Fatigue crack growth rate in Room Temperature and Out-of-Phase Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue notched specimen experiments on the nickel-base alloy IN792 is studied. It is shown that it is possible to explain the observed higher crack growth rate in OP TMF compared to RT testing for the same external load, if plasticity induced crack closure is considered. Modeling utilizes node-release finite element simulations with a temperature dependent yield stress, resulting in different yield stress in tension and compression. It is shown that a simple extension of the analytical Newman crack closure equation can describe the opening level in the performed experiments.

At high temperatures metallic materials behave in a viscous manner exemplified by strain rate dependence, stress relaxation and creep deformation. At low temperatures however, these effects are extremely small, and the behaviour is strain rate independent and shows no or very small relaxation effects. Finally there exists an intermediate region, in which the material behaviour is close to strain rate independent for high strain rates but at the same time shows time dependent inelastic effects, such as stress relaxation and creep. For IN792 this occurs at temperatures around 650 °C. The article describes the extension of a power-law viscoplastic model describing the behaviour of IN792 at 850 °C, also to describe the behaviour at 650 °C, by bounding the elastic-viscoplastic stress-space by a plastic yield surface. The model parameters have been estimated using data from creep test and tailored step relaxation tests, and the model fits well to both the step relaxation data aimed at resembling relevant component conditions and long term creep data. © 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The material parameters for two isothermal viscoplastic models with deliberately limited sets of material parameters have been estimated. The models are to describe the behaviour of the nickel based superalloy IN792 in a gas turbine hot part application. The models are based on a power law flow equation and the state variable used is backstress. The model calibration is done by least-squares optimization using non-standard constitutive tests that are aimed at describing relevant component conditions. The constitutive tests give information about the kinematic hardening effects for the backstress evolution equations, while secondary creep data provides stress versus inelastic strain rate information for the flow equation. All tests are uniaxial and isothermal. With the estimated parameter sets the models give relatively good fits to the data. The results suggest that the models can be used to describe the high temperature behaviour of IN792. ⌐ 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In this study, a previously developed co-simulation method has been expanded to also simulate the dynamic behaviour of sealing gap regions in hydraulic percussion units. This approach is based on a 1D system model representing the fluid components and a 3D finite element model representing the structural parts of a hydraulic hammer. The sealing gap is a fundamental feature of a percussion unit, where the reciprocating motion of the piston is generated by the valve mechanism of the sealing gap. When the gap is closed it will prevent fluid flow between regions of different pressure levels. However, a small leakage flow through the gap will always occur which size depends on the clearance and the position of the piston. The method proposed here will take the structural motion and deformation into consideration when calculating the leakage flow. The deformed state of the structure is approximated by a cylindrical surface, in a least square manner, and communicated through the co-simulation interface to the fluid simulation module, and then used when calculating the leakage flow. This method aims at a more accurate simulation of the leakage flow that will not only yield a more realistic description of the mechanism on the local level, but also a more accurate estimation of global parameters such as overall performance and efficiency. The results indicate that the simulated leakage flow will decrease when dynamic gaps are used in comparison to static gaps, which is a consequence of the deformed structure that will generate smaller clearances. The leakage flow for the dynamic gaps will even be lower than for the static perfectly concentric case, mainly due to the reduction of clearances. The results also indicate that the dynamic eccentricity does not have a major influence on the leakage flow. The outcome from this study highlights the potentials of the described co-simulation approach for analysing the dynamics of the sealing gaps in a hydraulic percussion unit (i.e. gap heights, eccentricity ratios, etc.) including the evaluation of leakage flows and its impact on the overall performance. © 2021

In this study, a developed co-simulation method, which couples 1D-fluid and 3D-structural models, has been utilised to simulate wear in a hydraulic percussion unit. The effect of wear is generally detrimental on performance and lifetime for such units, but can also cause catastrophic failure and breakdown, requiring a total overhaul and replacement of core components. One experiment of standard straight impact was performed to investigate the tolerance against seizure. The percussion unit was operated at successively increasing operating pressures, and the level of wear was registered at each step, until seizure occurred. The co-simulation model was used to replicate the running conditions from the experiment to simulate the structural response to be used as input for the wear routine to calculate the wear depth. The wear pattern from the simulations corresponds well to the wear pattern from the experiment. Further, the effect of a misaligned impact on wear development was also studied, as this is a loading situation that typically occurs for hydraulic percussion units. The study demonstrates that the simulation method used has a potential for simulating wear and predicting seizure in hydraulic percussion units.

