Recent Developments in The Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Prediction of Superalloys

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The following article is a component of the April 1999 (vol. 51, no. 4) JOM and is
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have print equivalents.
Mechanical Behavior: Overview
Recent Developments in the Thermomechanical

Fatigue Life Prediction of Superalloys
Changan Cai, Peter K. Liaw, Mingliang Ye, and Jie Yu
The models of thermomechanical fatigue life prediction used for

superalloys can be classified into five types: general damage
models, damage-rate models, thermomechanical
fatigue/strain-range partitioning methods, modified J-integral CONTENTS
models, and empirical models. The formulation, which simulates
the damage mechanisms and predicts the thermomechanical
fatigue lives in various models, has been specified. However,
in-depth understanding and theoretical modeling of INTRODUCTION
thermomechanical fatigue damage mechanisms and interactions GENERAL LINEAR
are still lacking. ACCUMULATION
DAMAGE MODELS
Fatigue-Damage Term
INTRODUCTION Environmental-
Damage (Oxidation)
Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) with or without superimposed Term
creep is the primary life-limiting factor for engineering components Creep-Damage Term
in many high-temperature applications.1-2 In early work, DAMAGE-RATE MODELS
isothermal fatigue (IF) tests performed at various temperatures, THE TMF/SRP METHOD
mechanical strain ranges, and strain rates were used to estimate the The TMF/TS-SRP
life of members undergoing thermomechanical damage. A major Method
concern has been the difficulty of simulating thermal stress cycling The Cumulative
in the laboratory. However, isothermal tests may not capture many Creep-Fatigue
of the important damage micromechanisms under varying Damage (TMF/SRP-
temperature conditions. Recently, considerable effort has been Damage Coupling)
devoted to developing TMF tests to simulate the behavior of the Model
materials undergoing thermomechanical fatigue. Some studies have THE MODIFIED
attempted to develop TMF life-prediction methods. EFFECTIVE J-INTEGRAL
FRACTURE MECHANICS
In TMF tests, a specimen is subjected to a desired temperature and MODEL
mechanical strain with different phasings. Two baseline TMF tests OTHER APPROACHES
are conducted in the laboratory with proportional phasings: DISCUSSION
in-phase (IP), the maximum strain at the maximum temperature, References
and out-of-phase (OP), the maximum strain at the minimum
temperature. The variation of thermal, mechanical, and total strain
components with time in OP and IP cases is illustrated in Figure 1.
These two types of phasings reproduce many of the mechanisms that develop under TMF. The mechanical
strain ( mech) is the sum of the elastic and inelastic strain components, while the total strain ( tot or t) is the
sum of thermal and mechanical strain components
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Recent Developments in the Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Prediction ... http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9904/cai/cai-9904.html
tot= th+ mech= (T-T0)+ mech (1)
where th is the thermal strain, T0 is the reference temperature where the test was begun, T is the test
temperature, and is the coefficient of thermal expansion.
A schematic of the stress-strain behavior corresponding to TMF-OP and TMF-IP cases is illustrated in
Figure 2. In the TMF-OP case, the material undergoes compression at high temperatures and tension at
low temperatures. The inverse behavior is observed for the TMF-IP case. The mean stress of the cycle is
tensile in the TMF-OP case, while it is compressive in the TMF-IP case.
Except in the baseline TMF tests, the phasing of strain

and temperature can vary to a great extent. Realistic
simulation-type cycles are preferred, which often have
a large hysteresis. One example is a diamond-shaped
cycle (Figure 3), with the intermediate temperature
being reached at the largest tensile and compressive
a strains, respectively, and the highest and lowest
temperatures at zero strain.
Under TMF conditions, damage mechanisms prevalent

in metals involve three major aspects: fatigue,
environmental (oxidation), and creep damage. These
damage mechanisms may act independently or in
combination according to various materials and
operating conditions, such as maximum and minimum
temperatures, temperature range, mechanical strain
b range, strain rate, the phasing of temperature and strain,
dwell time, or environmental factors.
Figure 1. Strain versus time under (a) TMF-OP and (b)
TMF-IP cases.3
Traditionally, fatigue damage is the cyclic plasticity-
driven, time- and temperature-independent damage that
exists whenever cyclic loading occurs. Creep refers to a
material undergoing viscous deformation at a constant
stress level. This type of deformation leads to
intergranular creep cavity growth and rupture. Under
TMF loading, however, creep deformation contributes
to the formation and propagation of microcracks.
Metals exposed to environments at high temperatures
are subjected to corrosion by oxidation. This kind of
a b
corrosion is accelerated by a tensile stress. During TMF,
Figure 2. Stress versus strain under (a) TMF-OP and brittle oxides can enhance the nucleation and
(b) TMF-IP cases.1 propagation of fatigue microcracks and impede the
rewelding of crack surfaces during unloading.
Due to complexity, a well-accepted framework for the prediction of TMF life has been elusive. Various
approaches have been taken, ostensibly nonisothermal generalizations of isothermally derived models.
GENERAL LINEAR ACCUMULATION DAMAGE MODELS

