19

The role of material modelling techniques in stress

analysis and life assessment of modern aero-engine
components
G F Harrison, BSc, PhD, CEng
Defence Research Agency, Pyestock, Farnborough

Aero-engine components evolve through an iterative process involving the creation of the basic design to meet the perfotmance require-
ments and the stress analyses and subsequent lve evaluation of'the individual components. A progressive increase in stage loading has
resulted in more parts experiencing time as well as cycle dependent damage processes. The influence of cyclic softening in quantgying
this effect is discussed. The implications of afracture mechanics based damage tolerance approach in determining the lives of service
discs is examined. The role of three-dimensional creep analysis, including the influence of transient thermal stress, in identgying critical
areas in highly cooled rotor blades is discussed. Finally an approach for modelling anisotropic single crystal materials is illustrated.

1 INTRODUCTION has therefore become necessary to re-evaluate the roles

In order to remain competitive today's engine manufac-
turer is under ever increasing pressure to produce more
fuel efficient engines that are quieter, have longer life
parts, and have reduced maintenance requirements.
However, increases in aero engine performance are
linked closely to the advances made in the development
of improved high-strength/high-temperature capability
materials. Indeed, from a materials engineering view-
point, the engineering requirements translate into the
need for lighter, stronger materials which perform in a
predictable manner at higher temperatures for longer
times. With respect to materials development, the spec-
ific mechanical and physical requirements important to
engine components include density, thermal conduc-
tivity, thermal expansion, tensile strength, modulus,
fracture toughness, crack growth resistance, high-
temperature creep and corrosion/oxidation resist-
ance. However, since operating conditions vary greatly
in the different parts of the engine, the specific material
requirements also vary. Thus for UK engines, a series of
high-strength (alpha + beta) titanium alloys such as
Ti-6A1-4V have been developed for use in the front
stages of the compressor and for applications up to
350 "C. The near-alpha high-temperature creep resist-
ance alloys such as IMI829 and more recently IM1834
meet the requirements of the rear stages of the compres-
sor at temperatures up to 630°C. The needs for the
turbine region are being met by advanced nickel super-
alloys. For disc applications wrought Waspaloy and
more recently, powder metallurgy Udimet 720, are
typical materials. For blades, however, recent demands
have been met through the development of a series of
casting alloys including the directionally solidified alloy
DS Mar M 002 and the single crystal alloys SRR99 and
RR2000.
The introduction of several of these materials has
required modifications to existing stressing and lifing
methodologies to take account of the new material/
component application. In calculating disc stresses, it
This paper was presented at Aerotech 92 held in Birmingham on 14-17 January
1992. The M S was received on 10 August 1992 and was accepted for publication
on 25 February 1993.
GO3392
of both elasticity and plasticity, and to employ the use
of fracture mechanics models in crack growth predic-
tions. For blades it is necessary to evaluate the effects of
creep and material anisotropy. The paper outlines the
part played by material property data in identifying the
stress distributions within highly loaded discs and
blades and the consequences for component life.
2 ELASTIC AND ELASTO-PLASTIC STRESS
ANALYSIS IN THE PREDICTION OF LOW
CYCLE FRACTURE
Traditional lifing methods for rotating aero engine com-
ponents rely on the cyclic testing to failure of full-size
components. A service life is then declared by applying
statistically derived safety factors to the test results. At
this declared safe service life, to a level of confidence of
95 per cent, not more than 1 in every 750 discs should
have a crack with a surface length greater than 0.75 mm.
A full explanation of this procedure is given else-
where (1). In practice, depending on the specific mis-
sions flown, several different features may be life
limiting. Clearly, since testing under all possible service
usage conditions is not practical, stress analysis is neces-
sary to ensure that the loads imposed on critical areas
are compatible with those found in the engine. For this
reason the role of material plasticity must be clearly
understood.
2.1 Constrained yielding-the role of equivalent elastic
Stress
Within the general safe life concept, the detailed
methods that are applied in calculating the life con-
sumption during any particular flight depend on the
specific application and operating environment. The
titanium alloy Ti-6A1-4V, which has relatively high-