This paper addresses a co-simulation method for fluid power driven machinery equipment, i.e. oil hydraulic machinery. In these types of machinery, the fluid-structure interaction affects the end-product performance to a large extent, hence an efficient co-simulation method is of high importance. The proposed method is based on a 1D system model representing the fluid components of the hydraulic machinery, within which structural 3D Finite Element (FE) models can be incorporated for detailed simulation of specific sub-models or complete structural assemblies. This means that the fluid system simulation will get a more accurate structural response, and that the structural simulation will get more correct fluid loads at every time step, compared to decoupled analysis. Global system parameters such as fluid flow, performance and efficiency can be evaluated from the 1D system model simulation results. From the 3D FE-models, it is possible to evaluate displacements, stresses and strains to be used in stress analysis, fatigue evaluation, acoustic analysis, etc. The method has been implemented using two well-known simulation tools for fluid power system simulations and FE-simulations, respectively, where the interface between the tools is realised by use of the Functional Mock-up Interface standard. A simple but relevant model is used to validate the method.

In this study, a previously developed co-simulation approach has been adopted to simulate the responses of an existing hydraulic hammer product. This approach is based on a 1D system model representing the fluid components and a 3D finite element model representing the structural parts of the hydraulic hammer. The simulation model was validated against four experiments with different running conditions. The corresponding set-ups were analysed using the co-simulation method in order to evaluate the overall responses. A parameter study was also performed involving the working pressure and the restrictor diameter, with the objective to validate that a parameter change in the simulation model will affect the input and output power in the same direction as in the experiments. The experimental responses used in the validation were time history data of fluid pressure, component position and acceleration, and structural stresses. The experiments result in high frequency and high amplitude excitations of the hydraulic hammer and thus require a model with a high resolution of the model dynamics. The conclusion of the validation is that the simulation model is able to replicate the experimental responses with high accuracy including the high frequency dynamics. The favourable outcome of the validation makes the described co-simulation approach promising as an efficient tool for a wide range of other applications where short time duration mechanisms need to be studied.

In this study a previously developed co-simulation method that is based on a 1D system model representing the fluid components of a hydraulic machinery, within which structural 3D Finite Element (FE) models can be incorporated for detailed simulation of specific sub-models or complete structural assemblies, is further developed. The fluid system model consists of ordinary differential equation sub-models that are computationally very inexpensive, but still represents the fluid dynamics very well. The co-simulation method has been shown to work very well for a simple model representing a hydraulic driven machinery. A more complex model was set up in this work, in which two cylinders in the hydraulic circuit were evaluated. Such type of models, including both the main piston and control valves, are necessary as they represent the real application to a further extent than the simple model, of only one cylinder. Two models have been developed and evaluated, from the simple rigid body representation of the structural mechanics model, to the more complex model using linear elastic representation. The 3D FE-model facilitates evaluation of displacements, stresses, and strains on a local level of the model. The results can be utilised for fatigue assessment, wear analysis and for predictions of noise radiation.

Materials in steam turbine rotors are subjected to cyclic loads at high temperature, causing cracks to initiate and grow. To allow for more flexible operation, accurate fatigue models for life prediction must not be overly conservative. In this study, fully reversed low cycle fatigue tests were performed on a turbine rotor steel called FB2. The tests were done isothermally, within temperature range of room temperature to 600 °C, under strain control with 0.8-1.2 % total strain range. Some tests included hold time to calibrate the short-time creep behaviour of the material. Different fatigue life models were constructed. The life curve in terms of stress amplitude was found unusable at 600 °C, while the life curve in terms of total strain or inelastic strain amplitudes displayed inconsistent behaviour at 500 °C. To construct better life model, the inelastic strain amplitudes were separated into plastic and creep components by modelling the deformation behaviour of the material, including creep. Based on strain range partitioning approach, the fatigue life depends on different damage mechanisms at different strain ranges. This allowed the formulation of life curves based on plasticity or creep domination, which showed creep domination at 600 °C, while at 500 °C, creep only dominates for higher strain range.

Background: Several studies on one-stage surgery in the treatment of the edentulous maxilla with implant-supported fixed prostheses have reported problems with removable provisional prostheses, which can load the implants in an uncontrollable manner during healing, and jeopardize healing. Immediate splinting of the implants with a fixed provisional prosthesis has been proposed to protect the bone-implant interface.

Purpose: This study used the finite element method (FEM) to simulate stresses induced in bone tissue surrounding uncoupled and splinted implants in the maxilla because of bite force loading, and to determine whether the differences in these stress levels are related to differences in observed bone losses associated with the two healing methods.

Materials and Methods: Stress levels in the maxilla were studied using the FEM program TRINITAS (Institute of Technology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden) in which all phases – preprocessing/modeling, equation solving, and postprocessing/evaluation – were simulated.

