Analysis Of Bubbles Released During Fatigue Testing in Underwater Environment

The study of fatigue in an underwater environment is difficult because it involves several variables, many of them are related to the interaction of the material with the environment in which it is submitted. In fatigue tests in an aqueous environment, the appearance of bubbles that detach from the crack tip region during the test was observed, however, until now the literature had not reported this phenomenon. Seeking repeatability, this work presents test parameters that promote the detachment of bubbles, facilitating their study and understanding. Type C(T) specimens made of ASTM A36 steel were tested in an underwater environment under a constant load variation (Delta P) of 5kN and frequency of 30Hz. The detachments of the bubbles during the tests were recorded with a high-speed camera (capture of 1000fps). The results indicate that the first bubbles released during the test are smaller and increase in volume with increasing crack length, reaching a maximum average diameter and after that, there is a decrease and suppression of the phenomenon when approaching the end of the test. The occurrence was associated with hydrogen embrittlement, with proven existence in this type of test.