Neu and Sehitoglu1,3–5 have developed a general model for high-temperature fatigue, including thermal
mechanical fatigue. This model incorporates damage accumulation due to fatigue, environment
(oxidation), and creep processes. Damages per cycle from fatigue, environmental attack (oxidation), and
creep are summed to obtain a total damage per cycle
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(2)
Assuming that linear damage is equal to one at failure, the equation may be rewritten in terms of the life,
Nf, where damage is taken as equal to 1/Nf,
(3)
Fatigue-Damage Term
Fatigue damage is represented by fatigue mechanisms, which nominally occur at ambient or low
temperatures. The fatigue life term, Nffat, is represented by the strain-life relation
(4)
where m is the mechanical strain range, and C and d are material constants determined from
low-temperature isothermal tests.
Environmental-Damage (Oxidation) Term

The oxidation damage is based on crack nucleation and growth through an oxide layer. It can be
expressed by
(5)
where hcr is a critical crack length at which the environmental attack trails behind the crack-tip advance,
0 is the ductility of the environmentally affected material, B is the coefficient, is the exponent, and is
the strain-rate sensitivity constant. The values of all above constants are determined by experiments. ox
is a phasing factor for environmental damage and is defined as
(6)
(7)
where is the ratio of thermal to mechanical strain rates, and ox is a constant as a measure of the
relative amount of oxidation damage for different thermal strain to mechanical strain ratios and is
extracted from the experiments. Kpeff is a parabolic oxidation constant and can be calculated by
(8)
where T(t) is the temperature as a function of time, tc is the cycle period, D0 is the diffusion coefficient
for oxidation, Q is the activation energy for oxidation, and R is the gas constant.
Creep-Damage Term
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The creep-damage term is a function of temperature, effective stress, and hydrostatic stress components,
and can be expressed by
(9)
where is the effective stress, H is the hydrostatic stress, K is the drag stress, 1 and 2 are scaling
factors that represent the relative amount of damage occurring in tension and compression, H is the
activation energy for the rate-controlled creep mechanism, and A and m are material constants.
(10)
(11)
the constant, creep, defines the sensitivity of the phasing to the creep damage.
This model couples a viscoplastic, nonisothermal constitutive model of material under investigation with
an incremental evolution of damage for oxidation and creep terms within a TMF loading cycle. The model
was applied to MAR-M247 and 1070 steel,1,5,6 and 80% of the predictions were within a factor of ± 2.5
of the experimentally measured lives.
DAMAGE-RATE MODELS
Among these models is the formulation proposed by Miller and colleagues, who use a physically
measurable quantity, such as crack length, as specific definitions of damage.7 The TMF life-prediction
model is based on the concept of microcrack propagation and explicitly accounts for damage due to
fatigue, creep, and oxidation.
The general form of the equation is
(12)
where a is the crack length, and N is the cycle number.
The fatigue component of microcrack propagation is correlated using the J parameter
(13)
where mf and Cf are constants. If J is taken as
(14)
where is the stress range and e and p are the elastic and plastic strain ranges, respectively, n' is the
cyclic-hardening exponent, Y is a geometric correction factor, and a is the crack length. The function
f(1/n') is given by
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(15)
If Equation 13 is integrated between appropriate initial and final crack sizes, the integrated form of fatigue
components is obtained
(16)
where
if mf 1.
if mf = 1 (17)
= 2 Y2Cf, a0 and af are the initial and final crack sizes, respectively, and is defined as
(18)
The creep component of the microcrack propagation is correlated using the stress power-release-rate
parameter, ,
(19)
where Cc and mc are the experimentally determined creep constant and exponent, respectively.
(20)
where is the creep strain rate, tt is the time within a cycle during which tensile strain accumulates, and
tc is the time within a cycle during which compressive strain accumulates. The Macaulay brackets, < >,
are defined as
(21)
The creep strain rate, , is determined using a viscoplastic constitutive law for the material under
investigation.
The oxidation component of the microcrack propagation is also correlated using the J parameter with an
additional time and temperature dependence
(22)
where m0 and are experimentally determined constants, t is the cycle time, and the coefficient, C0, is
defined as
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(23)
where , B, and k are experimentally determined constants; Qox is the experimentally measured
activation energy of the effective crack-tip oxidation and growth process; the parameter = < Tmin>;
and Tmin is the stress at the minimum temperature. Teff is an effective temperature and is defined as
(24)
where tmin and tmax are the times at which the minimum and maximum temperatures occur during a
temperature cycle, respectively, and t = tmax - tmin.
Figure 3. Temperature-strain cycles for different Figure 4. A comparison between