strength, low density, and good low-cycle fatigue
properties, is typical of the materials used for blades
and disc applications up to 350°C.For such situations,
even where.significant local yielding can occur, the use
of the classical elasticity theory or finite element elastic
stress analysis codes to calculate peak equivalent elastic
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol208
20 G F HARRISON
stress enables a simple relationship to be established
between the stress levels imposed and the cycles to
failure. The advantages of the greater stress sensitivity
with the elastic method over a more theoretically
appropriate plastic analysis are illustrated in Fig. 1.
Although still widely used with success, caution must
always be exercised when applying such an approach.
2.2 Local unconstrained yieldinethe significance of
plastic stresses
As a consequence of the depth of past experience and
the wealth of materials data available, equivalent elastic
stresses are frequently used in aero engine assessment
studies. Nevertheless, the requirements to operate
engine components at both higher stresses and higher
temperatures has meant that large regions within many
engine discs can be subjected to significant non-linear
deformation. Where appreciable plasticity does occur,
component stress levels can be significantly different
from those calculated using a simple elastic analysis.
This is illustrated by comparing the results of elastic
and elastic-plastic analyses for a case where thermal
stresses are also involved. Thus, for the hap.turbine disc
of a small gas turbine engine which in service runs at
64 OOO r/min and at a peak temperature of 600"C, Figs
2a and 2b demonstrate that a room temperature spin
pit test conducted at 81 000 r/min accurately represents
the calculated mechanical and thermal maximum prin-
cipal elastic stresses operating in the component.
However, the results of the more appropriate plastic
analysis, Figs 3a and 3b, show that this is not the case.
Indeed to provide a more representative test, a
maximum speed of 89 000 r/min is required, see Fig. 3c.
With regard to practical significance, the plastic analysis
shows that a room temperature test composed of a load
cycle of zero to 81 OOO r/min would seriously under-
represent the service operating conditions and conse-
quently would lead to an overestimation of component
service lives.
Experience has confirmed that spin pit test speeds
based on the results of the manufacturer's elastic
(r
\
1500 - -- *
\ stress
Part G : Journal of Aerospace Engineering
analysis significantly overestimated the safe service life
of the disc whereas calculated lives based on the plastic
analysis have shown good agreement.
2.3. General yieldinethe influence of cyclic softening
It has been stated recently with respect to the h.p. com-
pressor of the Rolls-Royce 'Trent' aero engine [a 360 kN
(80 OOO lb) thrust large turbo fan engine], that a near-
alpha titanium disc design has a 40 per cent weight
saving over an alternative nickel design (2). However,
although achieving the difficult target property levels at
temperatures in excess of the 600°C which are induced
in achieving the high required thrust levels, at tem-
peratures up to 160°C and which are experienced
during the start up and shut down sequences of the
engine, these alloys exhibit considerable cyclic softening.
For such conditions, when a static tensile stress-strain
curve is used in an elasto-plastic stress analysis as typi-
cally shown for the titanium alloy IMI829, Fig. 4, it is
found that the calculated peak stresses do not coincide
with the identified sub-surface failure initiation sites.
Recently there has been a trend towards the use of
cyclic stress-strain data in the analysis of such
materials. In this approach, from a series of fully
reversed strain controlled fatigue tests, the mid-life cycle
is identified for each test and from recorded cyclic
stress-strain data, the stress and strain ranges for this
cycle are then determined. The cyclic stress-strain curve
is constructed by plotting half the imposed total stress
range against half the imposed total strain range. The
derived curve is then in an appropriate form to be used
in any subsequent stress analysis. Although an improve-
ment on the use of the conventional stress-strain curve,
again referring to Fig. 4, peak stresses still do not co-
incide with observed sub-surface failure sites. It is sug-
gested that this approach models accurately only the
response of material within a highly constrained region,
for example, a bolt hole, and therefore to model general
cyclic softening as might occur in the cob region of an
aero engine compressor disc, a 0-max-0 strain cycle is
more appropriate. Additionally, consideration of
0 Number of tests
t+
X
Range of test results
Mean sample life peak - elastic
stress
30 total population distribution
-0- Mean sample life peak - plastic
 THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSIS 21

