This section contains abstracts of selected articles, technical reports, disser-
tations and patents concerned with fatigue. The abstracts are prepared in
collaboration with Materials Information, a joint service of The Institute of
Metals and ASM International. Readers wishing to obtain the full text of articles
abstracted here should contact either: The Institute of Metals, 1 Carlton House
Terrace, London S W l Y 5DB, UK, or: ASM International, Metals Park, OH 44073,
USA (not International Journal of Fatigue). The fees charged for photocopying
articles are £7.00 for the first ten pages and £3.00 per additional ten pages (UK
office), or $10.00 for the first ten pages and $4.00 per additional ten pages (US
office).
Composites
SIC/AlaC~ interfaces in a l u m i n u m - s i l i c o n carbide composites. Carim,
A.H.
Mater Lett Oct. 1991 12 (3) 153-157
In transmission electron microscopy examinations of cast AI 2014 matrix-SiC
particulate composites, it was noted that a coating of AI4C3 had been formed in
contact with some SiC particles. The observed epitaxial orientation relationships at
the SiC/AI4C3 interface and between the carbides and interfacial AI formed by AI4C3
decomposition are described. The lattice matching between SiC, AI4C3 and
reprecipitated AI particles may result in strong bonding and thus permit crack
propagation across such interfaces, contributing to the detrimental effects on fracture
and fatigue associated with the presence of AI4C3 in AI-silicon carbide composites.
On the evolution of microstructure and d a m a g e in a t i t a n i u m m a t r i x
composite. Soboyejo, W.O.
Proc. Conf. on Advanced Metal Matrix Composites for Elevated Tempera-
tures, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 20-24 Oct. 1991 (ASM International,
Materials Park, Ohio 44073, USA, 1991) pp 141-155
in recent years, there has been considerable interest in beta Ti matrix composites
(TMCs) for intermediate temperature (<650 °C) structural applications in airframe
and engine components. This has been stimulated largely by the ever-increasing
demand for the development of hypersonic vehicles, and the relative ease of
fabrication of ductile beta matrix TMCs. In conjunction with composite development,
various workers have also studied damage initiation and growth behaviour in this
class of TMCs. However, there have been few attempts to investigate the effects of
fibre-matrix interfaces and matrix microstructure on mechanical behaviour/damage
evolution in beta TMCs. The results of a study of structure and damage evolution
in a Ti-15V-3Cr-3AI--3Sn/SCS9 composite are reported. These include the results
of microstructural evolution studies to evaluate the stability of matrix microstructure
and fibre-matrix interfaces at 540 and 815 °C. The initiation and evolution of damage
under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions are studied using acoustic emission
techniques, and attempts are made to correlate damage phenomena with composite
microstructural features. The micromechanisms of room- and elevated-temperature
tensile fracture, low-cycle fatigue (LCF)/high-cycle fatigue (HCF), and fatigue crack
growth are also elucidated.
The effects of notches on t h e f a t i g u e behaviour of a Ti/SiC composite.
Walls, D. and Zok, F.
Proc. Conf. on Advanced Metal Matrix Composites for Elevated Tempera-
tures, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, Oct. 1991 pp 101-107
The fatigue behaviour of a continuously reinforced metal matrix composite in the
0° orientation is shown to exhibit significant changes during crack growth, as
manifest in changes in the degree of crack bridging, Fully bridged cracks emanating
from notches exhibit decreasing crack growth rates with increasing crack length,
despite the corresponding increase in the applied stress intensity range, ~.K. In this
regime, the crack growth rate is substantially lower than that in the monolithic
matrix alloy at the same AK. The results are broadly consistent with predictions of
a micromechanicsl model that incorporates the effects of frictionally constrained,
bridging fibres. The onset of fibre failure results in both a reduction in crack tip
shielding and an increase in crack growth rate. In some instances, crack growth
leads to s complete loss of bridging and the onset of fibre failure ahead of the crack
tip. The transition from fully bridged to completely unbridged cracks occurs sooner
in the presence of long notches. In contrast, the composite in the 90° orientation is
similar to the monolithic matrix alloy over the entire regime, with the exception
that the crack growth rate in the composite is higher. This behaviour is a consequence
of the poor fatigue resistance of the fibre-matrix interface and the lack of crack
bridging. The implications of the results on the design of structural components
from such composites are briefly discussed. Alloy was Ti-15V-3Cr-3AI-3Sn.
The mechanical properties and interface reactions in AIzOz fibre
reinforced AI--Li composites, gim, c.g. and Kim, S.Y.
