BONGA UNIVERSITY

College Of Engineering And Technology

Department Of Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Material
(MEng2091)
CHAPTER 5
Failures

By: Mulisa Jiregna 1

 Introduction
 The failure of engineering materials is almost always an
undesirable event for several reasons; like human lives that are put
in jeopardy, economic losses, and interference with the availability
of products and services.

 The usual causes of failure are improper materials selection and

processing and inadequate design of the component or its misuse.
 Also, damage can occur to structural parts during service, and
regular inspection and repair or replacement are critical to safe
design.
 It is the responsibility of the engineer to anticipate and plan for
possible failure and, in the event that failure does occur, to assess
its cause and then take appropriate preventive measures against
future incidents.
Figure 5.1 In 2013 MOL
COMFORT Cargo Ship
was loading 4382 large
container and 7041 small
container. But the Ship
couldn't handle the weight
and break in the middle.
Later the ship broken in to
two pieces and sink.
 Fundamentals Of Fracture
 Simple fracture is the separation of a body into two or more
pieces in response to an imposed stress that is static (i.e.,
constant or slowly changing with time) and at temperatures that
are low relative to the melting temperature of the material.
 Based on the ability of a material to experience plastic
deformation, two fracture modes are possible: ductile and
brittle.
 Any fracture process involves two steps (crack formation and
propagation) in response to an imposed stress.
 The mode of fracture is highly dependent on the mechanism of
crack propagation.
 Ductile Fracture
 Ductile materials typically exhibit substantial plastic deformation
with high energy absorption before fracture.
 Ductility is a function of temperature of the material, the strain
rate, and the stress state.
 Ductile fracture is characterized by extensive plastic deformation
in the vicinity of a crack.
 Extension of crack length requires an increase in the applied load,
hence crack is stable unless stress is increased. Crack propagation
is therefore slow.
 Ductile fracture is almost always preferred for two reasons:
1. Brittle fracture occurs suddenly and catastrophically without
any warning; this is a consequence of the spontaneous and
rapid crack propagation.
2. more strain energy is required to induce ductile fracture
inasmuch as ductile materials are generally tougher
 Ductile Vs. Brittle Failure
• Classification:
Fracture Very Moderately
Brittle
behavior: Ductile Ductile
Substantial plastic
deformation
Absorb high amounts of
energy before fracture

%AR or %EL : Large Moderate Small

• Ductile Ductile: Brittle:
fracture is warning before No warning
desirable! fracture Failure is catastrophic
 Moderately Ductile Failure
 The fracture process normally occurs in several stages
Final shear
fracture at a
Shearing at 45° angle
Formation Coalescence surface relative to the
small of cavities to
necking or Crack tensile
cavities, form a crack propagation direction.
σ σ σ σ σ

σ σ σ σ σ
 Sometimes a fracture having moderate ductile characteristic is
termed as a cup-and-cone fracture, because one of the mating
surfaces is in the form of a cup, the other like a cone.

Figure 5.2 (a) Cup and-cone fracture in aluminum. (b) Brittle

fracture in a mild steel.
 Brittle Fracture
 Brittle materials normally exhibit little or no plastic
deformation with low energy absorption.
 Cracks may spread extremely rapidly, with very little
accompanying plastic deformation.
 Such cracks may be said to be unstable, and crack propagation,
once started, will continue spontaneously without an increase in
magnitude of the applied stress.
 The direction of crack motion is very nearly perpendicular to
the direction of the applied tensile stress and yields a relatively
flat fracture surface.
 For most brittle crystalline materials, crack propagation
corresponds to the successive and repeated breaking of atomic
bonds along specific crystallographic planes such a process is
termed cleavage.
 Fracture that is formed by cleavage is called transgranular (or
transcrystalline), because the fracture cracks pass through the
grains.

Figure 5.3 Schematic

cross section profile
showing crack
propagation through
the interior of grains
for transgranular
fracture.
 In some alloys, crack propagation is along grain boundaries.
This fracture is termed intergranular.
 This type of fracture normally results subsequent to the
occurrence of processes that weaken or embrittle grain
boundary regions.