MPa
Max 0.139FA
I = 0.130E4
H = 0.12OE4
G = 0.11OE4
F = 0.100EX
E=900
D = 800
c =700
B = 600
A=500

...
(a) Engine service (b) Spin pit test
64 OOO r/min 8 1 OOO r/min

Fig. 2 Comparison of calculated stress distributions (elastic analysis) in an

APU h.p. turbine disc under service and spin pit test conditions

Roc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol208

 .-/.---.---- I

MPa MPa
I I Max 0.104E4 Max 986
I I
L = 0.100E4 J = 950
' E '
T - j L -
F I I
K = 950
J =900
1 =900
H = 850
I = 850 G = 800
I
H = 800 F = 750
I

S F
/ ; E = 600 E =700
r ' D = 650
C=600
B = 550
A=500

(a) Engine service (b) Spin pit test (c) Spin pit test
64OOO r/min 81 OOO r/min 89 OOO r/mh
Fig. 3 Comparison of calculated maximum principal stress distribution (elastic-plastic analysis) in an APU h.p. turbine disc under
service and spin pit test conditions
 ,,I
THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSIS

750 ~lastic;lysis

Plastic analysis using static s t r m t r a i n data

23

l Plastic analysis using cyclic stress-strain data

cyclic

I \
- Crack initiation 1
region

500 I I I I I I I I I I
20 40 60 80
Distance from bore
mm
Fig. 4 Effect of assumed stress-strain model in calculated maximum prin-
cipal stress distributions in a titanium 1MI829 disc tested at 13 850
rfmin and 80 "C

material response to the effects of loading, leads to the
simple conclusion that, during any loading cycle, the
peak tensile stress is accompanied by the peak tensile
strain and, hence, the data should be correlated accord-
ingly. Thus as also shown in Fig. 4, the application of
the physically more realistic O-max-0 strain, cyclic
stress-strain curve in the stress analysis results in agree-
ment between the predicted peak stress position and the
observed crack initiation regions. The results of these
analyses readily demonstrate the appropriateness of the
modified cyclic stress-strain method. Further evidence in
the suitability of this approach is provided elsewhere (3).
3 CRACK GROWTH MODELLING USING
FRACTURE MECHANICS CONCEPTS
The complex aero engine disc geometries coupled with
the thermal gradients they experience in service means
that it is difficult to evaluate all the critical regions in a
disc during a single disc spinning test. In addition,
depending on service usage, several of these features
may be life limiting. During build up to full take-off
power, transient thermal stresses within the cob region
reach a maximum value and contribute to this being the
most highly stressed region in the disc. Thus, when mis-
sions are short and large numbers of start up/shut down
sequences are experienced, the central cob region could
be life limiting. However, for other missions the minor
cycles associated with the many in-flight throttle move-
ments can cause significant additional mechanical
loading cycles which can result in the bore region, the
bolt holes or other surface features being life limiting.
Indeed when mission profiles result in many excursions
to full power, the combination of operating temperature
and mechanical loading can result in rim features being
the critical region. Since it may be necessary to perform
separate tests to evaIuate each of these aspects, a practi-
cal limitation is that only a few test results pertain to
individual features.
In all these situations however, failure occurs either
as a result of crack growth from an inherent defect or
from initiation and growth of a crack induced in the
component under the imposed loading sequence. It is
therefore necessary to identify a procedure for model-
ling crack growth in complex stress fields. Linear elastic
fracture mechanics provides a framework which can be
used to calculate the lives of such components. Crack
growth is most commonly evaluated with respect to
stress intensity factor, AK,This can be calculated from
the crack tip stress field or from the energy release rates
as new crack surfaces are created. The approach
requires information on initial flaw size, the stress and
temperature distributions in the vicinity of the crack,
the crack growth characteristics of the material and the
service loading history.
Although details on the accurate determination of
stress intensity factors lie outside the scope of this paper
a typical general solution, see references (4-5) is of the
form :
where
M, = a correction factor which accounts for crack
type (corner/surface) and position on the crack
front
@ = an elipticity factor which takes account of the
crack aspect ratio
M , = a back face correction factor
M, = a side face correction factor
F(a) = a stress function to account for the effect of the
complex stress field
There are many current studies investigating the
effects of mean stress, of yielding and of crack closure
on crack growth rates, however, broadly these can be
allowed for collectively by reformulating the standard
crack growth expression in terms of an effective stress
intensity factor such that:
da
- = c AKZ;r
dn
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol208
24 G F HARRISON

where
AKeff = AK t (1 - R)l-"'
99 'I

i'
R =t s max/o min

ij f
u = current crack length
c = material constant
Using this as an approach it is possible to estimate
crack growth rates -in most engineering structures.
These concepts have been incorporated into two frac-
50
40
30
J
ture mechanics based lifing approaches-the Effective
Initial Crack Size/Safe Life procedure and the Damage
Tolerance procedure.

