FRACTOGRAPHY

David M. Christie
Senior Failure Analyst
IMR Test Labs

Focus of this Presentation:

Examples of fracture:
cast, wrought, and powder metals
Overload
ductile and brittle
Fatigue
Stress corrosion cracking
Hydrogen embrittlement
Liquid metal embrittlement
Cleaning techniques

CAST METALS
Fractures tend to be more difficult to
interpret than in wrought material
Non-uniform microstructure and
chemistry
Section-size dependent properties
Fracture along second phase
particles
Generally rougher fracture surfaces
than wrought material

Type 383 Aluminum die cast

Aluminum die cast Cast-in letter

Aluminum die cast fracture surface

 Fatigue striations are often difficult to

find in castings, compared with wrought
material
Fatigue origins are also difficult to
determine, because the fracture
surfaces tend to be rougher than in
wrought material

Fatigue Striations die cast aluminum

 Ductile overload in some casting

alloys will occur primarily through or
at the boundaries of secondary
phases
Only small ligatures of matrix will
show ductile dimples

Aluminum die cast overload fracture

From this Example:

Fatigue features and origins are difficult
to determine, compared to wrought
material
Ductile fracture will often occur primarily
at boundaries of secondary phases

Cast aluminum impact wrench housing

What are the small planar

regions at the fracture edge?

Note sharp boundary

Fracture ridges and beachmarks = multiple origin

fatigue.... Low nominal load or high nominal load?

Overload zone Where are the dimples?

Overload zone fracture

primarily through second
phase particles

Ductile Iron but is this a ductile fracture?

Microstructure shows carbides

Ductile iron - overload

-Nodules loose in matrix

- Many sites of lost nodules
- Ductile dimples in matrix ligatures

Ductile dimples

Nodules loose in matrix, dimples evident

Ductile Iron Differential Case

Ductile Iron Fatigue fracture

Ductile iron Fatigue - Nodules are tight in

matrix, fatigue goes through nodules

Ductile iron fatigue fracture

Ductile iron Fatigue striations

Ductile Iron fatigue striations in matrix

Fatigue of cast alloys with

multiple phases
Fatigue will usually go through
secondary phases, rather than around
them:
Graphite nodules of ductile iron
Eutectic silicon of aluminum alloys

GRAY CAST IRON

OVERLOAD
Fracture mostly along graphite flake
boundaries
Matrix ligatures show ductile dimples
and/ or evidence of microstructure
(pearlite).

GRAY CAST IRON OVERLOAD

Gray Iron Backscatter SEM image,

shows graphite flakes well

GRAY CAST IRON OVERLOAD

GRAY CAST IRON OVERLOAD

White Cast Iron Brittle Fracture

White Cast Iron Brittle Fracture

Brittle Fracture - White Cast Iron.

Note cleavage facets and fracture at carbide boundaries

Cast Magnesium AZ 91C Mg

Cast Magnesium Fracture

Cast Magnesium - AZ 91C Mg

Alloy 319 Cast Aluminum Commercial Juicer

Cast Aluminum 319 Al

Cast Aluminum 319 Al

Stainless Steel Pump Impeller

(CG-8M)
Stainless steel pump impeller failed
after 14 months in service
One of six vanes fractured off

Pump Impeller

Vane Radius is highest stress location

Fracture surface generally rough

Fatigue beachmarks present

Fatigue features at high magnification

Dendritic region close to origin

Manufacturing Related CG-8M

Pump Impeller Conclusions

Fatigue began at a small weld repair
crack
Weld repair to fill in casting void was in
a critical location
Recommended revising procedure to
prohibit welding at the leading vane
radius, and to include dye penetrant
check of welds

Observations of Fatigue
in cast metals
Due to rougher surfaces and poorly
developed fracture ridges, the locations of
fatigue surfaces and origins can be difficult.
The locations of fatigue origins can
sometimes be determined from striation
direction and curvature.
Frequently fatigue direction will change from
grain to grain in cast material, as the crack
follows the weakest crystallographic plane.
This complicates things!

