph: 404-576-5921 Chuck.LesterIV@gmail.com 10/12/2011 Overview Overview .................................................................................................................................... 1 Personal Background .................................................................................................................. 1 Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS) ..................................................................................... 2 Automotive Applications ............................................................................................................ 2 Steels Characterized in Fatigue Testing ....................................................................................... 3 Experimental Method.................................................................................................................. 5 Experimental Results .................................................................................................................. 6 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 10 Future Work ............................................................................................................................. 10 Personal Background  B.S. Mechanical Engineering – Clarkson University  B.S. Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management – Clarkson University  M.S. Materials Science and Engineering – Georgia Institute of Technology  Experience as a full-time employee managing a laboratory that tested construction materials for code compliance and product development  Experience as an intern running fatigue tests and analyzing fatigue data for a steel manufacturer  Experience running electric and hydraulic universal test frames  Career objective is to combine knowledge from various degrees and perform research focused on the mechanical behavior of materials  Future goal is to broaden knowledge base to other materials used in structural applications (e.g. FCC, HCP, composites) 1
  • 2. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS)  Used in automotive applications due to improved properties over conventional high- strength steels o Better formability to create complex shapes o Better weldability o Improved dent resistance  Objective is to maintain strength with minimal losses in ductility (i.e. increase toughness) by optimizing the microstructure  Increase in toughness potentially provides superior fatigue resistance to conventional high strength steels, however other factors need to be considered, such as o The accommodation of strain within the microstructure o Interfacial energy at grain boundaries and interfaces o Dislocation motion and interactions  By reducing the gauge thickness and improving the cross-section, reductions in overall component weight can be realized. Weight reductions therefore require replacing conventional high-strength steels with more ductile AHSS to maintain fatigue resistance. Automotive Applications  Grade is tailored to applications based on hardness, tensile strength, formability, weldability and fatigue properties o Tailored by precipitation hardening, grain refinement, work hardening, solid solution hardening, bake hardening, etc.  For example, the fatigue properties of an automotive wheel are more critical than the fatigue properties of a door, therefore different microstructures should be considered for each application 2
  • 3. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Steels Characterized in Fatigue Testing • HR590 • HR590DP, Dual Phase – Continuous Cast, Hot-Rolled – Continuous Cast, Hot-Rolled – 3.2mm thick sheet – 3.2mm thick sheet – Precipitation strengthened ferrite – Martensite strengthened ferrite matrix matrix – Tensile Strength Grade: 590MPa – Tensile Strength Grade: 590MPa – Average Yield Strength: 570MPa – Average Yield Strength: 420MPa – Ultimate Strength: 650MPa – Ultimate Strength: 640MPa – Uniform Elongation: 10.8% – Uniform Elongation: 11.3% Table 1: Chemical composition of steels tested C Mn Si Cr Nb V Ti Al P S N HR 590 0.0855 1.36 0.12 0.043 0.042 0.005 0.034 0.017 0.012 0.006 0.0041 HR 590DP 0.0599 1.194 0.122 0.497 0.002 0.006 0.003 0.032 0.014 0.001 0.0056 700 600 Stress (MPa) 500 400 Regime of Low-Cycle Fatigue 300 Testing HR590 200 HR590DP 100 0 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 Strain Figure 1: Monotonic stress-strain behavior of steels tested 3
  • 4. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Thickness (a) (b) Longitudinal Transverse (Rolling Direction) (Loading Direction) Figure 2: Three-dimensional images of steels tested a) HR590 b) HR590DP  Microstructural attributes of HR590  Microstructural attributes of HR590DP o Grain Size: ~10µm o Grain Size: ~10µm o Nearly all ferrite microstructure o Ferrite/Bainite/Martensite microstructure o Pancaked grains o Less pancaking of grains o Inclusions up to >20µm o Inclusions up to <20µm o Centerline segregation consisting of o Centerline segregation consisting of pearlite martensite 4
  • 5. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Experimental Method  Experiments involved mechanical testing, fractography, metallography Table 2: Test parameters for fatigue testing Control Mode Axial Strain Strain Rate 0.005/second Strain Amplitudes 0.0200, 0.0170, 0.0140, 0.0110, 0.0080, 0.0050, 0.0035, 0.0029, 0.0023, 0.0020 R-Ratio 1.0 (Fully Reversed) Waveform Triangular Failure Criteria 50% of Estimated Max. Load  Due to imperfect crystal structure localized plastic deformation can be unavoidable during extreme loading conditions, however in situ observations can be difficult to see  By performing tests in strain control, stable hysteresis loops are formed with constant deformation  Data is statistical, therefore a test plan is required that addresses outliers and deviations  Test plan is designed to address the curvature of a strain-life curve that has a plastic and elastic component (i.e. bi-lineal relationship)  Fractography was performed to determine crack initiation  Specimens were acid etched to reveal microstructure Figure 3: Fatigue Test Apparatus (a) (b) Figure 4: Etched microstructures using a) Nital + Sodium Meta-bisulfite b) Nital 5
