An investigation of fracture and fatigue crack growth behavior of cast niobium aluminide intermetallics

This paper presents the results of a combined experimental and theoretical study of fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth in cast Nb-15Al-xTi (x=10, 25 and 40 at%) niobium aluminide-based intermetallics. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth resistance are shown to improve significantly in the cast alloy containing 40 at% Ti. The improvements in the fracture toughness of the 40Ti alloy are shown to be due to the combined effects of ligament toughening, crack-tip plasticity and crack-tip blunting. The atomistic simulations show that the increased plasticity in these alloys is associated with their higher Ti content. The micromechanisms of fatigue crack growth are also elucidated. The implications of the results are discussed for potential structural application of niobium aluminide intermetallics.