Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr.

Haider Mahdi Al jabery 24

FAILURE OF MATERIALS

General:

The failure of engineering materials is almost always an undesirable event for

several reasons; these include human lives that are put in risk , economic losses,
and the interference with the availability of products and services. Even though the
causes of failure and the behavior of materials may be known, prevention of
failures is difficult to guarantee. It is the responsibility of the engineer to predict
and plan for possible failure and, in the event that failure does occur, to estimate
its cause and then take appropriate preventive measures against future accident.
The following topics are addressed in this chapter: simple fracture (both ductile
and brittle modes), fundamentals of fracture mechanics, the ductile-to-brittle
transition, fatigue, and creep. These discussions include failure mechanisms,
testing techniques, and methods by which failure may be prevented or controlled.
Fracture:
Simple fracture is the separation of a body into two or more pieces in response to
an imposed stress that is static (i.e., constant or slowly changing with time) and at
temperatures that are low relative to the melting temperature of the material. The
applied stress may be tensile, compressive, shear, or torsional; the present
discussion will be confined to fractures that result from uniaxial tensile loads. For
engineering materials, two fracture modes are possible: ductile and brittle.
Classification is based on the ability of a material to experience plastic
deformation. Ductile materials typically exhibit plastic deformation with high
energy absorption before fracture. On the other hand, there is normally little or no
plastic deformation with low energy absorption accompanying a brittle fracture.

Fig. 2-1 ductile and brittle materials stress-strain curves (toughness)

 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 25

DUCTILE FRACTURE

Ductile fracture surfaces will have their special features on both macroscopic and
microscopic levels. Figure below shows representations for two characteristic
macroscopic fracture profiles. The configuration shown in Figure below is found
for extremely soft metals, such as pure gold and lead at room temperature, and
other metals, polymers at elevated temperatures. These highly ductile materials
neck down to a point fracture, showing virtually 100% reduction in area.

The most common type of tensile fracture profile for ductile metals is that represented
in Figure above b, where fracture is preceded by only a moderate amount of necking.
The fracture process normally occurs in several stages (Figure 2-2). First, after necking
begins, small cavities form in the interior of the cross section, as indicated in Figure 2-
2b. Next, as deformation continues, these microvoids enlarge, come together, and
coalesce to form an elliptical crack, which has its long axis perpendicular to the stress
direction. The crack continues to grow in a direction parallel to its major axis by this
microvoid process (Figure 2-2c). Finally, fracture ensues by the rapid propagation of a
crack around the outer perimeter of the neck (Figure 2-2d), by shear deformation at an
angle of about with the tensile axis—this is the angle at which the shear stress is a
maximum. Sometimes a fracture having this characteristic surface contour is termed a
cup-and-cone fracture because one of the mating surfaces is in the form of a cup, the
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 26

other like a cone. In this type of fractured specimen (Figure 2-3), the central interior
region of the surface has an irregular and fibrous appearance, which is indicative of
plastic deformation.
Some important features of ductile fracture can be summarized as follows:

 Pure metals and solid solutions that are relatively free from second phase
particles (including impurity particles) are usually more ductile than strong two-
phase alloys.
 The local stress required for whole nucleation at particles depends on their
resistance to cracking and the strength of their bond with the matrix.
 The local stress generated at the particles depends on the flow strength of the
alloy, the applied strain and the shape and size of the particles.

Fig 2-2 Stages in the cup-and-cone fracture. (a) Initial necking. (b) Small
cavity formation. (c) Coalescence of cavities to form a crack. (d) Crack
propagation. (e) Final shear fracture at a 45 angle relative to the tensile
direction.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 27

Fig. 2-3 Cup-and-cone fracture

BRITTLE FRACTURE

Brittle fracture takes place without any appreciable deformation, and by rapid
crack propagation. The direction of crack motion is very nearly perpendicular to
the direction of the applied tensile stress and yields a relatively flat fracture
surface, as indicated in Figure 2-2c.
Brittle fracture in amorphous materials, such as ceramic glasses, yields a relatively
shiny and smooth surface.

