In the high cycle fatigue regime, microstructure attributes such as grain size, shape, and crystallographic orientation usually affect fatigue crack formation and early growth. However, most computational strategies and theoretical models for assessing the influence of the microstructure on early stages of fatigue crack formation and growth rely on simple constitutive models and 2D microstructures, which limit their applicability in design of microstructure of engineering materials. This work employs finite element simulations that explicitly render the 3D microstructure of an Face-centered cubic (FCC) alloy to evaluate the change of the driving force for fatigue crack formation and early stages of transgranular growth, including consideration of growth within individual grains and stress redistribution as the crack extends. The methodology is implemented using a crystal plasticity algorithm in ABAQUS and used to study the effect of microstructure on early fatigue life of a powder processed Ni-base RR1000 superalloy at 650℃ subjected to constant amplitude loading. The effects of the microstructure in extending a fatigue crack over the first few grains are analyzed.
ABAQUS (2009) FEM software V6.9. Providence, RI: Simulia Corp.
2.
AsaroRJ (1983) Crystal plasticity. Journal of Applied Mechanics50(4B): 921–934.
3.
AsaroRJNeedlemanA (1985) Overview 42. Texture development and strain-hardening in rate dependent polycrystals. Acta Metallurgica33(6): 923–953.
4.
BammannDJChiesaMLHorstemeyerMF (1993) Failure in ductile materials using finite element methods. In: JonesNWierzbickiT (eds) Structural Crashworthiness and Failure, London: Elsevier Science Publisher, pp. 1–54.
5.
BennettVPMcDowellDL (2002) Cyclic crystal plasticity analyses of stationary, microstructurally small surface cracks in ductile single phase polycrystals. Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures25(7): 677–693.
6.
BennettVPMcDowellDL (2003) Crack tip displacements of microstructurally small surface cracks in single phase ductile polycrystals. Engineering Fracture Mechanics70(2): 185–207.
7.
BettgeDOsterleW (1999) Cube slip in near-[111] oriented specimens of a single-crystal nickel-base superalloy. Scripta Materialia40(4): 389–395.
8.
BlochwitzCHeinrichDFrenzelR (1989) Microcrack propagation in fatigued F.C.C. monocrystals. 1. Crack-depth distribution and propagation rate. Materials Science and Engineering A118: 71–81.
9.
Busso EP (1990) Cyclic deformation of monocrystalline nickel aluminide and high temperature coatings. PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
10.
Castelluccio GM (2012) A study on the influence of microstructure on small fatigue cracks. PhD Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.
11.
CastelluccioGMMcDowellDL (2012) Assessment of small fatigue crack growth driving forces in single crystals with and without slip bands. International Journal of Fracture176(1): 49–64.
12.
CastelluccioGMMcDowellDL (2013) Effect of annealing twins on crack initiation under high cycle fatigue conditions. Journal of Materials Science48(6): 2376–2387.
13.
CastelluccioGMMcDowellDL (2014) Mesoscale modeling of microstructurally small fatigue cracks in metallic polycrystals. Materials Science and Engineering. under review.
14.
ChanKS (2003) A microstructure-based fatigue-crack-initiation model. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A34(1): 43–58.
15.
DuberOKunklerBKruppU (2006) Experimental characterization and two-dimensional simulation of short-crack propagation in an austenitic-ferritic duplex steel. International Journal of Fatigue28(9): 983–992.
16.
FatemiAKurathP (1988) Multiaxial fatigue life predictions under the influence of mean-stresses. Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology110(4): 380–388.
17.
FatemiASocieDF (1988) A critical plane approach to multiaxial fatigue damage including out-of-phase loading. Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures11(3): 149–165.
18.
FerrieESauzayM (2009) Influence of local crystallographic orientation on short crack propagation in high cycle fatigue of 316LN steel. Journal of Nuclear Materials386–388: 666–669.
19.
GallKSehitogluHKadiogluY (1997) A methodology for predicting variability in microstructurally short fatigue crack growth rates. Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology119(2): 171–179.
20.
Gerdes C, Gysler A, Lutjering G, et al. (1984) Fatigue crack growth threshold concepts. In: Davidson DL and Suresh S (eds) International symposium on fatigue crack growth threshold concepts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3–5 October 1983. Warrendale, PA: Metallurgical Society of AIME.
21.
HerbigMKingAReischigP (2011) 3-D growth of a short fatigue crack within a polycrystalline microstructure studied using combined diffraction and phase-contrast X-ray tomography. Acta Materialia59: 590–601.
22.
HobsonPD (1982) The formulation of a crack-growth equation for short cracks. Fatigue of Engineering Materials and Structures5(4): 323–327.
23.
HobsonPDBrownMWde los RiosER (1986) Two phases of short crack growth in a medium carbon steel. In: MillerKJde los RiosER (eds) The Behaviour of Short Fatigue Cracks, London: Mechanical Engineering Publications, pp. 441–459.
24.
KocksUFArgonAAshbyMF (1975) Thermodynamics and kinetics of slip. Progress in Materials Science. 191–288.
25.
KunklerBDuberOKosterP (2008) Modelling of short crack propagation—transition from stage I to stage II. Engineering Fracture Mechanics75(3–4): 715–725.
26.
LemaitreJChabocheJ-L (1994) Mechanics of Solid Materials, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
27.
LillbackaRJohnsonEEkhM (2006) A model for short crack propagation in polycrystalline materials. Engineering Fracture Mechanics73(2): 223–232.
28.
LinBZhaoLGTongJ (2010) Crystal plasticity modeling of cyclic deformation for a polycrystalline nickel-based superalloy at high temperature. Materials Science and Engineering A527(15): 3581–3587.
