Int J Fatigue 13 No 1 (1991) pp 69-72

Crack closure induced by corrosion

products and its effect in corrosion
fatigue
Xing Zhiqiang, Song Yujiu and Tu Mingjing

The fatigue crack propagation and the crack closure behaviour of 15Mn mild steel
in 3.5% sodium chloride solution are studied. An equation to calculate the crack
closure effect induced by corrosion products is proposed. The results reveal that the
crack closure effect has a remarkable influence on corrosion fatigue. The crack closure
effect decreases and disappears with crack propagation. The effect of crack closure
on the crack growth rate and on the corrosion fatigue mechanisms is discussed.
Key words: crack closure; corrosion; corrosion fatigue

Notation

b
~/dt
~/dN

F
~K
AKe.
Km~x
Kd
M
q
R

top
T

thickness of corrosion products at crack tip

crack growth rate
crack growth length in one loading cycle
frequency
Faraday constant
anodic current density
stress intensity amplitude
effective stress intensity amplitude
maximum stress intensity factor
stress intensity at crack closure point
atomic mass
specific gravity
stress ratio
opening time of crack in one cycle
cyclic period

The crack closure effect is observed in the form of a shield

to crack propagation. Crack closure decreases the effective
stress intensity and locally reduces the crack growth driving
force. In aqueous environments it promotes the movement
of solution in and out of the crack, and this movement
reduces the degree to which solution is blocked in the crack
and increases the corrosion fatigue strength) Therefore, the
effect of crack closure on the corrosion fatigue crack growth
should not be neglected.
There are many factors that can induce crack closure,
such as plasticity,2'3 roughness of cracked surfaces, 4 phase
transformations and corrosion products, s An attempt at
integrating the study of the crack closure effect with work
on crack tip shielding was made recently. 6 The shielding effect
research has opened up a new field for crack closure research.
Elber2 propounded the crack closure effect first and
thought that the plasticity at the crack tip was the main factor
inducing crack closure. When the stress ratio was larger than
zero, He 3 found the following relation:

Kc,
/(max

- M 0 [1 - (1 -

R)z]

where M0 is the material constant.

(1)

tensile strength
weight of corrosion products in unit area
weight of anodic products in unit area
weight of anodic products in one loading
cycle
top/ T
valence
roughness coefficient of cracked surfaces
opening displacement of crack tip
average value of 8
8 at crack closure point
maximum value of 8
elongation
yield strength
displacement ratio at crack tip under
mode-I and mode-II loads

UTS
Wc
Wine

Wine
X

Z
~/
8
8d
~max
~Y

Dutta and Ritchie4 proposed that both the cracked

surfaces rubbed together when a shearing displacement at the
crack tip was produced. The malposition and the roughness
of both cracked surfaces induce crack closure. The crack
closure level could be calculated using the equation:

Kd _(
~x

2yX I ~/2
\I+2"YX]

(2)

In aqueous environments, the wedge effect of corrosion

products may induce crack closure. Unfortunately there are
no quantitative analyses for crack closure induced by corrosion
products. The present work deals with the crack closure effect
induced by corrosion products and its influence on corrosion
fatigue.

Mathematical treatment
The contact of corrosion products wedges the cracking
surfaces inducing crack closure. A method to calculate the
crack closure effect is proposed here based on the abovementioned point of view. We define first that:

0142-1123/91/010069-4 ~ 1991 Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd

Int J Fatigue January 1991

69

(i)

the crack closes when the thickness of the corrosion

products is equal to the opening displacement of the
crack tip;
the corrosion products inducing crack closure are
produced only in the loading cycle in which crack
closure occurs.

(ii)

Then we may obtain: the weight of anodic products in every

loading cycle,
Mi, M~i.x
Wme ~ Z-F ~ t p - Z F f

Wine
and the weight of corrosion products in unit area,
mWme

where rn is a constant. We also obtain the thickness of

corrosion products at the crack tip,
b = wc/q

and the average opening displacement at the crack tip,

i~ =

(~max Jc

i~c, )

Now

,c
8m,

The crack closes when b = gel, so

Kc, _ (

Mn

Si

0.17

0 . 8 5 0.29 0.019 0.009

O'y

UT S

(MPa)

(MPa)

(%)

372

514

37.4

Results and discussion

J)me -- d a / d N

Chemical compositions (wt.%)

carried out to calculate the anodic current density at the crack

tip and the crack closure effect.

