International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271

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International Journal of Fatigue

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

Small-scale specimen testing for fatigue life assessment

of service-exposed industrial gas turbine blades
D. Holländer a,⇑, D. Kulawinski b, A. Weidner b, M. Thiele a, H. Biermann b, U. Gampe a
a
Institute of Power Engineering, Chair of Thermal Power Machinery and Plants, Technische Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstr. 14, 01069 Dresden, Germany
b
Institute of Materials Engineering, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav-Zeuner-Str. 5, 09599 Freiberg, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Service-exposed industrial gas turbine blades made from conventionally cast nickel-base superalloy
Received 19 May 2016 IN738 were investigated in order to study the effect of service-induced microstructural changes on the
Received in revised form 13 July 2016 tensile and cyclic material properties. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used
Accepted 15 July 2016
for the microstructural characterization of the gas turbine blades. The microstructural examinations
Available online 19 July 2016
showed a degraded microstructure in the airfoil section, such as c0 coarsening, MC carbide decomposition
as well as M23C6 carbide formation. Uniaxial tensile and isothermal low cycle fatigue tests were carried
Keywords:
out at 850 °C using small-scale specimens manufactured from the blade root and airfoil section. The
Nickel-base superalloy
Gas turbine blade
service-induced microstructural changes in the airfoil section yielded to a reduction of the tensile
Small-scale specimen properties. Furthermore, a lower fatigue life of airfoil specimens compared to the blade root specimens
High temperature fatigue was observed. Based on the determined fatigue data the residual fatigue life of the gas turbine blades
Microstructural degradation was estimated. Finally, the fatigue crack paths were studied by optical microscopy.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction very high replacement costs of the first stage gas turbine blades,
a lot effort is being made to extend the service life of these compo-
Gas turbine blades are exposed to high temperatures and stres- nents beyond the original design life [15–17]. To ensure a further
ses during service. For this reason, gas turbine blades are made safe operation of the gas turbine components, a realistic estimation
from c0 strengthened nickel-base superalloys, which provide excel- of the remaining service life is required, wherefore information
lent high temperature properties. However, several studies of about the current mechanical material properties are necessary.
nickel-base superalloys have shown various microstructural A possible method to determine the material properties of
changes within the alloy due to thermally induced processes service-exposed components is the small-scale specimen test tech-
depending on exposure temperature and time [1–6]. Commonly, nology, which offers the advantage to investigate specimens
a coarsening and coalescence of the c0 precipitates, an undesirable directly taken from these components. A successful application of
formation of continuous secondary M23C6 carbide films along grain this testing method for residual life assessment of service-
boundaries and the undesirable embrittling by topologically exposed gas turbine blades is reported in [11,12,16–19]. Today,
closed-packed (TCP) phases were observed. Furthermore, an inter- the importance of the effects of microstructural changes in
action with a mechanical loading causes typically rafting struc- service-exposed gas turbine blades and their effect on the tensile
tures in nickel-base superalloys [1,7,8]. Mostly, such instabilities properties, creep and stress rupture behavior has been recognized
in the microstructure lead to a degradation of material strength by many researches. However, a lack of information is available on
and thus have a detrimental effect on the component properties the effect of service-induced microstructural changes on the
and limit their service life [9–14]. isothermal low cycle fatigue behavior.
Usually, gas turbine blades are retired from operation after a The aim of the present investigation was to study microstruc-
defined operational period or based on a lifetime counter, whereby tural changes in service-exposed gas turbine blades and their effect
in several cases no or only a slight damage is visible. Due to the on the tensile properties and isothermal low cycle fatigue behavior
at 850 °C using small-scale specimen testing. The microstructure of
⇑ Corresponding author. the gas turbine blades was characterized by metallographic exam-
E-mail address: dirk.hollaender@tu-dresden.de (D. Holländer). inations. Furthermore, the residual fatigue life of the service-
URL: http://www.tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/fakultaeten/fakultaet_maschi- exposed gas turbine blades was estimated based on determined
nenwesen/iet/tea (D. Holländer).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2016.07.014
0142-1123/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271 263