29.
McDowellDL (1996) Basic issues in the mechanics of high cycle metal fatigue. International Journal of Fracture80: 103–145.
30.
McDowellDL (2007) Simulation-based strategies for microstructure-sensitive fatigue modeling. Materials Science and Engineering A468–470: 4–14.
31.
McDowellDL (2008) Viscoplasticity of heterogeneous metallic materials. Materials Science and Engineering R: Reports62(3): 67–123.
32.
McDowellDLBerardJY (1992) A ΔJ-based approach to biaxial fatigue. Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures15(8): 719–741.
MarxMSchaefWWelschMT (2012) The microstructure as crack initiation point and barrier against fatigue damaging. International Journal of Fatigue41: 57–63.
35.
Miller K (1997) The three thresholds for fatigue crack propagation. In: Piascik RS and Newman JC (eds) Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics: 27th volume in ASTM STP 1296. West Conshohocken, PA, US: ASTM, pp.267–286.
36.
MorrisonDJMoosbruggerJC (1997) Effects of grain size on cyclic plasticity and fatigue crack initiation in nickel. International Journal of Fatigue19(93): 51–59.
37.
MurakamiY (2002) Metal Fatigue: Effects of Small Defects and Nonmetallic Inclusions, Oxford and Boston: Elsevier.
38.
MusinskiWDMcDowellDL (2012) Microstructure-sensitive probabilistic modeling of HCF crack initiation and early crack growth in Ni-base superalloy IN100 notched components. International Journal of Fatigue37: 41–53.
39.
NavarroAde los RiosER (1987) A model for short fatigue crack propagation with an interpretation of the short-long crack transition. Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures10(2): 169–186.
40.
PippanRRiemelmoserFOKreuzerH (2001) Effect of the discrete nature of plasticity on fatigue crack propagation. Journal de Physique IV France11: Pr5–77–Pr5–84.
41.
PolakJObrtlikKHelesicJ (1991) Cyclic strain localization in polycrystalline copper at room temperature and low temperatures. Materials Science and Engineering A132: 67–76.
42.
ProudhonHMoffatASinclairI (2012) Three-dimensional characterisation and modelling of small fatigue corner cracks in high strength Al-alloys. Comptes Rendus Physique13: 316–327.
43.
PrzybylaCMusinskiWCastelluccioGM (2012) Microstructure-sensitive HCF and VHCF simulations. International Journal Fatigue57: 9–27.
44.
PrzybylaCPrasannavenkatesanRSalajeghehN (2010) Microstructure-sensitive modeling of high cycle fatigue. International Journal of Fatigue32(3): 512–552.
45.
Reddy SC, Fatemi A, Mitchell MR, et al. (1992) Small crack growth in multiaxial fatigue. Advances in Fatigue Lifetime Predictive Techniques in STP1122. Philadelphia, PA, USA: ASTM, pp.276–298.
46.
RiceJR (1971) Inelastic constitutive relations for solids: An internal-variable theory and its application to metal plasticity. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids19(6): 433–455.
47.
RiemelmoserFOPippanRStuweHP (1997) A comparison of a discrete dislocation model and a continuous description of cyclic crack tip plasticity. International Journal Fracture85(2): 157–168.
48.
SchaefWMarxMVehoffH (2011) A 3-D view on the mechanisms of short fatigue cracks interacting with grain boundaries. Acta Materialia59(5): 1849–1861.
49.
ShenoyMMTjiptowidjojoYMcDowellDL (2008) Microstructure-sensitive modeling of polycrystalline IN100. International Journal of Plasticity24(10): 1694–1730.
50.
ShenoyMMZhangJMcDowellDL (2007) Estimating fatigue sensitivity to polycrystalline Ni-base superalloy microstructures using a computational approach. Fatigue and Fracture of Engineering Materials and Structures30(10): 889–904.
51.
Socie DF and Marquis GB (1999) Multiaxial Fatigue. SAE International.
52.
StockerCZimmermannMChristHJ (2009) Microstructural characterisation and constitutive behaviour of alloy RR1000 under fatigue and creep-fatigue loading conditions. Materials Science and Engineering A518(1–2): 27–34.
53.
SureshS (1998) Fatigue of Materials of Cambridge Solid State Science Series, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
54.
TairaSTanakaKNakaiY (1978) Model of crack-tip slip band blocked by grain-boundary. Mechanics Research Communications5(6): 375–381.
55.
Tanaka K and Akiniwa Y (1989) Propagation and non-propagation of small fatigue cracks. In: Proceedings of International Conference Fracture 7, Advances in Fracture Research, vol. 2, Houston, Texas 1989, pp. 869–887.
56.
TanakaKMuraT (1981) A dislocation model for fatigue crack initiation. Journal of Applied Mechanics48(1): 97–103.
57.
Tokaji K, Ogawa T, Miller KJ, et al. (1992) The growth behaviour of microstructurally small fatigue cracks in metals. In: Short Fatigue Cracks—ESIS 13. London: Mechanical Engineering Publications, pp.85–99.
58.
WorthemDWRobertsonIMLeckieFA (1990) Inhomogeneous deformation in INCONEL 718 during monotonic and cyclic loadings. Metallurgical Transactions A21(12): 3215–3220.
59.
ZhaiTWilkinsonAJMartinJW (2000) A crystallographic mechanism for fatigue crack propagation through grain boundaries. Acta Materialia48(20): 4917–4927.
60.
ZhanZLTongJ (2007) A study of cyclic plasticity and viscoplasticity in a new nickel-based superalloy using unified constitutive equations. Part I: Evaluation and determination of material parameters. Mechanics of Materials39(1): 64–72.