TMF tests (Tu—upper temperature, Tl—low calculated lives to a 0.1 mm deep
temperature).2 crack in TMF of bare IN-100
specimens and experimental
data.10
This model was applied for MAR-M247, and in general, the correlation was within a scatter of ±2 of the
median.
Among the damage-rate models is one proposed by Reucket and Remy, which accounts for the
interactions between fatigue and oxidation by superimposing both kinds of damages.8–10
The model considers that TMF damage in conventionally cast superalloys is mostly the growth of a
dominant microcrack and that the initiation period can be neglected for practical purposes. Thus, the
damage equations were derived assuming that the elementary crack growth results from an advance
associated with crack opening under fatigue and from an additional contribution due to oxidation at the
crack tip. The damage equation can be written as
(25)
The fatigue contribution to the crack advance is estimated assuming that the crack is opened only by a
tensile stress
(26)
where
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(27)
where in is the inelastic strain range, max is the maximum cyclic tensile stress, and u is the ultimate
tensile strength in monotonic tension.
The contribution to crack advance due to oxidation is derived assuming that fracture of the formed oxide
spike occurs at each tensile stroke. The oxidation rate at the crack tip is measured by the depth of
interdendritic oxide spikes formed before fracture, lox,
(28)
The interdendritic oxidation obeys a t1/4 kinetics, where t is time,
(29)
where t is the cycle period, and
(30)
where 0 is the oxidation constant at a given temperature, 0 is a threshold (above this threshold, the
depth of oxide formed at every cycle increases with the maximum stress according to a power law,
Equation 30), and n is the exponent. These parameters are identified from tensile tests and some
metallographic measurements of crack depth for the specimens.
Under TMF, as temperature varies, the right side of Equation 29 has to be averaged over the cycle, and an
average oxidation constant, , is computed as
(31)
By Equations 25-28, the following equation can be derived for the crack depth, a, as a function of the
number of cycles, N:
(32)
or the number of cycles, N, corresponding to a given crack depth, a,
(33)
Equation 32 or 33 can be used for TMF life prediction with good results.
Remy and colleagues have proposed another fatigue-damage model applicable to TMF, which also
assumes that fatigue life is spent in the growth of microcracks.10 The oxidation and fatigue interaction are
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considered in the following manner: exposure to high temperatures during the TMF cycle oxidizes the
material at the crack tip; then, high stress ranges at medium temperatures give rise to fatigue damage in
the material that has been embrittled by oxidation.
Consider a volume element of size, , ahead of the crack tip. This volume element will endure an
incremental damage, dD, during dN cycles under oxidizing and cyclic-loading conditions. This damage
increment is given by
(34)
with R = 1 - yy/ yy when yy yy, and R = 0 when yy > yy, where eq is the Von Mises equivalent
stress range averaged over the microstructural element at the crack tip; yy is the maximum tensile value
of the normal stress of the crack tip at a distance ; S0, M, and are constants at a given temperature; and
(35)
where is the critical fracture stress (i.e., the critical value of yy when N approaches infinity) of the
virgin alloy, and cox is that of the alloy embrittled by oxidation, which is defined as
(36)
where is a constant at a given temperature; the function, f, is determined from the experiments; and
(37)
where t is the exposure time at a given temperature, and ox is an oxidation constant.
When the temperature varies, the right side of Equation 37 has to be averaged over the cycle, and an
average oxidation constant, ox, is computed as
(38)
where t is the cycle period.
Using Equations 35 and 36, c is computed at every cycle, and the number of cycles to break the volume
element will be given by the condition
(39)
N( ) is, thus, computed through the set of Equations 34-37 using an iterative procedure, cycle by cycle,
until the condition of Equation 39 is fulfilled. The model gives good predictions of lives for an in-phase
cycle when using a diamond-shaped cycle (Figure 4).
An engineering procedure for TMF crack-growth-rate predictions is presented by Dai and colleagues,
which is based on isothermal data.11 The model uses a linear summation of the contributions to crack
growth of the two dominant mechanisms, which are active at minimum and maximum temperatures of the
cycle—namely, the mechanical fatigue and environmentally assisted crack growth
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(40)
where (da/dN)fat, the mechanical fatigue contribution, is correlated by a fracture mechanics parameter,
Keff
(41)
where the correlated function, f, is determined by isothermal or TMF tests. Assuming that the cracks were
opened when the loads were tensile,
(42)
where Nmax is the peak value of the measured load during cycling, a is the crack length measured from the
specimen edge, B is the thickness of the specimen, W is the width of the specimen, and H is the
geometrical function that characterizes the single-edge notched (SEN) specimen geometry as well as the
boundary conditions.
(da/dN)env is the time-dependent contribution related to the kinetics of oxygen-induced embrittlement.