3.1 Effective initial starter crack size in fracture

mechanics based safe life determination
I
Fracture mechanics models allow results from different I.
features within the disc and from different disc designs I
to be combined into a common database. In such an i
approach it is assumed that all discs contain small I
defects that gradually and predictably grow under
fatigue loading. By rearranging equation (2) and
expressing it in its integral form, it then becomes an I
easy matter to determine the cycles required to grow a I
crack from any initial size, a,, to any final size, a,. I
Thus, 0.3 I
0.2 { I

N, = C
1: AK:,da

where N, = crack growth cycles

(3)
A corollary to this is that if both the number of cycles
and the final crack size are known, then it is possible by
back calculation to determine the effective continuum
mechanics initial defect size appropriate to the particu-
lar component or specimen. Although these 'effective'
initial flaws do not have any physical significance and
do not represent actual flaws, they do provide a suitable
component parameter for characterizing the early stages
of growth. Hence, these initial flaw sizes can be analysed
statistically to establish a maximum effective initial
defect size that represents the quality of the disc manu-
facturing process. A novelty in the approach is that it
bypasses the requirements to identify and separately
quantify the crack initiation and small crack growth
phases. Figure 5 [based on reference (6)] shows the
results of such a back calculation on fatigue tests in the
titanium alloy Ti-6A1-4V. Since component geometry
and local stress field are allowed for in this analysis pro-
cedure, the identified maximum initial defect size can
then be used in a conventional forward crack growth
calculation to establish the life of any new disc design.
In compliance with the earlier identification of safe
service life, the maximum crack size used in this forward
calculation can be set at uf = 0.75 mm. Under current
Civil Aviation Authority/Joint Airworthiness Regula-
tions, in lifing procedures for aero engine discs it is
assumed that the ratio between the strongest and
weakest disc (in a sample of 750) is equal to a factor of
6. Independent of disc geometry and loading conditions,
lives predicted using the fracture mechanics maximum
initial defect size approach are all found to lie within
this value.
There is considerable current research into the role of
crack initiation and of sub grain crack growth as poten-
Part G Journal of Aerospace Engineering
0.1
1
1
I
I
I
r
5
= ' - - I
10
Ilai
Fig. 5 Distribution of effective initial flow sizes for titanium
Ti-6A1-4V
tial means of increasing fracture mechanics calculated
lives. In such approaches problems arise in identifying
accurately the crack initiation event and in quantifying
both the number of cycles to its occurrence and, subse-
quently, the cycles incurred during the small crack, non
continuum, crack growth phase. However, it is reiter-
ated that component lives declared via an initial starter
crack database approach already include much of this
life advantage without the requirement for such detailed
modelling. Disc life can therefore be estimated accu-
rately at the design stage. Additionally, since databases
contain large numbers of results, it is possible to apply
large sample statistics to these data and so, to a con-
stant level of confidence, this allows a greater propor-
tion of the mean test life to be released. Both CAA and
FAA airworthiness authorities have recently approved
the use of fracture mechanics based methods for defin-
ing aero engine disc lives.
3.2 Damage tolerance life prediction
With the introduction of high strength materials such as
the powder metallurgy disc alloys for aero engine discs,
damage tolerance life prediction models are gaining
wider application. These are again based on a fracture
mechanics approach, however, the starter crack sizes
used in the forward calculation of component life are
now set by the available NDE (non-destructive)inspec-
tion capability rather than them being a general identi-
fiable material parameter. Additionally, the maximum
 THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSIS
- +
- \"'
x\O
- '
0
-
\
By'\ \
\
- =<-\\*
--- Predicted from equation (6)B+'
100 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I 111111
Time to failure
Fig. 6 Prediction of high-temperaturelow-cycle fatigue lives of Nimonic 90
from static creep data
allowable final crack size is related to that for the frac-
ture toughness of the material. Crack growth equations,
such as equation (3), can be used to calculate the life to
failure and the declared service life is then set to half of
this available life. In this approach the component
entering service is deemed free of flaws of a size that
could propagate and cause failure within the set life. In
