Module 4:Failure; Corrosion and Degradation of Materials:

FRACTURE:
 Fracture refers to the breaking or separating of a solid material into two or more pieces under stress.
 A fracture occurs when the material cannot withstand the forces applied to it, leading to crack initiation and
propagation.
 Understanding fracture behavior is critical in the design of materials and structures to prevent catastrophic
failures.
Types of Fracture
1. Brittle Fracture:
 It occurs with little or no plastic deformation before failure, typically at low temperatures or in brittle materials
such as ceramics, glass, and some high-strength metals.
• Characteristics:
• Fast crack propagation.
• The fracture surface is usually smooth, often showing a cleavage pattern.
• Absorbs very little energy before fracture, leading to sudden and catastrophic failure.
2. Ductile Fracture:
• Involves significant plastic deformation before and during crack propagation.
• It is more gradual and occurs in ductile materials such as metals (steel, aluminum) at room temperature.
Characteristics
 The fracture surface is rough and fibrous, with dimples indicating void formation.
 The material absorbs a lot of energy before fracture (high toughness).
 Example: A metal rod bending and stretching before finally breaking.
3. Fatigue Fracture
 It occurs due to repeated or cyclic loading, even if the applied stress is below the material’s ultimate tensile
strength.
 Over time, small cracks initiate and grow until the material fails.
Characteristics:
 Often starts with microscopic cracks, leading to gradual crack growth.
• The fracture surface shows characteristic "beach marks" or striations indicating cyclic crack propagation.
• Example: Failure of an airplane wing or rotating machinery due to repeated stress cycles.
4. Creep Fracture:
 It occurs when a material is subjected to high temperature and constant stress over a prolonged period, leading
to time-dependent deformation (creep).
Characteristics:
• The material deforms slowly over time, and cracks form and propagate after significant deformation.
• Example: Failure of turbine blades in jet engines after long-term exposure to high temperatures.
 PRINCIPLES OF FRACTURE MECHANICS
• Brittle fracture of normally ductile materials, has demonstrated the need for a better understanding of the
mechanisms of fracture.
• Extensive research endeavors over the past century have led to the evolution of the field of fracture mechanics.
• This subject allows quantification of the relationships between material properties, stress level, the presence of
crack-producing flaws, and crack propagation mechanisms.
• Design engineers are now better equipped to anticipate, and thus prevent, structural failures.
• The present discussion centers on some of the fundamental principles of the mechanics of fracture.
Stress Concentration
 The measured fracture strengths for most materials are significantly lower than those predicted by theoretical
calculations based on atomic bonding energies.
 This discrepancy is explained by the presence of microscopic flaws or cracks that always exist under normal
conditions at the surface and within the interior of a body of material.
 These flaws are a detriment to the fracture strength because an applied stress may be amplified or concentrated
at the tip, the magnitude of this amplification depending on crack orientation and geometry.
 This phenomenon is demonstrated in Figure, a stress profile across a cross section containing an internal crack.
 As indicated by this profile, the magnitude of this localized stress diminishes with distance away from the crack
tip. At positions far removed, the stress is just the nominal stress σ0 or the applied load divided by the specimen
cross-sectional area (perpendicular to this load).
• Because of their ability to amplify an applied stress in their locale, these flaws are sometimes called stress raisers.
• If it is assumed that a crack is similar to an elliptical hole through a plate and is oriented perpendicular to the
applied stress, the maximum stress, σm, occurs at the crack tip and may be approximated by

Where σ0 is the magnitude of the nominal applied tensile stress, ρt is the radius of curvature of the crack tip and a
represents the length of a surface crack, or half of the length of an internal crack.
# Mechanisms of Fracture
 Fracture occurs through crack initiation followed by crack propagation.
 The initiation can occur due to defects such as micro-cracks, voids, or inclusions in the material, or from
external factors such as impact or wear.
 Once a crack forms, its propagation depends on the applied stress, material toughness, and environmental
conditions.
1. Crack Initiation:
 Caused by stress concentrations at flaws or defects.
 Can result from dislocations, voids, grain boundaries, or external factors like sharp notches or impacts.
2. Crack Propagation:
 Brittle fracture: Crack propagates rapidly with little energy absorption.
 Ductile fracture: Crack grows through the material slowly, with significant energy absorption as voids coalesce
ahead of the crack tip.
# Fracture Toughness
• Fracture toughness is a critical property that quantifies a material's resistance to crack propagation.
• It is denoted by K1C and is a key factor in determining whether a material will fail in a brittle or ductile manner
when subjected to stress.
• Higher fracture toughness indicates a material's ability to resist crack growth.
# Fracture Modes
• There are three modes of fracture based on the type of loading applied to the crack:
Mode I (Opening Mode): Tensile stress is applied perpendicular to the crack, pulling the crack faces apart.
Mode II (Sliding Mode): Shear stress is applied parallel to the crack plane and perpendicular to the crack front,
causing the crack surfaces to slide over each other.
Mode III (Tearing Mode): Shear stress is applied parallel to both the crack front and the crack plane, resulting in
out-of-plane tearing.
# Factors Affecting Fracture Behavior
1. Material Properties:
 Ductility: More ductile materials undergo significant plastic deformation before fracture.
 Strength: Stronger materials can withstand higher stresses before fracturing, but may still be brittle.
 Toughness: A tougher material can absorb more energy before fracturing, meaning it is more resistant to crack
propagation.
2. Temperature:
• Higher temperatures tend to increase ductility and toughness, while lower temperatures make materials more
brittle.
3. Strain Rate:
• Higher strain rates (faster loading) tend to decrease ductility and toughness, leading to more brittle fractures.
