Fatigue-Crack Propagation in a Cast Stainless Steel

Linear-elastic fracture mechanics techniques were employed to characterize the crack growth behavior of SA-351 Grade CF8 cast stainless steel over the temperature range 75 to 1200°F (24 to 649° C). In general, crack growth rates increased with increasing test temperature. The crack growth rates in the cast material generally fell within or below the scatter bands for wrought Types 304 and 316 material tested under similar conditions, implying that data obtained on wrought material would likely yield conservative results for crack growth analyses on cast structures.