Results: Stress levels in bone tissue surrounding splinted implants were markedly lower than stress levels surrounding uncoupled implants by a factor of nearly 9.

Conclusion: From a mechanical viewpoint, FEM simulation supports the hypothesis that splinting reduces damage evolution in bone tissue, which agrees with clinical observations.

Delamination initiation and growth are analyzed by using a discrete cohesive crack model. The model is derived by postulating the existence of a maximum load surface which limits the adhesive forces in the process zone of the crack. The size of the maximum load surface is made dependent on the amount of dissipated crack opening work such that the maximum load surface shrinks to zero as a predefined amount of work is consumed. Mode I, II, III loading or any combined loading is possible. The delamination model is implemented in the explicit finite-element code LS-DYNA and simulation results are found to be in agreement with experimental results. ⌐ 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Delamination initiation and growth are analyzed by using a discrete cohesive crack model. The delamination is constrained to grow along a tied interface. The model is derived by postulating the existence of a maximum load surface which limits the adhesive forces in the process zone of the crack. The size of this maximum load surface is made dependent on the amount of dissipated crack opening work, such that the maximum load surface shrinks to zero as a predefined amount of work is consumed. A damage formulation is used to reduce the adhesive forces. Mode I, II and III loading or any combined loading is possible. An analytical solution is obtained for a single mode opening and the implications of this result on the governing equations is discussed. The delamination model is implemented in the finite element code LS-DYNA and simulation results are shown to be in agreement with experimental results. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

A delamination model for shell elements is presented. It consists of an adhesive penalty contact formulation for initially tying shells together and a cohesive zone model for degrading the adhesive forces. An adhesive contact used between shell elements has to account for the thickness offset, such that the rotational degrees of freedom in the shell elements are included in the algorithm. This is considered in the present contact model and the complete delamination model is implemented in the explicit Finite Element code LS-DYNA. By preventing delamination growth the delamination model can be turned into a tied contact. As such it is used in two FE-models, where plates are bonded together and subjected to various loads. The adhesive penalty contact performs well. The complete delamination is validated by simulating the Double Cantilever Beam, End-Notch Flexural and Mixed Mode Bending setups, and the results are shown to be in agreement with experimental data.

An existing delamination model is further developed for use in transverse impact simulations. An algorithm is developed making it possible to determine the propagation direction of the delamination front. Using this it is possible to determine relative orientation of the delamination front with respect to the fibers above and below the interface. In a qualitative evaluation it is shown that the present delamination model can be used for modeling delamination initiation and growth in transverse impact simulations.

Single-crystal nickel-base superalloys frequently experience two distinct fatigue crack growth modes. It has been observed that, under certain conditions, cracks transition from a path perpendicular to the loading direction to a crystallographic slip plane. As crystallographic cracking is associated with an increased fatigue crack growth rate, it is important to be able to predict when this transition occurs. In this work three different criteria for crystallographic cracking based on resolved anisotropic stress intensity factors are evaluated in a three-dimensional finite element context. The criteria were calibrated and evaluated using isothermal fatigue experiments on two different specimen geometries. It is suggested by the results, that a threshold value of a resolved shear stress intensity factor can act as a conservative criterion indicating cracking mode transition. Further, a trend hinting towards a loading frequency dependency could be observed.

In this paper, the possibility to use linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), with and without a superimposed residual stress field, to predict fatigue crack propagation in the gas turbine disk material Inconel 718 has been studied. A temperature of 400 degrees C and applied strain ranges corresponding to component near conditions have been considered. A three-dimensional crack propagation software was used for determining the stress intensity factors (SIFs) along the crack path. In the first approach, a linear elastic material behavior was used when analyzing the material response. The second approach extracts the residual stresses from an uncracked model with perfectly plastic material behavior after one loading cycle. As a benchmark, the investigated methods are compared to experimental tests, where the cyclic lifetimes were calculated by an integration of Paris law. When comparing the results, it can be concluded that the investigated approaches give good results, at least for longer cracks, even though plastic flow was taking place in the specimen. The pure linear elastic simulation overestimates the crack growth for all crack lengths and gives conservative results over all considered crack lengths. Noteworthy with this work is that the 3D-crack propagation could be predicted with the two considered methods in an LEFM context, although plastic flow was present in the specimens during the experiments.