the weight of anodic products in unit area,

Wc

Table 1. Chemical compositions and mechanical

properties of 15Mn mild steel

Axi,

1'/2

Km~m~x \da/d-fZ--AxiJ

(3)

where
A = rnM/2 Z f q

The fatigue crack propagation results in aqueous 3.5% sodium

chloride solution are presented in Fig. 1. It is shown from
Fig. 1 that frequency has a notable influence on the crack
growth rate. At 5.5 Hz the crack propagates in a similar
behaviour to its propagation in air. At 0.5 Hz the crack
propagation resistance decreases by a large margin and there
is a plateau in a certain range of the stress intensity amplitude,
indicating the enhancement of the environmental effect on
cracking and a change in the fracture mechanisms.
Figure 2 shows the measurement results for the crack
closure effect represented by Kcl/Km=x and AK. In the early
stage of crack propagation the crack closure level is quite high
at 5.5 Hz. However, the crack closure level decreases greatly
with crack propagation and is lower than the stress ratio when
the stress intensity amplitude is equal to or larger than
18 MPa m ]/2. At 0.5 Hz the crack closure level is always
lower than stress ratio. That is, the crack closure effect does
not influence the corrosion fatigue crack propagation. This
may explain why the crack propagation rate increases sharply
when frequencies vary from 5.5 to 0.5 Hz.
Based on the dynamic electrochemical experiments and
the finite-element analysis of 15Mn steeV at the crack tip, the

da/dt = f( d a l d N )

10-s

For a triangular wave,

x-

1 - Kcl/Km=x
1-R

for a sinusoidal wave x and Ka/Km,x can simultaneously be

computed approximately.
For steels, if the corrosion product is Fe203, m = 1.43,
and if the corrosion product is Fe304, m = 1.38.
Equation (3) shows that, consistent with the test results, 5
the crack closure effect decreases with increasing crack growth
rate.

Experimental procedure
Single-edge notch (SEN) specimens of 15Mn mild steel
were selected for the corrosion fatigue tests. The chemical
compositions and mechanical properties are shown in Table
1. Room temperature fatigue crack growth experiments were
conducted using an Instron 1341 electrohydraulic testing
machine in aqueous 3.5% sodium chloride solution. The load
was applied sinusoidally with a stress ratio of 0.33 at
frequencies of 0.5 and 5.5 Hz. The crack closure effect was
measured by the unloading elastic compliance method.
In addition, a dynamic electrochemical test and finiteelement analysis at the tip of the propagating crack were

70

10-7
.>
o

E
"O

10-8 -

NaCL
x 5.5 Hz, air

lO-SJ
4

10

20

30

50

&K (MPo m 1/2)

Fig. 1 Variation of AK with

da/dN
Int J Fatigue January 1991

1.0

1.0

0.8

Measured value

Calculated

value

0.8

\
x

.\

O.E

5 . 5 Hz

X 0 . 5 Hz

0.6
e 5 . 5 Hz

0.4

0.4--

I/3

;
1/3

o
0.2 -

0.20 0 . 5 Hz
X 5.5 Hz
5.5 Hz, air
0
6

12

18

24

30

&K (MPa rn1/2)

0.5 Hz

I
12

I
18

I
24

30

AK (MPa m 1/2)

Fig. 2 Crack closure effect against stress intensity amplitude

Fig. 4 Crack closure effect plotted against &K induced by

corrosion products

relationship between the anodic current density at the crack

tip and the crack length is shown in Fig. 3. The anodic
current density increases with crack propagation and increasing
frequencies, owing to the increase of the strain and the strain
(activation degree) at the crack tip.
The crack closure effect caused by corrosion products is
calculated according to Equation (3) and Fig. 3. The
comparison between the calculated values and the measured
results is illustrated in Table 2 and Fig. 4. In stage II of crack
propagation there is no crack closure for both measured and
calculated values at 0.5 Hz. However, there is apparent crack
closure for both measured results and calculated values at
5.5 Hz, and the calculated values agree well with the measured
values, with a maximum error of 14.3%. The extension of the
calculation demonstrates that in the early stage of crack
propagation, crack closure occurs in a narrow range of stress
intensity amplitude even at 0.5 Hz.