its report on current processing and lifing procedures
for titanium rotating components, the FAA review
team set up as a consequence of the recent crash at
Sioux City Airport has recorded its support for this
approach (7).
In the military engine field, a similar but somewhat
earlier approach has resulted in the formulation of Mil
Spec 1783 (8) and the Engine Structural Integrity Pro-
gramme (ENSIP) damage tolerant lifing concept. NDE
inspection is again used to establish a maximum com-
ponent defect size.
Both lifing approaches have the built-in safety factor
such that if a defect just above the detection limit is
missed, it should not have grown to failure before the
component is due to be withdrawn from service.
4 CREEP ANALYSIS MODELLING OF STRESS
DISTRIBUTIONS IN TURBINE BLADES AND
COATINGS
4.1 Influence of creep relaxation
Operating conditions at the back end of the compressor
and in the turbine section of a modern gas turbine
engine are such that on initial loading the rim region of
these discs can experience high compressive hoop
stresses. In practice, creep relaxation rapidly reduces
these stresss to much lower levels and it is therefore
essential that creep models are incorporated into the
finite element stress analysis procedures used to deter-
mine true operating stress levels in the discs. Although
creep relaxation influences operating stresses within the
disc, in general, disc failures are associated with the
exhaustion of low cycle fatigue life.
25
U 1073KCree-p
0 1073KLCF(lcpm)
1173KCreep
1173 K LCF( 1 cpm)
20,
'0,
\n '.
4 '
\\
"\
\*
I I 11~1111 l \ L l l l l ~ I I IIIllJ
h
For modern military engines, turbine entry tem-
peratures are in the region of 1650 K, with future engine
temperatures being predicted to exceed 1800 K.
Although these temperatures are above the melting
point of nickel superalloys, the utilization of complex
blade cooling systems ensures that the peak metal tem-
peratures are maintained at less than 1350 K. Under
such adverse operating conditions, creep deformation is
a critical damage parameter and forms the conceptual
basis of modelling techniques for predicting local
stresses and strains. The approach established at the
Defence Research Agency (DRA) is typical of such
models and has been shown to be widely applicable to
aero engine turbine blade materials (9). In this model
creep induced deformation, E, , is predicted from the
equation :
E, = ZCaflt'qY (4)
where
a = operating stress level
t = equivalent damage time
rp = afunction quantifying the effects of temperature on
creep processes
and C, p and IC are materials related constants.
For a simple creep test the summation comprises
three terms representing the commonly identified
primary, secondary and tertiary stages of creep defor-
mation. However, creep not only influences operating
stresses within the blade but it may also influence the
eventual failure process. When applied in conjunction
with strain hardening concepts, the basic equation can
be reformulated to predict the effect of a range of
loading sequences. It can be shown that under high-
temperature low cycle fatigue loading, for a wide range
of aero engine materials, failure lives can be predicted
accurately from simple static creep data. For example,
to calculate such lives the basic creep equation can be
reformulated so that the life to failure under triangular
Proc Instn Mcch Engrs Vol208
26 G F HARRISON

loading, tf, can be represented in terms of the life of a Such creep models can be incorporated into appro-
creep test at the same temperature and at a constant priate finite element code to enable a creep evaluation
stress level equal to the maximum stress level applied in of the stress distribution within a blade. Figures 7a-d
the loading sequence, t , (10). illustrate typical results of such an analysis performed
The re-arranged equation is now of the form: on a turbine blade using an in-house DRA stress
analysis program called Gandalf.
t, = (! + l)tc (5) Figure 7a shows the chordwise stress distribution in
the blade on initial loading and Fig. 7b the correspond-
ing temperature distribution. Figure 7c illustrates the
or, if expressed in terms of cycles to failure, N,, relaxed steady state stress distribution after several mis-
Nf = (E + I)p,
sions and Fig. 7d the calculated creep strain accumula-
tion accompanying this stress redistribution.
Running such an analysis program to predict blade
where ‘f is simply cycling frequency. failure can be prohibitively expensive and for example
Figure 6 illustrates a typical fit of the model, in this with the ABAQUS commercial analysis package,
case to Nimonic 90 LCF data, however the model has analysis of a four minute real time test and using only
been shown to be valid for a variety of materials and lo00 elements in the discretization of the blade aerofoil,
loading conditions (10). took more than 30 000 seconds CPU time on a Cray 2

