Influence of high temperature hold times on the fatigue crack propagation in Inconel 718

High temperature fatigue crack growth in Inconel 718 has been studied at the temperatures 450 degrees C, 500 degrees C, 550 degrees C and 650 degrees C. The tests were conducted both without hold times and with hold times of different lengths and with a mix of both. Focus has been on quantifying the effect the hold time has upon the crack growth rate and how much it damages the material. Furthermore, it has been investigated how this damage influences the actual cracking behavior, i.e. where in the loading cycle the damage contributes most to the crack growth. This damage is related to the concept of a damaged zone in front of the crack tip. The size of the damaged zone has been derived from the tests and a microscopy study to confirm the findings has also been carried out. It is found that the concept of a damaged zone can be a successful explanatory model for the observed crack growth behavior under high temperature hold time. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.