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The effect of microstructure on fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth behavior in γ-titanium aluminide based intermetallics

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Abstract

Ambient-temperature fracture toughness and fatigue crack propagation behavior are investigated in a wide range of (γ+α 2) TiAl microstructures, including single-phase γ, duplex, coarse lamellar (1 to 2 mm colony size (D) and 2.0 µm lamellar spacing (λ)), fine lamellar (D ∼ 150 µm, λ=1.3 to 2.0 µm), and a powder metallurgy (P/M) lamellar microstructure (D=65 µm, λ=0.2 µm). The influences of colony size, lamellar spacing, and volume fraction of equiaxed γ grains are analyzed in terms of their effects on resistance to the growth of large (>5 mm) cracks. Specifically, coarse lamellar microstructures are found to exhibit the best cyclic and monotonic crack-growth properties, while duplex and single-phase γ microstructures exhibit the worst, trends which are rationalized in terms of the salient micromechanisms affecting growth. These mechanisms primarily involve cracktip shielding processes and include crack closure and uncracked ligament bridging. However, since the potency of these mechanisms is severely restricted for cracks with limited wake, in the presence of small (<300 µm) cracks, the distinction in the fatigue crack growth resistance of the lamellar and duplex microstructures becomes far less significant.

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Author notes

  1. K. T. Venkateswara Rao (Research Engineer Manager)

    Present address: R& D, Vascular Intervention Group, Guidant Corporation, 95052, Santa Clara, CA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Materials Sciences and Mineral Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA

    J. P. Campbell (Graduate Student Researcher)

  2. the Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, 94720-1760, Berkeley, CA

    R. O. Ritchie (Professor)

  3. Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA

    K. T. Venkateswara Rao (Research Engineer Manager)

Authors
  1. J. P. Campbell
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  2. R. O. Ritchie
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  3. K. T. Venkateswara Rao
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Campbell, J.P., Ritchie, R.O. & Venkateswara Rao, K.T. The effect of microstructure on fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth behavior in γ-titanium aluminide based intermetallics. Metall Mater Trans A 30, 563–577 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-999-0048-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-999-0048-2

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