(a) ( b)
Fig 2-4 Scanning electron fractograph showing (a) transgranular fracture
surface and (b) intergranular fracture surface.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 28

For most brittle crystalline materials, crack propagation corresponds to the

successive and repeated breaking of atomic bonds along specific crystallographic
planes; such a process is termed cleavage. This type of fracture is said to be
transgranular (or transcrystalline), because the fracture cracks pass through the
grains. Macroscopically, the fracture surface may have a grainy or faceted texture
(Figure 2-2b), as a result of changes in orientation of the cleavage planes from
grain to grain. This cleavage feature is shown at a higher magnification in the
scanning electron micrograph of Figure 2-4a
In some alloys, crack propagation is along grain boundaries; this fracture is
termed intergranular. Figure 2-4b is a scanning electron micrograph showing a
typical intergranular fracture, in which the three-dimensional nature of the grains
may be seen. This type of fracture normally results subsequent to the occurrence of
processes that weaken or embrittle grain boundary regions.
Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 29
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 30

 Mode I -- The tensile component of stress is applied in the y direction, normal

to the faces of the crack, either under plane-strain (thick plate, t large) or plane-
stress (thin plate, t small) conditions.
 Mode II -- The shear component of stress is applied normal to the leading edge
of the crack either under plane-strain or plane-stress conditions.
 Mode III -- The shear component of stress is applied parallel to the leading edge
of the crack (antiplane strain).
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 31

Fig 2-5 (a) fracture modes (b) effect of thickness on fracture toughness
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 32

Ductile-to-Brittle Transition

One of the primary functions of Charpy and Izod tests is to determine whether or
not a material experiences a ductile-to-brittle transition with decreasing
temperature and, if so, the range of temperatures over which it occurs. The ductile-
to-brittle transition is related to the temperature dependence of the measured
impact energy absorption. This transition is represented in Figure 2-6. At higher
temperatures the CVN energy is relatively large, in correlation with a ductile mode
of fracture. As the temperature is lowered, the impact energy drops suddenly over a
relatively narrow temperature range, below which the energy has a constant but
small value; that is, the mode of fracture is brittle.
Alternatively, appearance of the failure surface is indicative of the nature of
fracture and may be used in transition temperature determinations. For ductile
fracture this surface appears fibrous or dull (or of shear character), , totally brittle
surfaces have a granular (shiny) texture (or cleavage character) .Over the ductile-
to-brittle transition, features of both types will exist .

Fig 2-6 ductile to brittle transition temperature

 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 33

For many alloys there is a range of temperatures over which the ductile-to-brittle
transition occurs; this presents some difficulty in specifying a single ductile-to-
brittle transition temperature. No explicit criterion has been established, and so this
temperature is often defined as that temperature at which the CVN energy assumes
some value (e.g., 20 J or 15 ft-lbf), or corresponding to some given fracture
appearance (e.g., 50% fibrous fracture). Matters are further complicated inasmuch
as a different transition temperature may be realized for each of these criteria.
Perhaps the most conservative transition temperature is that at which the fracture
surface becomes 100% fibrous. Structures constructed from alloys that exhibit this
ductile-to brittle behavior should be used only at temperatures above the transition
temperature, to avoid brittle and catastrophic failure. Classic examples of this type
of failure occurred, with disastrous consequences, during World War II when a
number of welded transport ships, away from combat, suddenly and precipitously
split in half. The vessels were constructed of a steel alloy that possessed adequate
ductility according to room-temperature tensile tests.
The brittle fractures occurred at relatively low ambient temperatures, at about 4oC
in the vicinity of the transition temperature of the alloy. Each fracture crack
originated at some point of stress concentration, probably a sharp corner or
fabrication defect, and then propagated around the entire girth of the ship.

