Topic 2C: Mechanical Properties

of Materials
1

FRACTURE, FATIGUE AND CREEP

 Learning Outcomes
2

At the end of this topic students should be able to:

 Distinguish ductile and brittle fracture.
 Explain and calculate crack propagation.
 Determine ductile-to-brittle transition behaviour from
impact test data.
 Explain fatigue and describe the S-N curve.
 Explain creep and describe the creep strain curve.
 FRACTURE
3

 Ductile fracture
 Occurs with plastic deformation

• Brittle fracture
• Little or no plastic deformation
• Catastrophic
 Ductile vs Brittle Failure
4
Fracture Very Moderately
Brittle
behavior: Ductile Ductile

Adapted from Fig. 8.1,

Callister 7e.

%AR or %EL Large Moderate Small

• Ductile Ductile: Brittle:

fracture is usually warning before No
desirable! fracture warning
 Example: Failure of a Pipe

• Ductile failure:
--one piece
--large deformation

• Brittle failure:
--many pieces
--small deformation

Figures from V.J. Colangelo and F.A.

Heiser, Analysis of Metallurgical Failures
(2nd ed.), Fig. 4.1(a) and (b), p. 66 John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987. Used with
permission.

5
 Ductile vs. Brittle Failure
6

cup-and-cone fracture brittle fracture

Adapted from Fig. 8.3, Callister 7e.

 Ideal vs Real Materials
• Stress-strain behavior (Room T):
σ
E/10 perfect mat’l-no flaws TSengineering << TS perfect
materials materials
carefully produced glass fiber

E/100 typical ceramic typical strengthened metal

typical polymer
0.1 ε
• DaVinci (500 yrs ago!) observed... Reprinted w/
permission from R.W.
-- the longer the wire, the Hertzberg,
"Deformation and
smaller the load for failure. Fracture Mechanics
of Engineering
• Reasons: Materials", (4th ed.)
Fig. 7.4. John Wiley
-- flaws cause premature failure. and Sons, Inc., 1996.

-- Larger samples contain more flaws!

7
 Flaws are Stress Concentrators!
8

Results from crack propagation

 Griffith Crack
1/ 2
a 
σ m = 2σo   = K t σo
 ρt 

ρ
t where
ρ t = radius of curvature
σ o = applied stress
σ m = max stress at crack tip

Adapted from Fig. 8.8(a), Callister 7e.

 Crack Propagation
9

Cracks propagate due to sharpness of crack tip

 A plastic material deforms at the tip, “blunting” the crack.
deformed
region
brittle plastic

Energy balance on the crack

 Elastic strain energy-
 energy stored in material as it is elastically deformed
 this energy is released when the crack propagates
 creation of new surfaces requires energy
 When Does a Crack Propagate?
10

Crack propagates if above critical stress

1/ 2
i.e., σ m > σ c  2Eγ s 
σc =  
or Kt > Kc  πa 

where
 E = modulus of elasticity
 γ s = specific surface energy
 a = one half length of internal crack
 Kc = σ c/σ 0
 Impact Testing
11 (Charpy)

Adapted from Fig. 8.12(b),

Callister 7e. (Fig. 8.12(b) is
adapted from H.W. Hayden,
W.G. Moffatt, and J. Wulff, The
Structure and Properties of
Materials, Vol. III, Mechanical
Behavior, John Wiley and Sons,
Inc. (1965) p. 13.)

final height initial height

 Temperature
• Increasing temperature...
--increases %EL and Kc
• Ductile-to-Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT)...

FCC metals (e.g., Cu, Ni)

Impact Energy

BCC metals (e.g., iron at T < 914°C)

polymers
Brittle More Ductile

High strength materials (σ y > E/150)

Adapted from Fig. 8.15,

Callister 7e.
Temperature
Ductile-to-brittle
transition temperature

12
 FATIGUE
13

• Fatigue = failure under cyclic stress.

Adapted from Fig. 8.18,
specimen compression on top Callister 7e. (Fig. 8.18 is
from Materials Science in
Engineering, 4/E by Carl.
motor counter A. Keyser, Pearson
bearing bearing
Education, Inc., Upper
flex coupling Saddle River, NJ.)

tension on bottom
σ
σ max
• Stress varies with time.
S
σm
-- key parameters are S, σ m,
and frequency σ min time

• Key points: Fatigue...

--can cause part failure, even though σ max < σ c.
--causes ~ 90% of mechanical engineering failures.
 Fatigue Design Parameters
S = stress amplitude
• Fatigue limit: case for
--no fatigue if S < Sfat unsafe steel (typ.)

Sfat
safe
Adapted from Fig.
8.19(a), Callister 7e.

10 3 10 5 10 7 10 9
N = Cycles to failure
• Fatigue strength
Sometimes, the S = stress amplitude
case for
fatigue limit is zero! unsafe Al (typ.)

safe Adapted from Fig.

8.19(b), Callister 7e.

10 3 10 5 10 7 10 9
N = Cycles to failure
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 CREEP
Sample deformation at a constant
15 stress (σ ) vs. time
σ
σ ,ε

0 t

Primary Creep: slope (creep rate)

decreases with time.
Secondary Creep: steady-state
i.e., constant slope. Adapted from
Fig. 8.28, Callister 7e.
Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate)
increases with time, i.e. acceleration of rate.
 Creep

• Occurs at elevated temperature, T > 0.4 Tm

tertiary

primary
secondary

elastic

Adapted from Figs. 8.29,

Callister 7e.

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 Secondary Creep
• Strain rate is constant at a given T, σ
-- strain hardening is balanced by recovery
stress exponent (material parameter)
 Qc 
ε s = K 2σ exp −
n
 activation energy for creep
strain rate  RT  (material parameter)
material const. applied stress

• Strain rate 200 Stress (MPa) Adapted from

Fig. 8.31, Callister 7e.
427°C (Fig. 8.31 is from Metals
increases 100 Handbook: Properties
538 °C and Selection:
for higher T, σ 40 Stainless Steels, Tool
Materials, and Special
Purpose Metals, Vol. 3,
20
649 °C 9th ed., D. Benjamin
(Senior Ed.), American
10 Society for Metals,
1980, p. 131.)
10 -2 10 -1 1
Steady state creep rate ε s (%/1000hr)
17