Fatigue crack initiation and propagation of 100Cr6 steel under torsional loading in very high cycle regime

Cyclic torsional fatigue properties of a high strength steel 100Cr6 are investigated using an ultrasonic torsional fatigue testing machine, and the results are compared with those obtained with fatigue tests under axial loading. Fatigue crack initiation and growth under torsion loading are observed in the very high cycle regime. Results show that fatigue cracks initiated from specimen surface as well as subsurface inclusions under torsion loading. However, subsurface MnS inclusions play a dominant role in crack initiation under torsion loading in the very high cycle regime. The initiation and early propagation of fatigue cracks are mostly controlled by the direction of the maximum shear stress. For surface crack initiation, cracks initiated in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the specimens. Once the shear crack propagated to a crack length of about 20-30 μm, crack branched to the angle close to the direction perpendicular to the remote maximum principal stresses. As for the subsurface fatigue crack initiation, the cracks parallel to the longitudinal direction of the specimens could not be observed, and crack propagation followed a spiral shape on a plane with an orientation of 45° with respect to the loading direction, which corresponds to the maximum principal stress plane.