The elastic and plastic anisotropy of the single-crystal materials bring many difficulties in terms of modeling, evaluation and prediction of fatigue crack growth. In this paper a single-crystal material model has been adopted to a finite element-environment, which is paired with a crack growth tool. All simulations are performed in a three-dimensional context. This methodology makes it possible to analyze complex finite element-models, which are more application-near than traditional two-dimensional models. The influence of the crystal orientation, as well as the influence of misalignments of the crystal orientation due to the casting process are investigated. It is shown that both the crystal orientation and the misalignment from the ideal crystal orientation are important for the crack driving force. The realistic maximum limit of 10 degrees misalignment is considered. It can be seen that crack growth behavior is highly influenced by the misalignment. This knowledge is of great interest for the industry in order to evaluate the crack growth in single-crystal components more accurately.

Cracks in single-crystal nickel-base superalloys have been observed to switch cracking mode from Mode I to crystallographic cracking. The crack propagation rate is usually higher on the crystallographic planes compared to Mode I, which is important to account for in crack growth life predictions. In this paper, a method to evaluate the crystallographic fatigue crack growth rate, based on a previously developed crystallographic crack driving force parameter, is presented. The crystallographic crack growth rate was determined by evaluating heat tints on the fracture surfaces of the test specimens from the experiments. Complicated crack geometries including multiple crystallographic crack fronts were modelled in a three dimensional finite element context, The data points of the crystallographic fatigue crack growth rate collapse on a narrow scatter band for the crystallographic cracks indicating a correlation with the previously developed crystallographic crack driving force.

The inherent anisotropy of single-crystal nickel-base superalloys brings many difficulties in terms of modelling, evaluation and prediction of fatigue crack growth. Two models to predict on which crystallographic plane cracking will occur is presented. The models are based on anisotropic stress intensity factors resolved on crystallographic slip planes calculated in a three-dimensional finite-element context. The developed models have been compared to experiments on two different test specimen geometries. The results show that a correct prediction of the crystallographic cracking plane can be achieved. This knowledge is of great interest for the industry and academia to better understand and predict crack growth in single-crystal materials.

Gas turbine disks contain many notch-like features acting as stress raisers. The fatigue life based on the notch root stress may be overly conservative as the steep stress gradient in front of the notch may give rise to so-called notch support. In the current work, the theory of critical distances was applied to the prediction of the total fatigue life of low cycle fatigued, notched specimens made from alloy 718. The fatigue tests were performed at 450 degrees C and 550 degrees C. It was found that, for lives shorter than 5000-10000 cycles, the notched specimens had longer lives than would have been expected based on the notch root strain. For lives longer than 5000-10000 cycles, there were no notch support. The life prediction for notched specimens could be significantly improved by basing the prediction on the strain chosen some distance from the notch (the critical distance). An expression for calculating the critical distance based on the notch root strain was suggested.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are used in gas turbines to reduce creep, thermo-mechanical fatigue, and oxidation, or to allow for reduced air cooling. TBCs may fail due to fatigue. Structural optimization methods were applied to optimize the. TBC thickness in such a way as to increase the life of the TBC. The TBC thickness was varied for three cases: 1) minimizing TBC volume, 2) minimizing TBC maximum effective stress, and 3) minimizing compliance (minimizing the strain energy). The results from the optimization were used to estimate the relative change in TBC life via a strain energy based failure criterion and a Coffin-Manson-like expression. Minimization of volume had limited use due to limitations in the current implementation. Minimization of effective stress did not give any significant increase in life. The minimization of compliance increased the estimated TBC life at highly stressed regions.

Crack length measurements with high accuracy are often difficult to achieve during fatigue crack propagation testing under non-isothermal conditions. In this work a modified approach to the compliance method defined in e.g. ASTM E647 is described, which is better suited for high loads, varying temperatures and for taking the scatter in Youngs modulus into account. A numerical finite element study is performed for a single edge notch specimen, to investigate the influence of initiation locations on the accuracy of the method. The change in cracked area versus change in stiffness for three different cases are numerically shown to collapse to one curve, i.e. the result is not significantly affected by how the crack is initiated. The numerical study is compared to results from two experiments using different materials, with heat tinting during the tests for extracting snapshots of the crack fronts. A good agreement between the experiments and the numerical study is shown. A new compliance curve and a new geometry function for the stress intensity factor is proposed for the single edge notch specimen. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatigue crack propagation experiments under both force and displacement control have been performed on the wrought superalloy Haynes 230 at room temperature, using a single edge notched specimen. The force controlled tests are nominally elastic, and the displacement controlled tests have nominally large plastic hysteresis at the beginning of the tests, but saturates towards linear elastic conditions as the crack grows. As some tests are in the large scale yielding regime, a non-linear fracture mechanics approach is used to correlate crack growth rates versus the fracture parameter Delta J. It is shown that crack closure must be accounted for, to correctly model the crack growth seen in all the tests in a unified manner. For the force controlled small scale yielding tests the Newman crack closure model was used. The Newman equation is however not valid for large nominal cyclic plasticity, instead the crack closure in the displacement controlled tests is extracted from the test data. A good agreement between all tests is shown, when closure is accounted for and effective values of Delta J are used.