Nomenclature

EDM electrical discharge machining rm mean stress

EDX energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy A0 specimen cross-sectional area
HRC Rockwell’s hardness Af elongation at fracture
HV Vickers hardness D actual damage
LCF low cycle fatigue E Young’s modulus
SEM scanning electron microscopy l0 gauge length
SHT standard heat treatment Nf number of cycles to failure
TCP topologically closed-packed Rm ultimate tensile strength
e_ strain rate Rp0.2 0.2% yield stress
ea mechanical strain amplitude Re strain ratio
ra stress amplitude
Dr stress range

fatigue data. Finally, crack paths of specimens tested under fatigue Norsworthy [11] and Frischmuth et al. [15,16] for comparable
loading were characterized by optical microscopy. gas turbine blades. Furthermore, Vickers hardness measurements
with an indenter load of 30 kg were conducted in the blade root
at section C-C and at several positions (Pos. 2–5) at one-half of
2. Experimental details
the airfoil length (Fig. 1) in case of Blade 1.

2.1. Material
2.3. Material testing procedure
Two first-stage gas turbine blades of a GE-MS6001B industrial
gas turbine were investigated. In total this gas turbine had 2.696
Uniaxial tensile and LCF tests were carried out on a small-scale
operating hours and 878 turn-on and turn-off cycles. The gas tur-
specimen test rig consisting of a spindle driven testing machine
bine was operated under peak load conditions. The two blades,
(Inspect Table 10, Hegewald&Peschke, Nossen, Germany) with a load
which will be further referenced as Blade 1 and Blade 2, correspond
capacity of 10 kN (Fig. 2a). The cylindrical specimen design with
to the original stage 1 bucket design (S1B, 13 cooling holes) and
threaded connections was introduced by Tartaglia et al. [22] and
were made from conventionally cast nickel-base superalloy
was further optimized to avoid buckling under compressive force
IN738 [20]. The nominal chemical composition of this material is
(Fig. 2b). The parallel test length of the specimen has a diameter
given in Table 1. Details about the applied heat treatment were
of 3 mm. Fits at the specimen ends support the specimen align-
not available. The gas turbine blades were coated with a Pt-Al dif-
ment. The axial strain was measured with an axial high tempera-
fusion coating, which is suitable to improve the hot oxidation and
ture extensometer equipped with ceramic rods and a fixed gauge
creep resistance [21].
length of 7 mm. To prevent an influence of environmental condi-
tions on strain measurement, the extensometer was placed in a
2.2. Metallographic examinations tempered housing. A water-cooled radiant furnace with three sep-
arated heating zones and a total electrical power of 6 kW was used
The microstructure of the service-exposed gas turbine blades to heat the specimens. The specimen temperature was controlled
was analyzed exemplary in case of Blade 1 by optical microscopy, at three positions by spot-welded thermocouples type K (Ni-
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as energy-dispersive CrNi) with a diameter of 0.2 mm (Fig. 2c). One thermocouple was
X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). For optical microscopy the specimens attached within the gauge length and two in the transition areas
were etched using a chemical solution of 40 ml water (H2O), to the clampings. An uniform axial temperature distribution in
10 ml hydrogen chloride (HCl), 10 ml nitric acid (HNO3) and 0.1 g the gauge length was ensured in accordance with ASTM E606. A
molybdenum oxide (MoO3) for 60 s. Metallographic specimens premature crack initiation in cause of spot-welded thermocouples
were cut by wire EDM (electrical discharge machining) process was not observed during all tests. In previous work, the author’s
directly from the cooler section of the blade root at Pos. 1 and from group [23] has shown that this proposed testing configuration is
the hot section of the airfoil at Pos. 2 (leading edge), Pos. 3 (suction suitable for tensile and LCF testing of the nickel-base superalloy
side) and Pos. 4 (pressure side) as indicated in Fig. 1. The IN738LC at elevated temperatures. As a result, the small scale spec-
microstructural images were determined at each position in the imens’ results were in good agreement with data obtained from
longitudinal section (L) of the gas turbine blade. During service standardized specimens of the same material batch as well as liter-
the material temperature of the blade root is comparatively low. ature data.
Therefore, microstructural changes are not expected. Hence, the The tensile tests and LCF tests were carried out at 850 °C due to
microstructure of the blade root can be assumed as the initial commonly reached service temperatures in real gas turbine blades
material state. The maximum damage and microstructural changes as well as widely available material data of IN738 in the literature.
were assumed at one-half of airfoil length due to the occurrence of Small-scale specimens were cut by wire EDM process from the
high thermal and mechanical loadings as reported by Lvova and blade root section and due to the observed considerable service-

