Significant effect of thermal stresses on fatigue crack propagation properties

Fatigue crack propagation properties of low-alloy ferritic steel were investigated using 50-mm-wide compact-type (CT) specimens and 200-mm-wide center-cracked-type (CCT) specimens at room temperature and 300°C. Most of the stress ratios were nearly equal to zero. Significant differences in fatigue crack propagation rate in the CCT specimen, which was heated to the test temperature only locally near the crack plane, were compared with the rates for the CT specimen which was enclosed completely by a furnace. It was found that the differences were related to the compressive stresses arising from the thermal gradients.