A Study on Growth Characteristics of the Surface Fatigue Crack Propagated from a Small Surface Defect in Carbon Steels

탄소강재(炭素鋼材)의 작은 표면결함(表面缺陷)에서 성장(成長)하는 표면피로(表面疲勞)균열의 성장특성(成長特性)에 관한 연구(硏究)

In the present study, rotating bending fatigue tests have been carried out in three kinds of carbon steel specimens; an annealed low carbon steel, an annealed high carbon steel and quenched-tempered high carbon steel; with a small artificial surface defect that might exist in real structures. Fatigue crack lengths have been observed by a method of replication in order to investigate the growth characteristic of fatigue crack in the viewpoints of strength of materials and fracture mechanics. The main results obtained are as follows: 1) The effect of a small surface defect upon the reduction of fatigue limit is considerably large, and the rate of fatigue limit reduction grows in the following order; annealed low carbon steel(mild steel), annealed high carbon steel, quenched-tempered high carbon steel. 2) When the growth rate of surface crack length(2a) was investigated in the viewpoints of fracture mechanics based upon $ ${\Delta}K_{\varepsilon}$, the dependence of stress level and of surface defect size disappear, and there exists a linear relationships between d(2a)/dN and ${\Delta}K_{{\varepsilon}t},\;\Delta_{{\varepsilon}t}\sqrt{{\pi}a}$, on log. plot, i.e, $d(2a)/dN={C{\cdot}{\Delta}K_{\varepsilon}}^3_t$, where ${\Delta}_{{\varepsilon}t}\sqrt{{\pi}a}$ a is the cyclic total strain intensity factor range.