For TMF, it is computed using
(43)
where is a material constant, Q is the apparent activation energy for oxygen transport, T is the
temperature in oK, and t1 and t2 pertain to the starting and finishing times within one cycle where oxygen-
induced embrittlement operates. Assuming that t1 and t2 are related to the opening and closure processes
of the crack, the time-dependent contributions (Equation 43) were estimated by integrating over the
tensile load part of the cycle. Combining Equation 41 (mechanical fatigue) with Equation 43 (contribution
of oxygen-induced embrittlement) allows the accurate prediction of the actual crack growth rates
(da/dN)tot.
THE TMF/SRP METHOD

Among the principal alternative approaches that treat the creep-fatigue interaction synergistically is the
strain-range partitioning (SRP) approach of Manson, Halford, and Hirschberg.12,13
a b c d
Figure 5. SRP cycle types showing (a) pp type, (b) cp type, (c) pc type, and (d) cc type cycles.18
SRP is based on the observation that the inelastic strain range is the controlling variable on fatigue life.
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Specifically, SRP recognizes four modes of cyclic inelastic straining, each of which may be accompanied
by a distinguished deformation/damage micromechanism characteristic. These modes are: pp—the
inelastic strain range is considered to be composed of plasticity (p) in both tension and compression,
cp—creep strain in tension and plastic strain in compression, pc—plastic strain in tension and creep strain
in compression, and cc—creep strain in both tension and compression (Figure 5). The four modes have a
certain fundamental significance in that any creep-fatigue cycle may be decomposed into these
constituent components.
For each of the inelastic deformation types, a life relation is established, typically given as
(44)
where Aij and aij, i,j = p, c (i.e., pp, cp, pc, and cc modes) are material-dependent parameters. When these
modes are present in a complex cycle, their damaging effects may be combined by the use of the
interaction damage rule (IDR), and a calculation for the life is performed. The IDR can be stated as
(45)
where Fpp, Fcp, Fpc, and Fcc correspond to the relative amount of inelastic-strain type present (e.g., pp/
in, cp/ in, pc/ in, and cc/ in), and the terms Npp, Ncp, Npc, and Ncc, correspond to the life levels
established from Equation 44 at the inelastic strain range, in.
SRP has since been successfully formulated on a total strain basis (TS-SRP), extending it into the
isothermal low-strain, long-life regime where the inelastic strains are small and difficult to determine. This
extension, plus the introduction of the bithermal test to characterize TMF behavior, has permitted the SRP
method to be applied to general TMF life prediction problems.14–16 (Bithermal experiments utilized a
trapezoidal-wave temperature versus time profile wherein mechanical straining was imposed only during
the isothermal portions at the maximum and minimum temperatures. Moreover, during the bithermal tests,
the temperature was changed while the specimen was held at zero load.)
The TMF/TS-SRP Method

The method proposed by Halford and colleagues, referred to as TMF/TS-SRP, is based upon three
relatively recent developments: the total strain version of the method of SRP, the bithermal testing
technique for measuring TMF behavior, and advanced viscoplastic constitutive models.
Fractographic and metallographic investigations were conducted on the specimens of some materials, such
as Haynes 188, that were fatigued to failure under IP and OP bithermal and thermomechanical loading
conditions. These investigations identified the prevailing damaging mechanisms in both bithermal and
thermomechanical fatigue tests. For these identified materials, bithermal fatigue tests could be used as the
basis for TMF life prediction.
Total Strain Range-Life Relations
The total strain range is the sum of two terms, e and in. Each term is a power law function of Nf0 (the
subscript 0 on Nf denotes the fatigue life for an equivalent zero mean stress condition) and appears as one
of a family of straight lines on the log-log coordinates of Figure 6. The solid lines represent upper and
lower bounds on the inelastic and elastic strain-range terms. The equation for the general life relation is
shown in Figure 6 and is written as
(46)
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or
(47)
In general, the slopes, b and c, and intercepts, B and C', in

Equation 47 would be functions of the specific thermal-cycling
conditions. Observations on the behavior of many materials
under a wide range of fatigue conditions suggest that b and c
are fixed. Thus, the families of elastic-life relations are parallel
to one another, as are the inelastic-life relations.
The intercepts, B and C', are first-order functions of many of

