Mikrostrukturelle Aspekte der Rissinitiierung und -ausbreitung in metallischen Werkstoffen

Die Ermüdungslebensdauer metallischer Hochleistungswerkstoffe ist häufig bis zu 90% durch die Mechanismen der Rissinitiierung und der frühen Rissausbreitung bestimmt. Diese Phasen des Ermüdungsschädigungsprozesses sind weder durch die herkömmlichen Methoden der zerstörungsfreien Werkstoffprüfung, wie z.B. die Ultraschallprüfung, quantifizierbar, noch können sie durch die gängigen Verfahren der Bruchmechanik adäquat abgebildet werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund befasst sich die vorliegende Habilitationsschrift mit der experimentellen Aufklärung und mathematischen Modellierung von Wechselwirkungen zwischen der Werkstoffmikrostruktur, der lokalen mechanischen Beanspruchung und dem damit in Verbindung stehenden Ausbreitungsverhalten von kurzen Rissen. Anhand von Wechselverformungsversuchen an servohydraulischen Prüfmaschinen in Kombination mit laserinterferenzgestützten lokalen Dehnungsmessungen (ISDG) und eingehenden mikrostrukturellen Untersuchungen, vor allem mit Hilfe der Rasterelektronenmikroskopie und der Rückstreuelektronenbeugung (EBSD), konnten sowohl die Rissinitiierungsorte als auch die Risspfade als Konsequenz der lokalen mikrostrukturellen Eigenschaften, wie elastische Anisotropie oder Missorientierung der Gleitsysteme benachbarter Körner, identifiziert werden. Bei hohen Temperaturen ist die Ermüdungsrissausbreitung zunehmend durch Atmosphäreneffekte beeinflusst. So führen Haltezeiten bei maximaler Zugbelastung bereits bei Temperaturen unterhalb des Kriechverformungsbereichs in der Nickelbasis-Superlegierung IN718 zu einem Übergang von zyklenabhängiger transkristalliner zu zeitabhängiger interkristalliner Rissausbreitung, verbunden mit einem dramatischen Anstieg der Rissausbreitungsrate. Mit Hilfe von Experimenten an polykristallinen und bikristallinen Proben konnte gezeigt werden, dass dieser als "dynamische Versprödung" identifizierte Haltezeiteffekt erheblich von der Struktur der betroffenen Korngrenzen abhängt. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse werden anhand physikalischer Modelle, die im Rahmen interdisziplinärer Projekte gemeinsam mit Wissenschaftlern aus dem Gebiet der Mechanik entwickelt wurden, diskutiert. Diese Modelle ermöglichen eine mechanismenorentierte Vorhersage der Ermüdungslebensdauer.In many cases, up to 90% of fatigue life of high-loaded metallic materials is determined by the mechanisms of crack initiation and early crack propagation. These phases of the fatigue damage process can neither be quantified by conventional techniques of non-destructive materials testing, e.g., ultrasonic inspection, nor be treated by the common methods of elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. The present thesis gives an overview about experimental studies and physical models on the interactions between the material\u27s microstructure, the mechanical loading conditions, and the corresponding short-crack propagation behaviour. By means of mechanical fatigues tests using servohydraulic testing machines in combination with laser-interference microstrain measurements (ISDG) as well as thorough microstructural investigations, mainly applying scanning electron microscopy (SEM) together with electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), conditions and locations of crack initiation and short-crack-propagation paths as a consequence of local microstructural features were identified. At high temperatures, fatigue crack propagation rates become increasingly determined by the environmental conditions. For instance, hold times at maximum tensile load applied to the polycrystalline Ni-base superalloy IN718 at temperatures below the creep regime may lead to a transition from cycle-dependent transcrystalline to time-dependent intercrystalline crack propagation associated with a dramatic increase in the crack propagation rate. By means of mechanical experiments on poly- and bicrystalline specimens it was shown that this kind of hold-time cracking can be attributed to the mechanism of "dynamic embrittlement", which seems to depend strongly on the structure of the affected grain boundaries. The experimental results are discussed by using physical models, which were developed in a joint project together with scientists from continuum mechanics, and which can be applied to mechanism-oriented life prediction of technical materials under complex service conditions

Microscopic Damage Evolution During Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) of Tempered Martensitic Steel

AbstractDimensioning of high-strength steels relies on the knowledge of Wöhler-type S/N data and the assumption of a fatigue limit for applications where the number of load cycles exceeds 107. Very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) experiments applied to a 0.5C-1.25Cr-Mo tempered steel (German designation: 50CrMo4) revealed surface crack initiation at prior austenite grain boundaries in medium strength condition (37HRC) and internal crack initiation at non-metallic inclusions at high strength condition (48HRC). Despite the formation of small cracks during cycling up to 109 cycles, it seems that the medium strength condition exhibits a real fatigue limit. Application of automated electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) within the shallow-notched area of electro-polished fatigue specimens had shown that prior austenite grain boundaries act as effective obstacles to crack propagation. High resolution thermography during cycling of the specimens allowed the identification of local plasticity, which led to crack initiation at a later stage of the fatigue life. It was found that Cr segregation rows play a decisive role in the crack initiation process. By means of high-resolution electron microscopy in combination with focused ion beam milling (FIB), evolution of cyclic plasticity and crack initiation was correlated with the material's microstructure. The results are discussed in terms of the completely different crack initiation mechanisms of medium and high strength variants of the same steel. EBSD and crack propagation data are used to adapt numerical modeling tools to predict crack initiation and short crack propagation