J. Korean Inst. Met. Feb. 1991 29 (2) 182-186 (in Korean)
Metal matrix composites (MMC) reinforced with AI203 fibre are gaining increasing
attention for structural application. However, the database concerning its mechanical
properties and microstructural characterization remains limited. AI203 fibre (FP-fibre
from Dupont) reinforced AI-2.5Li composite has been investigated. Continuous fibre
AI203/AI-2.5Li composites with the O° and 90° direction were used. Processing of
the material was performed by vacuum melt infiltration. Tensile and compressive
tests were performed for mechanical characterization. To get sufficiently good
Int J Fatigue September 1992
results, a special MMC related test equipment was designed. The best results were
achieved when cylindrical hourglass-shaped specimens were used. Fatigue testing
of the metal matrix composites showed that a pronounced improvement of the
fatigue behaviour could be achieved with the fibre reinforcement. Transmission
electron microscopy was performed to study the fibre-matrix interface. Lithium
addition increased the wettsbility of the fibre in the matrix, because of the formation
of two compounds in the interfaces, ~-LiAI02 and LiAIsOs spinel. Precipitation-free
areas around the fibres containing any delta ' particles, which, in turn were present
in the matrix, were found.
High pressure infiltration casting: manufacturing net shape composites
with a unique interface. Bhagat, R.B.
Mater. Sci. Eng. A Oct. 1991 A144 243-251
An overview of the major casting-based manufacturing techniques of metal matrix
composites is presented. These techniques include, compocasting (rheocesting),
squeeze casting, infiltration, investment casting, and pressure casting (squeeze
infiltration casting). This is followed by a detailed description of the high pressure
infiltration casting (HiPIC) recently developed at the Applied Research Laboratory
of the Pennsylvania State University. HiPIC uses a rapid application of a relatively
high pressure (> 100 MPa) to force-infiltrate molten metal into fibre preforms,
Reaction between fibre and matrix metal is negligible and the cast composites are
free from voids, gas porosity, and shrinkage cavities. Experimental results on tensile
strength, stiffness, low-cycle fatigue, fracture toughness, damping and corrosion
resistance of the HiPIC composites (6061-SIC, 6061-graphite fibres) are summarized
and discussed. Graphs.
Fracture mechanisms of fibre-reinforced t i t a n i u m alloy matrix com-
posites. IV. Low cycle fatigue. Jeng, S.M., Alassoeur, P., Yang, J.-M,
and Aksoy, S.
Mater. Sci. Eng. A Nov. 1991 A148 (1) 67-77
The low-cycle fatigue behaviour and mechanisms of fatigue damage initiation and
propagation of several SCS-6 fibre-reinforced Ti alloy composites (Ti-6AI-4V,
Ti-15V-3Cr-3AI-3Sn, Ti-25AI-1ONb-3V-1Mo) at room temperature were investi-
gated. The fatigue damage diagram was constructed using the maximum stress in
the fibre vs. fatigue life. Depending on the stress levels applied, the fatigue damage
of the composites can be classified into three regions: (1) fibre breakage dominated;
(2) interracial cracking, matrix cracking, and fibre breakage dominated (progressive);
and (3) matrix cracking dominated. The microstructural parameters which affect
the low-cycle fatigue behaviour of these composites are also discussed.
Fatigue frectography of particulate-SiC-reinforced AI(A356) cast alloy,
Zhang, R.J., Wang, Z. and Simpson, C.
Mater. Sci. Eng. A Nov. 1991 A148 (1) 53-66
Fatigue fractography of cast particulate-SiC-reinforced AI (A356) metal matrix
composites was carried out. In the low-cycle regime, the features on the fracture
surfaces, mainly distorted dimples and cracked and also debonded SiC particles,
are similar to those found in uniaxial tension. However, in the high-cycle regime,
extensive slip behaviour in the AI matrix and relative movement between the two
sides of the fracture surface produced some special appearances, large flat AI matrix
areas with characteristic line patterns and step-like fracture surface regions.
Mechanisms for the formation of the above phenomena are proposed. In particular,
the constraint exerted by reinforcing particles distributed along grain boundaries
on the cyclic deformation and fatigue crack propagation in the corresponding AI
grains are discussed. In all samples studied, it is found that fatigue cracks were
usually initiated at processing defects, such as casting shrinkage and unwetted SiC
particle clusters.
Fatigue in SiC-particulate-reinforced aluminium alloy composites.
Kumai, S., King, J.E. and Knott, J.F.
Mater. Sci. Eng. A Oct. 1991 A146 (1-2) 317-326
The fatigue behaviour in SiC-particulate-reinforced AI alloy (including 2014, 6061,
8090) composites has been briefly reviewed. The improved fatigue life reported in
stress-controlled tests results from the higher stiffness of the composites; therefore,
it is generally inferior to monolithic alloys at a constant strain level. The role of SiC
particulate reinforcement has been examined for fatigue crack initiation, short-crack
growth and long-crack growth. Crack initiation is observed to occur at the matrix-SiC
interface in cast composites and either at or near the matrix-SiC interface or at
cracked SiC particles in powder-metallurgy-processed composites depending on
particle size and morphology. The da/dN vs. AK relationship in the composites is
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