SUMMARY The purpose of this assignment is to make an analysis and research about fatigue and creep failures.

I have make a research on definition of fatigue and creep resistance with the example of components that failed when fatigue and creep resistance occur. From the research, I can define the basic principles and mechanism of fatigue and creep failures on how the fatigue and creep failures occur. I also list some of the factor that affecting the failures and recommended solution to avoid fatigue and creep resistance from occur based on the mechanical application. The purpose of this assignment also to design mechanical components free from fatigue and creep failures based on this research. Fatigue failure is defined as the tendency of a material to fracture by means of progressive brittle cracking under repeated alternating or cyclic stresses of intensity considerably below the normal strength while creep may be defined as a time-dependent deformation at elevated temperature and constant stress. Since neither fatigue nor creep while acting on their own is fully understood, the mechanisms involved when they act together are even less well understood [1].

What are Fatigue and creep failures? Fatigue failure is defined as the tendency of a material to fracture by means of progressive brittle cracking under repeated alternating or cyclic stresses of intensity considerably below the normal strength ultimate or yield strengths of a material. It has been recognized that a metal subjected to a repetitive or fluctuating stress will fail at a stress much lower than that required to cause failure on a single application of load. Failures occurring under conditions of dynamic loading are called fatigue failures. The process of fatigue failures consists of three stages which are: Initial crack initiation Progressive crack growth across the part Final sudden fracture of the remaining cross section Creep may be defined as a time-dependent deformation at elevated temperature and constant stress. It follows, then, that a failure from such a condition is referred to as a creep failure or, occasionally, a stress rupture. The temperature at which creep begins depends on the alloy composition. It occurs as a result of long term exposure to high levels of stress that are below the yield strength of the material. The rate of this deformation is a function of the material properties, exposure time, exposure temperature and the applied structural load. Depending on the magnitude of the applied stress and its duration, the deformation may become so large that a component can no longer perform its function stressed at high temperatures.
[3] [2]

. Fatigue is progressive failure that occurs due to

dynamic and fluctuating stresses. Fatigue failures can occur at stress levels far below the

. Creep is the time-varying plastic deformation of a material

Example of components failed when fatigue and creep mechanism The concept of fatigue is very simple, when a motion is repeated, the object that is doing the work becomes weak. Fatigue occurs when a material is subject to alternating stresses, over a long period of time [4]. Examples of where fatigue may occur are: springs, turbine blades, airplane wings, crankshaft, bridges and bones.

Fatigue

failure

occur

at

the

turbine

blade

Fatigue failure occur at spring

Fatigue failure of crankshaft in pure bending

Bicycle crank spider arm fatigue failure

Creep is the time-varying plastic deformation of a material stressed at high temperatures. It occurs as a result of long term exposure to high levels of stress that are below the yield strength of the material. Objects commonly failed under creep such as turbine blades and steam generators. Turbine blade life is limited by creep deformation to a specified increase in blade length. It is not based on creep deformation to rupture. Creep failure occurs at a blade location that coincides with maximum temperature and increasing mechanical stress which is typically 3

around mid span. Some indicators of creep in the turbine blades are the loss of material at the trailing edge of blade tips, cracks in the trailing edge, necking at the trailing edge and blade stretch.

Creep failure and hot corrosion of turbine blade

High temperature creep can cause weld cracking

Basic principles of fatigue and creep failures Fatigue Failure 1. Crack initiation - Small cracks form at the surface at some point of high stress concentration (microcracks, scratches, indents, interior corners, dislocation slip steps). Quality of surface is important in crack initiation process. 2. Crack propagation - Crack advances incrementally with each stress cycle stress by repetitive blunting and sharpening of process of crack tip Stage I initially slow, involving few grains Stage II faster propagation perpendicular to the applied

3. Final failure - Occurs very rapidly once the advancing crack has reached a critical value - The fatigue life: Nf = Ni + Np contribution of the final step to total fatigue life is insignificant since it occurs so rapidly Nf: number of cycles to failure Ni: number of cycles for crack initiation Np: number of cycles for crack propagation Creep Failure There are three stages of creep [5]: Primary where plastic deformation occurs at decreasing strain rate. In this stage the strain rate is relatively high, however it slows down with increasing strain. This is due to work hardening. Secondary where the strain rate eventually reaches a minimum and becomes near constant. This is because of the equilibrium between work hardening and recovery. Tertiary where the strain rate exponentially increases with strain eventually leading to fracture.

