Stress ratio, temperature and microstructural effects on the fatigue crack propagation threshold of titanium alloys

This research investigated the effects of stress ratio, temperature and microstructure on the near-threshold fatigue crack growth characteristics of three differently processed titanium alloys. The materials investigated included one hot-worked Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo alloy, one cast Ti-6Al-4V alloy and one cast Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo alloy. It was found that overall crack closure could account for apparent differences in fatigue threshold for stress ratios up to about 0.7. Tests run at stress ratios of 0.9, however, showed a noticeably lower fatigue threshold. Crack closure was not able to account for differences due to elevated temperature. Fractographic evidence is also presented which shows the extremely beneficial effects of larger grain size on the fatigue threshold through crack branching, deflection and bifurcation.