Fatigue crack propagation tests under both isothermal and non-isothermal thermomechanical fatigue conditions have been performed on wrought Haynes 230, a ductile combustor material. A number of specimens were thermally aged by pre-straining and subsequent furnace exposure for 3000 h at 600 degrees C. The tests were performed both under load and strain control, between room temperature and 600 degrees C. The thermally aged notched specimens show a decrease in the crack initiation life, similar to results previously reported for smooth test specimens at room temperature. For the crack growth rates, the effects of thermal ageing were less pronounced than for crack initiation. Further, the tests have been simulated using the finite element method to calculate the crack driving force, where the plasticity induced crack closure is handled with a full history description. A temperature dependent linear kinematic hardening plasticity law has been adopted for describing the material behaviour between room temperature and 600 degrees C. A post-processing tool was used in which the plasticity induced crack opening level was calculated, followed by a calculation of the effective Delta J range for each crack length. The adopted procedure yields good correlation between the different tests, under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions.

Vith increasing use of renewable energy sources, an industrial us turbine is often a competitive solution to balance the power rid. However, life robustness approaches for gas turbine corn9nents operating under increasingly cyclic conditions, is a chalmging task. Ductile superalloys, as Haynes 230, are often used n stationary gas turbine hot parts such as combustors. The main cad for such components is due to non -homogeneous thermal xpansion within or between parts. As the material is ductile Jere is considerable redistribution of stresses and strains due to nelastic deformations during the crack initiation phase. There ore, the subsequent crack growth occurs through a material with :gnificant residual stresses and strains. In this work, fatigue ack propagation experiments, including the initiation phase, ave been performed on a single edge notched specimen under train controlled conditions. The test results are compared to -acture mechanics analyses using the linear AK and the non near AJ approaches, and an attempt to quantify the difference 2 terms of a life prediction is made. For the tested notched gemetry, material and strain ranges, the difference in the results using AKeff or ATeff are larger than the scatter seen when fitting the model to the experimental data. The largest differences can be found for short crack lengths, when the cyclic plastic work is the largest. The AJ approach clearly shows better agreement with the experimental results in this regime.

With increasing use of renewable energy sources, an industrial gas turbine is often a competitive solution to balance the power grid. However, life robustness approaches for gas turbine components operating under increasingly cyclic conditions are a challenging task. Ductile superalloys, as Haynes 230, are often used in stationary gas turbine hot parts such as combustors. The main load for such components is due to nonhomogeneous thermal expansion within or between parts. As the material is ductile, there is considerable redistribution of stresses and strains due to inelastic deformations during the crack initiation phase. Therefore, the subsequent crack growth occurs through a material with significant residual stresses and strains. In this work, fatigue crack propagation experiments, including the initiation phase, have been performed on a single edge notched specimen under strain controlled conditions. The test results are compared to fracture mechanics analyses using the linear ΔK and the nonlinear ΔJ approaches, and an attempt to quantify the difference in terms of a life prediction is made. For the tested notched geometry, material, and strain ranges, the difference in the results using ΔK_eff or ΔJ_eff is larger than the scatter seen when fitting the model to the experimental data. The largest differences can be found for short crack lengths, when the cyclic plastic work is the largest. The ΔJ approach clearly shows better agreement with the experimental results in this regime.

A micromechanical model describing the martensitic transformation on the grain scale has been developed, using Finite Elements. First results gained from the simulation illustrate how the morphological evolution within the grain is directly controlled by the internal stress state. The reversible and irreversible part of transformation "plasticity" strain and their evolution with the transformation can then be obtained from these calculations.

In the general framework of a macroscopically coherent phase transition, the mechanical and thermodynamical behaviour of a two-phase volume element under structural evolution will be investigated and discussed. The identification of internal entropy production will then allow to formulate a general evolution condition for such a system and the internal stress state will appear to influence strongly the transformation behaviour, via the interface. The case of a martensitic transformation is considered. From that rigourous mechanical approach, we obtain the thermodynamical balance equation used for martensitic transformation.

In the general framework of a macroscopically coherent phase transition, the mechanical and thermodynamical behaviour of a two-phase volume element under structural evolution will be investigated and discussed. The identification of internal entropy production will then allow to formulate a general evolution condition for such a system and the internal stress state will appear to influence strongly the transformation behaviour, via the interface. The case of a martensitic transformation is considered. From that rigourous mechanical approach, we obtain the thermodynamical balance equation used for martensitic transformation.

