Features of low-to-high cycle fatigue fracture transition

TL;DR

This study experimentally demonstrates that steel fractures via vacancy mechanisms in high-cycle fatigue when cyclic stress is below tensile yield stress, leading to brittleness similar to radiation effects.

Contribution

It reveals a transition in fracture mechanisms from dislocation to vacancy in steel under different fatigue stress levels, explaining the horizontal section in W"ohler diagrams.

Findings

Steel density decreases in high-cycle fatigue indicating vacancy mechanism.

Steel hardness increases under high-stress cyclic loads, dissimilar to low-stress fatigue.

Fracture mode shifts to brittle vacancy-driven failure below tensile yield stress.

Abstract

It was experimentally confirmed that if steel cyclic stress reduces to less than tensile yield stress values, i.e. in case of high-cycle fatigue, the mechanism of fracture changes from dislocation to vacancy one. This conclusion was based on the fact that steel density determined by the method of liquid displacement is less than that of steel in both initial condition and after fracture under the cyclic loads exceeding tensile yield stress values. In the latter case steel hardness increases, whereas the steels fractured under the cyclic stresses less than their tensile yield stress values show no change in hardness. It means that in such a case metal fractures without strain hardening, i.e. undergoes brittle fracturing developing by vacancy mechanism rather than by dislocation one. As a result such steel obtains the structure and properties similar to those appearing after its exposure to radiation, i.e. friability and brittleness. The results obtained allow us to explain the presence of a horizontal section in the W\"ohler fatigue failure diagram