Metal fatigue is the weakened condition induced in metal parts by repeated normal stresses or loadings, which causes the initiation and expansion of cracks, fractures, and eventual metal part failure. Battelle Inc. estimates that material fatigue, including metal fatigue, causes 80-90% of structural failures, costing 4.4% of global GDP annually or around USD 4.2 trillion in losses and damage.

The Need

Metals will crack and fail under normal use conditions over repeated use cycles. Before manufacturing, fractography and modeling are important functions of metal part design and engineering to predict and mitigate metal crack initiation and propagation in different alloys under various use and environmental conditions. However, modeling methodologies must be constantly improved and customized to keep up with new alloys, manufacturing methods such as 3D Printing, environmental conditions, and applications.

The Technology

The invention describes an innovative and effective modeling methodology for predicting the initiation and transition of alloy cracks based on oxygen diffusion under various structural and environmental conditions.

Commercial Applications

This innovation has the potential to predict, mitigate, and minimize damage caused by oxygen to alloys used at high temperatures, such as nickel-based superalloys in jet engines. Furthermore, as the demand for more fuel-efficient, less CO2-producing jet engines increases, this modeling innovation can assist alloy and engine manufacturers at the designing stages in predicting and reducing oxygen diffusion damage at the higher operating temperatures needed for higher efficiencies and assist in the growing additive manufacturing sectors.

Benefits/Advantages

• Recognizes the effects of local microstructure and the scale at which damage occurs.
• This adds to our understanding of how elements in the alloy affect oxygen diffusion rates by acting as attractants that accelerate crack growth.
• The environmental damage mechanism revealed by the model may have mitigation applications for various Al-containing Ni-based superalloys.