can be several corrosive mechanisms

responsible for the increased crack growth

rate with anodic dissolution and hydrogen
embrittlement, presented in the following
section, being the two most important.

Part 6 Problems
7.1

When failure occurs by fatigue,

the fracture surface of many
metals will exhibit beach marks
and fatigue striations. Compare
these two fractographic features
identifying how they form and
how to uniquely identify one from
the other.

6.1

(a)

(b)

6.2

A material with KIc = 55 MPam has a central crack in a very wide panel. If YS =
1380 MPa and the design stress is limited to 50% of YS, compute the maximum
allowable fatigue flaw size that can grow during cyclic loading. (Assume plane
strain loading).
If the initial total crack length is 2.5 mm, how many loading cycles (from zero to
the design stress) could the panel withstand? Assume that the fatigue crack
growth rate varies with the stress intensity factor range to the fourth power. The
proportionality constant is 1.1x10-39, when the stress is expressed in Pa and the
crack growth rate in m/cycle.
[ans. (a) 0.002 m, (b) 122,000 cycles]

A thin walled cylinder of a high strength Al alloy (KIc = 24 MPam) is 20 cm long, 9 cm

OD, 7 cm ID. A semi-circular crack of depth a=0.25 cm is discovered on the inner
diameter and oriented along a line parallel to the cylinder axis. If the cylinder is
repeatedly pressurized, how many pressure cycles could the cylinder withstand before
failure? The pressure within the cylinder reaches 75 MPa and the material obeys the Paris
equation:
da
= 5 10 39 K 4
d6
Stress intensity equation for the thin walled pressure vessel of this problem is:

K = 1.1

[ans. 3.8 million cycles]

6.3

A steel plate with KIc=54 MPam contains a central crack 0.2 mm in length that is
oriented normal to the stress axis. The plate is subjected to an alternating stress =180
MPa with a mean stress of 90 MPa. Laboratory experiments have shown that this
1

material experiences fatigue crack growth under these conditions according to the
relationship:

da
= 4 10 37 K m
d6
where the crack growth rate is in m/cycle and stress intensity is in Pam. The value of m
was never computed, but it was noted that the crack growth rate varied directly with the
square of the plastic zone size at the crack tip. Determine the number of loading cycles
that can be withstood by the plate before final fracture.
[ans. 2.4 million cycles]
6.4

Explain why S-N data provides insufficient information for use in applications utilizing a
damage tolerant design.

6.5

S-N data exhibits considerable scatter. What are the possible causes of this scatter?

6.6

(a)

(b)

6.7

A through crack in a thick plate is of initial length 2ao=15 mm. Crack growth is
approximately described by the Paris Law with C=6.9x10-12 m/cycle and m=3 and
K expressed in MPam. The plate is subjected to an alternating stress of 60 to
180 MPa. Estimate the number of cycles to failure. Material Properties are:
YS= 1200 MPa, KIc= 60 MPam.
Estimate the striation spacing in m at the start of fatigue and when the crack has
grown to 2a=25 mm.
[ans. (a) 188,000 cycles (b) 0.09 m]

A museum has obtained a 19th century 15 horsepower steam engine originally used for
water pumping. The museum would like to demonstrate the operation of the steam engine
to promote interest in engineering among elementary school children! The total demonstration time of the engine will not exceed 400 hours. However, there is concern that
major engine components may break during the demonstration. Consequently, the
museum curator has assigned you to evaluate the structural integrity of the engine.
During a detailed inspection of the engine you find a 2 cm crack in the connecting rod as
shown.
Determine:
(a) If brittle fracture will occur when the engine is started.
(b) The number of cycles for the crack to grow from 2 cm
to 3 cm length.
(c) If the engine safe is to operate for the desired 400
hours.
(question continued next page)

Examination of the original design records for the steam engine provides the following
information:
Connecting rod material is cast iron,
Connecting rod dimensions at crack location = 20 cm x 20 cm
Engine maximum speed = 15 rpm
Maximum connecting rod force = 64 kN.
Minimum connecting rod force = 0
For cast iron, the metals handbook lists KIc = 18 MPam and Paris Law constants of
C = 4.3x10-8 and m = 4, da/dN in m/cycle and K in MPam.
[ans. (a) no brittle failure on start-up (b) almost 6 million cycles (c) no problem to operate
for about 400 hours]
6.8

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

6.9

A shaft is loaded cyclically. The shaft broke and when examined it was determined that the two thirds of the fracture surface had resulted from fatigue failure.
What would be the fractographic features associated with the fatigue failure?
If the fracture strength of the shaft is 600 MPa, and the shaft diameter is 8 mm
with a maximum cyclic load of 8 kN, did the shaft break by tensile overload or by
unstable fast fracture.
If the maximum length of the fatigue crack is measured to be about 5 mm and the
minimum cyclic load is 0 MPa, estimate the crack growth rate just prior to
fracture. (Assume: m=4 and C=5x10-39 for da/dN in m/cycle and K in Pam)
Estimate the fracture toughness of the shaft material.
[ans. (b) failed by fast fracture, (c) 6.48x10-8 m/cycle, (d) 60 MPam]

