Influence of specimen size and grain orientation to the life of a polycrystalline Ni-base alloy at LCF stress

In the present work the LCF (Low Cycle Fatigue) crack initiation life of the conventionally cast Ni-base alloy RENE 80 was analyzed as a function of specimen size and grain orientation. Five specimen geometries with distinctly different gauge sections were used: 3 geometries with cylindrical gauge section (G1-G3) and two notched geometries with a stress concentration factor of α₁ = 1,62 (KG1) and α₂ = 2,60 (KG2), resulting in a maximum difference of the damage relevant surface area up to a factor of approximately 72. Correction factors were determined by FEM calculations for all specimen geometries with highly reduced gauge sections where direct strain measurement was not possible. Additionally a uniform failure criterion with a relatively small crack size of 0,962 mm² was defined. Totally, 116 isothermal LCF tests were carried out at the different specimen types at a temperature of 850 C in total strain control with a load ratio (minimum strain / maximum strain) of R_ε = -1. The load cycles were applied with triangular waveform at a frequency of 0.1 Hz for high strain amplitudes and 1 Hz for low strain amplitudes, respectively. After the LCF-Tests the fracture surfaces of all samples were analyzed in more detail by SEM to identify the crack initiation mechanisms as well as the crack initiation sites. In this context it could be shown, that fatigue cracks were generally initiated at slip bands in surface grains. Accordingly, the grain orientations at the crack initiation sites were measured by electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) and the maximum shear stresses in the respective principal slip system (111) <110> was calculated using the Schmid approach. For this, longitudinal sections were be prepared exactly at the crack initiation sites of samples loaded with low strain amplitudes where clearly defined single crack initiation sites were observed. Afterwards the maximum shear stress in the principal slip system at the crack initiation site was correlated to the lifetime behavior, resulting in a distinct decrease of scatter and size influence compared to the conventional representation total strain vs. cycles to failure.