Chapter 8: Failure

How do Materials Break?

Ductile vs. brittle fracture
Principles of fracture mechanics
Stress concentration
Impact fracture testing
Fatigue (cyclic stresses)
Cyclic stresses, the SN curve
Crack initiation and propagation
Factors that affect fatigue behavior
Creep (time dependent deformation)
Stress and temperature effects
Alloys for high-temperature use
NOT tested:
8.14 Data extrapolation methods
8.15 Alloys for high-temperature use
1

Fracture Modes
Simple fracture is the separation of a body into 2 or more
pieces in response to an applied stress that is static
(constant) and at temperatures that are low relative to the
Tm of the material.
Classification is based on the ability of a material to
experience plastic deformation.

Ductile fracture
Accompanied by significant plastic deformation
Brittle fracture
Little or no plastic deformation
Sudden, catastrophic
2

Fracture Mechanism
Steps : crack formation
crack propagation

Ductile vs. brittle fracture

Ductile fracture is preferred in most applications

Ductile - most metals (not too cold):

Extensive plastic deformation before crack
Crack stable: resists extension unless applied
stress is increased
Brittle fracture - ceramics, ice, cold metals:
Little plastic deformation
Crack unstable: propagates rapidly without
increase in applied stress
3

Ductile vs Brittle Failure

Fracture
behavior:

Very
Ductile

Moderately
Ductile

Brittle

%AR or %EL

Large

Moderate

Small

Ductile fracture is
usually more desirable
than brittle fracture!

Ductile:
Warning before
fracture

Brittle:
No
warning
4

Moderately Ductile Failure

Evolution to failure:
necking

Resulting
fracture
surfaces

void
nucleation

Coalescence
of cavities

Crack
propagation

fracture

50
50mm
mm

(steel)
100 mm
particles
serve as void
nucleation
sites.

From V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser, Analysis of

Metallurgical Failures (2nd ed.), Fig. 11.28, p. 294, John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987. (Orig. source: P. Thornton, J.
Mater. Sci., Vol. 6, 1971, pp. 347-56.)

Fracture surface of tire cord wire loaded in tension.

Courtesy of F. Roehrig, CC Technologies, Dublin, OH.
Used with permission.

Example: Pipe Failures

Ductile failure:
-- one piece
-- large deformation

Brittle failure:
-- many pieces
-- small deformations

Ductile Fracture

(Cup-and-cone fracture in Al)

Scanning Electron Microscopy. Spherical dimples microcavities that initiate crack formation.
7

Brittle Fracture (Low Dislocation Mobility)

Crack propagation is fast
Propagates nearly perpendicular to direction of
applied stress
Often propagates by cleavage - breaking of atomic
bonds along specific crystallographic planes

No appreciable plastic deformation

Brittle fracture in a mild steel

8

Brittle Fracture
Arrows indicate point at failure origination

Distinctive pattern on the fracture surface: V-shaped

chevron markings point to the failure origin.
9

Brittle Fracture
A. Transgranular fracture: Cracks pass through grains.
Fracture surface: faceted texture because of different
orientation of cleavage planes in grains.

B. Intergranular fracture: Crack propagation is along grain

boundaries (grain boundaries are weakened/embrittled by
impurity segregation etc.)

Transgranular fracture

Intergranular fracture

10

Stress Concentration
The measured fracture strengths for most brittle
materials are significantly lower than those
predicted by theoretical calculations based on
atomic bond energies.
This discrepancy is explained by the presence of
very small microscopic flaws or cracks that are
inherent to the material.
The flaws act as stress concentrators or stress
raisers, amplifying the stress at a given point.
This localized stress diminishes with distance
away from the crack tip.
11

Flaws are Stress Concentrators!

If the crack is similar to an elliptical hole
through plate, and is oriented
perpendicular to applied stress, the
maximum stress m=

a 1/ 2
s m 2s o Kts o
t
where
t = radius of curvature
so = applied stress
sm = stress at crack tip
a = length of surface crack or
length of internal crack
1/ 2

a
sm
2
stress concentration factor: K t
s0
t

12

Concentration of Stress at Crack Tip

13

Crack Propagation
Cracks having sharp tips propagate easier than cracks
having blunt tips
A plastic material deforms at a crack tip, which
blunts the crack.
deformed
region

brittle

ductile

14

When Does a Crack Propagate?

Crack propagates if crack-tip stress (sm)
exceeds a critical stress (sc)
i.e., sm > sc

1/ 2

2E s
sc

where
E = modulus of elasticity
s = specific surface energy
a = one half length of internal crack

For ductile materials => replace s with s + p

where p is plastic deformation energy
15

Fracture Toughness
Fracture toughness measures a materials resistance
to brittle fracture when a crack is present.
Indication of the amount of stress required to
propagate a pre-existing flaw.
Assume that flaws (cracks, voids, etc.) are present.

Evaluate the ability of a component containing a flaw

to resist fracture.