Table 1
Nominal chemical composition of nickel-base superalloy IN738 in wt.% [20].

Ni Cr Co Fe W Mo Ti Al Nb C B Ta
IN738 Bal. 16 8.3 0.2 2.6 1.75 3.4 3.4 0.9 0.1 0.001 1.75
264 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271

Fig. 1. Drawing of the investigated gas turbine blade with specimen positions for metallographic examinations and for small-scale specimens testing.

Fig. 2. (a) Small-scale specimen test rig equipped with radiant furnace and high temperature extensometer. (b) Dimension of cylindrical small-scale specimen with threaded
connections. (c) Small-scale specimen with spot-welded thermocouples.

induced microstructural changes from the suction side of the air- The LCF tests were also performed at the same strain rate of
foil section, see Section 3.1. Fig. 1 indicates the positions of the 103 s1 and a triangular wave shape under symmetrical tension/-
small-scale specimens at the gas turbine blade in detail. Finally, compression conditions (Re = 1) in accordance with ASTM E606.
the turned small-scale specimens were mechanically grinded and The investigated specimens and mechanical strain amplitudes ea
polished in the gauge length to prevent the crack initiation at sur- are summarized in Table 2. For each mechanical strain amplitude
face roughness. one LCF test was performed.
In the tensile tests two blade root specimens from Blade 1 and
in each case one airfoil specimen from Blade 1 and Blade 2 were 3. Results and discussion
tested. A constant strain rate e_ of 103 s1 was used for tensile tests
until fracture. 3.1. Microstructural observations

The optical microscopy image in Fig. 3a shows the typical den-

Table 2
dritic microstructure that forms during the casting process of gas
LCF tests carried out at 850 °C.
turbine blades. Generally, the grain size and shape depend on wall
Specimen position Mechanical strain amplitude ea in % thickness. Coarse grains with a globular shape and a grain size lar-
Blade 1/root 0.4, 0.35, 0.3, 0.27 ger than 2.5 mm were observed in the thick blade root section
Blade 1/airfoil 0.4, 0.35, 0.3, 0.27 (Fig. 3a). The grains in the airfoil section were considerably smaller
Blade 2/airfoil 0.35, 0.3
and elongated in the direction perpendicular to the airfoil surface
 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271 265

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 3. (a) Coarse grains with a globular shape in the blade root section (Pos. 1). Small elongated grains at the leading edge (Pos. 2) in the view of (b) the longitudinal section
and (c) the cross-section A-A. (d) Casting pores in an interdendritic area.

