Chapter 8 Failure

8.1 Introduction
• Failure  undesirable events : human lives, economic losses
• Causes : - improper materials selection and processing
- in adequate design/analysis
- misuse
• Responsible of the engineer :
- anticipate and plan for possible failure
- if failure occur  assess the cause and take preventive measures
against future incident
• Topics :
- fracture modes : ductile and brittle
- fundamentals of fracture mechanics
- ductile-brittle transition
- fatigue
- creep
 Fracture
8.2 FUNDAMENTALS OF FRACTURE

• Fracture : Separation of a body into two or more due to quasi static loading (tensile,
compression shear or torsional)
• Two possible fracture modes (based on ability to experience plastic deformation)
- ductile
- brittle
• Ductile materials  substantial plastic deformation with high energy absorption
• Brittle materials  little or no plastic deformation with low energy absorption

• Ductility may be quantified by

- percent elongation
• Ductility also depend on :
- temperature, strain rate, and stress state
 8.2 Fundamentals of Fracture (cont’)
• Fracture process involves two steps : crack formation and propagation
• Fracture highly dependent on the mechanism of crack propagation
• Ductile fracture : - extensive plastic deformation in the vicinity of advancing crack
- proceeds slowly (stable)
- further extension occur if applied stress is increased
- appreciable gross deformation at the fracture surface
• Brittle fracture : - very little plastic deformation
- spread extremely rapidly (unstable)
- applied stress need not be increased for further extension
• Ductile fracture is preferred :
- plasticity gives warning of possible fracture
- more energy is required to induce ductile fracture
• Most metals : ductile
• Ceramics : brittle
 8.3 Ductile Fracture

• highly ductile fracture • initial necking

• moderately ductile • small cavity formation

• brittle fracture • coalescense of cavity

• crack propagation
• final shear fracture
 8.3 Ductile Fracture (cont’)

• cup and cone fracture SEM image

• brittle fracture • spherical dimples

• elongated dimples
Section of tensile specimen at various stages
Influence of direction of
max on the shape of
dimples
a. tension  equiaxed
b. shear  elongated
(opposite direction)
c. tearing  elongated
(pointing to fracture
origin)
Sulfide Inclusions in steel Equiaxed dimples Elongated dimples
serve as void - nucleating sites
 8.4 Brittle Fracture

• Take place without any appreciable deformation

• Rapid crack propagation
• Direction of crack propagation nearly perpendicular to
applied stress
• Relatively flat surface
• In some steels V-shaped ‘chevron’ marking may form
• Some other failures contain lines or ridges that radiate
from the origin of the crack in a fan like pattern
8.4 Brittle Fracture (cont’)

V-shaped ‘chevron’ marking

8.4 Brittle Fracture (cont’)

Radial fan-shaped ridges

 8.4 Brittle Fracture (cont’)

• for most brittle materials  crack propagation corresponds the

succesive and repeated breaking of atomic bonds along specific
crystallographic planes
• this process is called cleavage  transgranular/transcrystalline
• macroscopically the fracture surface have faceted texture
• in some alloys, crack propagation is along grain boundaries 
intergranular
• transgranular fracture usually caused by corrosive environment
Intergranular fracture Transgranular fracture
 8.5 Principle of Fracture Mechanics

• Fracture mechanics quantity the relationship between

- material properties
- stress level
- the existence of cracks
• Fracture mechanics deals with stress and strain due to the
cracks or crack like defects
 8.5 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

Stress Concentration
• abrupt change in geometry cause non-uniform stress
distribution (e.g. holes, sharp corners, and notches)
• at the root of the discontinuity (hole, corner, or notch) a
maximum stress develop
• the ratio of this maximum stress to the nominal stress is
defined as the stress concentration factor : K t  max
nom
8.5 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

• Kt = stress concentration factor

max = maximum stress
nom = nominal stress (stress at the cross section
containing the discontinuity assumed as
uniformly distributed)
 Stress Concentration

• if Kt is known for a certain geometry than the maximum

stress at the root of the notch can be obtained
• the value of Kt for various geometries is given the welknown
book of Peterson :
‘Stress Concentration Factor’
• Kt is depended only on geometry not material properties
• the effect of Kt is more significant in brittle materials than
ductile materials
 Stress Concentration (cont’)

• in ductile materials stresses at the notch root higher than the yield
strength causes plastic deformation  more uniform stress
distribution
• in brittle materials yield and stress redistribution do not occur
Stress Concentration Factor for three
configurations
 Stress Concentration (cont’)