MPa , 14 1020
11 700
13 loo0
10 600
9 500 12 980
8 400 1 1 960
7 300 10 940
6 200 7 9 920
5 100
4
3
2
1
0
-100
-200
-300
1127
13 7 7
6
880
860
5 8 4 0
4 820
3 8 0 0
2 780
1 760
(a) Initial stress distribution at take-off (b) Initial temperature distribution at take-off

7 7 MPa
I1 700 1 0.20
10 600 2 0.18
9 500 3 0.16
8 400 4 0.15
7 300 5 0.13
6 200 6 0.11
5 100 7 0.09
4 0 8 0.06
3 -100 9 0.03
2 -200 10 0.00
1 -300 1 1 -0.03
.I‘
12 -0.06
13 -0.10

(c) Stress distribution at shakedown (d) Creep strain distribution at shakedown

Fig. 7 Turbine blade aerofoil section analysis

Part G Journal of Aerospace Engineering
 THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSIS 27

computer. Additionally, errors of as little as 10 K in
predicted blade temperatures can double or halve calcu-
lated blade lives. Nevertheless estimations of blade
failure locations are quite accurate thus enabling blade
design modifications on a relative rather than on an
absolute basis. Although means of improving the corre-
lation between redistributed stresses and strains and
blade service lives are continuing, as illustrated in the
next section, fully quantitative life calculations are now
becoming a feasible option.
4.2 Assessment of thermal shock
The modern gas turbine blade has to withstand severe
thermal gradients, particularly during thermal tran-
sients. The induced thermal stresses can be as damaging
as the centrifugal mechanical stresses and, because of
the cyclic nature of these imposed thermal loads, the
damage incurred has been termed thermal fatigue.
From a simple creep analysis similar to that discussed
in the previous section, Fig. 8 shows typical calculated
stress-time, stress-temperature, and stress-strain
responses at the tip of a coated aerofoil section tested in
a fluidized bed thermal fatigue rig (11). It can be seen
that large transient stresses are generated by the
thermal shock. The stress-strain loop also shows signifi-
cant differences between the heating and cooling phases.
The creep model which was used to calculate these
stresses and strains can be rearranged to quantify the
damage they impose on the blade. A convenient way of
illustrating this is through relating the transient thermal
fatigue damage to the static damage imposed under a
selected reference stress, orefand reference temperature
Tef. Thus, for example, if the transient stress-
temperature-time properties of Fig. 8 are represented

1 2
I . Surface temperature
2. Centre temperature l2O0 1
800 -

O C

400 -

I I I I -1200 J
0 100 200 300 400 500
-
S
Time

(a) Temperature-time relationship during (b) Coating stress-time relationship during heating
heating and cooling and cooling cycles

lOo(1 - Time from

in O commencement

600

200
$- 0
0

-200

- 600

6
- loo0 -
(c) Coating stress-temperature relationship (d) Coating stress-strain hysteresis loop during
during heating and cooling cycles heating and cooling
Fig. 8 Aerofoil response to thermal shock
Proc Instn Mech Engrs V d 208
28 G F HARRISON

by a set of 'n' discrete stress-temperature combinations
(C-T), each imposed for an extremely short time At,
then the cycles to failure N,can be expressed as:
(7)
stress-temperature profiles were again similar to those
illustrated in Fig. 8.) Although in practice the predicted
lives are slightly greater than the experimental findings,
considering the complexity of the test, agreement is
good and provides significant validatory support for the
creep model employed.