Mn Bronze Alloy C863

Automotive Transmission Fork
Failed very early in vehicle life
Low stress part
Mature part, no significant history of
failures

Planar Fracture Regions

Discolored Regions = Shrinkage porosity

Overload Region not discolored

Cross section of Shift Fork

Shift Fork Conclusions

Gas and shrinkage porosity occupied
50% of cross section
Resulting reduction in load-bearing
cross section increased stress intensity
Result was fatigue initiation at inside
radius of fork

Mn Bronze (C670) adjusting nut

Adjusting Nut Conclusions

Mn Bronze (C670) adjusting nut from
offshore oil rig was exposed to salt
water, mud, hydrogen sulfide, diesel
fuel environment
Nut is held in constant tension and
exposed to radial vibration, mated to
316 stainless
Nut failed by intergranular stress
corrosion cracking (IGSCC)
Recommended alloy change to (SCC
resistant) cast nickel (K-500)

Chrome-plated Leaded Brass

Flush Valve (C857)
Chrome-plated leaded yellow brass
flush valves developed leaks after six
months of service

Small Cracks resulted in leaking

Fracture Surface was discolored

Tip:
When cleaning fracture surfaces of
leaded material, avoid the use of
Alconox detergent, as it can remove
the lead!

TIP:
When the main fracture surface is
heavily corroded or damaged, look near
the edges of the fracture (at the crack
tip)
There is often less damage in this
location, and the fracture mode is
probably consistent with the rest of the
fracture surface

Fracture at Crack Tip

Tip:
Fractures produced in the laboratory
can aid in your interpretation of the field
fractures
To confirm fracture mode and compare to

the field fracture.

To determine if the material has been
embrittled.
To test response of freshly exposed
material to different environments, cleaning
techniques.

Material was not embrittled

Branched transgranular cracking indicative of SCC

Brass Flush Valve Conclusions

Failure was due to transgranular stress
corrosion cracking
No specific corrosive agent was
determined
Alloy contained 35% zinc, which makes
it a susceptible alloy
Not a highly stressed part, suspected
residual casting stresses
Recommended stress relief of castings,
or material change to aluminum bronze

Cast Nickel Pump Impeller

(Cast Super-Duplex Stainless Steel Jessup 700)

After nine months of pumping a low pH

(1.5 2.0) slurry of 50% wet phosphoric
acid, one of four vanes fractured from
an impeller

Pump Impeller

One Vane Fractured

Tip:
Fatigue fractures in cast material will
often change direction with each grain,
depending on crystallographic planes
Faceted fracture surfaces are often
fatigue fractures
SEM can aid in determining fracture
mode

Damage near fracture origins

dont panic.

Remember look at crack tip!

Tip:
When fracture surfaces are corroded or
damaged, look for secondary cracks
Opening secondary cracks will reveal
fresher fractures, with more detail

Near Secondary Crack Origin

Cast JS700 Pump

Conclusions
Corrosion fatigue had occurred, with all
four vanes showing cracks
Alloy was appropriate, met specification
Recommended checking chemistry of
pumpage, checking residual stress of
cast impellers, checking balance of
impellers
Corrosion Fatigue depends on
environment and stress intensity

Cast Bismuth Bronze

Wear Rings
Cast Bismuth Bronze (lead-free
C89320) wear rings failed
prematurely in a pump

Bronze Wear Ring

Conclusions
Metallographic section showed
intergranular cracking
Microstructure indicated the parts had
run dry and overheated
Molten bismuth had embrittled the part,
resulting in fracture by Liquid Metal
Embrittlement (LME)

Powder Metals
Green crack vs. Sinter Bond fracture
Ductile overload
Fatigue

Green Cracks
PM parts are pressed and ejected
Green at this point
The stresses of pressing and/or ejection
can result in cracks at this stage
Sintering to produce diffusion bonding
between particles will not bridge the gap
created by a crack
The result: a green crack

Powder Metals Green crack

Powder Metals Green crack

Powder Metals Green crack

Green crack of a steam-treated part

Powder metal - Overload

Powder metal - Overload

Powder Metal Overload

The percentage of sinterbond fracture is
directly related to the part density
The higher the density, the greater the
percentage of sinterbond fracture