Example #1 :- An aluminum alloy is subjected to a constant stress of 150 MPa.

What is the maximum tolerable flaw size that will avoid fast fracture?
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 34

Example #2 :- A structural component in the form of a wide plate is to be

fabricated from a steel alloy that has a plane strain fracture toughness of and a
yield strength of 860 MPa . The flaw size resolution limit of the flaw detection
apparatus is 3.0 mm .If the design stress is onehalf of the yield strength and the
value of Y is 1.0, determine whether or not a critical flaw for this plate is subject to
detection.

Therefore, the critical flaw is subject to detection since this value of ac (16.8 mm)
is greater than the 3.0 mm resolution limit.

Example #3:- Following is tabulated data that were gathered from a series of
Charpy impact tests on a tempered 4340 steel alloy.
(a) Plot the data as impact energy versus
temperature.
(b) Determine a ductile-to-brittle transition
temperature as that temperature
corresponding to the average of the
maximum and minimum impact energies.
(c) Determine a ductile-to-brittle transition
temperature as that temperature at which the
impact energy is 50 J.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 35

Example#4:- A structural component in the form of a wide plate is to be fabricated

from a steel alloy that has a plane strain fracture toughness of 98.9 MPa√ and a
yield strength of 860 MPa. The flaw size resolution limit of the flaw detection
apparatus is 3.0 mm. If the design stress is onehalf of the yield strength and the
value of Y is 1.0, determine whether or not a critical flaw for this plate is subject to
detection

FATIGUE

Fatigue is the most important failure mode to be considered in a mechanical

design. Under the action of oscillatory tensile stresses of sufficient magnitude, a
small crack will initiate at a point of the stress concentration. Once the crack is
initiated, it will tend to grow in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the
oscillatory tensile loads.
There are several reasons for the dominance of this failure mode and the problems
of designing to avoid it:
(1) the fatigue process is inherently unpredictable, as evidenced by the statistical
scatter in laboratory data.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 36

(2) it is often difficult to translate laboratory data of material behavior into field
predictions.
(3) it is extremely difficult to accurately model the mechanical environments to
which the system is exposed over its entire design lifetime.
(4) environmental effects produce complex stress states at fatigue-sensitive hot
spots in the system.

It can be thought that fatigue can involve a very complicated interaction of several
processes and/or influences.

Figure 2-7 Description of fatigue process

Fatigue failures are often catastrophic; they come without warning and may cause
significant property damage as well as loss of life. The goal of such new elements
in the design process is to perform fatigue and durability calculations much earlier,
thereby reducing or removing the need for expensive redesign later on. Actually,
fatigue damage is related to cycle amplitudes or ranges and not to peak values.
Therefore, in any kind of loading, fatigue damage is caused by statistical properties
such as amplitudes and mean values.
The majority of engineering failures are caused by fatigue. Fatigue failure is
defined as the tendency of a material to fracture by means of progressive brittle
cracking under repeated alternating or cyclic stresses of an intensity below the
normal strength.
A good example of fatigue failure is breaking a thin steel rod or wire with your
hands after bending it back and forth several times in the same place. Another
example is an unbalanced pump impeller resulting in vibrations that can cause
fatigue failure.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 37

The fatigue behavior of a specific material, heat-treated to a specific strength level,

is determined by a series of laboratory tests on a large number of identical samples
of that specific material.
This picture shows a laboratory fatigue specimen. These laboratory samples are
optimized for fatigue life. They are machined with shape characteristics which
maximize the fatigue life of a metal, and are highly polished to provide the surface
characteristics which enable the best fatigue life.

