e TABLE OF CONTENTS METAL STRENGTH VS. LOAD... STRESS RAISERS METAL LOAD VS. FRACTURE FRACTURE TERMINOLOGY FAST FRACTURES - RESULTS..... DUCTILE FRACTURES BRITTLE FRACTURES ‘SLOW FRACTURES - ROOT CAUSES .... FATIGUE FRACTURES BEACHMARKS RATCHET MARKS. ROTATING BENDING FATIGUE CONCLUSION FORWARD 10 10 10 10 12 14 The purpose of this book is to explain and illustrate basic principles of fractures to ald in determining where and why a crack started. Information in this book is condensed from Caterpillar’s Applied Failure Analysis Seminar. Anyone wanting more information about applied failure analysis should contact their local Caterpillar dealer. (GH catenpittar © 1988 Caterpilar inc.METAL STRENGTH VS. LOADING NESS lee Rela) creat p Sorter See) Cat parts are designed to carry loads without breaking Overloading parts or damaging parts can cause them to fail. The part usually breaks at the “weakest link in the chain’. This connecting rod became the “weakest link in the chain’ due to overheating by the bearing failure. High temperatures weakened the rod and bolt, allowing it to, stretch and fail. Temper colors are the roadsigns of high temperature. Parts may break because they become weakened by ‘excessive heat and are not able to carry normal loading. ‘As metal temperatures increase their strength decreases. Load - Life Limit Life (Cycles) — Fatigue fractures should not occur if loading is below the metals endurance limit. Ifparts are loaded to about ¥2 the endurance limit, the safety factor is 2.STRESS RAISERS Ee Stress raisers are physical irregularities that concentrate applied loads resulting in increased stress at the irregularity. Round grooves may increase stresses by 1.5 times, while a crack can multiply stresses by a factor of 8 or more. In ‘general, the sharper the irregularity, the higher the multiplying factor and the more likely itis that the part will develop a crack, Cees sm Sod ea DU LEVEL aca elt) When geometrical stress raisers such as fillets, keyways, threads, etc., must be used, engineers design enough strength into the parts to carry the increased stress. But unexpected stress raisers such as material flaws, manufacturing defects, {and physical abuse, can create stresses exceeding the endurance limit. The stress raiser site usually becomes the “weakest link in the chain’ by concentrating stresses enough to start a crack.ee ee A ea Metals can be loaded many different ways. One method of classifying these loads uses the length of time it takes to apply the load, Impact loads are applied almost instantaneously, overloads are applied more slowly varying from a fraction of a second to several seconds, and cyclic loads are loads that are repeated over many hours, days, months, years, etc. Each load produces a specific kind of fracture. Impact loads usually produce a brittle fracture, overloads usually produce a ductile fracture, and cyclic loads usually produce a fatigue fracture, See st oct Soren coy rd Impact loads and overloads produce brittle or ductile fractures with rough fracture faces. These fractures can start anywhere, not just at stress raisers, and are associated with results. Cyclic loads produce smoother fatigue fractures that start at stress raisers and are associated with root causes. cting Fracture » Ductile Fractui ern es teas eeu ua) Certain conditions such as hardness, temperature, etc. ccan affect the type of fracture that occurs with impact loading or overloading.FRACTURE TERMS Basic Terminology Stress raisers have already been explained as areas that concentrate stress. Crack initiation sites are locations where cracks start to grow, while final fracture is the last part of the material to fracture. Fast cracks are either brittle or ductile and are associated with results, while slow cracks are fatigue cracks associated with root causes. ‘This part started to crack ata stress raiser, the fillet around the outside edge of the fracture. The initiation site is at the lower edge where a slow crack grew for some period of time. Shortly after the slow crack reached the center hole, a fast crack grew rapidly through the remaining section. The rough surface left by the fast crack is the final fracture.FAST FRACTURES - RESULTS | DUCTILE FRACTURES forest} Ductile Crack Growth | (Shear) Overloads can create ductile fractures with a rough When overloaded, metal grains try to carry the extra load surface that is dark and woody. Shear lips usually form by plastically deforming the metal grains. Layers of unit around the edge of the part. The plastic flow that occurs _cells slide past each other in an effort to adjust to the load, ‘changes the shape of the part from its new appearance. Eventually the grains pull apart after becoming severely deformed, i : ea eeu oul Sr Flow Representing ametal grain with acard deck helps picture _In actual parts, cracks form in the central area of the part what occurs in the grain when it is overloaded. Just as__as grains deform and pull apart. These tiny cracks join up cards slide past each other, planes of unit cells slip and __to form a large crack that grows outward to the surface. slide past each other to permanently change the grain's The small amount of remaining metal shears off creating appearance. the shear lip.This bolt was overloaded in a tensile tester with wedge under the head. Roadsigns of ductile fracture are Plastic deformation and shear lip formation. This piece of connecting rod shank shows roadsigns of ductile fracture: dark, rough and woody fracture surface with shear lips and’shiny areas of secondary impact damage. ‘With magnification, more roadsigns of ductile fracture can be seen. Notice the rough woody fracture and a small ‘shear lip at the upper edge. The large