the variables (e.g., time per cycle, strain rate, environment,
wave shape, and temperature) that are known to influence
TMF lives. For example, both B and C' typically decrease as
the time per cycle increases (lower frequency, lower strain rate,
or increased hold-time), since this introduces the phenomena of Figure 6. A schematic of strain range-life
creep and environmental attack. Creep and environmental relations for the total strain version of
14
attack are usually regarded as detrimental damage mechanisms. strain-range partitioning.
As temperature increases, B usually decreases (primarily due to
creep-weakening effects, but also due to environmental attack), and C' may do either.
Inelastic Strain Range-Life Relations
The intercept, C', is evaluated as
(48)
where ij = pp, pc, or cp, and Fij is the fractional value of each inelastic strain range present in any given
TMF cycle (i.e., the partitioning of in).
(49)
(50)
(i.e., Fij = 1.0). Fij can be written as an exponential relation of the time per cycle, normalized by a
function of the total strain range
(51)
The constants, A', ', and m, are determined from multiple regression analyses of analytical data.
If a viscoplastic model for a material has not been evaluated, the IP and OP bithermal pp, cp, and pc tests
would be utilized to measure Fij and determine the constants, A', , and m.
In addition to Fij, the other factors influencing the value of C' are Cij and c. Bithermal fatigue test results
provide the data base to determine the constants, Cij and c.
Elastic Strain Range-Life Relations
In the elastic strain-range versue life relations, the exponent, b, was determined from bithermal
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experiments. The intercept, B, is expressed as
(52)
where n is the cyclic strain-hardening exponent, and n is related to b and c by the expression n = b/c. Kij
is a time-dependent, elastic-modulus-normalized cyclic strength coefficient defined by
(53)
The relation between Kij and cycle time can be expressed as
(54)
Normally, the values of the constants, A1' and m1, are ascertained using a viscoplastic model or the least-
squares curve fit of the bithermal test data.
For the specific conditions of the cycle, the intercepts, B and C', and the exponents, b and c, will be
evaluated. Then the total strain range versus cyclic life failure curve will be established, and the TMF life
prediction can be made easily.
A sample TMF/TS-SRP life prediction curve is shown in Figure 7a. The assessment of the TMF
life-prediction capability of the TMF/TS-SRP method is shown in Figure 7b. It is seen that the agreement
is generally within the conventional factor of two associated with high-temperature fatigue life prediction
in the nominally low-cycle fatigue regime.
a b
Figure 7. (a) A sample TMF/TS-SRP life-prediction curve (zero mean stress condition) constructed
for OP B1900+Hf. 483 871°C, 4 min./cycle, t = 0.72%, observed life = 546 cycles, and
predicted life = 491 cycles. (b) An assessment of TMF life-prediction capability of the
TMF/TS-SRP method for two high-temperature aerospace superalloys.14
The Cumulative Creep-Fatigue Damage (TMF/SRP-Damage

Coupling) Model
Most applications that involve TMF loading also include complex multilevel cyclic loading patterns, so
that cumulative damage effects are also a concern. The model of cumulative creep-fatigue damage,
proposed by McGaw, rests on the notion that certain basic damaging modes of cyclic deformation
characterize the failure behavior of a material and utilize the SRP method as its basis.17,18
A set of damage-curve relations is proposed for the modeling of damage accumulation according to each
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of the four fundamental deformation and damage modes given in SRP
(55)
where ij, i,j = p,c may be considered as material-dependent parameters, and the damage variable, D,
possesses a range of 0 (undamaged condition) to 1 (failure) over the domain of the life fraction n/Nij of 0
to 1.
When multiple damage modes are operative, an additional set of damage coupling relations is required,
(56)
where the functions, gij, i,j = p,c [where gpp(Dpp) Dpp] must be determined by experiments.
The coupling relations recognize that what is considered as damage in one context cannot be necessarily
regarded as damage in another (e.g., pp-type cycling is associated with transgranular, classical fatigue-type
damage, while cp-type cycling is associated with intergranular, creep-type damage). However, the
coupling relations do imply that the damage state is relatable. The coupling relations provide a mapping or
correspondence between damage modes.
To model the more general problem wherein multiple damage modes may be present within a single cycle,
one additional relationship must be established—a description of how the various damaging contributions
may be synthesized to provide a means of assessing the cumulative damage contribution
(57)
This equation describes the cumulative damage behavior of a complex cycle (with life Nf) as life fraction,
expressed in terms of the four damage variables, Dpp, Dcp, Dpc, and Dcc. Note that in general, the
coupling relations must be invoked to recast Equation 57 in terms of one effective damage variable, D.
The model can be readily extended to treat the case of TMF through the use of the bithermal fatigue
approximation to TMF. To address TMF, the life relations, damage-curve equations, and damage-coupling
relations can be directly replaced by bithermal counterparts. Experiments consisting of two-level loadings
of TMF (both IP and OP) followed by isothermal fatigue to failure were conducted on 316 stainless steel.
It was found that the model gave good predictions for the OP two-level tests and provided reasonable
bounds for the IP two-level tests.
THE MODIFIED EFFECTIVE J-INTEGRAL FRACTURE

