Abstract
Fatigue behavior of aluminum alloy 5454- H32 was studied under laboratory air and 3 % NaCl solution environment using smooth cylindrical and notched plate specimens. Presence of 3 % NaCl environment during fatigue loading drastically reduced alloy fatigue life. The deleterious effect was pronounced in both types of specimens in the long- life regions, where the fatigue lives were lowered by as much as a factor of 10. However, the sharply notched specimens showed only a modest reduction in fatigue life in corrosive environment. The severe influence of the corrosive environment in the long- life (low- stress) regime cannot be explained merely by the early initiation of the fatigue crack from surface pits; the environmental contribution in the early crack growth regime must also be considered an important factor. Fracture surface studies revealed extensive pitting and some secondary cracking in the crack initiation region. It was shown that lowered fatigue life in Al 5454- H32 occurs by early initiation of fatigue cracks from surface pits. In addition, a corrosion pitting and secondary cracking process may be operative in the small crack growth region. This could have enhanced the early crack growth rate and thus contributed to the lower fatigue life in the long- cycle region.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
H.P. Chu, Fatigue Crack Propagation in a 5456-H117 Aluminum Alloy in Air and Sea Water,J. Eng. Mater. Technol. (Trans. ASME), 1974, p 261
E.J. Czyryca and M.G. Vassilaros, “Corrosion Fatigue of Marine Aluminum Alloys in Salt Water Environments,” Paper No. 24, presented at aTri-Service Conference on Corrosion, Airforce Materials Laboratory, Wright Patterson Airforce Base, 1972
S.P. Flodder and W.H. Hartt, Corrosion Fatigue of 5086-H34 Aluminum in Sea Water,Proc. 4th Annual Conf. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Section VII, Technical Information Center, Oak Ridge, TN, 1977, p 41–45
R.E. Stoltz and R.M. Pelloux, Mechanisms of Corrosion Fatigue Crack Propagation in Al-Zn-Mg Alloys,Metall. Trans., Vol 3 (No. 9), 1972, p 2433
K. Endo, K. Komai, and Y. Watase, Cathodic Protection in Corrosion Fatigue of an Aluminum-Zinc-Magnesium Alloy,Proc. 19th Japan Congress on Materials Research (Kyoto), Society of Ma- terials Science, Japan, 1976
R.E. Stoltz and R.M. Pelloux, Inhibition of Corrosion Fatigue in 7075 Aluminum Alloys,Corrosion, Vol 29 (No. 1), 1973, p 13–17
H.P. Chu and J.G. Macco,STP 642, ASTM 1977, p 223
G.C. Tu, R.Y. Hwang, and I.T. Chen,J. Mater. Sci., Vol 26,1991, p 1375
T.W. Crooker,J. Basic Eng. Mater. Technol., July 1973, p 150
C.P. Blankenship, Jr. and E.A. Starke, Jr.,Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., Vol 14 (No. 1), 1991, p 103
D. Rhodes and J.C. Radon,Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., Vol 1, 1979, p 383
P.S. Pao et al.,Corrosion, Vol 45 (No. 7), 1989, p 530
A.J. Feeny, J.C. McMillan, and R.P. Wei,Metall. Trans., Vol 1, 1970, p 1741
S. Kawai and K. Kasai,Trans. Jpn. Soc. Mech. Eng., Vol AJI (No. 461), 1985, p 23
N.L. Person,Mater. Perform., Vol 14 (No. 12), 1975, p 22
D.W. Hoeppnner,STP 675, ASTM, 1979, p 841
G.S. Chen and D.J. Duquette, inEnvironment Assisted Fatigue, EGF 7, P. Scot, Ed., Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, London, 1990, p 285
H. Bernstein and C. Loeby,J. Eng. Mater. Technol. (Trans. ASME), Vol 110, July 1988, p 235
R.A. Cottis, A. Markfield, and P. Hartopoulas, inEnvironment Assisted Fatigue, EGF 7, P. Scot, Ed., Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, London, 1990, p 381
T. Magnin,in Environment Assisted Fatigue, EGF 7, P. Scot, Ed., Mechanical Engineering Publications Limited, London, 1990, p 309
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khan, Z. Effect of corrosive environment on the fatigue crack initiation and propagation behavior of Al 5454-H32. JMEP 5, 78–83 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647273
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647273