• fracture strength of a solid materials a function of the cohesive

forces between atoms
• based on this approach  theoretical cohesive strength of
brittle elastic solid is  E/10
• experimental evidence shows that fracture strength of most
engineering materials are between 10 and 1000 times below
this theoretical value
 Stress Concentration (cont’)

• according to Griffith this discrepancy is caused by the

presence of very small flaws which act as stress concentration
• these flaws are determintal due to stress amplification
at the root of the flaw
Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

Stress Analysis of Cracks

• Three modes of crack surface
displacement
- Mode I = opening mode displacement
- Mode II = sliding mode
- Mode III = tearing mode
 Stress Analysis of Cracks (cont’)

• stresses on an element in front of the crack for mode I loading in

an infinite plate

 a   3 
 xx  cos 1 sin sin 
2r 2 2 2 

a   3 
 yy  cos 1 sin sin   a
2r 2 2 2  ij  fij 
2r

 a   3
 xy  sin cos cos
2r 2 2 2
 Stress Analysis of Cracks (cont’)

• the term  a is termed stress intensity factor and given the

symbol K
• K provides the indication of stress distribution close to the
crack tip
• for geometries other than an infinite plate the stress intensity
factor has to be corrected K   a
where  is the correction factor dependent on the geometry
and crack size
 Stress Analysis of Cracks (cont’)

• For relatively thin plate z = 0  plane stress condition,

for thick plate z = 0  plane stress condition
• The dimension of K is MPa m
 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

Fracture Toughness
• If the load in a cracked component is increased the stress
intensity factor also increase
• K increases until it reaches a critical value termed as the
fracture toughness, KC
• Fracture toughness is a material properties
• For a certain geometry and a certain crack length the value
KC
of KC determines the critical load : K C   c a  c 
 a
 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

 for thick component the fracture toughness is known

as plane strain fracture toughness (KIC)
 for thin plates  plane stress fracture toughness (KC)
 fracture toughness depends on thickness  KC > KIC
8.5 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

Design Using Fracture Mechanics

• the fracture toughness (KIC or KC) can be used
predict :
a. critical load/stress in a component with known
KIC
crack size c 
 a

b. critical crack length if stress level is known

2
1K 
ac   IC 
   
 8.5 Principle of Fracture Mechanics (cont’)

• Values of KIC for some materials

Alloys y (MPa) KIC (MPa m )

7075-T651 (Al-alloy) 495 24
2024-T3 (Al-alloy) 345 44
Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-alloy) 830 55
4340 (alloy steel tempered 260C) 1640 50
4340 (alloy steel tempered 425C) 1420 87.4
 8.6 Impact Fracture Testing

• used to obtain fracture characteristics of materials prior to

development of fracture mechanics
• the impact fracture testing is used because tensile test could not
be used to predict fracture behaviour e.g. ductile metals
fracture abruptly with very little plastic deformation
• the test represent a severe condition :
1. deformation at a relatively low temperature
2. a high strain rate
3. a triaxial stress state (introduced with a notch)
 Impact Test Techniques

• Charpy and Izod standard test measure the impact energy

(notch toughness)
• In contrast to plane strain/plane stress fracture toughness
which give a quantitative fracture property the result of
impact test only gives a qualitative fracture property
 Ductile to Brittle Transition

• The charpy and Izod tests can be used to determine whether

a material experiences ductile-to-brittle transition with
decreasing temperature
• Some steels show decreasing impact energy with decreasing
temperature
• at higher temperature the impact energy is high  ductile
mode fracture (fibrous)
• at lower temperature the impact energy drops over a narrow
temperature range  brittle mode fracture (shiny texture)
 Ductile to Brittle Transition (cont’)

• ductile to brittle transition occurs over a range of temperature

• it is difficult to define this transition
• one criterion of transition is : transition temperature is that at
which the fracture surface is 100% fibrous
• in carbon steel increasing the carton content, while increasing the
strength, also raises the transition temperature
Ductile to Brittle Transition (cont’)

• Not all metals display ductile-brittle

transition
• FCC metals (including aluminum)
remain ductile at extremely low
temperatures
• BCC and HCP metals experience
this transition
• for metals having this transition
temperature decreasing average
grain size lowering transition
temperature
 Fatigue

• fatigue is a failure mode due to cyclic/fluctuating loads

• fatigue failure occur at stresses considerably lower than the
yield strength
• characterized by very little plastic deformation even in a
ductile material (brittle like fracture)
• the process of fatigue fracture occurs by :
- initiation of cracks
- propagation of cracks
- final fracture
• fracture surface is perpendicular to the direction of applied
tensile stress
 8.7 Cyclic Stresses