Because the crack closure effect reduces the real stress

intensity, the apparent stress intensity amplitude cannot
exactly depict the effect of the environment on crack growth.
Therefore, it is necessary to draw the curves of the effective
stress intensity amplitude (~rqe~f) against crack propagation
rate, as shown in Fig. 5. It is easy to see that unlike the result
depicted in Fig. 1, the aqueous environment promotes crack
growth so that the fatigue resistance is lower than that in air.
The crack propagation behaviour at 0.5 and 5.5 Hz is almost
the same in the early stage, showing the same crack propagation
mechanism for both frequencies. In the later stage, the crack
propagation is accelerated more quickly at 0.5 Hz, showing the
different crack propagation mechanisms for both frequencies.
For crack closure induced by corrosion products, such
a relation exists: a decrease of the crack closure effect leads
to an increase in the crack propagation rate; on the other
hand, the increase of the crack propagation rate conversely
leads to a decrease in the crack closure effect. The crack
closure effect decreases quickly and disappears with crack
propagation.
In corrosion fatigue, crack closure affects crack propagation in the following ways: (i) it reduces the effective stress
intensity amplitude, thus raising the fatigue strength; (ii) it
promotes the pumping effect of cyclic cracks and the
movement of the solution in and out of cracks, which reduces
the extent to which the solution is blocked in the crack and
the effect of hydrogen in assisting crack propagation.
Crack closure in a neutral aqueous environment not only
influences the crack propagation rate, but also the fracture
mechanisms. In the early stage of crack propagation the
solution and its oxygen content in the crack are near those
of the external solution because of the pumping effect,
which is aggravated by crack closure. The corrosion fatigue
mechanism is dissolution-assisted fatigue. With crack propagation and the decrease of crack closure and the pumping
effect, the degree of blockage of the solution in the crack and
the hydrogen ion content increase, and the cathodic reaction

x/X /

~d
I

E
0

5.5 H~,,, x j
x/X tx

3-

X"J~"
,,X....x,~'x'"

...=
?. / X

10

0.5 H z , , ~

I
11

I
12

I
13

I
14

I
15

I
16

]
17

I
18

19

Crack length (ram)

Fig. 3 Variation of current density at crack tip with crack growth

Int J F a t i g u e J a n u a r y 1991

71

Table 2. Crack closure effect caused by corrosion products*

f

(Hz)

Kcl

AK

da/dt

ia

(MPa m 1/2)

(10 -9 m s -1)

( m A cm -2)

5.5

12
14
16
18
20

0.5

7.41
7.49
7.55
8
12
16
18

2.08
10.4
16.1
22.6
37.2
2.5
5.0
10
31.6
288
420
420

1"

(%)

x.

3.5
4.8
6.0
7.4
8.1

0.42
0.70
0.74
0.81
0.96

0.74
0.48
0.44
0.39
0.34

0.71
0.56
0.46
0.37
0.33

0.2
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.9
1.8
3.2

0.61
0.76
1
1
1
1
1

0.56
0.42
0.33
0.22
0.13
0.15
0.20

<0.33
<0.33
<0.33
<0.33

4.2
-14.3
--4.3
5.4
3.0

* A = 5 . 0 7 x 10-9 (m s-1)/(mAcm -2)

1"(Kc,)
~Kr,.... ,calculated value; ( ~Kc,
x ) , , ' measured value

10 -6

(ii)

(iii)
(iv)
I0 -7

The effect of crack closure on crack propagation is

most remarkable in stage I and early stage II of crack
propagation. With crack propagation, the crack closure
level and its effect decrease.
The ways in which crack closure affects crack growth
are through decreasing the effective stress intensity
amplitude and aggravating the pumping effect.
The crack closure effect not only influences the crack
growth rate, but also the corrosion fatigue mechanisms.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the supervision and support of

Professor Zhou Huijiu. The authors are also indebted to Ms
Cui Yuhua for assistance in the experiments.

,X
I0 -s

10-91
4

References
0 0.5 Hz, 3.5% NaCL
5.5 Hz, 3.5% NaCL

1.

X 5.5 Hz, air

2.
3.
4.

10

20

30

50

AK, ff (MPo m l/z)

Fig. 5 Variation of AK,, with da/dN

5.
6.
7.

Lin, D., Wu, J. and Yang, Z. Acta Metal/ Sinica 19 A

(1983) p 165
Elber, W. Eng Fract Mech 1/2 (1970) p 37
He, Q. Fatigue Eng Mater Struct 7 (1984) p 41
Dutta, V.B. and Ritchie, R.O. Metal/Trans 15 A (1984) p
1193
Endo, K. and Komai, K. Bull JSME 24 (1981) p 1319
Shang, J.K. and Ritchie, R.O. Metal/Trans 18 A (1987) p
1613
Xing, Z., Song, Y. and Tu, M. J Chinese Soc Corros
Protect 10 4 (1990) p 378
Xing, Z., Huang, S., Song, Y. and Tu, M. Acta Metal/
Sinica 24 B (1988) p 398

at the crack tip changes from oxygen depolarization to

hydrogen depolarization, which leads to hydrogen-assisted
fatigue or hydrogen-induced cracking, s

8.

Conclusions

Authors

(i)

Xing Zhiqiang is with Beijing Polytechnic University, Beijing,

People's Republic of China. Song Yujiu is with Xi'an Jiaotong
University, People's Republic of China. Tu Mingjing is with
Chengdu University of Science and Technology, People's
Republic of China.

For the crack closure effect induced by corrosion

products it is found that

Kcj
gma~
72

( Axia 11/2
\~/dT~-Axij

Int J Fatigue J a n u a r y 1991