A cyclic slip irreversibility based model for fatigue crack initiation of nickel base alloys

The opportunity to define a microscopic law of fatigue crack initiation using Manson-Coffin law formulated in terms of cyclic slip irreversibility deduced from AFM measurements is discussed for a polycrystalline superalloy with different grain sizes and precipitate sizes. The results show that the modified Manson-Coffin law, relating cyclic slip irreversibility parameter to fatigue crack initiation life, is sustained through a two-parameter power law: εf′ and c. The analysis suggests that the exponent c-value can be related to the degree of plastic strain incompatibility between grains, and the cumulative irreversible cyclic plastic strain to crack initiation is a relevant damage indicator for crack initiation. Consequently, our approach allows giving a physical base of engineering law.