Fatigue crack growth and fracture paths in sand cast B319 and A356 aluminum alloys

The effect of heat-treatment on the fatigue crack growth and fracture paths in lost foam sand cast B319 and A356 Al has been examined by in situ testing in a scanning electron microscope. Fatigue crack growth and fracture toughness experiments were performed at ambient temperature on B319 Al in T5, T6, and T7 conditions and on A356 in the T6 condition to characterize the crack path and the interaction of the crack-tip with the microstructure. High-resolution micrographs of the near-tip region were analyzed using a machined-vision-based stereoimaging technique, known as DISMAP, to determine the crack-tip displacement and strain fields. Selected-area energy dispersive spectroscopy was used to identify the particles in the wake of the fatigue cracks, as well as the alloy content of the Al-matrix ahead of the crack-tip. Microhardness tests revealed the presence of hard and soft zones in B319-T6 that the fatigue cracks tended to follow. The fatigue crack growth rate was reduced and the crack path altered when the crack-tip interacted with (1) localized shear bands, (2) interdendritic boundaries, (3) particle/matrix interface, (4) shrinkage pores, and (5) fractured particles. The decrease in the fatigue crack growth rate can be attributed to increasing crack-tip shielding due to crack branching and deflection. The fracture toughness of A356-T6 is higher than the B319 materials because of the absence of shear localization in the matrix.