A structural assembly is to be riveted together and must withstand a cyclic tensile stress,
with a maximum stress of 500 MPa and minimum stress of 0 MPa. The fracture
toughness of the material specified is 50 MPam. Unfortunately during the riveting
operation, microcracks of 25 m are introduced. As an astute design engineer you have
highlighted to your boss the problem of these microcracks leading to fatigue failure of the
assembly. Your boss gives you two options to improve the design, both of which involve
the same additional cost:
Option 1:

Use an alternate material with a fracture toughness of 80 MPam,

Option 2:

Use an improved method of applying the rivets so that the microcracks

caused by riveting are reduced from 25 m to only 10 m in length.

Your boss wants to know which option to choose so that the fatigue life of the assembly
is maximized. Which one do you recommend? Support your answer by calculation.
Since your boss is in a hurry for the answer, you makes two assumptions:
(1)
that the stress intensity relationship for an infinite plate is valid, and
(2)
that the C value for the Paris equation remains constant for both materials and the
exponent for the Paris Law equation (m) is equal to 4.
[ans. choose option 2.]

6.10

Case Study 4, section 6.3, Microstructural Defect Causes Aircraft Crash involved the
failure of an engine fan disk on a DC-10 resulting in the crash at Sioux City, Iowa. The
fan disk was fabricated from Ti-6Al-4V, which has the following typical properties:
Yield strength = 880 MPa
Plane strain fracture toughness = 91 MPam
Paris Law constants of C=4.810-9 and m=3.3
where K is in MPam and da/d6 is in mm/cycle.
The fan disk contained a hard alpha defect, the details of which were thoroughly
characterized as part of the post-crash investigation. This defect can be modeled as a
surface thumbnail crack, the size of which was as follows:
Initial Size After Fan Disk Fabrication:
Last NDE Inspection, 760 cycles prior to failure:
Size at Failure:

a = 0.38 mm
a = 6.35 mm
a = 12.7 mm

2c = 1.4 mm
2c = 12.7 mm
2c = 25.4 mm

a and c are defined as below.

(The initial size was estimated from an estimation of the cavity size on the fracture
surface from which it was surmised the hard alpha defect originated. The crack size at the
last NDE inspection was determined by noting the discoloured area of the fracture
surface caused by the alkaline cleaning preformed in preparation for liquid penetrant
inspection.)
For this defect geometry the following equation provides a reasonable approximation:
K = Y a
where: Y = 0.75 for a/2c = 0.5
Y = 0.85 for a/2c = 0.37
Y = 0.95 for a/2c = 0.25
where a and 2c are defined

2c

The fan disk experienced 15,503 cycles (start up and shutdown being one cycle) before
failure.
Given this information:
(a)
estimate the stress level across the crack when the fan disc failed,
(b)
assuming that your answer to part (a) represents the normal operating stress level,
estimate the stress intensity associated with the hard alpha defect at the beginning
of engine service,
(c)
what is the average fatigue crack growth rate in the direction along the a
dimension,

(d)

in the direction along the a dimension, estimate the fatigue striation spacing at a
time near the beginning of service when a = 0.38 mm, (assume that when the
engine is not operating the stress level is zero),
(e)
in the direction along the a dimension, estimate the fatigue striation spacing
corresponding to the crack length at the last NDE inspection (assume that when
the engine is not operating the stress level is zero).
[ans. (a) 607 MPa, (b) 20 MPam, (c) 810-4 mm/cycle, (d) 9.310-5 mm/cycle, (e)
4.510-3 mm]
6.11

(a)

During the design of the fan disc of the previous question it was determined that
the fatigue life of a defect free disc would be 54,000 engine cycles (start up and
shutdown being one cycle). Certification authorities applied a safety factor
multiplier to this life, giving a certified life of 18,000 cycles. What Fatigue
Design Approach technique does this information imply? Briefly explain your
answer.

(b)

As a result of the Sioux City crash the investigating authorities made the
following recommendation:
Develop ... an alternate method of inspecting the ... rotor disks for
the presence of cracks: issue an Airworthiness Directive to require
that these disks be inspected with this method on an expedited
basis, and that the inspection be repeated at a cyclic interval
based upon the crack size detectable by the inspection method,
the stress level in the applicable area ... , and the crack
propagation characteristics of the disk material. (From NTSB Report
PB90-910406, Aircraft Accident Report - United Airlines Flight 232 McDonnell Douglas DC-1010 Sioux Gateway Airport, Sioux City Iowa, July, 19, 1989")

What Fatigue Design Approach technique does this recommendation imply for
continued service of the fan disks? Briefly explain your answer.