Study on Ultra-Low Cycle Fatigue Properties and Failure Mechanism of TC4 Titanium Alloy
LÜ Zhengyuan1, HUANG Jia2, WEI Min1, CHEN Lijie1
1. School of Aerospace Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China;
2. Beijing Institute of Structure and Environment Engineering, Beijing 100076, China
TC4 titanium alloy is the main material of aircraft landing frame and other structural parts. The study of its ultra-low cycle fatigue properties is essential for evaluating the reusability of aircraft structures that experience substantial loads. In this paper, the ultra-low cycle fatigue tests on TC4 titanium alloy at room temperature are conducted utilizing the axial strain control method and the fatigue fracture mechanism is analyzed. The alloy exhibits continuous cyclic softening behavior under significant heavy fatigue loading. The ultra-low cycle fatigue properties of TC4 titanium alloy are characterized respectively by the Coffin–Manson formula, the strain energy density-based model and the powerexponent function model, with the latter presenting better properties and precisions for fatigue life prediction under different strain ratios. Under different strain amplitudes, secondary cracks and holes appear in the materials, and as the strain amplitude increases, the fracture mode transitions from the normal fracture to the shear fracture.