Mechanisms of fatigue-crack initiation and their impact on fatigue life of AlSi7 die-cast components

Abstract

In the course of the present study, in-situ observations of crack initiation and crack growth of naturally induced cracks in cyclically loaded specimens along with conventional fatigue tests and fracture surface analyses were performed. The specimens used were taken from different sampling positions of standard and HIPed aluminum-die-cast engine blocks, with different cooling conditions. In one sampling position within the standard engine block microporosity was able to form, acting as a source for fatigue-crack initiation. While in the absence of microporosity, as observed in specimens taken from HIPed components, crack initiation occured via slip band mechanism. If material defects such as pores were present, premature crack initiation reduced the fatigue life yielding a lower fatigue life and fatigue strength than specimens where cracks formed by slip band mechanism. For cracks formed at pores, the pore size is the determining factor for fatigue behavior. While for cracks initiated via slip band mechanism fatigue strength is a function of the local material strength.