(Fig. 3b and c). The varying grain size and shape are typical for con- turbine blades made from nickel-base superalloys IN738 and
ventionally cast gas turbine blades [12,19,24] and can be explained GTD-111 [6]. The c/c0 microstructure of the blade root shows no
by different solidification conditions (local cooling rates) due to service-induced degradation and is comparable to the common ini-
changes of component thickness from the massive blade root tial microstructure of investment cast IN738 after standard heat
towards the thinner airfoil section [25,26]. Furthermore, a treatment (SHT) [13,30,31]. Hence, the microstructure of the blade
homogenous distribution of casting pores at the grain boundaries root was used as reference case.
as well as in the interdendritic area were observed in the blade root In contrast, considerable service-induced microstructural
and airfoil section (Fig. 3d). Typically, these pores are formed dur- changes were found in the airfoil section. SEM images in Fig. 5 pre-
ing the casting process of gas turbine blades [27]. sent the c/c0 distribution in the airfoil section at the leading edge
The SEM image in Fig. 4a shows a bimodal c0 distribution with (Pos. 2), at the suction side (Pos. 3) and at the pressure side (Pos.
large primary cuboidal c0 precipitates and very fine secondary 4). At the leading edge the c0 precipitates were coarsened and coa-
spheroidal c0 precipitates at the blade root section. Ta- and lesced. The primary c0 precipitates were rounded as well as rafting
Cr-rich primary MC carbides with mostly blocky and well defined structures were observed. Moreover, the secondary very fine c0
edges were found within the grain interiors and along the grain precipitates were dissolved. Considerable c0 coarsening with
boundaries (Fig. 4b). Some of the primary MC carbides had a dark rounded primary c0 precipitates and dissolved secondary c0 precip-
colored core (Fig. 4b). EDX analysis identified Ti as the major ele- itates were also visible at the suction side. However, the c/c0
ment of these cores. Meethman [28] and Huang et al. [29] reported, microstructure at the pressure side exhibited a bimodal distribu-
that Ti nitrides (TiN) act as nuclei for the precipitation of carbides tion similar to the reference case as shown in Fig. 4a.
during the solidification process and form carbonitrides Ti(C,N). Based on experimental results of thermally exposed IN738 spec-
Similar carbide types were observed in conventionally cast gas imens reported by Footner and Richards [5] as well as Vacchieri

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. SEM images of microstructure at blade root. (a) Bimodal c0 distribution with primary cuboidal c0 precipitates and very fine secondary spheroidal c0 precipitates near a
MC carbide. (b) Distribution of MC, TiN and Ti(C,N).
266 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271

Fig. 5. SEM images of c0 precipitates at the leading edge, suction side and pressure side at one-half of airfoil length.

et al. [32], the local service temperatures of the gas turbine blade suction side and leading edge above 850 °C can be assumed
were estimated. Both author groups found, that for a given expo- whereas the service temperature at the pressure side was obviously
sure time of about 3.000 h, which corresponds well to the operating below 850 °C. However, the influence of mechanical loading on c0
time of the investigated gas turbine blades, a temperature of about coarsening was neglected in this estimation.
850 °C is required for a significant c0 coarsening. In accordance to The primary MC carbides were decomposed at all investigated
these microstructural observations, service temperatures at the positions in the airfoil section (Fig. 6a). Obviously, the degenera-

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 6. SEM images of microstructural changes at one-half of airfoil length. (a) Decomposition of primary MC carbides. (b) Continuous film of M23C6 carbides along the grain
boundaries. (c) Formation of needle-like Cr-rich TCP phases. (d) Pore with initiated micro crack.
 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271 267

