Crack closure in the fatigue crack propagation of a Cu-2wt.%Be alloy in dry air and ammoniacal solution

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. A, Structural materials : properties, microstructure and processing Vol. 206; no. 1; pp. 49 - 54
• Main Authors: Chun, Young-Gab, Pyun, Su-Il
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.02.1996; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Crack propogation; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Fatigue cracking; Fatigue, corrosion fatigue, embrittlement, cracking, fracture and failure; Fatigue, embrittlement, and fracture; Materials science; Metals. Metallurgy; Physics; Treatment of materials and its effects on microstructure and properties; Crack propogation; Fatigue cracking; Polarization diagram; Ruptures; Crack closure effect; Mechanical properties; Fatigue; Copper base alloys; Experimental study; Environmental effects; Crack propagation; Binary alloys; Ammonia; Potentiodynamic method; Beryllium alloys; Aqueous solutions; Dry air; Transition element alloys
• DOI: 10.1016/0921-5093(95)09986-7
• ISSN: 0921-5093

Fatigue cracking was investigated by measuring the crack closure of unaged and peak-aged Cu-2wt %Be alloy specimens in 0.05 M Cu 2+-containing 1 M ammoniacal solution using an unloading elastic compliance technique and by comparing the results with those obtained in dry air. The anodic behaviour of both kinds of specimen in the ammoniacal solution was also investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and potentiostatic current transient experiments. In dry air, a plateau m the fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rate vs ΔK eff plot was observed for both kinds of specimen at relatively high ΔK eff values. This can be accounted for in terms of the retardation of FCP due to the accumulated strain released by the formation of a shear band at the crack tip. The intrinsic FCP rate of the unaged specimen in the ammoniacal solution exceeded that of the peak-aged specimen; however, the apparent value showed the opposite trend. The anodic dissolution of the unaged specimen in the ammoniacal solution was slightly larger than that of the peak-aged specimen. The unaged specimen showed a higher crack closure in the ammoniacal solution than the peak-aged specimen. The high crack closure of the unaged specimen in the ammoniacal solution is due to the relatively inhomogeneous deformation and severe corrosion attack compared with the peak-aged specimen.