FAILURE OF MATERIALS

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
What we wish to know is the maximum stress that a material can withstand if it contains
flaws of a certain size and geometry. Fracture toughness measures the ability of a material
containing a flaw to withstand an applied load (note that this does not require a high strain
rate (impact)).
- KC : fracture toughness, measure of a material’s
resistance to brittle fracture when a crack is
present.

- Expression between critical stress for crack

propagation (σC) and crack length (a):
Y=1 VS. Y=1.1
- Y is a dimensionless parameter (or function)
that depends on crack and specimen sizes and
geometries, as well as the manner of load
application.

- For planar specimens containing cracks that

are much shorter than the specimen width
(scenario in figure a), Y=1.

- The unit of fracture toughness is MPa 𝑚

CRITICAL STRESS (Extra Information-Fracture
Mechanics)
- In a different approach, we recognize that an applied stress causes an elastic
strain, related to the modulus of elasticity E of the material. When a crack
propagates, this strain energy is released, reducing the overall energy.

- At the same time, however, two new surfaces are created by the extension
of the crack; this increases the energy associated with the surface.

- By balancing the strain energy and the surface energy, we find that the
critical stress required to propagate the crack is given by:

a: length of a surface crack (or one-

half the length of an internal crack)

ϒ: surface energy per unit area.

PLANE STRAIN FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
- Fracture toughness depends on the thickness of the sample: as thickness increases,
fracture toughness Kc decreases to a constant value. This constant is called the plane
strain fracture toughness KIC .
- For relatively thin specimens, the value of Kc will depend on specimen thickness.
- When specimen thickness is much greater than the crack dimensions, Kc becomes
independent of thickness; under these conditions, a condition of plane strain exists.
- Plane strain: (the situation where Kc is independant of specimen thickness)
- specimen thickness>> crack dimensions
- when there is no strain component perpendicular to the front and back faces
(the load has to operate on a crack in the manner shown below).
- The Kc value for this thick-specimen situation is known as the plane strain fracture
toughness (KIC):

- KIC is the fracture toughness cited

for most situations.
Plane strain
fracture
- The I (Roman numeral “one”) toughness
subscript for KIC denotes that the
plane strain fracture toughness is for
mode I crack displacement.
 LOADING MODES & CRACK
OPENING

Mode I Mode II Mode III

Opening or Tensile Sliding Tearing
Mode Mode Mode
 CONDITION FOR CRACK PROPAGATION
- Crack propagates when:
K ≥ KIc
Stress Intensity Factor: Fracture Toughness:
-Depends on load & geometry. -Material property (can learn from
(Don’t confuse it with stress tables)
concentration factor!!!) KIC, is the highest value of stress intensity that

K  Yσ πa
a material under very specific (plane-strain)
conditions can withstand without fracture

- Values of K for some standard loads & geometries:


K  Yσ πa
The fracture mechanics
approach allows us to
design and select
materials while taking
a
unitsof K : into account the
inevitable presence of
MPa m flaws.
or ksi in
K   a K  1.1 a
https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Materials/Mechanical/FractureToughness.htm
 DESIGN EX: AIRCRAFT COMPONENT
Some aircraft component is fabricated from an aluminum alloy that has a plane strain
fracture toughness of 35 MPa.m1/2. It has been determined that fracture results at a stress of
250 MPa when the maximum (or critical) internal crack length is 2.0 mm. For this same
component and alloy, will fracture occur at a stress level of 325 MPa when the maximum
internal crack length is 1.0 mm? Why or why not?
We are asked to determine if an aircraft component will fracture for a given fracture
toughness (35 MPa.m1/2), stress level (325 MPa), and maximum internal crack length (1.0
mm), given that fracture occurs for the same component using the same alloy for another
stress level and internal crack length. It first becomes necessary to solve for the parameter Y.

Now we will solve for the product for for the other set of conditions, so as to
ascertain whether or not this value is greater than the K1C for the alloy. Thus,

Fracture will not occur since this value

is less than the KIC of the
material,

• Reducing flaw size pays off!

 PLANE STRAIN FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
- Brittle materials (appreciable plastic deformation is not possible in front of an advancing
crack) have low KIc values (vulnerable to catastrophic failure). But, KIC values are relatively
large for ductile materials.

-The plane strain fracture

toughness KIC is a
fundamental material
property.

- The magnitude of KIC

diminishes with increasing
strain rate and decreasing
temperature.

- Enhancement in yield strength by solid solution, dispersion additions and strain hardening
generally produces a corresponding decrease in KIc.

- KIc normally increases with reduction in grain size.

