Cyclic-Tension Fatigue Behavior in a SS400 Steel Plate Studied Using Ultrasonic Linear and Nonlinear Techniques

Three acoustic probe configurations were used to assess cyclic-tension fatigue in SS400 steel at room temperature via a diffracted horizontally polarized shear wave (SH) transmission method. Linear analysis of the propagation time and amplitude of shear and longitudinal waves with fatigue progression revealed that the linear behavior was governed by residual stress, attributed to the acoustoelastic effect. Specifically, the propagation time of the shear waves increased and the wave amplitude decreased with fatigue progression. Our results also revealed that the propagation paths of the waves became deeper with progressive fatigue. Additionally, when the probe angle was optimized for diffraction, the estimated change in the length prior to fatigue breakage was 0.61 pct. Nonlinear analysis results revealed that second harmonic β-parameters increased as fatigue progressed, up to ~800 pct for the optimal frequency configuration; this was attributed to an increase in the number of dislocation-associated viscoelastic effects. The proposed approach shows great potential for nondestructive evaluation of metal fatigue via parameter analysis of residual stress and dislocation variations.