Chapter 8: Mechanical Failure

ISSUES TO ADDRESS...
• How do cracks that lead to failure form?
• How is fracture resistance quantified? How do the fracture
resistances of the different material classes compare?
• How do we estimate the stress to fracture?
• How do loading rate, loading history, and temperature
affect the failure behavior of materials?

Ship-cyclic loading Computer chip-cyclic Hip implant-cyclic

from waves. thermal loading. loading from walking.
Adapted from chapter-opening photograph, Adapted from Fig. 22.26(b),
Chapter 8, Callister & Rethwisch 8e. (by Callister 7e.
Neil Boenzi, The New York Times.) Chapter 8 - 1
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School
 FAILURE

Small plastic package

Oil Tanker fractured in a brittle man

Boeing 737-200
Explosive decompression
and structural failure –
Metal fatigue and
crevice corrosion
Chapter 8 - 2
 Fracture mechanisms
• Ductile fracture
– Accompanied by significant plastic
deformation
• Brittle fracture
– Little or no plastic deformation
– Catastrophic

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School

Chapter 8 - 3
 Ductile vs Brittle Failure
• Classification:
Fracture Very Moderately
Brittle
behavior: Ductile Ductile

Adapted from Fig. 8.1,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

%AR or %EL Large Moderate Small

• Ductile fracture is Ductile: Brittle:
usually more desirable Warning before No
than brittle fracture! fracture warning

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School

Chapter 8 - 4
 Example: Pipe Failures
• Ductile failure:
-- one piece
-- large deformation

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

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.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School

Chapter 8 - 5
 Moderately Ductile Failure
• Failure Stages:
void void growth shearing
necking fracture
nucleation and coalescence at surface
s

• Resulting 50
50mm
mm
fracture
surfaces
(steel)
100 mm
particles From V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser, Fracture surface of tire cord wire
serve as void Analysis of Metallurgical Failures (2nd loaded in tension. Courtesy of F.
ed.), Fig. 11.28, p. 294, John Wiley and Roehrig, CC Technologies, Dublin,
nucleation Sons, Inc., 1987. (Orig. source: P. OH. Used with permission.
sites. Thornton, J. Mater. Sci., Vol. 6, 1971, pp.
347-56.) Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 6
Moderately Ductile vs. Brittle Failure

a b

cup-and-cone fracture brittle fracture

In Aluminum In a midle steel
Adapted from Fig. 8.3, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 -

 DUCTILE FRACTURE

Scanning electron fractogarphy

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 8
 Brittle Failure
Arrows indicate point at which failure originated

Adapted from Fig. 8.5(a) Steel a series of V – shaped marking characteristics of brittle failure

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 9

 Brittle Fracture

Scanning electron fractographie of cast iron Schematic cross section profile showing
showing showing transgranular Fracture crack propagation through the interior
Surface. Cleavage – specific crystallographic of grains – transgranular fracture
planes Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 10
 Brittle Fracture

Scanning electron fractographie of ductile Schematic cross section profile showing

cast iron showing showing transgranular crack propagation along grain boundaries
Fracture surface From Callister 8e For intergranular fracture – Callister 8e

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 11

 Brittle Fracture Surfaces
• Intergranular • Transgranular
(between grains) 304 S. Steel (through grains)
(metal) 316 S. Steel
Reprinted w/permission (metal)
from "Metals Handbook", Reprinted w/ permission
9th ed, Fig. 633, p. 650. from "Metals Handbook",
Copyright 1985, ASM 9th ed, Fig. 650, p. 357.
International, Materials Copyright 1985, ASM
Park, OH. (Micrograph by International, Materials
J.R. Keiser and A.R. Park, OH. (Micrograph by
Olsen, Oak Ridge D.R. Diercks, Argonne
National Lab.)
160 mm
4 mm National Lab.)

Polypropylene Al Oxide
(polymer) (ceramic)
Reprinted w/ permission Reprinted w/ permission
from R.W. Hertzberg, from "Failure Analysis of
"Defor-mation and Brittle Materials", p. 78.
Fracture Mechanics of Copyright 1990, The
Engineering Materials", American Ceramic
(4th ed.) Fig. 7.35(d), p. Society, Westerville, OH.
303, John Wiley and (Micrograph by R.M.
Sons, Inc., 1996. Gruver and H. Kirchner.)
3 mm
1 mm
(Orig. source: K. Friedrick, Fracture 1977, Vol.
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 12
3, ICF4, Waterloo, CA, 1977, p. 1119.)
 Ideal vs Real Materials
• Stress-strain behavior (Room T):
s perfect mat’l-no flaws
E/10 TSengineering << TS perfect
materials materials
carefully produced glass fiber

E/100 typical ceramic typical strengthened metal

typical polymer
0.1 e
• DaVinci (500 yrs ago!) observed...
-- the longer the wire, the
smaller the load for failure.
• Reasons:
-- flaws cause premature failure.
-- larger samples contain longer flaws!