A micromechanical model describing the martensitic transformation on the grain scale has been developed, using Finite Elements. First results gained from the simulation illustrate how the morphological evolution within the grain is directly controlled by the internal stress state. The reversible and irreversible part of transformation "plasticity" strain and their evolution with the transformation can then be obtained from these calculations.

A micromechanical model describing the martensitic transformation on the grain scale has been developed, using Finite Elements. First results gained from the simulation illustrate how the morphological evolution within the grain is directly controlled by the internal stress state. The reversible and irreversible part of transformation "plasticity" strain and their evolution with the transformation can then be obtained from these calculations.

A micromechanical model of the martensitic transformation at the grain scale has been established, considering the more specific case of ferrous alloys. The transformation proceeds through the formation of successive variants of the product phase within a unit cell representative of a grain; interactions between neighbouring grains are simulated by the choice of periodic boundary conditions. From a thermodynamical analysis, a selection rule for the order and orientation of the forming martensitic variants has been established, based on internal stresses anisotropy. These concepts have been implemented into a two-dimensional finite element simulation of the transformation, considering an elastoplastic behaviour of both parent and product phases. Morphological and crystallographical features of the transformation are considered: one variant consists of a thin layer of elements within the mesh that can form with four possible discrete orientations. Simulation results show the development of the plate pattern as a combination of the influence of both external load and internal stresses built during the progress of the transformation. These are related to global evolutions of transformation plasticity vs. transformation progress. Comparison with experiments show a similar form of the evolutions of the total strain; however, the model overestimates the strain levels. The possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

The mechanical behaviour associated to the martensitic transformation has been modelled using a 2D FE description. The martensite variants are constituted of different elements of the mesh and four different variants are allowed to transform in the grain. The transformation progress is prescribed using a thermodynamical criterion based on the maximal work associated to the variant formation. Transformation plasticity deformation and plates orientation patterns are obtained for three stress levels. These results are discussed in regard to the model used and the physical parameters introduced in the model.

The mechanical behaviour associated to the martensitic transformation has been modelled using a 2D FE description. The martensite variants are constituted of different elements of the mesh and four different variants are allowed to transform in the grain. The transformation progress is prescribed using a thermodynamical criterion based on the maximal work associated to the variant formation. Transformation plasticity deformation and plates orientation patterns are obtained for three stress levels. These results are discussed in regard to the model used and the physical parameters introduced in the model.

Inconel 718 is a frequently used material for gas turbine applications at temperatures up to 650 °C. The main load cycle for such components is typically defined by the start-up and shut-down of the engine. It generally includes hold times at high temperatures, which have been found to have a potential for greatly increasing the fatigue crack growth rate with respect to the number of load cycles. However, these effects may be totally or partly cancelled by other load features, such as overloads or blocks of continuous cyclic loading, and the actual crack propagation rate will therefore depend on the totality of features encompassed by the load cycle. It has previously been shown that the increased crack growth rate found in hold time experiments can be associated with a damage evolution, where the latter is not only responsible for the rapid intergranular crack propagation during the actual hold times, but also for the increased crack growth during the load reversals. In this paper, modelling of the hold time fatigue crack growth behaviour of Inconel 718 has been carried out, using the concept of a damaged zone as the basis for the treatment. With this conceptually simple and partly novel approach, it is shown that good agreement with experimental results can be found.

In this work, fatigue crack growth measurements have been made on center-cracked tension specimens of Inconel 718, where the focus has been to observe the effect of high temperature hold times on the fatigue crack growth behaviour of the material. The material testing has been done at three different temperatures, namely 450 degrees C, 550 degrees C and 650 degrees C. All testing were done in an isothermal LCF context with a standard test method for measuring the fatigue crack growth rates.

High temperature fatigue crack growth in Inconel 718 has been studied at the temperatures 450 degrees C, 500 degrees C, 550 degrees C and 650 degrees C. The tests were conducted both without hold times and with hold times of different lengths and with a mix of both. Focus has been on quantifying the effect the hold time has upon the crack growth rate and how much it damages the material. Furthermore, it has been investigated how this damage influences the actual cracking behavior, i.e. where in the loading cycle the damage contributes most to the crack growth. This damage is related to the concept of a damaged zone in front of the crack tip. The size of the damaged zone has been derived from the tests and a microscopy study to confirm the findings has also been carried out. It is found that the concept of a damaged zone can be a successful explanatory model for the observed crack growth behavior under high temperature hold time.