Figure 2-8 Laboratory fatigue specimen

A single test consists of applying a known, constant bending stress to a round
sample of the material, and rotating the sample around the bending stress axis until
it fails. As the sample rotates, the stress applied to any fiber on the outside surface
of the sample varies from maximum-tensile to zero to maximum-compressive and
back. The test mechanism counts the number of rotations (cycles) until the
specimen fails. A large number of tests are run at each stress level of interest, and
the results are statistically massaged to determine the expected number of cycles to
failure at that stress level.
The most important concept is the S-N diagram, such as those shown in Figure 2-8,
in which a constant cyclic stress amplitude S is applied to a specimen and the
number of loading cycles N until the specimen fails is determined. Millions of
cycles might be required to cause failure at lower loading levels, so the figure in
usually plotted logarithmically.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 38

Figure 2-9 Typical S-N Curves

High-cycle fatigue, associated with low loads and long life (>10 3 cycles), is
commonly analyzed with a "stress-life" method (the S-N curve), which predicts the
number of cycles sustained before failure, or with a "total-life" method (endurance
limit), which puts a cap stress that allows the material to have infinite life (>10 6
cycles).
Low-cycle fatigue, associated with higher loads (plastic deformation occurs) and
shorter life (<103 cycles), is commonly used methods called "strain-life" to analyze
or predict the fatigue life.
Fatigue cracking is one of the primary damage mechanisms of structural
components. Fatigue cracking results from cyclic stresses that are below the
ultimate tensile stress, or even the yield stress of the material. The name ―fatigue‖
is based on the concept that a material becomes ―tired‖ and fails at a stress level
below the nominal strength of the material.
Factors Affecting Fatigue Life
In order for fatigue cracks to initiate, three basic factors are necessary. First, the
loading pattern must contain minimum and maximum peak values with large
enough variation or fluctuation. The peak values may be in tension or compression
and may change over time but the reverse loading cycle must be sufficiently great
for fatigue crack initiation.
Secondly, the peak stress levels must be of sufficiently high value. If the peak
stresses are too low, no crack initiation will occur. Thirdly, the material must
experience a sufficiently large number of cycles of the applied stress. The number
of cycles required to initiate and grow a crack is largely dependent on the first two
factors.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 39

In addition to these three basic factors, there are a host of other variables, such as
stress concentration, corrosion, temperature, overload, metallurgical structure, and
residual stresses which can affect the propensity for fatigue. Since fatigue cracks
generally initiate at a surface, the surface condition of the component being loaded
will have an effect on its fatigue life. Surface roughness is important because it is
directly related to the level and number of stress concentrations on the surface.
Surface residual stress will also have a significant effect on fatigue life.
Compressive residual stresses from machining, cold working, heat treating will
oppose a tensile load and thus lower the amplitude of cyclic loading.
Figure 2-10 shows typical fatigue stress cycles under various loading conditions.

Figure 2-01 Typical fatigue stress cycles

Fatigue strength is determined by applying different levels of cyclic stress to

individual test specimens and measuring the number of cycles to failure. Standard
laboratory test use various methods for applying the cyclic load, e.g. rotating bend,
cantilever bend, axial push-pull and torsion. The data are plotted in the form of a
stress-number of cycles to failure (S-N) curve. S-N test data are usually displayed
on a log-log plot, with the actual S-N line representing the mean of the data from
several tests.
Owing to the statistical nature of the failure, several specimens have to be tested at
each stress level. Some materials, notably low-carbon steels, exhibit a flattening
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 40

off at a particular stress level as at (a) in Figure 2-11 which is referred to as the
fatigue limit.
As a rough guide, the fatigue limit is usually about 40% of the tensile strength. In
principle, components designed so that the applied stresses do not exceed this level
should not fail in service. The difficulty is a localized stress concentration may be
present or introduced during service which leads to initiation, despite the design
stress being normally below the 'safe' limit.
Most materials, however, exhibit a continually falling curve as in (b) and the usual
indicator of fatigue strength is to quote the stress below which failure will not be
expected in less than a given number of cycles which is referred to as the
endurance limit.

