Time‐ and cycle‐dependent growth of surface cracks in alloy 718

Thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) crack growth of Alloy 718 when the cycle includes long high‐temperature tensile dwells is often accelerated because sustained‐load crack growth occurs during the dwells and a temperature affected zone (TAZ) develops ahead of a crack tip that reduces fatigue crack growth resistance upon application of a cycle after the long dwell. This paper presents new TMF and sustained‐load tests that aim to study and characterize the TAZ development and growth ahead of semi‐elliptical and single‐edge cracks. The influence of constraint on crack growth is assessed. This investigation focuses on a coarse‐grained (CG) Alloy 718 at 650°C. By comparing the crack growth behavior between a fine‐grained and CG microstructure after a long tensile dwell, a modification of the TAZ growth prediction model that includes the influence of grain size is proposed. Using this improved model for TAZ growth and acceleration, the TMF crack growth prediction of surface cracks is improved. Highlights Temperature affected zone (TAZ) develops during tensile dwells in Alloy 718. The extent of TAZ is reduced when grains are larger. The extent of TAZ is also dependent on the constraint near the crack tip. A new grain size dependent TAZ growth model improves TMF predictions.