This paper deals with experimental fatigue crack propagation in rotating bending loaded round bar specimens as well as an analytical and numerical analysis of the residual lifetime. Constant amplitude (CA) load tests are performed with the surface crack length being evaluated using an optical measurement system. Fracture surfaces are microscopically analyzed to determine crack growth in depth as well as the crack shape. In spite of identical testing conditions, the experimental results show some scatter in residual lifetime, which is mainly caused by different residual stress states. Although X-ray residual stress measurements reveal only minor values, a superposition of the residual stress state with the load-induced stress leads to a significant impact on the residual lifetime calculations, which explains the experimental scatter. Numerical analyses are conducted to consider the residual stress state and their effect on crack propagation by different options. Considering the residual stress distribution in depth within the residual lifetime assessment, the deviation to the most conservative experiment is reduced from +48% to +2%. In conclusion, the results in this paper highlight that it is of utmost importance to consider local residual stress conditions in the course of a crack propagation analysis in order to properly assess the residual lifetime.

Alloy 718 for forged parts can form a wide range of microstructures through a variety of thermo-mechanical processes, depending on the number of remelting processes, temperature and holding time of homogenization annealing, cogging and the number of forging steps depending on the forming characteristics. In industrial practice, these processing steps are tailored to achieve specific mechanical and microstructural properties in the final product. In the present work, we investigate the dependence of the threshold of stress intensity factor range ΔK_th on associated microstructural elements, namely grain size and distribution. For this purpose, a series of tests with different starting microstructures were performed at the falling stress intensity factor range, ΔK, and a load ratio of R = 0.1 to evaluate the different threshold values. Fracture initiation and crack propagation were analyzed afterward using scanning electron microscopy of the resulting fracture surfaces. In order to obtain comparable initial conditions, all specimens were brought to the same strength level by means of a two-stage aging heat treatment. In the future, this knowledge shall be used in the context of simulation-aided product development for estimating local fatigue crack propagation properties of simulated microstructures obtained from forging and heat treatment modeling.

This work investigates overload-induced retardation effects for semi-elliptically cracked steel round bars. The specimen geometry equals the shaft area of a 1:3 down-scaled railway axle and the material is extracted from railway axle blanks made of EA4T steel. Rotating bending tests under constant amplitude loading as well as overload tests considering overload ratios of R_OL = 2.0 and R_OL = 2.5 are conducted. The experimental results are compared to a crack growth assessment based on a modified NASGRO equation as well as the retardation model by Willenborg, Gallagher, and Hughes. The evaluated delay cycle number due to the overload by the experiments and the model shows a sound agreement validating the applicability of the presented approach.

This paper presents a novel wayside rail monitoring system for real-time detection and quantification of rail surface cracks with sub-millimeter precision. The core innovation lies in mounting piezoelectric transducers on the web of the rail—an unconventional and practical location that avoids interference with wheel passages while enabling continuous monitoring in real-world conditions. Moreover, to directly quantify crack depth, a customized signal processing pipeline is developed, employing surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and incorporating a parallel reference transducer pair mounted on an undamaged rail section for calibration. This auxiliary pair provides a real-time calibration baseline, improving measurement robustness and accuracy. The method is experimentally validated on rail samples and verified through metallographic analysis. This approach enables condition-based maintenance by improving detection accuracy and offers the potential to reduce operational costs and enhance railway safety.