Fatigue crack growth testing of Inconel 718 has been carried out at the temperatures 550 °C and 650 °C. The tests were conducted using a mix of hold times and pure cyclic loading, referred to as block tests. From the test results, the existence of an embrittled volume or damaged zone in the vicinity of the crack tip has been revealed. It has been found that the evolution of this damaged zone can be sufficiently well described using a power law function with an exponent n = 0.25.

Turbine disks are of large importance to turbine designers as theyare exposed to hot environment and subjected to high loads. Inorder to analyze such components with respect to fatigue crackinitiation, the work generally starts with a rigorous analysis of thefirst few cycles, during which an important stress redistributionwill always take place in an inelastic structure. In this work, thenonlinear kinematic hardening law by Ohno and Wang (1998,“Constitutive Modeling of Cyclic Plasticity With Emphasis onRatchetting,” Int. J. Mech. Sci., 40, pp. 251–261) has been used incombination with an isotropic softening law for describing theinitial stress-strain distribution for strain controlled uniaxial testsof the material Inconel 718. Focus has been placed on finding asimple model with few material parameters and to describe theinitial softening and the comparatively small mean stress relaxationobserved during the material testing. The simulation resultsobtained by using the model fit the experimental resultswell.

The increased interest in lightweight materials for automotive structures has also lead to a search for efficient forming methods that suit these materials. One attractive concept is to use hydroforming of aluminum tubes. The advantages of this forming method includes better tolerances, decreased number of parts and an increased range of forming options. By using FE simulations, the process can be optimized to reduce the risk for failure, i.e. bursting or wrinkling. However, extruded aluminum is highly anisotropic and it is crucial that the material model used for simulations is able to accurately describe this behavior. Also, tube hydroforming occurs predominantly in a biaxial stress state which should be considered in the material testing, where uniaxial tests are used extensively in the industry today. The present study accentuates the need for improved constitutive models. It is shown that a material model, which accurately describes the anisotropic behavior of aluminum tubes, can be obtained from simple and robust experiments.

Tube hydroforming is a forming process where an inner pressure combined with axial feeding deforms the tube to the shape of a die cavity. One of the main concerns when designing such a process is to avoid burst pressure, i.e. the process state where the hardening of the material is unable to resist the increase in inner pressure and wall thickness reduction. The success of a hydroforming process strongly depends on the choice of process parameters, i.e. the combination of material feeding and inner pressure. Especially in hydroforming processes, where the free forming phase is substantial, the process is proved to be very sensitive to the inner pressure. By transforming the problem into a deformation controlled rather than a force controlled process, the results from the process parameter estimation become more reliable but on the other hand less intuitive. In this context, three distinct parameter estimation procedures are suggested. Firstly, a self feeding based procedure is proposed with the intention of being a fast method to be used as a first estimate of suitable process parameters. Secondly, an iterative optimization problem set up is presented. Thirdly, and finally, an adaptive simulation procedure based on process response approximations is proposed, which only requires a limited number of simulation runs.

One important issue when simulating tube hydroforming is to predict bursting, i.e. when the increase in cavity pressure cannot be compensated by hardening of the tube material. Traditionally, this is made by a forming limit diagram (FLD), where the limit strains determine whether a material point is experiencing necking or failure. However, the experimental FLD depends on the strain path, and the methods which are used to determine the FLD are adapted to conventional deep drawing which, depending on the process characteristics, could make it unsuitable for tube hydroforming applications. In this work, analytical and numerical forming limit predictions are studied from a hydroforming point of view. These predictions are then applied to free bulge cases, and a case with extensive feeding in a die where the results from the latter case is compared to experiments. Further, the influence from extrusion welds and a circumferential thickness distribution on the forming limit is also evaluated.

When considering finite element simulations of aluminium tube hydroforming, the user is facing several challenges. Firstly, extruded aluminium is anisotropic in yield stress and plastic flow. Secondly, the hydroforming process introduces new issues concerning friction and process control. This imposes a demand for accurate constitutive models as well as for hydroforming process related testing methods. The present study focuses on how biaxial tests can be used to calibrate and validate a constitutive model. It is also shown that by using inverse modelling, additional information can be obtained through these types of tests, such as, e.g. the frictional behaviour for different lubrication conditions.

Tube hydroforming is gaining increasing interest from the metal forming industry. Complicated parts with a high level of structural component integration, e.g. engine cradles, subframes and exhaust systems, can be manufactured at a low cost with excellent repeatability. By using finite element (FE) simulations, there is a possibility to reduce the cost of expensive prototypes and reduce the trial and error design process to a minimum. However, when simulating a hydroforming process, the knowledge and computational methods used in conventional metal forming simulations are not always applicable. This concerns, e.g. the material modelling and validation. In this work, the influence of constitutive modelling on the results from a hydroforming process with extensive feeding is studied. In addition, interrupted tests have been used in order to validate the prediction of radial deformation and wall thickness throughout the complete process.

