The effect of microstructure on the fracture toughness of titanium alloys

The microstructure of the alpha titanium alloy Ti-5Al-2.5Sn and the metastable beta titanium alloy Beta 3 was examined. The material was from normal and extra low interstitial grade plates which were either air-cooled or furnace-cooled from an annealing treatment. Beta 3 was studied in alpha-aged and omega-aged plates which were heat treated to similar strength levels. Tensile and plane strain fracture toughness tests were conducted at room temperature on the alpha-aged material. The microstructure and fracture mechanisms of alloys were studied using optical metallography, electron microscopy, microprobe analyses, and texture pole figures. Future experiments are described

Elevated temperature crack growth

Critical gas turbine engine hot section components such as blades, vanes, and combustor liners tend to develop minute cracks during early stages of operations. The ability of currently available path-independent (P-I) integrals to correlate fatigue crack propagation under conditions that simulate the turbojet engine combustor liner environment was determined. To date, an appropriate specimen design and a crack displacement measurement method were determined. Alloy 718 was selected as the analog material based on its ability to simulate high temperature behavior at lower temperatures in order to facilitate experimental measurements. Available P-I integrals were reviewed and the best approaches are being programmed into a finite element post processor for eventual comparison with experimental data. The experimental data will include cyclic crack growth tests under thermomechanical conditions, and, additionally, thermal gradients

The influence of composition, annealing treatment, and texture on the fracture toughness of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plate at cryogenic temperatures

The plane strain fracture toughness K sub Ic and conventional tensile properties of two commercially produced one-inch thick Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plates were determined at cryogenic temperatures. One plate was extra-low interstitial (ELI) grade, the other normal interstitial. Portions of each plate were mill annealed at 1088 K (1500 F) followed by either air cooling or furnace cooling. The tensile properties, flow curves, and K sub Ic of these plates were determined at 295 K (room temperature), 77 K (liquid nitrogen temperature), and 20 K (liquid hydrogen temperature)

Constitutive modeling for isotropic materials

The unified constitutive theories for application to typical isotropic cast nickel base supperalloys used for air-cooled turbine blades were evaluated. The specific modeling aspects evaluated were: uniaxial, monotonic, cyclic, creep, relaxation, multiaxial, notch, and thermomechanical behavior. Further development of the constitutive theories to model thermal history effects, refinement of the material test procedures, evaluation of coating effects, and verification of the models in an alternate material will be accomplished in a follow-on for this base program

Elevated temperature crack growth

The purpose is to determine the ability of currently available P-I integrals to correlate fatigue crack propagation under conditions that simulate the turbojet engine combustor liner environment. The utility of advanced fracture mechanics measurements will also be evaluated during the course of the program. To date, an appropriate specimen design, a crack displacement measurement method, and boundary condition simulation in the computational model of the specimen were achieved. Alloy 718 was selected as an analog material based on its ability to simulate high temperature behavior at lower temperatures. Tensile and cyclic tests were run at several strain rates so that an appropriate constitutive model could be developed. Suitable P-I integrals were programmed into a finite element post-processor for eventual comparison with experimental data

Elevated temperature crack growth

It is necessary to relate the processes that control crack growth in the immediate vicinity of the crack tip to parameters that can be calculated from remote quantities, such as forces, stresses, or displacements. The most likely parameters appear to be certain path-independent (PI) integrals, several of which have already been proposed for application to high temperature inelastic problems. The ability of currently available PI-integrals to correlate fatigue crack propagation under conditions that simulate the engine combustor liner environment was determined. The utility of advanced fracture mechanics measurements will also be evaluated and determined during the course of the program

Elevated temperature crack growth

The objective of the Elevated Temperature Crack Growth Project is to evaluate proposed nonlinear fracture mechanics methods for application to combustor liners of aircraft gas turbine engines. During the first year of this program, proposed path-independent (P-I) integrals were reviewed for such applications. Several P-I integrals were implemented into a finite-element postprocessor which was developed and verified as part of the work. Alloy 718 was selected as the analog material for use in the forthcoming experimental work. A buttonhead, single-edge notch specimen was designed and verified for use in elevated-temperature strain control testing with significant inelastic strains. A crack mouth opening displacement measurement device was developed for further use

Elevated temperature crack growth

A study was performed to examine the applicability of path-independent (P-I) integrals to crack growth problems in hot section components of gas turbine aircraft engines. Alloy 718 was used and the experimental parameters included combined temperature and strain cycling, thermal gradients, elastic-plastic strain levels, and mean strains. A literature review was conducted of proposed P-I integrals, and those capable of analyzing hot section component problems were selected and programmed into the postprocessor of a finite element code. Detailed elastic-plastic finite element analyses were conducted to simulate crack growth and crack closure of the test specimen, and to evaluate the P-I integrals. It was shown that the selected P-I integrals are very effective for predicting crack growth for isothermal conditions

On the formation of black holes in non-symmetric gravity

It has been recently suggested that the Non-symmetric Gravitational Theory (NGT) is free of black holes. Here, we study the linear version of NGT. We find that even with spherical symmetry the skew part of the metric is generally non-static. In addition, if the skew field is initially regular, it will remain regular everywhere and, in particular, at the horizon. Therefore, in the fully-nonlinear theory, if the initial skew-field is sufficiently small, the formation of a black hole is to be anticipated.Comment: 9 pages, ordinary LaTex