shear lip at the lower ‘edge was caused by the 6° wedge under the bolt head. High temperatures can weaken metals resulting in more than usual plastic deformation. Roadsigns of high temperatures include excessive plastic flow and temper colors,BRITTLE FRACTURES fem eleeaCL rer (Cleavage) t Narco Mere Oo ie Brittle fracture roadsigns are rough surfaces with ttle or Brittle cracks are caused by sudden shock or impact no deformation that sparkle when rotated in the light. loads that break grains or crystals along planes of unit Chevrons sometimes occur in softer materials forming cells leaving mirror like surfaces that reflect light, creating ‘arrows pointing back to the crack initiation site. the sparkly appearance. fie aad ‘A deck of cards can be used to represent a metal grain. When brittle fracture occurs, the deck separates as Each card represents a plane of unit cells. pictured here, leaving flat surfaces. No deformation has ‘occurred due to the way the grain has split along the unit cells.‘This piece of track tensioner spring shows typical This D8L bull gear tooth shows typical brittle fracture roadsigns of brittle fracture: chevrons point to the upper _roadsigns: chevrons indicate the crack started at the Tight indicating this is the crack initiation site. No plastic _ tooth root located at the upper edge of the picture. No flow has occurred. plastic deformation is present. =i This 3306 cam gear shows no signs of plastic A closer view with good side lighting shows chevrons deformation indicating itis abrittle fracture resulting from —_pointing to therootof the gear toathas the initiation site of another part failing first. the brittle fracture.SLOW FRACTURES - ROOT CAUSES FATIGUE FRACTURES Fatigue Fracture Characteristi Cracks that grow slowly over several hours, days, months, or years are called fatigue cracks. Roadsigns of fatigue cracks are flat smooth fractures, beach marks, and a light color. Fatigue cracks are usually associated with root causes of failure. etka cere ul SY —— Te NN Vane of Growth Beachmarks often radiate out away from fatigue crack initiation sites making the origin easy to identify. Beachmarks can be difficult to see near the origin, but become more distinct as they approach final fracture. Beachmarks are created each time the part experiences a significantload change such as at startup. Ifa part operates under constant loading conditions such as experienced by some generator sets, beachmarks may not form. If several cracks start growing at the initiation site, they form steps between them called ratchet marks. Ratchet marks indicate severe stresses were present. Final fracture is ductile or brittle leaving a rough surface.This shaft contains roadsigns of fatigue fracture: ratchet _A closer view of the ratchet marks show several cracks marks are present at the initiation site (bottom), grew inward at the same time indicating high stresses beachmarks radiate upwards to the final fracture, and were present there. chevrons indicate the final fracture is britle. Looking at the initiation site with good lighting and The other fracture face shows the same details. The magnification, reveals no inclusions, precracks, or other __ fatigue crack started in a fillet due to an apparent loading abnormal stress raisers, problem and not due to a flaw.ROTATING BENDING FATIGUE Roe uta mac et a acd Gar 2 eS easy Shafts that rotate with bending loads and suffer fatigue fractures can havea different beachmark pattern. ifbending loads are low, beachmarks start growing outward from the origin, are close together, and are very difficult to see. They get farther apart, become more distinct and curve in around the last material to break, the final fracture. The curve of the beachmarks changes because higher loads are present at the surface than inside the shaft. Thus, beachmarks curve in to surround the final fracture which is often mistaken for a large material flaw.This hydraulic pump shaft rotates under bending loads created by the gear train. Ithas fractured underneath the roller bearing. More careful examination shows the “flaw’ to be the final fracture surrounded by widely spaced, distinct beachmarks. At the initiation site at the bottom, the beachmarks are close together and difficult to see Closer examination of the fracture shows what appears to be beachmarks radiating away from a large material law” beneath the shaft's surface. eee Placing the shaft back together reveals the fatigue crack started in a snap ring groove which acted as a stress raiser and initiated the crack.CONCLUSION Fracture Analysis Checklist (eye mae Nae reir ti eres amet Netg Reelin seta Identify Initiation Sites een Meese (sar Once failed parts have been obtained and property cleaned, roadsigns should be used to determine if the fractures are fast fractures associated with results or slow fractures associated with root causes. If slow fractures are found, we should trace the beachmarks back to the initiation site and look for a stress raiser that caused the crack. The stress raiser may be a nick or dent from customer abuse, a material or process flaw, or a geometrical size change. When no abnormal stress raiser is found the part could have been overloaded, eae e Raa oe Doublecheck Question (eee aed ceed Load reece eo) VET Facts obtained from fractures can be used with other information gathered on heat, load, application, operation and maintenance to arrive at a most probable root cause of failure. All the facts should be explainable using this root cause. Also, the doublecheck question should be asked, “Is there any way the other party could have caused this problem?” just. to insure nothing is being overlooked and to avoid falling into a preconceived idea.