High-Cycle Fatigue of High-Strength Low Alloy Steel Q345 Subjected to Immersion Corrosion for Mining Wheel Applications

In an effort to better understand the impact of material degradation on the fatigue life of mining wheels made of a high-strength low alloy carbon steel (Q345), this study seeks to evaluate the effect of surface corrosion on the high-cycle fatigue behavior of the Q345 alloy. The fatigue behavior of the polished and corroded alloy was investigated. Following exposure to a 3.5 wt.% NaCl saltwater solution, polished and corroded fatigue specimens were tested using an R.R. Moore rotating-bending fatigue apparatus. Microstructural analyses via both optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that one major phase, α-iron phase, ferrite, and one minor phase, colony pearlite, existed in the extracted Q345 alloy. The results of the fatigue testing showed that the polished and corroded specimens had an endurance strength of approximately 295 and 222 MPa, respectively, at 5,000,000 cycles. The corroded surface condition resulted in a decrease in the fatigue strength of the Q345 alloy by 24.6%. Scanning electron microscope fractography indicated that failure modes for polished and corroded fatigue specimens were consistent in the high-cycle low loading fatigue regime. Conversely, SEM fractography of low-cycle high-loading fatigue specimens found considerable differences in fracture surfaces between the corroded and polished fatigue specimens.