Figure 2-00 Typical S-N Curves

Endurance Limit
Certain materials have a fatigue limit or endurance limit which represents a stress
level below which the material does not fail and can be cycled infinitely. If the
applied stress level is below the endurance limit of the material, the structure is
said to have an infinite life. This is characteristic of steel and titanium in benign
environmental conditions.
A typical S-N curve corresponding to this type of material is shown Curve A in
Figure 5. Many non-ferrous metals and alloys, such as aluminum, magnesium, and
copper alloys, do not exhibit well-defined endurance limits. These materials
instead display a continuously decreasing S-N response, similar to Curve B in
Figure 5. In such cases a fatigue strength Sf for a given number of cycles must be
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 41

specified. An effective endurance limit for these materials is sometimes defined as

the stress that causes failure at 1x108 or 5x108 loading cycles.

CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION

The process of fatigue failure is characterized by three steps: (1) crack initiation,
wherein a small crack forms at some point of high stress concentration; (2) crack
propagation (3) final failure, which occurs very rapidly once the advancing crack
has reached a critical size. Cracks associated with fatigue failure almost always
initiate (or nucleate) on the surface of a component at some point of stress
concentration. Crack nucleation sites include surface scratches, sharp fillets,
threads, dents, and the like. In addition, cyclic loading can produce microscopic
surface discontinuities resulting from dislocation slip steps that may also act as
stress, and therefore as crack initiation sites. 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. Both of these features 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(s), frequently in a circular or
semicircular pattern. Beachmarks of macroscopic dimensions (Figure 2-12), and
may be observed with the unaided eye. These markings are found for components
that experienced interruptions during the crack propagation stage—for example, a
machine that operated only during normal work-shift hours. Each beachmark band
represents a period of time over which crack growth occurred. On the other hand,
fatigue striations are microscopic in size and subject to observation with the
electron . Figure 2-13 is an electron fractograph that shows this feature. Each
striation is thought to represent the advance distance of a crack front during a
single load cycle. Striation width depends on, and increases with, increasing stress
range. At this point it should be emphasized that although both beachmarks and
striations are fatigue fracture surface features having similar appearances, they are
nevertheless different, both in origin and size. There may be literally thousands of
striations within a single beachmark. Often the cause of failure may be deduced
after examination of the failure surfaces. The presence of beachmarks and/or
striations on a fracture surface confirms that the cause of failure was fatigue.
Nevertheless, the absence of either or both does not exclude fatigue as the cause of
failure. One final comment regarding fatigue failure surfaces: Beachmarks and
striations will not appear on that region over which the rapid failure occurs.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 42

Fig.4-35 An electron fractograph showing

striations Fig.4-34 showing Beachmarks

Fatigue crack growth:

The major share of the fatigue life of the component may be taken up in the
propagation of crack. By applying fracture mechanics principles it is possible to
predict the number of cycles spent in growing a crack to some specified length or
to final failure.
The engineers have developed the safe-life or fail-safe design approach. In this
method, a component is designed in a way that if a crack forms, it will not grow to
a critical size between specified inspection intervals. Thus, by knowing the
material growth rate characteristics and with regular inspections, a cracked
component may be kept in service for an extended useful life. This concept is
shown schematically in Fig. 2-14.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 43

Figure 2-14 Extended service life of a cracked component

Typical constant amplitude crack propagation data are the crack length, a, which is
plotted versus the corresponding number of cycles, N, at which the crack was
measured. Most of the life of the component is spent while the crack length is
relatively small. In addition, the crack growth rate increases with increased applied
stress.
The crack growth rate, da/dN, is obtained by taking the derivative of the above
crack length, a, versus cycles, N, curve. Two generally accepted numerical
approaches for obtaining this derivative are the spline fitting method and the
incremental polynomial method .Values of log da/dN can then be plotted versus
log , for a given crack length, using the equation :

Where  is the remote stress applied to the component as shown in Fig. 2-15.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 44

Figure 2-15 Remote stress range

A plot of log da/dN versus log , a sigmoidal curve, is shown in Fig. 2-16. This
curve may be divided into three regions. At low stress intensities, Region I,
cracking behavior is associated with threshold, th, effects. In the mid-region,
Region II, the curve is essentially linear. Many structures operate in this region.
Finally, in the Region III, at high  values, crack growth rates are extremely high
and little fatigue life is involved.