Powder metal - Fatigue

Powder metal - Fatigue

Powder metal - Fatigue

Powder Metal Fatigue

Fatigue does not seek the weakest
path, as overload fracture does
The result is that generally a larger
percentage of the fracture surface is
actual fracture, as opposed to void area
The patches of fatigue fracture are
generally larger than overload
sinterbond fracture

Powder metal

Ferrite core fracture

by thermal shock

Powder metal
Ferrite core fracture by thermal shock

WROUGHT METALS
OVERLOAD
Ductile
Brittle
FATIGUE
CORROSION CRACKING

OVERLOAD AXIAL TENSION

OVERLOAD - SHEAR

LONGITUDINAL OVERLOAD FRACTURE

DIMPLE NUCLEATION AT MnS INCLUSIONS

Brittle Fracture Cleavage Fracture below DBTT

Same Steel Ductile Fracture above DBTT

Brittle Intergranular fracture in

hardened case of carburized steel this
is the expected overload morphology

Type 303 Stainless steel Fatigue

Use of topographic backscatter mode in the

SEM can show steps or ridges in the fracture,
indicative of multiple fatigue origins.

Type 303 Stainless steel Fatigue

MnS inclusions evident on fracture surface

Type 303 Stainless steel Overload

Wrought Aluminum - Fatigue

Wrought Aluminum - Fatigue

Wrought Aluminum - Fatigue

Wrought Aluminum - well-developed striations

Wrought Aluminum - Overload

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Steel Shaft Rotating Bending Fatigue

Stainless Steel Bellows Fatigue Fracture

Stainless Steel Bellows Fatigue Fracture

Tip: Fatigue striation curvature indicates

direction of crack propagation

Brass Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking

Crack tip Field crack to left, overload at right

Brass Laboratory overload fracture

Hydrogen Embrittlement

Hydrogen embrittlement

Hydrogen Embrittlement
ductile ornamentation of grain boundaries

Hydrogen Embrittlement ductile ornamentation

of grains, gaping grain boundaries

Hydrogen Embrittlement
patches of ductile fracture

Use of the SEM for Fractography

Always examine fracture surface optically
before SEM examination
Scan first at high refresh rate, high probe
current
Once the critical areas are established, take
photographs, adjusting SEM conditions
Consider the use of Backscatter and
Secondary modes
Consider the use of topographic modes in
both Backscatter and Secondary

Optimizing the SEM for

Fractography Photographs
Working distance (WD) should be
minimized (e.g. 10 15 mm)
Accelerating voltage should be 10 Kev
or less
Probe current (spot size) should be low
(~100 picoamps)

SEM not optimized:

31 mm WD, 30 Kev, 1.8 nanoamps

SEM not optimized:

31 mm WD, 30 Kev, 100 picoamps

SEM optimized:
15 mm WD, 10 Kev, 100 picoamps

SEM Low Magnification

Techniques

BEI composition mode

BEI topographic mode
SEI mode
SEI mode with reverse voltage bias

Backscatter composition mode

Backscatter topographic mode

Secondary mode

Secondary mode, negative bias

Cleaning Fracture Surfaces

Photodocument As-received condition
Clean starting with least aggressive method
Use step-wise approach and examine at each
step
It is often not necessary to remove all oxides
or contamination from the fracture and
attempting to do so may damage the surface
If in doubt, submit a polished metallographic
mount of your material to the proposed
cleaning method, examine for etching or other
damage

Cleaning Fracture Surfaces

The use of an alkaline detergent
(Alconox) has proven most useful.
Mix 160 g to one gallon of DI water
Can be used at room temperature or
heated to 100 degrees F
Ultrasonic for up to 15 30 minutes in
five minute increments, with
examinations after each five minutes.

Cleaning Fracture Surfaces

Before Alconox

Cleaning Fracture Surfaces After Alconox

SUMMARY
Examples of cast, wrought, and powder
metals were reviewed
Overload ductile and brittle
Fatigue
Stress corrosion cracking
Hydrogen embrittlement
Liquid metal embrittlement
Cleaning techniques were presented