tion of MC carbides was mostly progressed at grain boundaries. [30] obtained with the same strain rate and manufacturers data
Their blocky shape was mostly dissolved and the degenerated [39] in Table 4. Both blade root specimens delivered comparable
MC carbides were surrounded by a well-defined decomposition results. Compared to literature data the yield stress Rp0.2 agrees
zone that typically consists of c0 precipitates and M23C6 as reported well while the ultimate tensile strength Rm is up to 50 MPa below
in [3,6,12,33]. Fig. 6b shows the grain boundary structure with a the range given in literature. The obtained elongation at fracture Af,
continuous film of precipitated secondary M23C6 carbides along however, is higher than the reported literature data. This behavior
the grain boundaries. Needle-like TCP phases were observed in can be explained by a specimen size effect due to a significant
the airfoil section (Fig. 6c), whereby Cr was detected as major ele- smaller ratio between the gauge length l0 and the cross-sectional
pffiffiffiffiffi
ment by EDX analysis. The occurrence of TCP phases in long term area A0 (l0 = A0 , the slenderness ratio) of the small-scale speci-
exposed IN738 specimens, especially the formation of the r phase, mens, which is not comparable to common standardized specimen
was reported in [34–36]. Furthermore, pores with micro crack ini- dimensions. As reported by Mathew et al. [40] a decreasing
tiation were found (Fig. 6d). slenderness ratio of a specimen leads to an increasing elongation
Therefore, the microstructural observation show that the mate- to fracture. The airfoil specimens’ results were also in good accor-
rial of the gas turbine blade was degenerated at the airfoil section. dance. Compared to the blade root specimens’ results a consider-
In particular, the leading edge and suction side of the gas turbine able drop in yield stress up to 20% was observed whereas the
blade show a significant change in the microstructure. Due to c0 ultimate tensile strength was reduced up to 6% and thus was only
coarsening, the formation of continuous carbide networks on the slightly affected. However, values of the elongation at fracture of
grain boundaries as well as the formation of TCP phases and the blade root and airfoil specimens were in the same order and indi-
initiation of micro cracks, the material properties will be reduced. cate no considerable influence on ductility. The observed behavior
is in good agreement to several investigations of long-term ther-
3.2. Hardness measurements mally exposed nickel-base superalloys [3,14,41,42]. Since the ten-
sile properties are closely related to the microstructure, the
The results of Vickers hardness measurements in Table 3 indi- degradation of strength is mainly attributed to the modified
cate a hardness drop of about 9% in the airfoil section compared microstructure due to the coarsening and coalescence of c0 precip-
to the blade root. Obviously, all measured values in the airfoil sec- itates. The significant influence of the c/c0 microstructure on the
tion are in the same range, whereby the lowest values were mea- tensile properties of IN738LC was reported by Balicki et al. [43].
sured at the suction side and the leading edge. The hardness in These authors associated the different tensile properties of several
the blade root section was about 10% lower than reported values microstructures with dislocation-precipitate interactions. More-
of separately cast pre-products in SHT condition [31,37]. However, over, the Young’s moduli of the blade root and airfoil specimens
a comparable value of 40 HRC (393 HV) was measured in a blade were in good accordance with literature data. As reported in [23]
root section of a gas turbine blade made from IN738 [17]. An expla- this was not necessarily expected in case of the blade root speci-
nation for the difference can be different microstructures as a con- mens due to the few coarse grains within the gauge length. The
sequence of deviations in the manufacturing process and heat good agreement of the Young’s moduli was attributed to randomly
treatments between gas turbine blades and studied test bars or well oriented grains to the loading direction.
plates. The observed hardness reduction in the airfoil section due
to service-induced microstructural changes is common and was 3.4. Cyclic deformation behavior
reported in case of service-exposed gas turbine blades [11,17] as
well as thermally exposed specimens [31,38]. The cyclic hysteresis loops at mid-life are presented in Fig. 7a
for the blade root specimens and in Fig. 7b for the airfoil specimens
3.3. Tensile behavior of Blade 1. The stress–strain response of the blade root specimens
(Fig. 7a) showed considerable differences in the deformation
The determined tensile properties of specimens manufactured behavior due to deviations of Young’s moduli. The anisotropic
from Blade 1 and Blade 2 are compared to literature data of Bettge deformation behavior can be explained by coarse grains within
the blade root. Consequently, there are only few grains within
Table 3
the gauge length of the small-scale specimen, so that the elastic
Vickers hardness (HV30) measurements at several positions in the blade root and
airfoil sections of Blade 1 as indicated in Fig. 1 compared to literature data with SHT. properties depend on the orientation of the individual grains. This
behavior is not unusual in testing coarse-grained materials using
Specimen position Vickers hardness (HV30)
small-scale specimens [23,44,45] and was also reported for stan-
Blade root (Pos. 1) 391 dardized specimens [46,47]. The stress–strain response of the air-
Airfoil, leading edge (Pos. 2) 351
foil specimens (Fig. 7b) indicated a smaller scatter of Young’s
Airfoil, suction side (Pos. 3) 352
Airfoil, pressure side (Pos. 4) 357 moduli. An explanation is the smaller grain size within the airfoil
Airfoil, near cooling hole (Pos. 5) 362 section and thus more grains are located within the gauge length
Literature (SHT) [31,37] 427–432 of the small-scale specimens. Furthermore, the airfoil specimens
showed a lower stress amplitude compared to the blade root spec-

Table 4
Tensile properties of small-scale specimens manufactured from Blade 1 and Blade 2 at 850 °C compared to literature data.