• Three types of fluctuating stresses

Completely reversed stress cycle Repeated max  min

m 
2
(max) tensile = (min) compression stress cycle r  max  min
mean = 0 max  min
a 
2

R  min
max
8.7 Cyclic Stresses (cont’)

Random stress cycle

 8.8 The S-N Curve

• the S-N curve describe the fatigue properties of materials

• a point in the specimen is subjected to completely reversed
stress cycle
• a series of tests are performed at different values of Sa
• the life of each specimen is plotted as stress Sa vs log of
number of cycles (N)
8.8 The S-N Curve (cont’)

R.R. Moore rotating bending test

 8.8 The S-N Curve (cont’)

• Two distinct types of S-N curve

S-N curve displays the fatigue limit S-N curve does not display
the fatigue limit
 8.8 The S-N Curve (cont’)

• fatigue limit/endurance limit : the largest stress that

will not cause failure number of cycles for infinite
• some steels and titanium display a fatigue limit,
while most nonferrous alloys do not have fatigue
limit
• fatigue strength : the stress level at which failure will
occur for some specified number of cycles
 8.8 The S-N Curve (cont’)

• there always exists considerable scatter in fatigue data  scatter

of N for different specimen tested at the same Sa
• the above curve is ‘best fit’ curve drawn through average-value
data points
• other techniques is to plot constant probability curves
 8.8 The S-N Curve (cont’)

• the above curves shows at Sa = 200 MPa  1 % of specimens fail at about 106
cycles
50% of specimens fail at about 2 x 107
 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation

• three distinct steps in fatigue failure : - crack initiation

- crack propagation
- final fracture
• fatigue life Nf is the total number of cycles to failure
compose of : - crack initiation life : Ni
Nf  Ni  Np
- crack propagation life : Np
• at low stress levels a large number of cycles in consumed
to initiate the crack (Ni > Np )
• at high stress levels the crack initiates more rapidly
(Ni > Np )
 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

• fatigue cracks always initiate on the surface at stress concentration

• fatigue cracks initially propagates along crystallographic planes of
high shear stress (stage I propagation)
• stage I propagation extend only several grains
• in stage II crack propagation increase dramatically, and change
direction to perpendicular to loading direction
 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

• during stage II crack growth proceeds by a repetitive

plastic blunting and sharpening

a. zero or maximum
compressive load
b. small tensile load
c. maximum tensile load
d. small compressive load
e. zero or maximum
compressive load
f. small tensile load
 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

• Two macro characteristics of fatigue failure are :

- No macro plastic deformation
- the fracture displays markings termed ‘beachmark’ or ‘clamshell’
8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

Static Failure Fatigue Failure

No macro plasticity
8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

‘Beach mark’ on the fracture surface

 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

• Micro characteristics of fatigue failure  striations on the

fracture surface
• Striations can only be seen with the electron microscope (SEM or
TEM)
• Each striation represent the crack increment during a single load
cycle
• The presence of beachmarks and striations confirm fatigue as the
cause of failure
• However the absence of beachmarks and striations does not
exclude fatigue as the cause
• Beachmarks and striations will not appear on region with rapid
failure
 8.9 Crack Initiation and Propagation (cont’)

Striation in aluminum Fatigue failure surface smooth

rapid failure  dull and fibrous texture
 8.10 Crack Propagation Rate

• Fatigue test on specimens under constant amplitude is plotted

as crack length r(a) vs number of elapsed cycles

• Crack growth rate (da/dN) is the

slope of a vs N curve
• At the beginning da/dN is small,
but increase with increasing
crack length
• Higher crack growth rate at
higher stress for a certain crack
length
 8.10 Crack Propagation Rate (cont’)

• Since crack growth is a phenomenon occurring at the crack tip it

is reasonable that the rate is dependent on the crack tip parameter
i.e. stress intensity factors
• An equation usually used to relate crack growth rate and stress
intensity factor is the Paris equation

da dN  C K m
• C and m are material constants
• K = Kmax - Kmin
• K    a

K    max   min   a
 8.10 Crack Propagation Rate (cont’)

• Typical crack growth rate curve is shown below with

three distinct region, labelled region I, II, and III
• the da/dN - K curve is essentially linear in region II
consistent with the Paris equation
• log da/dN = log [c(K)m]

log da / dN  m log K  log c

• the slope of the curve is m the intercept correspond to log c
8.10 Crack Propagation Rate (cont’)