5. Environmental Effects:
• Corrosive environments can significantly reduce fracture toughness and lead to stress corrosion cracking.
• High humidity and chemical exposure can accelerate crack growth.
# Prevention and Control of Fracture
• Material Selection: Choosing materials with high fracture toughness for applications prone to stress or impact.
• Design Considerations: Avoiding sharp corners or stress concentrators, using fillets, and ensuring even stress
distribution in critical components.
• Heat Treatments: Processes like annealing or tempering can enhance toughness and reduce brittleness.
• Surface Treatments: Techniques like surface hardening, coating, or peening can improve resistance to fatigue
and stress corrosion.
• Maintenance and Inspection: Regular inspection of components for early crack detection and using non-
destructive testing (NDT) methods to monitor crack growth.
 Griffith's theory
• Griffith's theory, developed by A.A. Griffith in 1921, is a foundational concept in fracture mechanics.
• It explains the behavior of brittle materials under stress, particularly focusing on how cracks propagate.
• The theory introduces the idea of energy balance to predict the conditions under which a material with an
existing flaw or crack will fail.
• Key Concepts of Griffith's Theory:
• Crack Propagation in Brittle Materials: In brittle materials, cracks are typically present due to
manufacturing defects or natural flaws in the material. Griffith's theory proposes that a crack will propagate if
the energy available to drive the crack forward exceeds the energy required to create new crack surfaces.
• Energy Balance Approach: Griffith viewed fracture as a balance between two energies:
• Strain Energy (Elastic Energy): This is the energy stored in the material due to the applied stress. As a
crack grows, the material near the crack tip releases stored elastic energy.
• Surface Energy (Energy to Create New Surfaces): When a crack propagates, new surfaces are created.
This requires energy because breaking atomic bonds and forming new surfaces demands work. The surface
energy is proportional to the surface area of the crack.
• Griffith proposed that crack propagation would occur when the elastic energy released by extending the
crack is greater than or equal to the energy required to create new surfaces.
.
# Creep
 Materials are often placed in service at elevated temperatures and exposed to static mechanical stresses (e.g.,
turbine rotors in jet engines and steam generators that experience centrifugal stresses, and high-pressure steam
lines).
 Deformation under such circumstances is termed creep.
 Defined as the time-dependent and permanent deformation of materials when subjected to a constant load or
stress, creep is normally an undesirable phenomenon and is often the limiting factor in the lifetime of a part.
 It is observed in all materials types; for metals it becomes important only for temperatures greater than about
0.4Tm (Tm absolute melting temperature).
 Amorphous polymers, which include plastics and rubbers, are especially sensitive to creep deformation.
• A typical creep test consists of subjecting a specimen to a constant load or stress while maintaining the
temperature constant; deformation or strain is measured and plotted as a function of elapsed time.
• Most tests are the constant-load type, which yield information of an engineering nature; constant-stress tests are
employed to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of creep.
• A schematic representation of the typical constant-load creep behavior of metals.
• Upon application of the load there is an instantaneous deformation, as indicated in the figure, which is totally
elastic.
• The resulting creep curve consists of three regions, each of which has its own distinctive strain–time feature.
• Upon application of the load there is an instantaneous deformation, as indicated in the figure, which is totally
elastic.
• The resulting creep curve consists of three regions, each of which has its own distinctive strain–time feature.
1. Primary or transient creep occurs first, typified by a continuously decreasing creep rate; that is, the slope of the
curve diminishes with time.
• This suggests that the material is experiencing an increase in creep resistance or strain hardening —
deformation becomes more difficult as the material is strained.
2. For secondary creep (steady-state creep) the rate is constant; that is, the plot becomes linear.
• This is often the stage of creep that is of the longest duration.
• The constancy of creep rate is explained on the basis of a balance between the competing processes of strain
hardening and recovery, recovery being the process whereby a material becomes softer and retains its ability to
experience deformation.
3. tertiary creep
 There is an acceleration of the rate and ultimate failure.
• This failure is frequently termed rupture and results from microstructural and/or metallurgical changes; for
example, grain boundary separation, and the formation of internal cracks, cavities, and voids.
• Also, for tensile loads, a neck may form at some point within the deformation region.
• These all lead to a decrease in the effective cross-sectional area and an increase in strain rate.
• For metallic materials, most creep tests are conducted in uniaxial tension using a specimen having the same
geometry as for tensile tests .
• On the other hand, uniaxial compression tests are more appropriate for brittle materials; these provide a better
measure of the intrinsic creep properties in as much as there is no stress amplification and crack propagation, as
with tensile loads.
• Compressive test specimens are usually right cylinders or parallelepipeds having length-to-diameter ratios
ranging from about 2 to 4.
• For most materials, creep properties are virtually independent of loading direction.
# STRESS AND TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
 Both temperature and the level of the applied stress influence the creep characteristics.
 At a temperature substantially below 0.4Tm, and after the initial deformation, the strain is virtually independent
of time.
 With either increasing stress or temperature, the following will be noted:
(1) the instantaneous strain at the time of stress application increases,
(2) the steady-state creep rate is increased, and
(3) the rupture lifetime is diminished.
 FATIGUE
• When a component is subjected to cyclic stresses over a long period of time, it may fail after a certain
number of cycles even though the maximum stress in any cycle is considerably less than the breaking
strength of the material. This failure of material is called fatigue.
• Examples of components that usually fail by fatigue include: rotating shafts, aircraft wings, springs, turbine
blades, gears, automobile shock absorb ers, and the like.
• A fatigue failure generally occurs in three stages:
(I) crack initiation, the crack originates at a point of stress concentration or a metallurgical flaw (e.g. inclusion);
(II) crack propagation, the crack propagates across the part under cyclic stresses,
(III) crack termination.