Figure 5.4 Schematic

cross section profile
showing crack
propagation along
grain boundaries for
intergranular fracture.
 Principles Of Fracture Mechanics
 Fracture mechanics is the discipline concerned with the
behavior of materials containing cracks or other small flaws.
The term ‘‘flaw’’ refers to such features as small pores (holes),
micro-cracks.
1. Stress Concentration
 The measured fracture strengths for most materials are
significantly lower than those predicted by theoretical
calculations based on atomic bonding energies.
 This discrepancy is explained by the effect of stress
concentration at microscopic flaws. The applied stress is
amplified at the tips of micro-cracks, voids, notches, surface
scratches, corners, etc. that are called stress raisers.
 The magnitude of this amplification depends on micro-crack
orientations, geometry and dimensions.
 Stress Concentration cont’d…
• Elliptical hole in • Stress distrib. in front of a hole:
a plate:
o æ ö
a
s max » s ç2 ÷
oè r ø
 t

2a
r
t

• Stress concentration factor: Kt   max / o

Sharper cracks amplify stress !
• Large Kt promotes failure:
More important for brittle
NOT materials as in ductile material
SO K t=2 BAD! Kt >>3 Plas. Dfm takes place and
BAD
stress is distributed more
uniformly around a crack !0
 Stress Concentration cont’d…
 If it is assumed that a crack is similar to an elliptical hole
through a plate and is oriented perpendicular to the applied
stress:
1/ 2
a 
 m  2o    K t o
 t 
where
t = radius of curvature
s o = applied stress
sm = stress at crack tip
a = length of a surface
Figure 5.5 crack,
(a) The geometry
of surface and
internal cracks.
Concentration of Stress at Crack Tip

Figure 5.5 continued

(b) Schematic stress
profile along the line
X–X’ in (a),
demonstrating stress
amplification at crack
tip positions.
2. Fracture Toughness
 It is a property that is a measure of a material’s resistance to
brittle fracture when a crack is present.

Where
Kc - fracture toughness
σc - critical stress for crack propagation
a - crack length
Y- is a dimensionless parameter depends on both crack and specimen
sizes and geometries as well as the manner of load application

TOUGHNESS is total energy stored in the material upon fracture !

 When Does a Crack Propagate?
 Crack propagates if stress at crack tip is above critical stress

i.e., sm > sc  2E s 

1/ 2

c   
or Kt > Kc  a 

where
– σc = critical stress
– E = modulus of elasticity
– s = specific surface energy
– a = one half length of internal crack
– Kc = sc/s0
For ductile => replace gs by gs + gp
where gp is plastic deformation energy
 Fatigue
 It is a form of failure that occurs in structures subjected to
dynamic and fluctuating/cyclic stresses (e.g., bridges, aircraft,
and machine components).

 Failure is normally occurs after a lengthy period of repeated

stress or strain cycling.

 Under fluctuating / cyclic stresses, failure can occur at loads

considerably lower than tensile or yield strengths of material
under a static load.

 It is catastrophic and insidious, occurring very suddenly and

without warning.
 Applied stresses causing fatigue may be axial (tension or
compression), flextural (bending) or torsional (twisting).

 Fatigue is the single largest cause of failure in metals, estimated

to comprise approximately 90% of all metallic failures;
polymers and ceramics (except for glasses) are also susceptible
to this type of failure.
 The process of fatigue failure is characterized by three distinct
steps:
(1) crack initiation:- a small crack forms at some point of high
stress concentration;
(2) crack propagation:- crack advances incrementally with each
stress cycle; and
(3) final failure
 Cyclic Stresses
 Three different fluctuating stress–time modes are possible in the
occurrence of fatigue.
1. Periodic and symmetrical- Variation of stress with time that
accounts for fatigue failures is reversed stress cycle, in which
the stress alternates from a maximum tensile stress (+) to a
maximum compressive stress (-) of equal magnitude.(see the
following figure)
e.g Rotating Car axle
2. Periodic and asymmetrical: - it has repeated stress cycle, in
which maximum and minimum stresses are asymmetrical
relative to the zero stress level. (see the following figure)

3. Random stress fluctuations. (see the following figure)

 Factors That Affect Fatigue Life
1. Mean Stress- increasing the mean stress level leads to a
decrease in fatigue life. This influence may be represented by
a series of S–N curves. (See the following figure)

Figure. Demonstration
of the influence of
mean stress σm on S–N
fatigue behaviour.
2. Surface Effects- most cracks leading to fatigue failure originate at
surface positions, specifically at stress amplification sites.
Numerous factors influence fatigue resistance which will lead to an
improvement in fatigue life. These include design criteria and
various surface treatments.
I. Design Factors- The design of a component can have a significant
influence on its fatigue characteristics.
• Any notch or geometrical discontinuity can act as a stress raiser
and fatigue crack initiation site; these design features include
grooves, holes, keyways, threads, and so on.
• The probability of fatigue failure may be reduced by avoiding
stress concentrators.
Figure
(a) Poor design: sharp corner.
(b) Good design: fatigue lifetime
improved by incorporating
rounded fillet into a rotating
shaft at the point where there
(a) (b) is a change in diameter.
II. Surface Treatments
 During machining operations, small scratches and grooves are
invariably introduced into the work-piece surface. These
surface markings can limit the fatigue life. So improving the
surface finish by polishing will enhance fatigue life.
 One of the most effective methods of increasing fatigue
performance is by imposing residual compressive stresses
within a thin outer surface layer. This method can be performed
by shoot peening and carburizing or nitriding.

