Search Results for extensometry

This article describes the phenomena of crack initiation and early growth. It examines specimen design and preparation as well as the apparatus used in crack initiation testing. The article provides descriptions of the various commercially available fatigue testing machines: axial fatigue testing machines and bending fatigue machines. Load cells, grips and alignment devices, extensometry and strain measuring devices, environmental chambers, graphic recorders, furnaces, and heating systems of ancillary equipment are discussed. The article presents technologies available to accomplish closed loop control of materials testing systems in performing standard materials tests and for the development of custom testing applications. It explores the advanced software tools for materials testing. The article includes a description of baseline isothermal fatigue testing, creep-fatigue interaction, and thermomechanical fatigue. The effects of various variables on fatigue resistance and guidelines for fatigue testing are also presented.

This article describes the fracture mechanics in fatigue. It discusses the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) testing that consists of several steps, beginning with selecting the specimen size, geometry, and crack length measurement technique. The two major aspects of FCGR test analysis are to ensure suitability of the test data and to calculate growth rates from the data. The article presents an analysis of the crack growth data. Optical, compliance, and electric potential difference are the most common laboratory techniques, and the article reviews their merits and limitations. Forced-displacement, forced-vibration, rotational-bending, resonance, and servomechanical systems for various loading conditions are also discussed.

Testing and characterization of fatigue crack growth are used extensively to predict the rate at which subcritical cracks grow due to fatigue loading. ASTM standard E 647 is the accepted guideline for fatigue crack growth testing (FCGR) and is applicable to a wide variety of materials and growth rates. The two most widely used types of specimens are the middle-crack tension and compact-type specimens. This article describes the factors affecting the selection of appropriate geometries of these specimens: consideration of material availability and raw form, desired loading condition, and equipment limitations. Various crack measurement techniques, including optical, ultrasonic, acoustic emission, electrical, and compliance methods, are also reviewed. The article discusses the two major aspects of FCGR test analysis: to ensure suitability of the test data and to calculate growth rates from the data.

This article presents effective stress equations that are based on the von Mises criterion, the Tresca criterion, and the Huddleston criterion. It describes the calculation of effective stresses for different cases: elastic stresses, steady-state creep stresses, stresses in a fully plastic case, and thermal stresses in a tube. The article illustrates the comparison of life predictions by the stress criteria and presents a simple mean diameter hoop stress equation, which is used for designing components. It also provides information on the multiaxial creep ductility of tubular components and multiaxial testing methods.

This article describes the concepts for characterizing and predicting elevated-temperature crack growth in structural materials. It discusses both creep and creep-fatigue crack growth and focuses mainly on creep crack growth tests that are carried out in accordance with ASTM E 1457. The article provides information on typical test procedures and equipment used for these tests. It concludes with information on crack growth correlations.

Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) refers to the process of fatigue damage under simultaneous changes in temperature and mechanical strain. This article reviews the process of TMF with a practical example of life assessment. It describes TMF damages caused due to two possible types of loading: in-phase and out-of-phase cycling. The article illustrates the ways in which damage can interact at high and low temperatures and the development of microstructurally based models in parametric form. It presents a case study of the prediction of residual life in a turbine casing of a ship through stress analysis and fracture mechanics analyses of the casing.

Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) is the general term given to the material damage accumulation process that occurs with simultaneous changes in temperature and mechanical loading. TMF may couple cyclic inelastic deformation accumulation, temperature-assisted diffusion within the material, temperature-assisted grain-boundary evolution, and temperature-driven surface oxidation, among other things. This article discusses some of the major aspects and challenges of dealing with TMF life prediction. It describes the damage mechanisms of TMF and covers various experimental techniques to promote TMF damage mechanisms and elucidate mechanism coupling interactions. In addition, life modeling in TMF conditions and a practical application of TMF life prediction are presented.

The fracture-mechanics technology has significantly improved the ability to design safe and reliable structures and identify and quantify the primary parameters that affect structural integrity of materials. This article provides a discussion on fracture toughness of notched materials by explaining the ductile-to-brittle fracture transition and by correlating KId, KIc, and Charpy V-notch impact energy absorptions. It highlights the effects of constraint, temperature, and loading rate on the fracture transition. The article discusses the applications of fracture mechanism in limiting of operating stresses. It describes the mechanisms, testing methods, and effecting parameters of two main categories of fracture mechanics: linear-elastic fracture mechanics and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. The article concludes with a discussion on the three major progressive stages of fatigue: crack initiation, crack growth, and fracture on the final cycle.

This article reviews the basic equipment and methods for creep and creep rupture testing. It begins with a discussion on the creep properties, including stress and temperature dependence, as well as of the extrapolation techniques that permit estimation of the long-term creep and rupture strengths of materials. The article describes the different types of equipment for determination of creep characteristics, including test stands, furnaces, and extensometers. It also discusses the different testing methods for creep rupture: constant-load testing and constant-stress testing. The article presents other testing considerations and concludes with information on stress relaxation testing.

The article provides an overview of the various types of testing machines: gear-driven or screw-driven machines and servohydraulic machines. It examines force application systems, force measurement, and strain measurement. The article discusses important instrument considerations and describes gripping techniques of test specimens. It analyzes test diagnostics and reviews the use of computers for gathering and reducing data. Emphasis is placed on universal testing machines with separate discussions of equipment factors for tensile testing and compressing testing. The influence of the machine stiffness on the test results is also described, along with a general assessment of test accuracy, precision, and repeatability of modern equipment.

Ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) are being developed for a number of high-temperature and high-performance applications in industrial, aerospace, and energy conservation sectors. This article focuses on processing, fabrication, testing, and characterization methods of CMCs, namely, discontinuously reinforced composites and continuous-fiber-reinforced composites. Processing methods include cold pressing, sintering, hot pressing, reaction bonding, melt infiltration, directed metal oxidation, sol-gel and polymer pyrolysis, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and joining. A table summarizes the properties of various ceramic reinforcements and industrial applications of these composites.

Structural alloys are commonly subjected to a variety of thermal and thermomechanical loads. This article provides an overview of the experimental methods in thermal fatigue (TF) and thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) and presents experimental results on the structural materials that have been considered in TF and TMF research. Life prediction models and constitutive equations suited for TF and TMF are covered. The structural materials discussed include carbon steels, low-alloy steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, and nickel-base high-temperature alloys. The article explains crack initiation and crack propagation in TF and TMF. It describes thermal ratcheting and thermal shock behavior of structural metallic materials. The article concludes with information on life prediction of structural materials under TF and TMF.