Fatigue Performance of Fluidized Bed Heat Treated 319 Alloy Diesel Cylinder Heads

Effects of various heat treatment tempers on fatigue performance of 319 alloy diesel cylinder heads were investigated. Castings were heat treated to T5, T6, and T7 tempers. Castings were solution heat treated and quenched using fluidized beds and aged using both conventional air convective furnace and fluidized bed for T6 and T7 tempers; while they were aged after casting for T5 temper using conventional furnace. Fatigue tests were performed at 373 K (100 °C) and stress ratio equal to −1. Results show that heat treatment has significant effect on the fatigue behavior of 319 alloy. The fatigue strength of T6 tempered 319 alloy is greater than T5 and T7 treatments. Weibull analysis shows that the Weibull modulus and characteristic fatigue life of castings treated (using conventional forced air circulation electrical resistance furnace) to T6 and T7 tempers are greater than T5 temper. This implies that castings treated to T6 and T7 tempers have greater reliability vis-à-vis T5 temper. Fractographic analyses reveal three distinct regions. These are: (I) crack initiation region from the surface, (II) crack propagation region, and (III) catastrophic or monotonic failure region. The relative size of the crack propagation region in T6 and T7 treated samples is greater than T5 treated samples. In general, the monotonic failure region shows typical dimple morphology, which implies significant plastic deformation prior to failure. Dimples on the fractured surface of T5 treated alloy are relatively more faceted than those treated to T6 and T7 tempers. This implies that the 319 alloy treated to T6 and T7 tempers underwent higher degree of plasticity prior to failure than that in the T5 condition.