High-temperature low cycle fatigue behavior of a gray cast iron

The strain controlled low cycle fatigue properties of the studied gray cast iron for engine cylinder blocks were investigated. At the same total strain amplitude, the low cycle fatigue life of the studied material at 523K was higher than that at 423K. The fatigue behavior of the studied material was characterized as cyclic softening at any given total strain amplitude (0.12%–0.24%), which was attributed to fatigue crack initiation and propagation. Moreover, this material exhibited asymmetric hysteresis loops due to the presence of the graphite lamellas. Transmission electron microscopy analysis suggested that cyclic softening was also caused by the interactions of dislocations at 423K, such as cell structure in ferrite, whereas cyclic softening was related to subgrain boundaries and dislocation climbing at 523K. Micro-analysis of specimen fracture appearance was conducted in order to obtain the fracture characteristics and crack paths for different strain amplitudes. It showed that the higher the temperature, the rougher the crack face of the examined gray cast iron at the same total strain amplitude. Additionally, the microcracks were readily blunted during growth inside the pearlite matrix at 423K, whereas the microcracks could easily pass through pearlite matrix along with deflection at 523K. The results of fatigue experiments consistently showed that fatigue damage for the studied material at 423K was lower than that at 523K under any given total strain amplitude.