Fatigue crack propagation under in-phase and out-of-phase biaxial loading

Fatigue damage characteristics of aluminium alloy under complex biaxial loads such as in-phase and out-of-phase loading conditions and different biaxiality ratios have been investigated. The effects of microscale phenomena on macroscale crack growth were studied to develop an in-depth understanding of crack nucleation and growth. Material characterization was conducted to study the microstructure variability. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the second phase particles, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed to analyse their phases and elements. Extensive quasi-static and fatigue tests were conducted on Al7075-T651 cruciform specimens over a wide range of load ratios and phases. Detailed fractography analysis was conducted to understand the crack growth behaviour observed during the fatigue tests. Significant differences in crack initiation and propagation behaviour were observed when a phase difference was applied. Primarily, crack retardation and splitting were observed because of the constantly varying mode mixity caused by phase difference. The crack growth behaviour and fatigue lives under out-of-phase loading were compared with those under in-phase loading to understand the effect of mixed-mode fracture.