High Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Precipitation Hardened Stainless Steel Alloys in Multiphase Environments
Abstract
Stainless steels are often used in marine applications due to their superior corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. However, stainless steels are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and corrosion fatigue. Fatigue occurs when cracks, which initiate as the result of cyclic loading, grow and eventually lead to fracture and component failure. For this reason, it is important to include fatigue in design considerations. Unfortunately, there is little data available for corrosion fatigue in marine environments. Most fatigue studies for materials in marine environments are conducted in aqueous solutions at ambient temperatures. In reality, marine environments can include periods of cyclic wetting and drying and variations in temperature. Furthermore, components often include design parameters that can shorten fatigue life such as crevices and mating surfaces. To better understand the behavior of stainless alloys in realistic marine environments, a series of high cycle fatigue tests were conducted on several alloys. Precipitation hardened and nickel alloys have been tested in environments including ambient air, immersion in solutions of 3.5 % sodium chloride (NaCl), and cyclic wetting environments at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Studies validated the importance of testing alloys in conditions representative of the actual service environment.