Specimen position Young’s modulus Yield stress Ultimate tensile Elongation at

E in GPa Rp0.2 in MPa strength Rm in MPa fracture Af in %
Blade 1/root 155 637 730 22.1
Blade 1/root 144 620 722 18.7
Blade 1/airfoil 148 512 685 15.5
Blade 2/airfoil 156 531 703 19.5
Literature [30,39] 147 552–705 772–800 5.5–11.0
268 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271

(a) (b)

Fig. 7. Isothermal cyclic hysteresis loops at mid-life of (a) blade root specimens and (b) airfoil specimens at 850 °C in case of Blade 1.

(a) until crack initiation. For the smallest strain amplitude of 0.27%
almost continuous cyclic stability occurred until specimen failure.
The observed cyclic deformation behavior is in good agreement
with LCF tests reported by Nazmy [48] and Marchionni et al.
[49]. The overlapping of the stress amplitudes of the blade root
specimens at the strain amplitudes of 0.3% and 0.35% occurred
due to the scatter of specimens Young’s modulus due to the few
grains within the gauge length of the small-scale specimens. The
initial mean stress rm of the blade root specimens were in the
range between 25 MPa and 10 MPa and increased with decreas-
ing strain amplitude. Obviously, a tension–compression asymme-
try of yielding was present, which is typical for single crystal
nickel-base superalloys [50–52]. The occurrence of this material
behavior in case of a polycrystalline alloy is attributed to the
observed anisotropic material behavior due to the few grains
(b) within the gauge length of the small-scale specimens. In contrast,
the initial mean stresses rm of the airfoil specimens were about
zero for all strain amplitudes. Furthermore, an increase of mean
stresses during the fatigue tests were observed for the blade root
as well as for the airfoil specimens. Thereby, the highest mean
stresses were reached for the smallest strain amplitude of 0.27%.
In case of the blade root specimen the tensile mean stress
increased up to 110 MPa and in case of the airfoil specimen up to
50 MPa. The increasing mean stresses can be explained by a vol-
ume contraction due to changes of the thermal unstable
microstructure during high temperature exposure. The so called
negative creep effect was reported for the nickel-base superalloy
IN738LC in creep tests at very low tensile stresses and during high
temperature exposure tests [53–56]. Consequently, the volume
Fig. 8. Isothermal cyclic deformation behavior of (a) blade root specimens and (b) contraction causes a tensile mean stress in the strain controlled
airfoil specimens at 850 °C.
LCF tests. The higher tensile mean stresses of the blade root spec-
imens compared to the airfoil specimens were attributed to their
imens at the same applied strain amplitude. In particular, the dif-
different material conditions. At the beginning of the LCF tests
ferences between the stress ranges Dr increased with increasing
the microstructure of the blade root specimens was in the initial
strain amplitude. The reason is the lower yield stress of the airfoil
condition while the microstructure of the airfoil specimens was
specimens, which was already observed in the tensile tests.
already modified due to the service-exposure of the gas turbine
Thereby, a higher inelastic deformation occurred during cyclic
blades. Frank [53] found that a considerable volume contraction
loading in case of the airfoil specimens with increasing strain
occurred within the first 100 h of thermal exposure in the temper-
amplitude. This trend is also indicated by the increasing inelastic
ature range between 800 °C and 900 °C. Hence, the volume con-
strain amplitude (i.e. the width of the stress–strain hysteresis loops
traction during the LCF tests was more pronounced for the blade
at mean stress).
root specimens leading to a higher tensile mean stress.
The cyclic deformation curves of small-scale specimens manu-
factured from Blade 1 and Blade 2 are shown in Fig. 8a in case of
blade root specimens and in Fig. 8b in case of airfoil specimens. 3.5. Crack path
The stress response is presented by the stress amplitude ra and
the mean stress rm. Blade root specimens as well as airfoil speci- The crack propagation behavior under LCF loading was investi-
mens showed an initial softening at the strain amplitudes ea of gated in case of blade root as well as in case of airfoil specimens by
0.3%, 0.35% and 0.4% followed by an approximately stable behavior optical microscopy. Fig. 9a and b shows exemplarily the crack path
 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271 269

