Healing of Fatigue Crack by High-Density Electropulsing in Austenitic Stainless Steel Treated with the Surface-Activated Pre-Coating

A technique to heal a fatigue crack in austenitic stainless steel SUS316 by applying a controlled, high-density pulsed current was developed. A surface-activated pre-coating (SAPC), which eliminates the oxide layer and coats a Ni film on the crack surface, was used to improve the adhesion between cr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Atsushi Hosoi, Yang Ju, Tomoya Kishi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-09-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/6/9/4213
Description
Summary:A technique to heal a fatigue crack in austenitic stainless steel SUS316 by applying a controlled, high-density pulsed current was developed. A surface-activated pre-coating (SAPC), which eliminates the oxide layer and coats a Ni film on the crack surface, was used to improve the adhesion between crack surfaces. Cracks were observed by scanning electron microscopy before and after the application of high-density electropulsing. To evaluate the healing effect of the SAPC during crack propagation, fatigue tests were conducted under a constant stress intensity factor. The fatigue crack treated with the SAPC was found to be effectively healed as a result of electropulsing, and also showed a slower rate of crack propagation.
ISSN:1996-1944