MECHANICS MODEL
A model by Nisseley was developed to predict TMF crack initiation and estimate Mode I crack growth in
gas turbine hot-section gas-path superalloys.19 The model is based on a strain-energy-density fracture
mechanics approach modified to account for thermal exposure and single-crystal anisotropy.
An effective J-integral was developed for TMF crack-life prediction. The effective J-integral is an
empirical strain-energy-density crack growth parameter and is not a rigorous fracture mechanics
parameter.
The developed effective J-integral fracture mechanics TMF model is summarized as
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(58)
where a is the crack depth, da/dN is the crack-growth rate, Jeff is the effective J-integral (an empirical
strain-energy-density fracture mechanics parameter), A and c are material constants, and
(59)
where Q0 and T0 are material constants, T is the absolute temperature, and dt is the time increment.
(60)
where a0 is the initial material defect size (material constant), b is a material constant, is the crack-
boundary-correction factor, and Jth is the threshold J-integral that may be constant or temperature-
dependent. For the latter, a good empirical temperature-dependent formula of Jth is
(61)
where J0 is a constant and TJ is the temperature at which time-dependent deformation (creep) becomes
significant in monotonic tensile tests.
Where f is a crystallographic strain-energy-correction factor,
(62)
where f<111> is a factor that resolves max into the maximum normal octahedral slip plane stress, E max is
the elastic modulus in the max direction and at the max temperature, E<111> is elastic modulus in the
<111> crystal direction and at the max temperature, and is the effective total strain-energy density.
(63)
where is the material constant, and We is the elastic strain-energy density
(64)
where m = 1 if min > 0 and m = 0 if min 0.
Wp is the plastic strain energy density:
(65)
where > 0, is the stress, max is the maximum stress, min is the minimum stress of a cycle in which
max occurs, and d in is the inelastic strain increment.
This TMF model's material constants are determined from a combination of uniaxial TMF and oxidation
tests and by applying a nonlinear least-squares-regression analysis. Stresses were obtained from a
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nonlinear finite-element analysis of a TMF specimen strain-temperature history. Nonlinear stress-strain

behavior was predicted using unified viscoplastic constitutive models.
The TMF life-model formulation is limited to transgranular cracking. The model can capture many TMF
cracking effects, such as coating thickness, single-crystal anisotropy, cycle wave shape, dwell, and
thermal exposure. TMF life predictions based on the modified effective J-integral model were in good
agreement with observed uniaxial TMF specimen lives.
OTHER APPROACHES
Other TMF life-prediction approaches are mostly empirical models or engineering models.
Bernstein and colleagues developed a model to predict the TMF life of