Alloy and process design of forging steels for better environmental performance

In material development processes, the question if a new alloy is more sustainable than the existing one becomes increasingly significant. Existing studies on metals and alloys show that their composition can make a difference regarding the environmental impact. In this case study, a recently developed air hardening forging steel is used to produce a U-bolt as an example component in automotive engineering. The production process is analyzed regarding the environmental performance and compared with the standard quench and tempering steels 42CrMo4 and 33MnCrB5-2. The analysis is based on results from applying the method of Life Cycle Assessment. First, the production process and the alterations on material, product, and process level are defined. The resulting process flows were quantified and attributed with the environmental impacts covering Carbon Footprint, Cumulative Energy Demand, and Material Footprint as they represent best the resource-, energy- and thus carbon-intensive steel industry. The results show that the development of the air hardening forging steel leads to a higher environmental impact compared to the reference alloys when the material level is considered. Otherwise, the new steel allows changes in manufacturing process, which is why an additional assessment on process level was conducted. It is seen that the air hardening forging steel has environmental savings as it enables skipping a heat treatment process. Superior material characteristics enable the application of lightweight design principles, which further increases the potential environmental savings. The present work shows that the question of the environmental impact does not end with analyzing the raw material only. Rather, the entire manufacturing process of a product must be considered. The case study also shows methodological questions regarding the specification of steel for alloying elements, processes in the metalworking industry and the data availability and quality in Life Cycle Assessment

Formation of corrosion pockets in FeNiCrAl at high temperatures investigated by 3D FIB-SEM tomography

A recently published study of high temperature nitridation of iron chromium aluminum alloys (FeCrAl) at 900 degrees C in N-2-H(2)has redundantly shown the formation of locally confined corrosion pockets reaching several microns into the alloy. These nitrided pockets form underneath chromia islands laterally surrounded by the otherwise protective alumina scale. Chromia renders a nitrogen-permeable defect under the given conditions and the presence of aluminum in the alloy. In light of these findings on FeCrAl, a focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope tomography study has been undertaken on an equally nitrided FeNiCrAl sample to characterize its nitridation corrosion features chemically and morphologically. The alloy is strengthened by a high number of chromium carbide precipitates, which are also preferential chromia formation sites. Besides the confirmation of the complete encapsulation of the corrosion pocket from the alloy by a closed and dense aluminum nitride rim, very large voids have been found in the said pockets. Furthermore, metallic particles comprising nickel and iron are deposited on top of the outer oxide scale above such void regions

On the Mutual Interaction between Mechanical Stresses and Internal Corrosion during Isothermal and Cyclic Oxidation of Nickel-Base Superalloys

Thermal cycling has been observed to cause a transition from superficial alumina formation to internal oxidation and nitridation, an effect that was shown to depend on the specimen thickness and geometry, which can be described by a spalling-probability model. Once protection by a dense and adherent alumina scale got lost, the internal-corrosion rate is determined by the diffusivity and solubility of nitrogen and oxygen in the alloy. These parameters seem to depend not only on the temperature and the alloy composition but also on the applied mechanical stress. Internal nitridation under a superimposed creep loading was found to follow a higher rate constant than under just isothermal exposure. This effect can probably be attributed to dislocation-pipe diffusion, a mechanism which has been claimed also to be relevant for outward solvent diffusion during internal corrosion, a phenomenon, which was observed as a stress-relief mechanism during various internal-reaction processes

On the Mutual Interaction between Mechanical Stresses and Internal Corrosion during Isothermal and Cyclic Oxidation of Nickel-Base Superalloys

Thermal cycling has been observed to cause a transition from superficial alumina formation to internal oxidation and nitridation, an effect that was shown to depend on the specimen thickness and geometry, which can be described by a spalling-probability model. Once protection by a dense and adherent alumina scale got lost, the internal-corrosion rate is determined by the diffusivity and solubility of nitrogen and oxygen in the alloy. These parameters seem to depend not only on the temperature and the alloy composition but also on the applied mechanical stress. Internal nitridation under a superimposed creep loading was found to follow a higher rate constant than under just isothermal exposure. This effect can probably be attributed to dislocation-pipe diffusion, a mechanism which has been claimed also to be relevant for outward solvent diffusion during internal corrosion, a phenomenon, which was observed as a stress-relief mechanism during various internal-reaction processes

The Effect of Ferrite Embrittlement in Duplex Steel on Fatigue Crack Propagation from the Low (LCF) to the Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) Regime

The excellent combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steel is obtained from balanced amount of ferrite and austenite in the microstructure. However, this grade of steel embrittles when exposed in the temperature range of 280–500ºC limiting its application to temperatures below 280ºC. To study the effect of embrittlemnt on fatigue behavior at high strain ranges, plastic-strain- controlled LCF test and at low strain ranges, stress-controlled HCF/VHCF tests were conducted on 1.4462 duplex steel and accompanied by SEM analysis in combination with EBSD. Extensive TEM was done to study the micromechanism of fatigue crack initiation and propagation across the strain ranges