FRACTURE TOUGHNESS ANALYSIS OF SPECIMENS FROM GRANULAR ALLOY EP741NP UNDER CONDITIONS OF LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE USING THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The possibilities of applying the procedures for calculating the fracture toughness in terms of the finite element method and fracture mechanics relationships are analyzed based on the experimental data obtained in low-cycle fatigue tests of specimens. The influence of defects available in the granular material on the life of specimens is estimated. Good agreement is obtained between the calculated results and the experimental ones, which has validated the applicability of the above computational procedures, as well as the possibility of their use for fracture toughness analysis and life prediction of real gas turbine engine parts. The peculiarities of the granular material fracture behavior revealed during this investigation can be taken into account in the mechanical design of new products of aircraft engineering.