The deformation and damage mechanisms arising during thermalmechanical fatigue (TMF) of a CMSX-4 and high-Cr single crystal super alloy, SCA425 have been investigated and a completely new failure mechanism involving recrystallization and oxidation has been discovered. The primary deformation mechanism is slip along the {111} planes. The deformation is highly localised to a number of bands, where recrystallization eventually occur during the thermalmechanical fatigue process. When the final failure occurs along these recrystallized bands it is accompanied by the formation of voids due to the presence of grain boundaries. The damage process is further enhanced by oxidation, since recrystallization occurs more easily in the gamma depleted zone under the oxide scale. The macroscopic as well as the microscopic damage and fracture mechanisms are varying with alloy and heat treatment. The aim of this work is to further investigate, discuss the local damage mechanisms responsible for TMF damage. Of special interest is the localisation of damage into twins and extremely localized rafted deformation bands.

Hybrid composite-aluminium structures develop internal loads when exposed to elevated temperatures, due to the different thermal expansion properties of the constituent materials. In aircraft structures with long rows of bolted joints, the mechanical and the thermally induced bolt loads are oriented in different directions, creating a biaxial bearing load state. In this study, the bearing fatigue failure process and the influence of the biaxial load state on the failure are investigated. An experimental set-up was designed, where both the mechanical and the thermally induced bolt loads were applied by means of mechanical load actuators. Two-bolt, double-lap joints with quasi-isotropic carbon-epoxy composite specimens were subjected to uniaxial and biaxial cyclic loading at 90 degrees C. A microscopy study of the bearing plane revealed that the main fatigue driving mechanisms were matrix cracking and fibre-matrix debonding. Motivated by these findings, a fatigue prediction model based on the kinetic theory of fracture for polymer matrices was run in a finite element code and the results showed a satisfactory correlation to the experimental results. The biaxial loading resulted in a longer fatigue life than the uniaxial loading, for the same peak resultant force, which was explained by the smaller effective stress range in the biaxial case.

Hybrid composite-aluminium bolted joints develop internal loads at elevated temperatures, due to the difference in thermal expansion properties of their constituent materials. In aircraft joints, the thermally induced bolt loads are commonly directed perpendicular to the mechanical loads, inducing a biaxial bearing load state. In this work, carbon-epoxy laminate specimens were tested in uniaxial and biaxial quasi-static bearing failure experiments in a specially designed test rig, at elevated temperature. A microscopy study of a failed specimen revealed that the failure process was mainly driven by fibre kinking, although extensive matrix cracking and delaminations were also found. The experiments were simulated by three-dimensional, explicit, finite element analyses, which included intralaminar damage and delamination. The experimental and simulated bearing failure loads differed by 1.7% in the uniaxial case and 2.1% in the biaxial case. It was suggested that the load-displacement response is influenced by the interaction of all damage mechanisms. Delamination modelling was, however, not essential for the prediction of the maximal bearing strength. The same effective bearing strengths were obtained for the biaxially loaded specimens as for the uniaxially loaded ones, but the damage accumulation process and the resulting damage distributions were different. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid structures than contain composite-aluminium interfaces tend to develop internal loads at elevated temperatures. In long bolted joints, the thermally induced bolt loads are superimposed onto the mechanically applied load and can induce a biaxial bearing load state. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study of the bearing fatigue failure of carbon-epoxy laminate specimens, exposed to uniaxial and biaxial variable amplitude loading at 90C. A specifically designed experimental rig was used, where both the mechanical and the thermally induced bolt loads were applied by means of mechanical load actuators. A fatigue model based on the kinetic theory of fracture for polymers, which was previously implemented for constant amplitude loading, is expanded to account for the variable amplitude load history. The results suggest that the biaxial loading gives a longer fatigue life than the uniaxial loading for the same maximum peak resultant force. This result can be utilized as a conservative dimensioning strategy by designing biaxially loaded joints in terms of maximum peak resultant bearing load using uniaxial fatigue data.

Fatigue cracked primary aircraft structural parts that cannot be replaced need to be repaired by other means. A structurally efficient repair method is to use adhesively bonded patches as reinforcements. This paper considers optimal design of such patches by minimizing the crack extension energy release rate. A new topology optimization method using this objective is developed as an extension of the standard SIMP compliance optimization method. The method is applied to a cracked test specimen that resembles what could be found in a real fuselage and the results show that an optimized adhesively bonded repair patch effectively reduces the crack energy release rate.