Scribd
Upload
328 views4 pages

Crack Initiation and Propagation

The document discusses crack initiation and propagation in materials. It describes the three stages of fatigue failure as: (1) crack initiation where small cracks form at stress concentrations, (2) crack propagation where cracks incrementally advance with each stress cycle, and (3) final failure which occurs quickly once cracks reach a critical size. Beach marks and striations are common indications of fatigue cracking, where beach marks represent successive crack front positions and striations are tiny marks found in large numbers within each beach mark. The presence of beach marks and striations indicates fatigue failure, but their absence does not rule it out.

Uploaded by

Jay-m DG. Famini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
328 views4 pages

Crack Initiation and Propagation

The document discusses crack initiation and propagation in materials. It describes the three stages of fatigue failure as: (1) crack initiation where small cracks form at stress concentrations, (2) crack propagation where cracks incrementally advance with each stress cycle, and (3) final failure which occurs quickly once cracks reach a critical size. Beach marks and striations are common indications of fatigue cracking, where beach marks represent successive crack front positions and striations are tiny marks found in large numbers within each beach mark. The presence of beach marks and striations indicates fatigue failure, but their absence does not rule it out.

Uploaded by

Jay-m DG. Famini
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION

For some components the crack propagation life is neglected in design


because stress levels are high, and/or the critical flaw size small.

For other components the crack growth


 life might be a substantial portion of the total life of the assembly. 

The three stages of fatigue failure are: (1) crack initiation, in which a small crack forms at a high stress
concentration point; (2) crack propagation, in which the crack advances incrementally with each stress
cycle; and (3) final failure, which occurs very quickly once the advancing crack has reached a critical
size.

At some point of load concentration, cracks associated with fatigue failure nearly always begin (or
nucleate) on the surface of a component. Surface scratches, sharp fillets, keyways, threads, dents, and
other crack nucleation sites are examples.
The region of a fracture surface that formed during the crack propagation step may be characterized by
two types of markings termed beachmarks and striations.
 On a fatigue fracture or stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) surface, beach marks are macroscopic
progression signs that represent successive places of the progressing crack front.

Beach marks are also known as clamshell marks, arrest marks or growth rings.

 Striations are common on crack surfaces and are common indications of a disease known as

fatigue fracture. This is most common in materials that are constantly subjected to stress levels
considerably below the critical tensile strength.

Beach marks and fatigue striations are sometimes mistaken since they are both connected to fatigue
failure. Beach marks can be observed at the macroscopic level, which is a significant difference. In
contrast, fatigue striations are tiny. A huge number of fatigue striations can be found on a single beach
mark.
Striation width depends on, and increases with, increasing stress range.
On a fracture surface, the presence of beachmarks and/or striations indicates that fatigue was the
cause of failure. However, the absence of any or both does not rule out weariness as a factor in
failure.

Beachmarks and striations will not form in the area of fast collapse. Rather, the quick failure can
be ductile or brittle; ductile failure will show signs of plastic deformation, while brittle failure
will not.

Images retrieved from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Ftopics%2Fengineering%2Ffatigue-

striation&psig=AOvVaw1uylDqhq_qGT6qhXn0ZoYf&ust=1652237609687000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCKir8vL20_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Ffigure%2FFracture-surface-of-a-fatigue-failure-showing-fine-beach-marks-SEM-image-

right_fig2_265881196&psig=AOvVaw2Zj8Yj_0mQDv0ky7fMo-

Fl&ust=1652238010493000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCKjH87H40_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fscience%2Fcracking-materials-failure&psig=AOvVaw0-

3DlKdrSj6dCZrknU6UVP&ust=1652236879919000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCIDAiIaC1PcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Snipshots from: Material Science and Engineering_8th edition_Callister

You might also like