In the above expression the temperature term in equa-

tion (4) has been extended to the form
4=(T'-T) (8)
in which T' is a material dependent temperature con-
stant.
Figure 9 illustrates the effectiveness of applying the
above equation to predict the results of thermal fatigue
tests on the nickel base superalloy, Nim 108 (12). (In
these tests resistance heating and coupled wave form
generators enabled the imposed temperatures to be
cycled between 400°C and 1000°C with transient
sequences of approximately 15 seconds. The imposed
4.3 Modelling anisotropic behaviour of single crystals
A step change in temperature capability has accompa-
nied the introduction of directionally solidified and
single crystal turbine blades. In the (001 ) crystallo-
graphic directions these materials have high creep
resistance accompanied by an elastic modulus which is
only approximately 3 that of the conventionally cast
material. An attractive consequence of this modulus dif-
ference is that the induced thermal strains lead to con-
siderably lower thermal stresses and hence lead to much
longer blade service lives. Figure 10 provides a typical
example of the effects of creep anisotropy, in this partic-

1500 -.-

I-I Nimonic 108

3
.-
-0
e

=/.
a 500 --

- Cycles predicted from equation (8)

%'

2o
t ci I 1)I )

; o
c

l
i
[
I I
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time
h
Fig. 10 The effect of crystal orientation on the creep behaviour of single
crystal Mar M 002 tested at 465 MPa and 850°C
Part G Journal of Aerospace Engineering
 THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSIS 29

loo [ A Basic octahedral <001> creep

t Basic cube <111> creep

I
A

0.10 I 10 100
Time
h
Fig. 11 Octahedral (001) and cube creep (111) in experimental single
crystal alloy specimens under stress of 450 MPa and a temperature
of 850 "C

ular case for the single crystal alloy Mar M 002.
However, even although almost all advanced aero
engine gas turbines now employ turbine blades produc-
ed from single crystal superalloys, there is still a signifi-
cant lack of knowledge concerning the detailed
non-linear mechanical behaviour of these alloys. Over
recent years there have been several studies of single
crystal creep anisotropy. Of particular interest, Gosh
and McLean have proposed that, to account for the
electron microscope evidence of dislocation motion
under local shear stresses on well defined slip systems, it
is necessary to invoke glide processes on both octa-
hedral and cube slip systems (13). The active slip
systems are considered to be (111) planes and (101)
directions and (001) planes and (110) directions. In
practice the determination of the appropriate rate
parameters is made somewhat simpler by the fact that a
(100) axial stress produces no resolved shear stresses
on cube planes and hence analysis of tensile creep data
for (100) oriented crystals provides information on
octahedral glide processes only. Additionally deforma-
tion in a (111) axial stress creep test is almost totally
cube shear dominated with only very small resolved
shear stresses operating on octahedral planes. Hence,
from constant stress creep tests at a range of stresses
and temperatures but with testing limited solely to
specimens specific to these two slip systems, a model
parameter database can be determined. Current work at
DRA has produced a reformulation of the basic creep
expression of equation (1) in terms of resolved shear

<011>
o Experimental data for <01 I> crystal
0
0 Combined octahedral and cube <011> 0