 DESIGN AGAINST CRACK GROWTH
To prevent crack growth: K < KIc
DESIGN 1: If KIC and the DESIGN 2: If stress level and
magnitude of a are specified by Kıc are fixed by the design
application constraints; then the situation, then the maximum
maximum allowable stress for the allowable flaw size amax is:
design σdesign must be:
1 æ K IC ö
2

K Ic amax < çç ÷÷
 design  p è Y s design ø
Y amax
i.e. Design of
i.e. Already have
the structure
the metals in the
and material
warehouse
type is set.

-Nondestructive test (NDT) techniques have been developed that permit detection and
measurement of both internal and surface flaws.
FRACTURE TOUGHNESS

increasing
Composite reinforcement geometry
is: f = fibers; sf = short fibers; w =
whiskers; p = particles. Addition
data as noted (vol. fraction of
reinforcement):
 FRACTURE TOUGHNESS TESTING

- ISO (The International Organization for Standardization) and ASTM

(American Society for Testing and Materials) developed test methods to
measure fracture toughness.
- Procedures and specimen configurations are relatively complicated.
- A typical fracture toughness test may be performed by applying a tensile
stress to a specimen prepared with a flaw of known size and geometry.
Usually need to introduce a sharp crack to the specimen (tedious job for
ceramics) and the test apparatus loads the specimen at a specified rate,
and also measures load and crack displacement values.
- Plane strain fracture toughness tests are not simple to perform.
 IMPACT TESTING
- Used prior to the advent of fracture mechanics.
- The results of laboratory tensile tests (at low loading rates) can not be
extrapolated to predict fracture behavior. i.e. under some circumstances
normally ductile metals fracture abruptly and with very little plastic
deformation under high loading rates.
- Impact testing does not tell us fracture toughness!
- Instead, gives fracture characteristics for high strain rate (impact) fractures.
- Test conditions can be chosen to represent those most severe relative to the
potential for fracture:
• deformation at a relatively low temperature
• a high strain rate
• a triaxial stress state (which may be introduced by the presence of a notch)
 IMPACT TOUGHNESS (Charpy V-notch, CVN technique)
- The load is applied as an impact blow from a weighted pendulum hammer that is released from
a cocked position at a fixed height h.
- The pendulum continues its swing, rising to a maximum height h’ , which is lower than h . The
energy absorption, computed from the difference between h and h’ is a measure of the impact
energy.
- Both plane strain fracture toughness and these impact tests have been used to determine the
fracture properties of materials.
- Plane strain fracture toughness tests are quantitative in nature, in that a specific property of the
material is determined (i.e., KIc ). On the other hand, the results of the impact tests are more
qualitative and are of little use for design purposes. Impact energies are of interest mainly in a
relative sense and for making comparisons—absolute values are of little significance.

sample - Notch acts as a point of stress concentration for

this high-velocity impact blow.

final height initial height

Izod
 LOADING RATE
.
• Increased loading rate... (strain rate, ε)
-- increases y and TS
-- decreases %EL
• Why? An increased rate
gives less time for dislocations
to move past obstacles.
.
Larger ε
• Thus, impact loading:
-- severe testing case
-- more brittle .
Smaller ε
-- smaller toughness
 IMPACT ENERGY vs. TEMPERATURE
- Used to determine if (or at a given temp
range) a material experiences a ductile-to-
brittle transition.

- Ductile-to-brittle transition is related to the

temperature dependence of the measured
impact energy absorption.

- Curve A: At higher temp, the CVN energy is

relatively large, in correlation with a ductile
mode of fracture. As the temp is lowered, the
impact energy drops suddenly, the mode of
fracture is brittle.
- Appearance of the
fracture surface is
indicative of the nature of
fracture.

- Can be used in transition

Brittle fracture- Ductile fracture- temperature
granular/shiny, Fracture Surface Matters fibrous/dull, determinations.
steel@-59C steel@79C
 TEMPERATURE vs. FRACTURE BEHAVIOR
- Low-strength FCC metals (some aluminum and copper alloys) and most HCP metals do not
experience a ductile-to-brittle transition.
- For high-strength materials (e.g., high-strength steels and titanium alloys), the impact
energy is also relatively insensitive to temperature. These materials are also very brittle, as
reflected by their low impact energy values.
- Characteristic ductile-to-brittle transition is the middle curve. It is typically found in low-
strength steels that have the BCC crystal structure. This is because BCC slip systems are
thermally activated, yet FCC has no (or less number of) thermally activated slip systems.

