Understanding of the fatigue crack nucleation in metallic sealing rings by explicitly incorporating the deformation history from manufacturing to service

Abstract

Fatigue cracking in metallic sealing rings has been a concern for the aerospace industry because the formation of even a micro-crack may cause an aviation accident. In this study, an integrated three-point bending fatigue experiment and dislocation-based crystal plasticity finite element modeling was used to determine the threshold for fatigue crack nucleation. Subsequently, the fatigue lives of the rings under different service conditions were evaluated based on the local stored energy density evolution. The conclusions of this work can provide theoretical guidance for the manufacturing of high-performance metallic sealing rings.