A Model for Life Predictions of Nickel-Base Superalloys in High-Temperature Low Cycle Fatigue

Extensive characterization of low-cycle fatigue damage mechanisms was performed on polycrystalline René 80 and IN100 tested in the temperature range from 871 to 1000°C. Low-cycle fatigue life was found to be dominated by propagation of microcracks to a critical size governed by the maximum tensile stress. A model was developed which incorporates a threshold stress for crack extension, a stress-based crack growth expression, and a failure criterion. The mathematical equivalence between this mechanistically based model and the strain-life low-cycle fatigue law was demonstrated using cyclic stress-strain relationships. The model was shown to correlate the high-temperature low-cycle fatigue data of the different nickel-base superalloys considered in this study.