• Increasing
temperature
increases %EL
and Kc
 DESIGN STRATEGY: STAY ABOVE THE DBTT!
• Pre-WWII: The Titanic Problem:
Used a type of steel with a
DBTT ~ Room temp.
% Carbon content of steel

• WWII: Liberty ships

DBTT is changed by:

 Composition (i.e. alloy content)
 Microstructure (i.e. grain size)
Structures constructed from alloys For low-strength steels, decreasing the average grain size
that exhibit this ductile-to-brittle results in a lowering of the transition temperature. Hence,
behavior should be used only at temp refining the grain size both strengthens and toughens steels.
above the transition temperature, to In contrast, increasing the carbon content, while increasing
avoid brittle and catastrophic failure. the strength of steels, also raises the CVN transition of steels
 FATIGUE

- Explosive decompression and structural failure.

- Metal fatigue that was aggravated by corrosion (plane operated in a coastal environment).

- Stress cycling of the fuselage (the main body of the aircraft) resulted from compression
and decompression of the cabin chamber during short hop flights.

- Needed a properly executed maintenance program!!!

 FATIGUE
- Failure observed in structures subjected to dynamic and fluctuating stresses (e.g.,
bridges, aircrafts and machine components).

- Under cyclic stress, it is possible for failure to occur at a stress level considerably lower
than the tensile or yield strength for a static load.

- Occurs after a lengthy period of repeated stress cycling.

- Catastrophic and insidious, occurring very suddenly and without warning.

- Fatigue is the single largest cause of failure in metals, estimated to comprise

approximately 90% of all metallic failures; polymers and ceramics (except for glasses) are
also susceptible to this type of failure.

- Fatigue failure is brittle like in nature even in normally ductile metals (there is very little,
if any, gross plastic deformation associated with failure).

- The process occurs by the initiation and propagation of cracks, and ordinarily the fracture
surface is perpendicular to the direction of an applied tensile stress.
 CYCLIC STRESS
The applied stress may be axial (tension–compression), flexural (bending), or torsional
(twisting) in nature.
Different Types of Stress Cycle
Mean stress σm
Reversed
stress cycle

Range of
stress σr:
difference
Repeated between
stress max and min
cycle

Stress
amplitude σa:
Random one-half of this
stress range of stress
cycle

Tensile stresses are positive and compressive stresses are negative

 FATIGUE
- Fatigue properties of materials can be determined from laboratory simulation
tests.
- Mimic the service stress conditions (stress level, time frequency, stress pattern,
and etc).
- Compression and tensile stresses are imposed on the specimen as it is
simultaneously bent and rotated.
specimen compression on top

bearing motor counter

bearing
flex coupling
tension on bottom

S: stress amplitude

N: number of cycles to failure

- Can cause part failure, even though smax < sc.

 FATIGUE DESIGN PARAMETERS
- Data are plotted as stress S versus the logarithm
of the number N of cycles to failure.
- The higher the magnitude of the stress, the
smaller the number of cycles the material is fatigue limit ferrous and
capable of sustaining before failure. Ti alloys

- Fatigue strength: Stress level at which failure will

occur for some specified number of cycles.
- Fatigue life Nf: Number of cycles to cause failure
at a specified stress level. S = stress amplitude
case for
- 2 types of S-N curve. unsafe Al (typ.)
aluminum,
- For some alloys, the S–N curve
copper,
becomes horizontal at higher N values;
called the fatigue limit (or endurance safe magnesium
Low cycle
limit), below which fatigue failure will High cycle
fatigue 3
not occur. Fatigue limits range between 10 105 107 109 fatigue
35% and 60% of the tensile strength. N = Cycles to failure

- High loads that produce elastic+plastic strains during each cycle----short fatigue life, low-cycle
fatigue 104 -105 cycles.
- Only elastic deformation during each cycle----longer fatigue life, high-cycle fatigue, large numbers
of cycles (>>104-105 cycles).
 FATIGUE DESIGN PARAMETERS

Ex: At 200 MPa, 1% of the

specimens fail at about 2x106
cycles and 50% to fail at about 3
x107 cycles.

1% 50%

- Scatter in fatigue data is variation in the measured N value for a number of specimens
tested at the same stress.
- Design uncertainties when fatigue life/fatigue limit (or strength) are being considered.
- Parameters causing uncertainties: specimen fabrication and surface preparation,
metallurgical variables, specimen alignment in the apparatus, mean stress, test frequency
and etc.
- Draw “best fit” curves.
- Alternatively, use probability curves. P=probability of failure.
 CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION
Fatigue failure is characterized by three distinct steps.

(1) Crack Initiation:

- On the surface of a component a small crack forms at some point of high stress
concentration (i.e. scratches, sharp fillets, threads, dents and etc).

