Abstract
The effect of slip distribution on the fatigue crack propagation behavior in vacuum of a high purity Al-5.9Zn-2.6Mg-l.7Cu alloy in various age-hardened conditions has been investigated. The crack propagation resistance was observed to be significantly higher for underaged microstructures containing shearable precipitates in comparison to overaged conditions with nonshearable precipitates. The improved crack propagation resistance is attributed in part to an increased amount of reversed slip in the plastic zone at the crack tip due to a higher degree of planar slip for conditions with shearable precipitates. The observed increase in fatigue crack propagation resistance with decreasing precipitate size for microstructures containing a constant volume fraction of shearable precipitates cannot be explained on the basis of such slip reversibility alone. The variation in ductility for the different microstructures has also to be taken into account. It was found that the enhanced crack propagation resistance can be correlated to the increased ductility with decreasing precipitate size. This explanation was supported by the experimental observation that microstructures containing different volume fractions and sizes of shearable precipitates but exhibiting the same ductility showed approximately the same resistance against fatigue crack propagation.
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formerly with German Aerospace Research Establishment (DFVLR), Cologne, Germany.
formerly with Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany.
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Lindigkeit, J., Gysler, A. & Lütjering, G. The effect of microstructure on the fatigue crack propagation behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy. Metall Trans A 12, 1613–1619 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02643567
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02643567