(a) (b)

Fig. 9. Crack paths obtained in LCF tests at 850 °C in case of two airfoil specimens (Blade 1). (a) Transgranular crack path including separated dendrite arms (ea = 0.27%). (b)
Transgranular and interdentritic crack path including pores (ea = 0.4%).

of airfoil specimens at the smallest strain amplitude of 0.27% and (a)

the highest strain amplitude of 0.4%. Generally, similar crack paths
were observed for all blade root and airfoil specimens independent
of the applied strain amplitudes. All specimens exhibited surface
cracks with a transgranular mode of crack propagation (Fig. 9a
and b). The cracks propagated preferentially in the interdendritic
regions, whereby dendrite arms were rarely separated. Moreover,
pores were included in the crack path (Fig. 9b). No cracks were
found in the interior of the material. The observed crack propaga-
tion behavior is similar to the reported crack growth behavior of
IN738 in the virgin material state under comparable fatigue load-
ing conditions at 850 °C [57–60].

3.6. Fatigue life

(b)
The fatigue lives of the blade root and airfoil specimens are
compared in Fig. 10a to literature data obtained with similar strain
rates [49,57,59,61–63] for the virgin material state. The numbers of
cycles to failure were taken after a 5% load drop from the stabilized
stress amplitude. Based on literature data a mean curve was
approximated by means of least square error and the associated
scatter band of factor two is added in Fig. 10a. The fatigue lives
of the blade root specimens at the strain amplitudes of 0.4%,
0.35% and 0.27% fall on the lower bound of the scatter band while
a lower fatigue life was observed at the strain amplitude of 0.3%.
An explanation for the lower fatigue life can be the existence of
material defects within the gauge length of the specimen, such
as large cavities and shrinkage pores. Also surface defects caused
by the manufacturing process of the small scale specimen can be Fig. 10. (a) LCF lifetimes of blade root and airfoil specimens compared to several
literature data at 850 °C. (b) Calculation of the actual damage D of the airfoil
a reason. Nevertheless, the determined fatigue lives were in good
material by linear regression analysis.
accordance to the literature data. In comparison with the blade
root specimens the airfoil specimens showed lower numbers of
cycles to failure. calculated at the investigated strain amplitudes. As reported in
The degradation of the LCF strength of airfoil specimens is pri- [65] the actual damage D is defined in terms of residual fatigue life
marily attributed to the reduced material strength associated with
according to Eq. (1) where N Airfoil is the residual number of cycles to
the coarsening and the coalescence of the c0 precipitates. Further-
f

more, a detrimental effect of the coarsened c0 precipitates on the failure of the damaged airfoil material and N Root
f is the number of
fatigue crack growth can be assumed as reported by Ott and Mugh- cycles to failure of the undamaged blade root material.
rabi [64] and Epishin et al. [10] for single crystal nickel-base super-
alloys. These investigations showed reduced fatigue lives due to an NAirfoil
f
accelerated fatigue crack growth associated with well-oriented D¼1 ð1Þ
NRoot
f
rafting structures normal oriented to the loading direction.
For the fatigue life assessment a linear regression analysis was The critical value for failure is assumed at D = 1. Accordingly,
performed for the fatigue data of the blade root specimens and also the actual damage D of the airfoil material was 0.61 at the high
for the airfoil specimens by means of least square error (Fig. 10b). strain amplitude of 0.4% and 0.54 at the small strain amplitude
Based on this analysis the actual damage of the airfoil material was of 0.27% (Fig. 10b). Obviously, the influence of the applied strain
270 D. Holländer et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 92 (2016) 262–271

amplitude on the damage was small. The results of the damage cal- [4] Darolia R, Lahrman DF, Field RD. Formation of topologically closed packed
phases in nickel base single crystal superalloys. In: Superalloys 1988. p.
culation show that 61% of the total fatigue life of the airfoil mate-
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