Issue 33

D. Shiozawa et alii, Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, 33 (2015) 56-60; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.33.07 56 Focussed on characterization of crack tip fields 3D Analyses of crack propagation in torsion D. Shiozawa Kobe University, 1-1, Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe, Japan shiozawa@mech.kobe-u.ac.jp I. Serrano-Munoz, S. Dancette, C. Verdu, J. Lachambre, J.-Y. Buffiere INSA-Lyon MATEIS Bat Saint Exupery 25 Av. Jean Capelle F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex jean-yves.buffiere@insa-lyon.fr A BSTRACT . The initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks during cyclic torsion loading was studied in a cast Al alloy (A357) with a relatively large (~500 µm) grain size. 2D observations, revealed that multi site crack initiation occur on the {111} slip planes exhibiting the highest slip activity (iso-strain Taylor analysis), preferentially on planes nearly perpendicular to the sample axis. Within the first grain, the cracks have a pronounced crystallographic propagation mode (mode II crack growth) and strongly interact with the grain boundaries. In situ 3D monitoring of torsion fatigue tests using synchrotron X-ray tomography reveal that propagation towards the interior of the samples occurs first along the sample periphery in mode II leading to relatively shallow cracks which penetrate towards the sample center only after a large number of cycles is reached .The values of mode I, II and III stress intensity factors have been calculated from finite element simulation at the tip of the shallow mode II crack. Those values are used to analyse the bulk propagation of the observed cracks. K EYWORDS . Torsion; Cracks; 3D imaging; Stress Intensity Factors; Mode III mode II. I NTRODUCTION ince most machine components are operated under complex cyclic stress states, it is important to understand the propagation behavior of fatigue cracks under mixed loading. One of the most typical mixed mode crack propagation behavior arises under cyclic torsion. Compared to tensile uni-axial loading, in torsion, the planes of the specimen showing the largest of shear stresses values are not submitted to any normal stress. Besides, the level of the shear stresses is maximum at the sample surface and decreases towards the bulk of the sample. Those two distinctive features have a strong influence on the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks. Experimentally, in metals, fatigue crack propagation mechanisms in torsion have been mainly studied through surface observations [1, 2] or by post mortem fractographic analyses [3]. The link between surface observations and fracture surfaces where crack growth can be very complex is however difficult to establish and the detailed chronology of crack growth in the sample interior is lost. The 3D shape of a fatigue crack growing inside a Ti alloy has been analyzed using X ray tomography [4]; although this is a considerable improvement compared to the aforementioned observations the images were obtained during ex situ experiments providing pictures of unloaded cracks. In this paper, we report results on the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks during cyclic torsion loading of a cast Al alloy (A 357). In situ experiments have been performed on macroscopic samples (surface monitoring by optical microscopy) and on smaller ones (bulk S