industrial gas-turbine blades.20 The model is a semi-empirical approach,
similar to most engineering models that are actually used to predict
low-cycle fatigue. The formulation does not attempt to separately model
the different mechanisms of damages (i.e., fatigue, creep, and
environmental attack).
Figure 8. Hysteretic energy life
curves for a 316 stainless steel
subjected to TMF tests in the
The model developed for gas-turbine blades in electric power generation
temperature range of 399-621°C.21
is based upon the parameters of strain range, strain amplitude ratio, and
dwell time. This combination of parameters is intuitively reasonable,
since the strain-amplitude ratio can account for mean strain effects, and the dwell time can consider
environmental and mean stress effects caused by steady-state stress relaxation, both of which can affect
the fatigue life.
The general form of the model is
(66)
where Nf is the fatigue life; A is the strain ratio, A = amp/ mean ( amp = , mean = , where all strains
are mechanical strains); is the total strain range; th is the dwell time; and Ci (i = 0, 1, 2, and 3) is the
empirical constant, determined from multiple regression of the TMF test data. In a test, the model
adequately described the behavior of IN-738LC superalloy for the TMF-OP test conditions in the
temperature range of 427-871°C.
When the TMF model was used to predict the fatigue life of the in-service gas turbine blades, which may
experience the different cycle types, a linear damage rule was used to account for the different cycle
types
(67)
where the damage ratio, D', was assumed to be one at 100% life consumed. Ni is the number of cycles of
straining-type i, and Nif is the number of cycles to failure of type i.
Zamrik and colleagues have used the hysteretic-energy method to characterize the TMF behavior of type
316 stainless steel.21 From the stabilized mid-life hysteresis loop, the energy per volume cycle or density
can be calculated and fit to the energy-life relation by
(68)
15 of 18 25.03.2011 20:53
where U is the energy per volume cycle, W is the work or area of the hysteresis loop, A is the specimen
cross-sectional area, L is the specimen gage length, is the stress, d is the strain increment, A0 and a are
constants, and Nf is the number of cycles to failure. The hysteretic energy versus life approach is
illustrated in Figure 8. It can be observed that the TMF-IP hysteretic energy life line is lower than the
TMF-OP line, which suggests more damage.
Kanasaki and colleagues have carried out axial-strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue tests of a carbon steel
in oxygenated high-temperature water under TMF-IP and TMF-OP conditions.22 Based on the assumption
that the fatigue damage increased in a linear proportion to the increment of strain during cycling, a
fatigue-life prediction method was proposed.
(69)
where Tmax and Tmin are the maximum and minimum temperatures during TMF cycling, N(T) is the
fatigue life in high-temperature water under isothermal conditions, and N' is fatigue life in
high-temperature water under a TMF condition. For a carbon steel, STS410, under the conditions of DO =
1 ppm (in pure water containing 1 ppm oxygen) and = 0.002% 1/s, N(T) was determined by the
experiment
(70)
A good relationship between the predicted N'pred and the experimental N'test was observed.
DISCUSSION
The models described here can be divided into two types:
General models of TMF life prediction based on fundamental physical mechanisms of TMF crack
initiation and propagation. Such models may be used to capture and simulate damage mechanisms
and their interactions under TMF loading conditions. These models must be based on a number of
test data sets of various materials, include microstructural observations and analyses, and generally
couple viscoplastic constitutive models. But the forms or the sets of equations of these models are
complex and not convenient in engineering applications.
Engineering and empirical models, the objective of which is directed toward engineering practices
and direct applications. It is for a special material that an empirical model of TMF life prediction is
established. The forms of this model are a little simpler and convenient for applications, but they are
not in common use among various materials.
Damage modeling under thermomechanical cyclic loading is still at an early stage. TMF cycling is
expected to introduce a multitude of cyclic deformation and damage mechanisms in superalloys, and the
influence of these damage mechanisms on the material's fatigue-crack initiation and propagation behavior
is not well understood at present. No generally accepted models of TMF fatigue-life prediction are
currently available.
It is generally recognized that three dominant damage mechanisms (fatigue, oxidation, and creep damage)
may occur during TMF loading conditions. Most proposed models of TMF fatigue-life prediction attempt
to capture the effects of these damage mechanisms and their interactions. It is not certain if these
dominant damage mechanisms operate simultaneously, or if some of them run and others become
inoperative during a special TMF loading condition.
There are many factors affecting TMF lives, such as materials, maximum and minimum temperatures,
16 of 18 25.03.2011 20:53
temperature range, strain rate, strain range, strain-temperature phase, and dwell and cycle times. There is
a difficulty in that the models quantitatively simulate the interaction of damage mechanisms; at present,
views on how to deal with this problem differ. Based on this and the complexity of alloys systems,
TMF-life-prediction models are generally time-consuming and expensive.
To develop effective TMF life-prediction approaches for superalloys, more experimental work and data
collection are necessary on various materials placed under TMF loading conditions.
References
1. H. Sehitoglu, "Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue Life Prediction Methods," Advances in Fatigue Lifetime
Predictive Techniques, ASTM STP 1122 (1992), pp. 47–76.
2. S.A. Kraft and H. Mughrabi, "Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue of the Monocrystalline Nickel-Base
Superalloy CMSX-6," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1263 (1996), pp.
27–40.
3. R. Neu and H. Sehitoglu, "Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue, Oxidation and Creep: Part 1—Experiments,"
Met. Trans. A, 20A (1989), pp. 1755–1767.
4. R. Neu and H. Sehitoglu, "Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue, Oxidation and Creep: Part 2-Life Prediction,"
Met. Trans. A, 20A (1989), pp. 1769–1783.
5. H. Sehitoglu and D.A. Boismier, "Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue of Mar-M247: Part 2—Life Prediction,"
J. Eng. Mat. and Tech., 112 (1990), pp. 80–89.
6. Y. Kadioglu and H. Sehitoglu, "Modeling of Thermomechanical Fatigue Damage in Coated Alloys,"
Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1186 (1993), pp. 17–34.
7. M.P. Miller et al., "A Life Prediction Model for Thermomechanical Fatigue Based on Microcrack
Propagation," ASTM STP 1186 (1993), pp. 35–49.
8. J. Reuchet and L. Remy, "Fatigue Oxidation Interaction in a Superalloy-Application to Life Prediction
in High Temperature Low Cycle Fatigue," Met. Trans. A, 14A (1983), pp. 141–149.
9. E. Chataigner and L. Remy, "Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Coated and Bare Nickel-Based
Superalloy Single Crystals," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1263 (1996),
pp. 3–25.
10. L. Remy et al., "Fatigue Life Prediction under Thermo-Mechanical Loading in a Nickel-Base
Superalloy," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1186 (1993), pp. 3–16.
11. J. Dai, N.J. Marchand, and H. Hongoh, "Thermal Mechanical Fatigue Crack Growth in Titanium Alloy:
Experiments and Modeling," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1263
(1996), pp. 187–209.
12. S.S. Manson, G.R. Halford, and M.H. Hirschberg, "Creep Fatigue Analysis by Strain Range
Partitioning," First Symposium on Design for Elevated Temperature Environment, (1971), pp. 12–24.
13. S.S. Manson, "The Challenge to Unify Treatment of High Temperature Fatigue—A Partisan Proposal
Based on Strain Range Partitioning," Fatigue at Elevated Temperatures, ASTM STP 520 (1973), pp.
744–782.
14. G.R. Halford et al., "Application of a Thermal Fatigue Life Prediction Model to High-Temperature
Aerospace Alloys B1900+HF and Haynes 188," Advances in Fatigue Lifetime Predictive Techniques,
ASTM STP 1122 (1992), pp. 107–119.
15. G.R. Halford et al., "Thermomechanical and Bithermal Fatigue Behavior of Cast B1900+Hf and
Wrought Haynes 188," Advances in Fatigue Lifetime Predictive Techniques, ASTM STP 1122 (1992), pp.
120–142.
16. S. Kalluri and G.R. Halford, "Damage Mechanisms in Bithermal and Thermo-mechanical Fatigue of
Haynes 188," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1186 (1993), pp. 126–143.
17. M.A. McGaw, "Cumulative Damage Concepts in Thermomechanical Fatigue," Thermomechanical
Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1186 (1993), pp. 144–156.
18. M.A. McGaw, "Cumulative Creep-Fatigue Damage Evolution in an Austenitic Stainless Steel,"
Advances in Fatigue Lifetime Predictive Techniques, ASTM STP 1122 (1992), pp. 84–106.
19. D.M. Nissley, "Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Prediction in Gas Turbine Superalloys: A Fracture
Mechanics Approach," AIAA Journal, 33 (6) (1995), pp. 1114–1120.
17 of 18 25.03.2011 20:53
20. H.L. Bernstein et al., "Prediction of Thermal-Mechanical Fatigue Life for Gas Turbine Blades in
Electric Power Generation," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1186 (1993),
pp. 212–238.
21. S.Y. Zamrik, D.C. Davis, and L.C. Firth, "Isothermal and Thermomechanical Fatigue of Type 316
Stainless Steel," Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Materials, ASTM STP 1263 (1996), pp. 96–116.
22. H. Kanasaki et al., "Corrosion Fatigue Behavior and Life Prediction Method under Changing
Temperature Condition," Effects of the Environment on the Initiation of Crack Growth, ASTM STP 1298
(1997), pp. 267–281.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Changan Cai is an associate professor of engineering mechanics at GuiZhou University of Technology.
Peter K. Liaw is the Ivan Racheff Chair of Excellence and professor at the University of Tennessee.
Mingliang Ye is an associate professor of mining engineering with GuiZhou University of Technology.
Jie Yu is a professor of materials science and engineering with GuiZhou University of Technology.
For more information, contact P.K. Liaw, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Department of
Materials Science and Engineering, 427-B Dougherty Engineering Building, Knoxville, Tennessee
37996-2200; (423) 974-6356; fax (423) 974-4115; e-mail pliaw@utk.edu.
Copyright held by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, 1999