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 13

 Flaws are Stress Concentrators!

• Griffith Crack
1/ 2
æaö
sm = 2so çç ÷÷ = K t so
è rt ø

t where
t = radius of curvature
so = applied stress
sm = stress at crack tip

Adapted from Fig. 8.8(a), Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 14

Concentration of Stress at Crack Tip

Adapted from Fig. 8.8(b),

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 15

 Engineering Fracture Design
• Avoid sharp corners!
s smax
Stress Conc. Factor, K t =
s0
w
smax
2.5
r, h
fillet 2.0 increasing w/h
radius
Adapted from Fig. 1.5
8.2W(c), Callister 6e.
(Fig. 8.2W(c) is from G.H.
Neugebauer, Prod. Eng.
(NY), Vol. 14, pp. 82-87
1943.)
1.0 r/h
0 0.5 1.0
sharper fillet radius
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 16
 Crack Propagation
Cracks having sharp tips propagate easier than cracks
having blunt tips
• A plastic material deforms at a crack tip, which
“blunts” the crack.
deformed
region
brittle ductile

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

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 17

 Criterion for Crack Propagation
Crack propagates if crack-tip stress (sm)
exceeds a critical stress (sc)
1/ 2
æ 2Eg s ö
i.e., sm > sc sc = ç ÷
è pa ø
where
– E = modulus of elasticity
– s = specific surface energy
– a = one half length of internal crack

For ductile materials => replace s with s + p

where p is plastic deformation energy

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 18

 Fracture Toughness Ranges
Graphite/
Metals/ Composites/
Ceramics/ Polymers
Alloys fibers
Semicond
100
C-C(|| fibers) 1
70 Steels
60 Ti alloys
50
40 Based on data in Table B.5,
Al alloys Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
30 Mg alloys Composite reinforcement geometry is: f
K Ic (MPa · m0.5 )

= fibers; sf = short fibers; w = whiskers;

20 p = particles. Addition data as noted
Al/Al oxide(sf) 2
(vol. fraction of reinforcement):
Y2 O 3 /ZrO 2 (p) 4 1. (55vol%) ASM Handbook, Vol. 21, ASM Int.,
10 C/C( fibers) 1 Materials Park, OH (2001) p. 606.
Al oxid/SiC(w) 3 2. (55 vol%) Courtesy J. Cornie, MMC, Inc.,
Diamond Si nitr/SiC(w) 5 Waltham, MA.
7 Al oxid/ZrO 2 (p) 4 3. (30 vol%) P.F. Becher et al., Fracture
6 Si carbide Glass/SiC(w) 6 Mechanics of Ceramics, Vol. 7, Plenum Press
5 Al oxide PET (1986). pp. 61-73.
4 Si nitride 4. Courtesy CoorsTek, Golden, CO.
PP 5. (30 vol%) S.T. Buljan et al., "Development of
3 PVC
Ceramic Matrix Composites for Application in
Technology for Advanced Engines Program",
ORNL/Sub/85-22011/2, ORNL, 1992.
2 PC 6. (20vol%) F.D. Gace et al., Ceram. Eng. Sci.
Proc., Vol. 7 (1986) pp. 978-82.

1 <100>
Si crystal PS Glass 6
<111>
0.7 Glass -soda
0.6 Polyester
Concrete
0.5
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 19
 Design Against Crack Growth
• Crack growth condition:
K ≥ Kc = Ys a
• Largest, most highly stressed cracks grow first!
--Scenario 1: Max. flaw --Scenario 2: Design stress
size dictates design stress. dictates max. flaw size.
2
sdesign 
Kc 1  K c 
amax 
Y amax   Ysdesign 
amax
s
fracture fracture
no no
fracture amax fracture s
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 20
 Design Example: Aircraft Wing
• Material has KIc = 26 MPa-m0.5
• Two designs to consider...
Design A Design B
--largest flaw is 9 mm --use same material
--failure stress = 112 MPa --largest flaw is 4 mm
KIc --failure stress = ?
• Use... sc 
Y amax
• Key point: Y and KIc are the same for both designs.
KIc
= s a =constant
--Result:
Y p
112 MPa 9 mm 4 mm

s c amax   s
A c amax  B
Answer: (sc )B = 168 MPa

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 21

 Impact Testing
• Impact loading: (Charpy)
-- severe testing case
-- makes material more brittle
-- decreases toughness
Adapted from Fig. 8.12(b),
Callister & Rethwisch 8e. (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

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 22

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 23
 Influence of Temperature on
Impact Energy

• Ductile-to-Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT)...