c
0 .
creep predicted using equation (8)
Ooo.
0 .
-
1

0.01 0.10 1 10 100 lo00

Time
-
h
Fig. 12 Comparison of experimental and predicted creep strain accumula-
tion in a (011) oriented experimental single crystal alloy specimen
under a stress of 550 MPa and a temperature of 850°C
hoc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol 208
30 G F HARRISON
stresses operating on active slip planes by constructing
a cosine matrix that relates the Cartesian axes of the
crystal with that of the specimen or blade. The equation
has the form
(9)
where
y = strain energy on the slip system
z = resolved shear stress
In addition,
z = 0 cos 0 cos 4 (10)
where
0 = the angle between the normal to the slip plane and
the global axis of the blade or specimen
4 = the angle between the slip direction and the global
axis
The above formulation accommodates all possible
crystal orientations and thus enables all stress com-
ponents acting on the specimen or turbine blade model
to be resolved to single stress values on the specific slip
system. The accompanying strain on each slip system
can then be resolved into its nine displacement com-
ponents. The summation of the component strains from
each of the active slip systems produces a deformation
gradient matrix that provides strain values, shape
changes and rotational information. Figure 11 illus-
trates typical creep curves for (111) and (001) orien-
tated crystals and Fig. 12 the ability of the above
equation to predict creep behaviour of a randomly
orientated crystal. In fact an (011) orientation was
selected for illustration since this experiences significant
contributions from both the octahedral and cube shear
systems.
5 FINAL COMMENTS
The paper is intended to provide a brief overview of
typical materials models used in stress analysis and life
assessment of modern aero engine components. No
attempt has been made to take detailed account of the
effects of the complex loading profiles induced during
service missions since these aspects have been addressed
elsewhere (1). It has been shown that where plasticity is
constrained locally, for example around disc bolt holes
and blade root fixings, elastic stress analysis still pro-
vides a suitable means of evaluating component behav-
iour.
For the titanium and nickel materials used in current
aero engine components it is found generally that under
realistic service loading conditions, even where signifi-
cant initial yielding occurs, the induced ‘shakedown’
stress levels relax to nominally elastic stress ranges and
hence, linear elastic fracture mechanics provides a suit-
able basis for crack growth and component lifing
models. However, at these elevated temperatures signifi-
cant inelastic strains can be experienced during the
‘shakedown’ to elastic conditions and hence such effects
significantly influence the stress fields within which a
crack may be growing. Hence, even under nominally
tensile loading, when these loads are removed, signifi-
cant compressive residual stresses can remain locally.
Such effects result in crack closure, however, in the
Part G Journal of Aerospace Engineering
models illustrated in the current paper, the conse-
quences of these effects are taken into account by con-
sidering only the tensile portion of the stress range or
through the use of an ‘r-ratio’ modified stress intensity
factor. As disc operating temperatures progressively
increase above 600 “C and for surface initiated cracks, it
is becoming necessary to take account of the effects of
intercrystalline corrosion/oxidation. Indeed, for even
higher operating temperatures, creep crack growth
models are being developed. Although such models are
still currently under development their basic formula-
tions have now been established (14) (15) and indeed the
role of subsurface defects and their effects on residual
stress fields are now able to be addressed (16).
The paper has illustrated that analysis procedures to
quantify both the effects of thermal fatigue and single
crystal creep anisotropy are becoming available. These
modelling tools should enable optimized blade cooling
configurations to be established at the design stage
rather than as is currently the case, as a ‘cut-and-try’
exercise during development testing. However, since in
practice temperature differences of as little as 10 K can
double or halve the creep lives obtained, improved
modelling techniques are likely to improve blade service
life predictions on a relative rather than an absolute
basis.
Briefly considering future trends, design studies have
shown that the introduction of ceramic reinforced metal
matrix composite (MMC) discs could provide a poten-
tial weight saving of up to 80 per cent. However, before
they can be used successfully, thermal expansion mis-
match between the ceramic fibre and the metallic
matrix, fibre-matrix compatibility and thermal protec-
tion will all have to be addressed on a material by
material basis. With regard to the mechanical behaviour
of long fibre MMC materials, micromechanical model-
ling of the thermal stresses induced during cooling from
the component consolidation temperature to the service
operating temperature is enabling accurate predictions
of mechanical properties such as, for example, non-
linear longitudinal and transverse tensile behaviour. As
regards the macro modelling of component stresses,
analysis techniques are becoming available in which the
detailed tensile information from the micro mechanical
modelling is introduced through the application of
appropriate orthotropic analysis models which are
applied locally to the reinforced region of the com-
ponent. Although the modelling of such stress distribu-
tions is now at an advanced state, modelling of the
relevant failure processes is an aspect still requiring
further investigation.
Modern gas turbine components operate at tem-
peratures which are considerably above the melting
point of current nickel superalloys and, hence, turbine
blades require complex cooling configurations. This is a
highly inefficient use of compressor air. Coupled with
the relatively high density of current blade materials,
the consequent effect on disc and shaft designs, makes
the replacement of these alloys with light weight high-
temperature capability ceramics a highly attractive goal.
However, despite the large research effort ceramic tech-
nology is still at an early stage and these materials have
still as yet only been introduced into engines in non-
rotating applications. However, assuming that manufac-
turing and design difficulties can be overcome,
 THE ROLE OF MATERIAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES IN STRESS ANALYSlS
appropriate lifing models will have to be formulated
within a probablistic framework.
Each of the very different classes of new materials has
unique characteristics which offer the scope for innova-
tive design. However, if these advanced concepts are to
be introduced safely and with acceptable lives their
material behaviour must be fully investigated and
appropriate stress analysis and lifing methods devel-
oped.
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@ Crown copyright 1994
Proc lostn Mech Engrs Vol 208