Direct questions about this or any other JOM page to jom@tms.org.
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Recent Developments in the Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Prediction ... http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9904/cai/cai-9904.

Mechanical Behavior: Overview

Recent Developments in the Thermomechanical

The models of thermomechanical fatigue life prediction used for

tot= th+ mech= (T-T0)+ mech (1)

Except in the baseline TMF tests, the phasing of strain

Under TMF conditions, damage mechanisms prevalent

GENERAL LINEAR ACCUMULATION DAMAGE MODELS

Environmental-Damage (Oxidation) Term

The general form of the equation is

where a is the crack length, and N is the cycle number.

The fatigue component of microcrack propagation is correlated using the J parameter

where mf and Cf are constants. If J is taken as

Figure 3. Temperature-strain cycles for different Figure 4. A comparison between

The interdendritic oxidation obeys a t1/4 kinetics, where t is time,

where t is the cycle period, and

or the number of cycles, N, corresponding to a given crack depth, a,

where t is the exposure time at a given temperature, and ox is an oxidation constant.

where t is the cycle period.

(da/dN)env is the time-dependent contribution related to the kinetics of oxygen-induced embrittlement.

THE TMF/SRP METHOD

The TMF/TS-SRP Method

Total Strain Range-Life Relations

In general, the slopes, b and c, and intercepts, B and C', in

The intercepts, B and C', are first-order functions of many of

Inelastic Strain Range-Life Relations

The intercept, C', is evaluated as

Elastic Strain Range-Life Relations

experiments. The intercept, B, is expressed as

The relation between Kij and cycle time can be expressed as

The Cumulative Creep-Fatigue Damage (TMF/SRP-Damage

of the four fundamental deformation and damage modes given in SRP

THE MODIFIED EFFECTIVE J-INTEGRAL FRACTURE

The developed effective J-integral fracture mechanics TMF model is summarized as

Where f is a crystallographic strain-energy-correction factor,

where is the material constant, and We is the elastic strain-energy density

where m = 1 if min > 0 and m = 0 if min 0.

Wp is the plastic strain energy density:

nonlinear finite-element analysis of a TMF specimen strain-temperature history. Nonlinear stress-strain

Bernstein and colleagues developed a model to predict the TMF life of

The general form of the model is

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Changan Cai is an associate professor of engineering mechanics at GuiZhou University of Technology.

Mingliang Ye is an associate professor of mining engineering with GuiZhou University of Technology.

Copyright held by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, 1999

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