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

Impact Energy

BCC metals (e.g., iron at T < 914ºC)

polymers
Brittle More Ductile

High strength materials (s y > E/150)

Temperature Adapted from Fig. 8.15,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
Ductile-to-brittle
transition temperature

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 24

Ductile – to Brittle Transition

Figure 8.13
Temperature
dependence of the
Charpy V-notch
impact energy
(curve A) and
percent shear
fracture (curve B)
for an A283 steel.
Callister 8e

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 25

Influence of carbon content on the Charpy V-notch
energy-versustemperature behavior for steel

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 26

 Design Strategy:
Stay Above The DBTT!
• Pre-WWII: The Titanic • WWII: Liberty ships

Reprinted w/ permission from R.W. Hertzberg, Reprinted w/ permission from R.W. Hertzberg,
"Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering "Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering
Materials", (4th ed.) Fig. 7.1(a), p. 262, John Wiley and Materials", (4th ed.) Fig. 7.1(b), p. 262, John Wiley and
Sons, Inc., 1996. (Orig. source: Dr. Robert D. Ballard, Sons, Inc., 1996. (Orig. source: Earl R. Parker,
The Discovery of the Titanic.) "Behavior of Engineering Structures", Nat. Acad. Sci.,
Nat. Res. Council, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., NY,
1957.)

• Problem: Steels were used having DBTT’s just below

room temperature.
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 27
 Fatigue
• Fatigue = failure under applied cyclic stress.
specimen compression on top Adapted from Fig. 8.18,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
motor (Fig. 8.18 is from Materials
bearing bearing counter
Science in Engineering, 4/E
by Carl. A. Keyser, Pearson
flex coupling Education, Inc., Upper
tension on bottom Saddle River, NJ.)

• Stress varies with time. s

smax
-- key parameters are S, sm, and
S
cycling frequency sm
smin time

• Key points: Fatigue...

--can cause part failure, even though smax < sy.
--responsible for ~ 90% of mechanical engineering failures.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 28

 Types of Fatigue Behavior

S = stress amplitude
• Fatigue limit, Sfat: case for
--no fatigue if S < Sfat unsafe steel (typ.)
Sfat Some Ferrous
alloys (Iron base )
safe and Titanium
alloys Adapted
from Fig. 8.19(a),
10 3 10 5 10 7 10 9 Callister &
N = Cycles to failure Rethwisch 8e.

S = stress amplitude
• For some materials, case for
there is no fatigue unsafe Al (typ.)
limit! Non-ferrous alloys such
as Al, Cu Mg. Adapted
from Fig. 8.19(b),
safe Callister & Rethwisch
8e.

10 3 10 5 10 7 10 9
N = Cycles to failure
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 29
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 30
Figure 8.20 Fatigue S–N probability of failure curves for a
7075-T6 aluminum alloy; P denotes the probability of
Failure – Callister 8e 31

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 31

 Rate of Fatigue Crack Growth
• Crack grows incrementally
typ. 1 to 6
da
 K 
m
dN
~ s  a
increase in crack length per loading cycle
crack origin
• Failed rotating shaft
-- crack grew even though
Kmax < Kc
-- crack grows faster as
• s increases Fracture surface
• crack gets longer of a rotating steel shaft
that experienced fatigue
• loading freq. increases. failure.Beachmark ridges
are visible in the
photograph- Callist. 8e
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 32
Figure 8.22 Transmission electron fractograph
showing fatigue striations in aluminum

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 33

 Figure 8.21 Fracture surface
of a rotating steel shaft that
experienced fatigue failure.
Beachmark ridges are
visible in the photograph.

