An Abrupt Transition to an Intergranular Failure Mode in the Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth Regime in Ni-Based Superalloys

Abstract: Cyclic near-threshold fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of two disk superalloys was evaluated and was shown to exhibit an unexpected sudden failure mode transition from a mostly transgranular failure mode at higher stress intensity factor ranges to an almost completely intergranular failure mode in the threshold regime. The change in failure modes was associated with a crossover of FCG resistance curves in which the conditions that produced higher FCG rates in the Paris regime resulted in l…