The experimental analysis of high temperature fracture in Aluminum Alloy 2519-T87 presented in Part I of this paper highlighted the creep-brittle fracture characteristics of the material and showed reasonable correlation of crack growth rates with the stress intensity factor K. Part II continues this investigation numerically using growing crack finite element analyses. Experimentally observed crack growth histories of four aluminum 2519-T87 compact specimens are enforced by controlling the rate of release of finite element nodes along the crack growth path to gain insight into the relation of the crack tip fields to far field fracture parameters and to crack growth rates. A variable time-step, nodal-release algorithm is presented to model the high strain rates that occur during the initial stages of crack growth. The numerical results indicate an initial transient period of crack growth followed by a quasi-steady-state crack growth regime in which the crack tip fields change slowly with increasing crack length. Transition of crack growth to the quasi-steady-state regime, where similitude and small-scale creep conditions roughly exist, is given by a transition time tg that depends on the crack growth history and material properties. Excellent correlation of the stress intensity factor K with the crack growth rates is observed after time tg. Experimental difficulties in measuring the creep component of the load-line deflection rate are also discussed.
The discipline of time-dependent fracture mechanics has traditionally focused on the creep crack growth behavior of high-temperature materials that display creep-ductile behavior, such as stainless steels and chromium-molybdenum steels. Elevated temperature aluminum alloys, however, have been developed that exhibit creep-brittle behavior; in this case, the creep crack growth rate correlates with the stress intensity factor, K. The fracture characteristics of aluminum alloy 2519-T87 were studied at 135°C, and the creep and creep crack growth behavior were characterized utilizing experimental and numerical methods. The strain to failure for creep deformation specimens was limited to only 1.2 to 2.0%. Creep crack growth tests revealed a unique correlation between the creep crack growth rate and K, a result consistent with creep-brittle behavior. No experimental correlation was found between the creep crack growth rate and the Ct, parameter. Microscopy of fracture surfaces revealed distinct regions of intergranular and transgranular fracture, and the transition between the fracture regions was found to occur at a critical K-level. Experimental results also appeared to show that initiation of crack growth (incubation) is controlled by the accumulation of a critical amount of damage ahead of the crack tip and that a correlation exists between the incubation time and K. Total time to failure is viewed as a summation of the incubation period and the crack growth period, and the design importance of incubation time is discussed.
This article describes the concepts for characterizing and predicting elevated-temperature crack growth in structural materials. It discusses both creep and creep-fatigue crack growth and focuses mainly on creep crack growth tests that are carried out in accordance with ASTM E 1457. The article provides information on typical test procedures and equipment used for these tests. It concludes with information on crack growth correlations.
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