shoot peening-
Small, hard particles (shot) having diameters within the range of
0.1 to 1.0 mm are projected at high velocities onto the surface to be
treated.
carburizing or nitriding-
 a component is exposed to a carbonaceous or nitrogenous
atmosphere at an elevated temperature. This process is termed
as Case hardening.
 Case hardening is a technique by which both surface hardness
and fatigue life are enhanced for steel alloys.
 The case is normally on the order of 1 mm deep and is harder
than the inner core of material.

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

shot
C-rich gas
put
surface
into
compression
2. Environmental Effects
Two types of environment factors-assisted fatigue failure: thermal
fatigue and corrosion fatigue.
Thermal fatigue
The origin of these thermal stresses is the restraint to the
dimensional expansion and/or contraction that would normally
occur in a structural member with variations in temperature.
Mathematically:
Where
σ- thermal stress
α1- coefficient of thermal expansion
E- modulus of elasticity
∆T- temperature change
 Corrosion fatigue
 It occurs by the simultaneous action of a cyclic stress and
chemical attack.
 Corrosive environments have a deleterious influence and
produce shorter fatigue lives.
 Crack propagation rate is enhanced as a result of the corrosive
environment.
 we can take measures to reduce the rate of corrosion by some of
the techniques; for example, apply protective surface coatings,
select a more corrosion resistant material, and reduce the
corrosiveness of the environment.
 Note: The nature of the stress cycles will influence the fatigue
behavior; for example, lowering the load application frequency
leads to longer periods during which the opened crack is in
contact with the environment and to a reduction in the fatigue
life.
 Creep
 Creep is progressive plastic deformation under constant stress
with time.
 Occurs at elevated temperature, T > 0.4 Tm
 A time dependent permanent deformation under a constant load
or constant stress and at high temperatures is known as creep.
 A large number of failures occurring in components used at
high temperatures can be attributed to creep or a combination of
creep and fatigue.
 A material is considered failed by creep even if it has not
actually fractured.
 Creep is normally an undesirable phenomenon and is often the
limiting factor in the lifetime of a high temperature applications
part. e.g., turbine rotors in jet engines and steam generators that
experience centrifugal stresses, and high-pressure steam lines.
 Creep Behaviour
 To determine the creep characteristics of a material, a constant
stress is applied to a heated specimen in a creep test.
 As soon as the stress is applied, the specimen stretches
elastically a small amount ε0 or there is an instantaneous
deformation, as indicated in the figure below.

Figure A typical creep

curve showing the strain
produced as a function of
time for a constant stress
and temperature.
The resulting creep curve consists of three regions, each of which has its
own distinctive strain–time feature.
1. First stage or transient creep-
 Typified by a continuously decreasing creep rate; that is, the slope of the
curve diminishes with time.
 On this stage the material is experiencing an increase in creep resistance
or strain hardening.
 Deformation becomes more difficult as the material is strained
2. Second stage creep or steady-state creep
 The rate is constant; that is, the plot becomes linear. This stage has
longest duration.
 A material becomes softer and retains its ability to experience
deformation.
3. Third-stage creep
 Necking begins, the stress increases, and the specimen deforms at an
accelerated rate until failure occurs.
 The time required for failure to occur is the rupture time.
 Either a higher stress or a higher temperature reduces the rupture time
and increases the creep rate.
 Stress And Temperature Effects
 Both temperature and the level of the applied stress influence the
creep characteristics.
 With either increasing stress or temperature, the following will be
noted:
1. the instantaneous strain at the time of stress application increases,
2. the steady-state creep rate is increased, and
3. the rupture lifetime is diminished.
 Several factors affect the creep characteristics of metals. These
include melting temperature, elastic modulus, and grain size.
 In general, the higher the melting temperature, the greater the elastic
modulus, and the larger the grain size, the better a material’s
resistance to creep.
 Smaller grains permit more grain boundary sliding, which results in
higher creep rates. This effect may be contrasted to the influence of
grain size on the mechanical behavior at low temperatures and
toughness.
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