Callister 8e

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 -

 Improving Fatigue Life

S = stress amplitude
1. Impose compressive Adapted from
surface stresses Fig. 8.24, Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.
(to suppress surface near zero or compressive sm
cracks from growing) moderate tensile sm
Larger tensile sm

N = Cycles to failure

--Method 1: shot peening --Method 2: carburizing

shot
C-rich gas
put
surface
into
compression

2. Remove stress bad better

concentrators. Adapted from
Fig. 8.25, Callister &
bad better Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 35

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 36
 Figure 8.26
Schematic S–N
fatigue curves
for normal and shot-
peened steel. From
Callister 8e

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 37

Surface Treatment

Figure 8.27
Photomicrograph showing
both core (bottom) and
carburized
outer case (top) regions of a
casehardened steel. The
case is harder as attested by
the smaller microhardness
indentation.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 38

 Creep
Sample deformation at a constant stress (s) vs. time
s
s,e

0 t

Primary Creep: slope (creep rate)

decreases with time.
Secondary Creep: steady-state
i.e., constant slope e/t).
Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate) Adapted from
Fig. 8.28, Callister &
increases with time, i.e. acceleration of rate. Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 39

 Creep: Temperature Dependence
• Occurs at elevated temperature, T > 0.4 Tm (in K)

tertiary

primary
secondary

elastic

Adapted from Fig. 8.29,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 40

Influence of stress and temperature T on creep
behavior.
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 41
 Secondary Creep
• Strain rate is constant at a given T, s
-- strain hardening is balanced by recovery
stress exponent (material parameter)
æ Qc ö
es = K 2s expç - ÷
n
activation energy for creep
strain rate è RT ø (material parameter)
material const. applied stress
• Strain rate 200
427ºC
Stress (MPa)

increases 100 For a Low carob –

Nickel alloy Adapted
538ºC
with increasing 40
from Fig. 8.31, Callister
7e.
T, s 20
649ºC
10

10 -2 10 -1 1
Steady state creep rate es (%/1000hr)
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 42
 Creep Failure
• Failure: along grain boundaries.

g.b. cavities

applied
stress

From V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser, Analysis of

Metallurgical Failures (2nd ed.), Fig. 4.32, p. 87, John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987. (Orig. source: Pergamon
Press, Inc.)

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 43

 Prediction of Creep Rupture Lifetime
• Estimate rupture time
S-590 Iron, T = 800ºC, s = 20,000 psi

100 Time to rupture, tr

T (20 + log tr ) = L

Stress (103 psi)

20 Larson-Miller parameter
temperature
10 function of applied stress
time to failure (rupture)
data for
S-590 Iron

12 16 20 24 28
1
(1073 K )(20 + log t r ) = 24x103
103 L (K-h)
Adapted from Fig. 8.32, Callister & Rethwisch
8e. (Fig. 8.32 is from F.R. Larson and J. Ans: tr = 233 hr
Miller, Trans. ASME, 74, 765 (1952).)
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 44
 Estimate the rupture time for
S-590 Iron, T = 750ºC, s = 20,000 psi
• Solution:

Time to rupture, tr 100

Stress (103 psi)

T (20 + log tr ) = L
20
temperature function of
applied stress 10
time to failure (rupture)
data for

(1023 K )( 20  log t r )  24 x103 S-590 Iron

1
12 16 20 24 28
103 L (K-h)
Ans: tr = 2890 hr
Adapted from Fig. 8.32, Callister & Rethwisch
8e. (Fig. 8.32 is from F.R. Larson and J.
Miller, Trans. ASME, 74, 765 (1952).)
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 45
 Alloys for High Temperature Use

Factors affecting creep characteristics of Metals :

Melting T
Elastic Modulus
Grain size

(a) Polycrystalline turbine blade that was produced by a conventional casting technique. High-
temperature creep resistance is improved as a result of an oriented columnar
grain structure (b) produced by a sophisticated directional solidification technique. Creep
resistance is further enhanced when single-crystal blades (c) are used. From Callister 8e

Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 46

 SUMMARY
• Engineering materials not as strong as predicted by theory
• Flaws act as stress concentrators that cause failure at
stresses lower than theoretical values.
• Sharp corners produce large stress concentrations
and premature failure.
• Failure type depends on T and s :
-For simple fracture (noncyclic s and T < 0.4Tm), failure stress
decreases with:
- increased maximum flaw size,
- decreased T,
- increased rate of loading.
- For fatigue (cyclic s:
- cycles to fail decreases as s increases.
- For creep (T > 0.4Tm):
- time to rupture decreases as s or T increases.
Elhachmi Essadiqi, UIR Aerospace Engineering School Chapter 8 - 47
Chapter 8 - 48
Chapter 8 - 49
Chapter 8 - 50
Chapter 8 - 51
Chapter 8 - 52
Chapter 8 - 53
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Reading:

Core Problems:

Self-help Problems:

Chapter 8 - 54
Chapter 8 - 55
Chapter 8 - 56
Chapter 8 - 57
Chapter 8 - 58
Chapter 8 - 59
Chapter 8 - 60
Chapter 8 - 61
Chapter 8 - 62
Chapter 8 - 63