16

Fracture Toughness
Mode I fracture is the condition where the crack
plane is normal to the direction of largest tensile
loading. This is the most commonly encountered
mode.
Fracture toughness is a function of loading, crack
size, and structural geometry.
KC = Ys a
Kc is the fracture toughness in MPa m or psi in
Y is a crack length and component geometry factor that is different for each
specimen, dimensionless.
is the applied stress in MPa or psi
a is the crack length in meters or inches
17

As Engineers we must Design

Against Crack Growth
Crack growth condition:

K Kc = Ys a
Largest, most highly stressed cracks grow first!
--Scenario 1: Max. flaw
size dictates design stress.

sdesign

Kc
Y amax

s
fracture
no
fracture

--Scenario 2: Design stress

dictates max. flaw size.

amax

amax

1 K c

Ysdesign

fracture

amax

no
fracture

s
18

Design Example: Aircraft Wing

Material has KIc = 26 MPa-m0.5
Two designs to consider...
Design A

--use same material

--largest flaw is 4 mm
--failure stress = ?

--largest flaw is 9 mm
--failure stress = 112 MPa

sc

Use...

Design B

K Ic
Y amax

Key point: Y and KIc are the same for both designs.
KIc
= s a = constant
Y
--Result:

112 MPa

9 mm

amax

s
A

4 mm

amax

Answer: (sc )B 168 MPa

B
19

Lets look at Another Situation

Steel subject to tensile
stress of 1030 MPa, it
has KIc of 54.8 MPa(m)
a handbook value, Y = 1.
If it has a largest surface
crack 0.5 mm (.0005 m)
long will it grow and
fracture?

K a Ys a a
here
Y 1
Y s a a 1*1030* 3.141*.0005 40.82
Since K a < K1c the part won't fail!

K1c Y s c a

What crack size will

result in failure?

K1c

Y s c

54.8
1*1030

3.1416

a .0009m .9mm
20

Impact Testing
testing fracture characteristics: high strain rates
Two standard tests: Charpy and Izod.
Measure the impact energy (energy required to fracture a
test piece under an impact load), also called the notch
toughness.
(Charpy)

Energy ~ h - h
final height

initial height

21

Effect of temperature on the impact energy:

Ductile-to-Brittle Transition
As temperature decreases a ductile material can become brittle

http://www.mechlook.com/ductile-brittle-transition/

Many materials experience a shift from

ductile to brittle behavior if the temperature is
lowered below a certain point.
The temperature at which this shift occurs
varies from material to material.
22

Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature

(DBTT)

It is sometimes defined DBTT as the temperature at which

the material absorbs 15 ft*lb of impact energy during
fracture.
We ideally want the DBTT to be as low as possible for lowtemperature design.
Metals such as aluminum, gold, silver, and copper have an
FCC (face-centered cubic) crystal lattice structure, and
most do not experience a shift from ductile to brittle
behavior.
Metals, such as iron, many steels, chromium, and
tungsten, have a BCC (body-centered cubic) crystal
structure and experience a sharp, often non-linear shift in
ductility.
Many components on a crane have even a DBTT for
instance many blocks are rated with a service temperature
of -20 C.
DBTT values are usually determined through a
standardized Charpy (or similar) impact test at varying
temperatures.
23

Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature

(DBTT)
Pre-WWII: The Titanic

WWII: Liberty ships

Disastrous consequences for a welded transport ship,

suddenly split across the entire girth of the ship (40F).
Problem: Steels were used having DBTTs just below
room temperature.
Reprinted w/ permission from R.W. Hertzberg, "Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials", (4th ed.) Fig. 7.1(a), p. 262, John Wiley and Sons,
Inc., 1996. (Orig. source: Dr. Robert D. Ballard, The Discovery of the Titanic.)

24

Fatigue
Failure under fluctuating stress
Under fluctuating / cyclic stresses, failure can occur at
considerably lower loads than tensile or yield strengths
of material under a static load.
Causes 90% of all failures of metallic structures
(bridges, aircraft, machine components, etc.)
Fatigue failure is brittle-like (relatively little plastic
deformation) - even in normally ductile materials. Thus
sudden and catastrophic!

25

Fatigue behavior
Fatigue = failure under cyclic stress
specimen
bearing

compression on top
bearing

motor

counter

flex coupling
tension on bottom

Fatigue corresponds to the brittle fracture of an alloy after a total of N

cycles to a stress below the tensile strength.

26

Fatigue: Cyclic Stresses

Cyclic stresses characterized by maximum, minimum and mean
stress, the range of stress, the stress amplitude, and the stress ratio
Mean stress

sm = (smax + smin) / 2

Range of stress

sr = (smax - smin)

Stress amplitude

sa = sr/2 = (smax - smin) / 2

Stress ratio

R = smin / smax

Convention:

tensile stresses positive

compressive stresses negative

27

Fatigue

Fracture surface with

crack initiation at top.
Surface shows
predominantly dull
fibrous texture where
rapid failure occurred
after crack achieved
critical size.

Fatigue failure
1. Crack initiation
2. Crack propagation
3. Final failure

28

 Fatigue failure is brittle in nature, even in

normally ductile materials; there is very little

plastic deformation associated with the failure.
The image shows fatigue striations
(microscopic).