(2) Crack Propagation:

- Crack advances incrementally with each stress cycle.
- On the fracture surface two types of markings can be present: beachmarks and striations.
They indicate the position of the crack tip at some point in time and appear as concentric
ridges that expand away from the crack initiation site.
- Beachmarks are of macroscopic dimensions and may be observed with the unaided eye,
whereas striations are microscopic in size and require electron microscopy.
- Localized plastic deformation at crack tips, even though the applied stress is less than the
yield strength of the material. This amplified stress is higher than yield strength. Therefore,
crack propagates!

(3) Final failure:

- Occurs very rapidly once the advancing crack has reached a critical size.
- Beachmarks and striations will not appear on the rapid failure region.
- Rapid failure may be either ductile or brittle (evidence of plastic deformation will be
present for ductile and absent for brittle failure).
 CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION
Beachmark Striation
Region of slow crack propagation

Region of rapid failure

- A crack formed at the top edge. - TEM fractograph (high magnification)
- At the smooth region (top), crack propagated slowly. showing fatigue striations in aluminum.
- Dull and fibrous region indicates rapid failure. - Each striation represents the advance of a
- Beachmarks (macroscopic dimensions) crack front during a single load cycle.
- Observed when interruptions during the crack - Striation width depends on, and increases
propagation stage (i.e. a machine that operated only with, increasing stress range.
during normal work-shift hours). - There may be thousands of striations within a
- Each beachmark band represents a period of time single beachmark.
over which crack growth occurred.

- Absence of beachmarks and striations does not exclude fatigue as the cause of failure.
(Striations may have corroded; or worn by abrasive stress during compression cycle)
 FATIGUE MECHANISM
- Crack grows incrementally

 AK 
da m 1 to 6

dN  a
~ 
increase in crack length per loading cycle
- a is the crack length and N is the number of
load cycles.
- crack grows even though
- A and m are material constants, and ΔK is the Kmax < Kc
range of the stress intensity factor, (i.e.
- crack grows faster when
difference between the stress intensity factor
• Δσ increases
at max and min loading).
• crack gets longer
- During the fatigue crack propagation, there is localized plastic • loading freq. increases.
deformation at crack tips, even though the applied load in each
cycle is below yield strength of the metal.

- This applied stress is amplified at the crack tip to the degree that
localized stress levels exceed the yield strength (causes striations).
 IMPROVING FATIGUE LIFE-MEAN STRESS
- The dependence of fatigue life on stress amplitude is represented on the S–N plot.

- Increasing the mean stress level leads to a decrease in fatigue life.

- y axis is stress amplitude!

- Curves represent mean stress.

- For a given mean stress, as stress

amplitude increases, cycles to fatigue
failure decreses.

- For a given stress amplitude (dotted red

line), as mean stress increases, cycles to
fatigue failure decreses.
IMPROVING FATIGUE LIFE-COMPONENT DESIGN
- Most cracks leading to fatigue failure originate at surface positions, specifically at stress
amplification sites.
- Therefore, it has been observed that fatigue life is especially sensitive to the condition and
configuration of the component surface.

Design Factors:
- The design of a component have a significant influence on its fatigue characteristics.
- Any notch or geometrical discontinuity can act as a stress raiser and fatigue crack initiation
site.
- Grooves, holes, keyways, threads, etc.
- The sharper the discontinuity (i.e., the smaller the radius of curvature), the more severe
the stress concentration.
rounded fillet
bad better
Remove stress
concentrators.
bad better
 IMPROVING FATIGUE LIFE-SURFACE EFFECTS
- During machining, small scratches and grooves are introduced into the surface.
- These surface markings can limit the fatigue life. Remove them by polishing!!!
- Imposing residual compressive stresses within a thin outer surface layer. Thus, a
surface tensile stress of external origin will be partially nullified and reduced in
magnitude by the residual compressive stress. The net effect is that the likelihood
of crack formation and therefore of fatigue failure is reduced.

Shot Peening: Case Hardening:

Small, hard particles (shot) (diameters A carbon- or nitrogen-rich outer surface
0.1 to 1.0 mm) are projected at high layer (or “case”) is introduced by atomic
velocities onto the surface to be treated. diffusion from the gaseous phase. The case
The resulting deformation induces is normally on the order of 1 mm deep and
compressive stresses on the top surface. is harder than the inner core of material.

shot
C-rich gas
put
surface
into distortion
compression of planes
IMPROVING FATIGUE LIFE-SURFACE EFFECTS

- Case hardening
- Shot peening improves fatigue life.
improves fatigue life!
- Case is hardening!!!