Creep (t) curve

Recommend Resistance to Fatigue and Creep Failures Fatigue Failures Resistance The most effective method of improving fatigue performance is improvements in design [7]: Eliminate or reduce stress raisers by streamlining the part Avoid sharp surface tears resulting from punching, stamping, shearing, or other processes Prevent the development of surface discontinuities during processing. Reduce or eliminate tensile residual stresses caused by manufacturing. Improve the details of fabrication and fastening procedures Design to keep stress below threshold of fatigue limit Fatigue failure is a significant problem because it can occur due to repeated loads below the static yield strength. This can result in an unexpected and catastrophic failure in use. Because most engineering materials contain discontinuities most metal fatigue cracks initiate from discontinuities in highly stressed regions of the component [6]. The failure may be due the discontinuity, design, improper maintenance or other causes. A failure analysis can determine the cause of the failure Creep Failures Resistance Creep is the phenomenon of continuing plastic strain over long periods of time at loads below the yield point. Creep only happens at high temperatures (around 900 degrees F and higher for stainless steels). Certain stainless steel weld metals have higher resistance than others to creep at high temperatures. They are method to avoid creep failure of material [8]: 1. Employ materials of high melting temperatures Materials with higher melting points have larger activation energy for diffusion and as result a smaller diffusion coefficient

2. Obstruct the motion of dislocations Creep life could be extended by obstructing the motion of dislocations. This Solid solution additions to give friction stresses that act against glideSecond Phase Particles can be used reduce the rate of creep could be done in a number of ways: controlled creep.

3. Obstruct diffusional flow Diffusional flow can be retarded by: Increase the grain size: Second Phase Particles can be used Solid solution additions can retard the rate of diffusional creep.

How to control factors affecting fatigue and creep resistance Fatigue Failure Improving quality of surface surface treatments Avoid sharp surface tears resulting from punching, stamping, shearing, or other processes such as electroplating, grinding and forging [9] Reducing working stress eliminate or reduce stress raisers by streamlining the part the maximum stress occurs at the surface which the surface is exposed removing defects such as sharp edge, notch, and groove by applying

to harsh environments such as corrosion, or unexpected loads such as scratch and impact Removing environmental effects - reduce the exposure to the thermal fluctuations and corrosive environment effect

Imposing compressive surface stress crack growing Creep Failure Control the exposure temperature of material Creep occurs under load at high temperature. Boilers, gas turbine engines, and ovens are some of the systems that have components that experience creep. An understanding of high temperature materials behavior is beneficial in evaluating failures in these types of systems. [10] Use the high melting point of material - use material that high melting point such as stainless steel, refractory metals and superalloys Increase the applied stress on creep failure with increasing stress, the instantaneous strain increases, the steadystate creep rate increase and the time to rupture decreases Surface treatments that produce compress residual stress at the surface have positive impact on the fatigue life such as shot peening and case hardening to suppress

REFERENCES 1. Prof. A.K.M.B. Rashid, Fatigue and Creep of Materials, Department of MME, 2007, page 7-8 2. Fatigue-Strength ( Mechanics ) of Materials, Engineers Edge, http://www.engineersedge.com/material_science/fatique_failure.htm 3. Creep (deformation), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creep_%28deformation%29 4. Fatigue (material), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_%28material%29 5. Creep Failure and Related Question, http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php? p=2300028 6. Hashin, Z,Rotem, A., A Cumulative Damage Theory of Fatigue Failure, Materials. Science and Engineering, 1978, page 147-160. 7. Fatigue Failures, http://www.maintenanceworld.com/Articles/materialengineering/Fatigue-Failures.html 8. Ashby and Jones, Fatigue and Creep, Chapter 4 notes, page 20-23 9. Factors Affect Fatigue Life, http://www.efunda.com/formulae/solid_mechanics/fatigue/fatigue_factor.cfm 10. Creep and Stress Rupture Failures, ASM Handbook Volume 11, Failure Analysis and Prevention (ASM International), 2002, page 728-737