Striations are close

together indicating
low stress, many cycles.
Widely spaced striations
mean high stress few
cycles.
29

Federal investigators say metal fatigue caused a hole to rip open in the roof of a
Southwest Airlines jet as it cruised at 35,000 feet in 2009. The National
Transportation Safety Board says the 14-inch crack developed in a spot where
two sheets of aluminum skin were bonded together on the Boeing 737 jet.
The pilot made an emergency landing in Charleston, W.Va. There were no
injuries among the 126 passengers and five crew members. Two months after
the scare, Boeing told all airlines with 737s to conduct repeated inspections of
the top of the fuselage near the vertical tail fin. The Federal Aviation
Administration has since made those inspections mandatory.
Southwest got the plane in 1994 it's much older than the average Southwest
jet and had flown it for 50,500 hours and made 42,500 takeoffs and landings
before it sprang a hole in the roof, according to the safety board report. The
safety board said it found signs of metal fatigue by magnifying the area in front of
the tail fin. In a 3-inch stretch, the crack penetrated completely through the
aluminum skin.
FAA records showed that eight cracks had been found and repaired in the
fuselage during the plane's 14-year checkup.
30

--no fatigue if S < Sfat

SN curve becomes
horizontal at large N

Stress amplitude below which

the material never fails, no
matter how large the number
of cycles is

For some materials,

there is no fatigue limit!
Fatigue strength: stress at which
fracture occurs after specified
number of cycles
Fatigue life: Number of cycles to
fail at specified stress level

unsafe

case for
steel (typ.)

Sfat

safe
10 3

S = stress amplitude

Fatigue limit, Sfat:

S = stress amplitude

S-N Curves

10 5
10 7
10 9
N = Cycles to failure

unsafe

case for
Al (typ.)

safe
10 3

10 5
10 7
10 9
N = Cycles to failure
31

Example 1
Given: 2014-T6 Alum. Alloy bar (6.4 mm )
find its fatigue life if a part is subject to loads:
5340 N - tensile then compressive
5340
s max 5340
165.99 MPa
2
3
3.22 105
6.4
*10

2
5340
s min 5340
165.99MPa
2
3
3.22 105
6.4
*10

sm

s max s min
2
s min

s r s Max
s S sr

165.99 165.99 MPa

0
2
331.99 MPa

165.99MPa
2
Examining Fig (right) at S = 165.99
a

Fatigue Life = Cycles to Failure 7 106

32

Example 2
The fatigue data for a brass alloy are given as follows,
(a) Determine the fatigue strength at 5 105 cycles.
(b) Determine the fatigue life for 200 MPa.

Answer:
(a) As indicated by the A set of dashed lines on the plot, the fatigue
strength at 5 105 cycles [log (5 105) = 5.7] is about 250 MPa.
(b) As noted by the B set of dashed lines, the fatigue life for 200 MPa
is about 106.3 = 2 106 cycles (i.e., the log of the lifetime is about 6.3).

33

Improving Fatigue Life

Polishing (removes machining flaws etc.)
Impose compressive surface stresses (to suppress surface
cracks from growing)
--Shot Peening
--Case Hardening
Optimize geometry
--Avoid internal corners, notches etc.
carburizing

shot

shot
peening

C-rich gas

put
surface
into
compression

Remove stress
concentrators

bad

better

bad

better

34

Case Hardening
Case hardening is a
technique where both
surface hardness and
fatigue life are improved
for steel alloys.
Both core region and
carburized outer case
region are seen in image.
Knoop microhardness
shows case has higher
hardness (smaller indent).
A carbon or nitrogen rich
outer surface layer (case)
is introduced by atomic
diffusion from the
gaseous phase. The case
is typically 1mm deep and
is harder than the inner
core material.
35

Creep
Time-dependent and permanent
deformation of materials subjected to a constant load at high
temperature (> 0.4 Tm).
Examples: turbine blades, steam generators.
Creep testing:

Furnace

Creep testing
36

Stages of creep
Sample deformation at a constant stress (s) vs. time
Primary Creep: slope (creep rate)
decreases with time.

Secondary Creep: steady-state

i.e., constant slope De/Dt).
Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate)
increases with time, i.e. acceleration
of rate.
1. Instantaneous deformation, mainly elastic.
2. Primary/transient creep. Slope of strain vs. time decreases with
time: work-hardening
3. Secondary/steady-state creep. Rate of straining constant: workhardening and recovery.
4. Tertiary. Rapidly accelerating strain rate up to failure: formation of
internal cracks, voids, grain boundary separation, necking, etc.
37

Creep: stress and temperature effects

With increasing stress or temperature:
The instantaneous strain increases
The steady-state creep rate increases
The time to rupture decreases

38

Summary
Make sure you understand language and concepts:

Brittle fracture
Charpy test
Corrosion fatigue
Creep
Ductile fracture
Ductile-to-brittle transition
Fatigue
Fatigue life
Fatigue limit
Fatigue strength
Impact energy
Intergranular fracture
Izod test
Stress raiser
Thermal fatigue
Transgranular fracture
39

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Reading: chapter 9

Homework: 8.5, 8.10, 8.20 (deadline 3/11)

40