Effects of Stress Ratio and Hold-Time on Fatigue Crack Growth in Alloy 718

Abstract

Crack growth rate da/dN in Alloy 718 at 650°C, compared on the conventional ΔK basis, increased with increase in R (Kmin/Kmax) and also generally with inclusion of hold time at Kmax and Kmin. An exception, however, was that a 1-min hold at a Kmin just below the threshold K for creep crack growth caused retardation of crack growth. Correlation of da/dN for various R levels was better with Kmax than with other parameters such as Kmin, ΔK, and Δ J-integral. Fatigue crack growth in the alloy was found to be time dependent and Kmax controlled under these test conditions and consequently the best overall correlation was given by da/dt with Kmax. An unusual observation was that the addition of hold time to the loading cycle at near zero Kmin (R = 0.05) caused an increase in da/dN, as the result of an environmental interaction.