Figure 2-16 Three regions of crack growth rate curve

 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 45

Region II
Most of the current applications concepts to describe crack growth behavior are
associated with Region II. In this region the slope of the log da/dN versus log ,
curve is approximately linear. Many curve fits to this region have been suggested.
The Paris equation, which was proposed in the early 1960s, is the most widely
accepted. In this equation:

Where C and m are material constants

, and  is the stress intensity range K max – K min

The crack growth life, in terms of cycles to failure, may be calculated using above
equation. The relation may be generally described by:

Thus, cycles to failure, Nf, may be calculated as:

Where ai is the initial crack length and af is the final (critical) crack length. Using
the Paris formulation:

,
Because K is a function of the crack length and a correction factor that is
dependent on crack length, the integration above must often be solved numerically.
It is important to note that the fatigue-life estimation is strongly dependent on ai,
and generally not sensitive to af (when ai«af). Large changes in af result in small
changes of Nf as shown schematically in Fig. 2-17.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 46

Figure 2-17 Effect of final crack size on life

Example 5:- A fatigue test was conducted in which the mean stress was 70 MPa
(10,000 psi), and the stress amplitude was 210 MPa (30,000 psi).
(a) Compute the maximum and minimum stress levels.
(b) Compute the stress ratio.
(c) Compute the magnitude of the stress range.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 47

Example 6:- The fatigue data for a steel alloy are given as follows:

(a) Make an S–Nplot (stress amplitude versus logarithm cycles to failure) using
these data.
(b) What is the fatigue limit for this alloy?
(c) Determine fatigue lifetimes at stress amplitudes of 415 MPa (60,000 psi)
and 275 MPa (40,000 psi).
(d) Estimate fatigue strengths at 2 x 104 and 6 x 105 cycles.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 48

CREEP:

Creep is defined as the time-dependent strain that occurs under load at elevated
temperature and operates in most applications of heat-resistant high-alloy castings
at normal service temperatures. In time, creep may lead to excessive deformation
and even fracture at stresses considerably below those determined in room
temperature and elevated-temperature short-term tension tests.
It is observed in all materials types; for metals it becomes important only for
temperatures greater than about0.4Tm (Tm is the absolute melting temperature).
Amorphous polymers, which include plastics and rubbers, are especially sensitive
to creep deformation.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 49

CREEP CURVE:

During creep testing, the tensile specimen is subjected to either a constant load or
stress at a constant temperature. Most creep tests conducted at constant load are
concerned with concerned with information relating to specific engineering
applications, whereas creep tests at constant stress are necessary for the specific
understanding of the mechanism of creep. During the creep test, strain (change in
length) is measured as a function of elapsed time. Creep test data is presented as a
plot between time and strain known as creep curve. The slope of the creep curve is
designated as creep rate dt/dε. A typical creep curve is shown in Figure 2-18.

Figure 2-18 A typical creep curve

The curve may show the instantaneous elastic and plastic strain that occurs as the
load is applied, followed by the plastic strain which occurs over time. Three stages
to the creep curve may be identified:
Primary creep: in which the creep resistance increases with strain leading to a
decreasing creep strain rate.
Secondary (Steady State) creep: in which there is a balance between work
hardening and recovery processes, leading to a minimum constant creep rate.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 50

Tertiary creep: in which there is an accelerating creep rate due to the

accumulating damage, which leads to creep rupture, and which may only be seen at
high temperatures and stresses and in constant load machines.
The minimum secondary creep rate is of most interest to design engineers, since
failure avoidance is commonly required and in this area some predictability is
possible.
STRESS AND TEMPERATURE EFFECTS:

Both temperature and the level of the applied stress influence the creep
characteristics. At a temperature substantially below 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.

