Fatigue-crack propagation in gamma-based titanium aluminide alloys at large and small crack sizes

Conference · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1999

OSTI ID:20001573

Kruzic, J J; Campbell, J P; Ritchie, R O

Most evaluations of the fracture and fatigue-crack propagation properties of {gamma}+{alpha}{sub 2} titanium aluminide alloys to date have been performed using standard large-crack samples, e.g., compact-tension specimens containing crack sizes which are on the order of tens of millimeters, i.e., large compared to microstructural dimensions. However, these alloys have been targeted for applications, such as blades in gas-turbine engines, where relevant crack sizes are much smaller ({lt}500 {micro}m) and where the small-crack fatigue threshold may be the most relevant design parameter. In this study, the authors compare and contrast the cyclic crack-growth behavior of both large (a {gt} 5 mm) and (c {approximately} 25--300 {micro}m) cracks in a {gamma}-TiAl based alloy, of composition Ti-47Al-2Nb-2Cr-0.2B (at.%), specifically for duplex (average grain size {approximately}17 {micro}m) and refined lamellar (average colony size {approximately}150 {micro}m) microstructures. It is found that, whereas the lamellar microstructure displays far superior fracture toughness and fatigue-crack growth resistance in the presence of large cracks, in small-crack testing the duplex microstructure exhibits a better combination of properties. The reasons for such contrasting behavior are examined in terms of the intrinsic and extrinsic (i.e., crack bridging) contributions to cyclic crack advance.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 20001573
• Report Number(s): CONF-981104--; ISBN 1-55899-458-0; ISSN 1067-9995
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
BORON ADDITIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CRACK PROPAGATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FATIGUE
FRACTURE MECHANICS
NIOBIUM ALLOYS
STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS
TITANIUM ALLOYS