Schematic representation of da/dN vs K

 8.10 Crack Propagation Rate (cont’)

• the following figure is da/dN - K for Ni-M0 - V alloy steel

• the slope (m) = 3
the intercept (c)  1.8 x10-14
• the Paris equation can be used to predict crack propagation life
da
dN 
c K m
Nf ac
da
Nf   dN  
0 a0 c K m
a0 = initial crack length
ac = critical crack length
8.10 Crack Propagation Rate (cont’)

ac
da
Nf  
a0 
c  a 
m

for constant amplitude loading

 = constant

ac
1 da
Nf  m  m m/2
c m/2
 a0  a
 8.11 Factors Effecting Fatigue Life

• Mean stress

Influence of mean Design can reduce Influence of

stress stress concentration shot-peening
 8.11 Factors Effecting Fatigue Life (cont’)

• Surface Effects
- maximum stress in a structure occurs at its surface  cracks
start on the surface
- surface effects include
* design factor  holes, geometrical change
* surface treatment  polishing, shot peening, case hardening
 8.12 Environmental Effects

• thermal fatigue  fluctuating temperature cause fluctuating

thermal stresses
- thermal stresses occur due to restraint to thermal
expansion/contraction
 = e E T ; i = coefficient of thermal
expansion
- without restraint the thermal stresses will not arise
- thus thermal fatigue can be prevented if the restraint is
eliminated/reduced
 8.12 Environmental Effects (cont’)

• Corrosion fatigue  simultaneous action of cycle stress and

chemical attack
- corrosion fatigue results in shorter fatigue lives than non
corrosive environment
- chemical reactions between the environment and material 
small pits : stress concentration and crack nucleation sites
- corrosive environment increase crack growth rate
- lower load frequency  shorter life due to longer period the
crack is opened and in contact with the environment
- protective surface coatings, more corrosion resistance material,
and reduce the corrosiveness of the environment can reduce the
growth rate of corrosion fatigue cracks
 Creep

• is time-dependent and permanent deformation of

materials when subjected to a constant load or stress at
elevated temperature
• for metals creep occur when service temperature is
higher than 0.4 m (absolute melting temperature)
 8.13 Generalized Creep Behaviour

• Typical creep test  subjecting a specimen to a constant load/stress

at constant temperature  deformation or strain is measured and
plotted as a function of time
 8.13 Generalized Creep Behaviour (cont’)

• Creep curve consist of three regions :

- primary or transient creep  decreasing creep rate (increase in
creep resistance or strain hardening)
- secondary or steady-state creep  constant rate (linear plot)
(competition of strain hardening and recovery)
- tertiery creep  accelerated rate lead to ultimate failure
• This failure is termed rupture resulting from microstructural
and/or metallurgical changes (e.g. grain boundary separation,
formation of internal cracks, cavities and voids)

• Steady-state creep rate s (slope of the secondary portion) is the

design parameter for long life
• Time to rupture or rupture lifetime (tr) is the design parameter for
short-life
 8.14 Stress and Temperature Effects

• At temperature substantially below 0.4 Tm,  is virtually

independent of time
• with increasing stress or temperature :
- instantaneous strain increases
- steady state creep rate is increased
- rupture time diminished
• Results of creep rupture test is presented as log  vs long rupture
life time
• for nickel alloy shows a linear relation while for other alloys non
linearity is observed
 8.14 Stress and Temperature Effects (cont’)

Influence of  and T on creep behaviour Plot of  and rupture life time in log-
log scale
 8.14 Stress and Temperature Effects (cont’)

• steady state creep rate is expressed as a function of stress :

 s  K1  n
where K1 and n are material constants

• if the influence of temperature is included :

n  Qc 
 s  K 2  exp   
 RT 
where K1 and Qc are constants; Qc = activation energy for creep

• theoretical mechanisms have been proposed to explain the creep behaviour

- stress-induced vacancy diffusion
- grain boundary diffusion
- dislocation motion
- grain boundary sliding
 8.16 Alloys for High-Temperature Use

• For better resistance to creep :

- higher melting temperature
- greater elastic modulus
- larger grain size (smaller grain permit more grain-boundary
sliding)
• Stainless steel, refractory metals and superalloys are resilient
to creep and commonly used in high-temperature application
• Advanced processing techniques have utilized to produce
highly elongated grains or single crystal components
8.16 Alloys for High-Temperature Use (cont’)