Figure 2-19 Influence of stress and temperature on creep behavior.

ALLOYS FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE USE:

There are several factors that affect the creep characteristics of metals. These
include melting temperature, elastic modulus, and grain size. In general, the higher
the melting temperature, the greater the elastic modulus, and the larger the grain
size, the better is a material’s resistance to creep. Relative to grain size, smaller
grains permit more grain-boundary sliding, which results in higher creep rates.
This effect may be contrasted to the influence of grain size on the mechanical
behavior at low temperatures i.e., increase in both strength and toughness .Stainless
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 51

steels, the refractory metals, and the super alloys are especially resilient to creep
and are commonly employed in high temperature service applications. The creep
resistance of the cobalt and nickel super alloys is enhanced by solid-solution
alloying, and also by the addition of a dispersed phase that is virtually insoluble in
the matrix. In addition, advanced processing techniques have been utilized; one
such technique is directional solidification, which produces either highly elongated
grains or single-crystal components. Another is the controlled unidirectional
solidification of alloys having specially designed compositions wherein two-phase
composites result.

RUPTURE LIFE TIME PRIDECTION:

The need often arises for engineering creep data that are impractical to collect from
normal laboratory tests .This is especially true for prolonged exposures (on the
order of years). One solution to this problem involves performing creep and/or
creep rupture tests at temperatures in excess of those required, for shorter time
periods, and at a comparable stress level, and then making a suitable extrapolation
to the in-service condition. A commonly used extrapolation procedure employs the
Larson–Miller parameter, defined as:

P = T (log tr +C)

Where C is a constant (usually on the order of 20), for T in Kelvin and the rupture
lifetime in hours. The rupture lifetime of a given material measured at some
specific stress level will vary with temperature such that this parameter remains
constant. Or, the data may be plotted as the logarithm of stress versus the Larson–
Miller parameter, as shown in Figure 2-20. Utilization of this technique is
demonstrated in the following design example.
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 52

Figure 4-42: Logarithm stress versus the Larson–Miller parameter for an S-590
iron

Example 8:-
Using the Larson–Miller data for S-590 iron shown in Figure 2-20, predict the
time to rupture for a component that is subjected to a stress of 140 MPa (20,000
psi) at 800oC(1073oK),the value of C is equal to 20
Solution
From Figure 2-20 above, at 140 MPa (20,000 psi) the value of the Larson–Miller
parameter is 24 x103 , for T in K and in h; therefore,
24 x103= T (log tr +20)
= 1073 (log tr + 20)
22.73= log tr + 20
tr = 233 hr( 9.7 days)
 Chapter Two - Failure of Engineering Materials-Dr. Haider Mahdi Al jabery 53

Evaluation of Creep Behavior

To determine the creep characteristics of a material, a constant stress is applied to a
heated specimen in a creep test. As soon as the stress is applied, the specimen
stretches elastically a small amount εo (Figure below), depending on the applied
stress and the modulus of elasticity of the material at the high temperature. Creep
testing can also be conducted under a constant load and is important from an
engineering design viewpoint

Dislocation Climb High temperatures permit dislocations in a metal to climb. In

climb, atoms move either to or from the dislocation line by diffusion, causing the
dislocation to move in a direction that is perpendicular, not parallel, to the slip
plane (Figure below). The dislocation escapes from lattice imperfections, continues
to slip, and causes additional deformation of the specimen even at low applied
stresses

Dislocations can climb (a) when atoms leave the dislocation line to create
interstitials or to fill vacancies or (b) when atoms are attached to the dislocation
line by creating vacancies or eliminating interstitials.