  • 6. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Experimental Results Figure 5: Hysteresis loops for steels tested at 0Nf, 0.25Nf, 0.50Nf, 0.75Nf 1.0000 1.0000 Plastic Strain Plastic Strain Elastic Strain Elastic Strain Total Strain - Experimental Data Total Strain - Experimental Data Total Strain - Curve Fit Total Strain - Curve Fit 0.1000 Power (Plastic Strain) 0.1000 Power (Plastic Strain) Log Strain Amplitude Log Strain Amplitude Power (Elastic Strain) Power (Elastic Strain) 0.0100 0.0100 y = 0.2126x-0.457 R² = 0.9602 0.0010 y = 0.5126x-0.622 0.0010 R² = 0.9878 y = 0.0081x-0.113 y = 0.0092x-0.14 R² = 0.9573 R² = 0.9428 0.0001 0.0001 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 Log Reversals to Failure(2Nf) Log Reversals to Failure(2Nf) (a) (b) Figure 6: Strain-Life curves for a) HR590 b) HR590DP 6
  • 7. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels 700 2.0% Strain 650 1.1% Strain 600 Avg. Alt. Stress (MPa) 0.5% Strain 550 0.2% Strain 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000 10.000 100.000 1000.000 Log(Cumulative Strain) Figure 7: Average alternating stress as a function of the total accumulated strain on the HR590 specimen taken at four representative strain levels 700 2.0% Strain 650 1.1% Strain 600 Avg. Alt. Stress (MPa) 0.5% Strain 550 0.2% Strain 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000 10.000 100.000 1000.000 Log(Cumulative Strain) Figure 8: Average alternating stress as a function of the total accumulated strain on the HR590DP specimen taken at four representative strain levels 7
  • 8. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels 700 600 500 Stress (MPa) 400 Cyclic @ 0.5Nf 300 Monotonic @ 0.5Nf 200 Experimental Data 100 0 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 Total Strain Figure 9: Cyclic and monotonic stress-strain data for HR590 700 600 500 Stress (MPa) 400 Cyclic @ 0.5Nf 300 Monotonic @ 0.5Nf 200 Experimental Data 100 0 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 Total Strain Figure 10: Cyclic and monotonic stress-strain data for HR590DP 8
  • 9. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Table 3: Cyclic stress for strain resistance in MPa as calculated using the half-life data parameters Steel Life Level in Reversals 500 1000 5000 10000 50000 100000 HR590 622 593 532 508 456 435 HR590DP 553 520 452 426 370 349 Figure 11: Optical images of fracture surfaces of tested steels Figure 12: SEM images of fracture surfaces near the point of crack initiation 9
  • 10. Analysis of Fatigue Behavior, Fatigue Damage and Fatigue Fracture of Two High-Strength Steels Summary  Low–cycle fatigue testing was performed to characterize the mechanical properties of two steel microstructures that utilize different strengthening mechanisms to achieve the same tensile grade  Fatigue data was quantitatively analyzed and microstructural attributes were qualitatively analyzed  Using parameters from experimental data, a relationship for the magnitude of the resistance to a given amount of strain was developed and showed that the precipitation strengthened ferrite microstructure (HR590) showed more resistance to the onset of plastic deformation than the dual phase microstructure (HR590DP)  Fatigue behavior is often complicated and cannot be completely described by uniaxial low-cycle fatigue testing  Other elements that affect fatigue life are o Changes in loading direction or combinations of loading directions o Material sensitivity to geometric discontinuities o Different distributions of stress (e.g. bending) o Deformation within the high-cycle regime (e.g. bulk elastic) Future Work  The motion and interaction of dislocations are of great importance when studying fatigue, therefore a more quantitative approach to characterizing the microstructure can be established to understand this phenomenon. This approach often involves the use of electron microscopy to see dislocation substructures.  Although plastic deformation can occur in areas where the microstructure is non- homogeneous, elastic deformation is of importance when establishing fatigue criteria and therefore high-cycle fatigue testing should also be considered. For steel this may be used to establish a fatigue limit, however for other materials this may be required to establish service life.  Components often have geometric discontinuities, or notches, that negatively impact fatigue life. For monotonic loading, notches are compensated for by a stress concentration factor based on geometry alone. Similar factors need to be established for fatigue, as the fatigue behavior is dependent on both the notch geometry and the sensitivity of the microstructure. Therefore, notch fatigue tests should be performed at stress amplitudes that elastically deform the material, but cause plastic deformation at the notch root.  After the fatigue behavior of the material is clearly established, scale component tests in which dynamic loads are cyclically applied should be run to evaluate the true service life and establish criteria for combination loading. 10