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Developing the Capability to Monitor Small Fatigue Crack Growth Under Elevated Temperature, Ultra-High Vacuum Conditions

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Abstract

It has been reported that the minimum observed fatigue lifetimes in numerous structural alloys are dominated by the small-crack growth behavior. While environmental effects on fatigue crack growth behavior of Ni-base superalloys are well documented within the literature, the published research is largely limited to long crack behavior due to the difficulty of measuring small cracks in a vacuum chamber. A testing capability incorporating optical measurement of small fatigue cracks under ultra-high vacuum (~10−9 Torr) and at elevated temperatures has been developed. Optical measurement capabilities have been evaluated under laboratory air conditions to determine crack measurement accuracy. A vacuum fatigue test was then completed at 650 °C on a Ni-base superalloy specimen to quantify the effect of vacuum on the propagation life within the small crack regime. The effectiveness of this test capability and considerations for this technique are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was performed at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL/RXCM, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH. Partial financial support from the AFOSR Structural Mechanics Program (Project # 2306-6M2AL8), Dr. David Stargel, program manager, is gratefully acknowledged. Two of the authors (BTG, MEB) would like to acknowledge funding from the Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute (DAGSI) fellowship. Two of the authors were partially supported under onsite Air Force contracts FA8650-07-D-5800 (SKJ and CJS). Technical assistance in experimental design and setup from M. Ruddell and P. Blosser, both of the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) is appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U. S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, 45433-7817, USA

    B. T. Gockel, M. J. Caton, C. J. Szczepanski, A. H. Rosenberger & M. E. Burba

  2. University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, 45469, USA

    B. T. Gockel & M. E. Burba

  3. Universal Technology Corporation, Dayton, OH, 45432, USA

    S. K. Jha

Authors
  1. B. T. Gockel
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  2. M. J. Caton
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  3. S. K. Jha
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  4. C. J. Szczepanski
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  5. A. H. Rosenberger
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  6. M. E. Burba
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Correspondence to B. T. Gockel.

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Gockel, B.T., Caton, M.J., Jha, S.K. et al. Developing the Capability to Monitor Small Fatigue Crack Growth Under Elevated Temperature, Ultra-High Vacuum Conditions. Exp Mech 55, 951–961 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-015-9998-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-015-9998-z

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