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Material 30A MPTIAC

E A S E Benjamin D. Craig
AMPTIAC
Rome, NY

Material Failure Modes, Part II

A Brief Tutorial on Impact, Spalling, Wear, Brinelling, Thermal Shock, and Radiation Damage

This issue of MaterialEASE is Part Two of a three part series on material failure modes. MaterialEASE 29, published in Volume
9, Number 1 of the AMPTIAC Quarterly, introduced the concept of material failure modes and covered fracture, ductile failure,
elastic deformation, creep, and fatigue. This article continues the discussion with brief descriptions of impact, spalling, wear,
brinelling, thermal shock, and radiation damage. The next MaterialEASE article will complete the series on material failure
modes, and the three articles taken together will make a valuable desk reference for any professional making material selec-
tion and design decisions. - Editor

INTRODUCTION fracture, impact deformation, impact wear, impact fretting, and

The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce several material impact fatigue. Each of these will be discussed in some detail in
failure modes. A better understanding of these failure mecha- the following sections.
nisms will enable more appropriate decisions when selecting
materials for a particular application. Even a basic knowledge Impact Fracture
and awareness can help design engineers to be better equipped in The most extreme consequence of sudden shock loading results
delaying or preventing the failure of a material or component. in fracture. This can be a catastrophic failure mode, as it occurs
Failure can occur in systems with moving or non-moving rapidly under the load of a sudden impact, and it is common in
parts. In systems with moving parts, friction often leads to mate- brittle materials, such as ceramics. For example, when a ceram-
rial degradation such as wear, and collisions between two compo- ic armor tile is hit with a projectile it likely will sustain multiple
nents can result in surface or more extensive material damage. fractures. This failure mode is in contrast to impact deformation.
Systems with non-moving parts are also prone to material fail- Impact Deformation
ure, especially when certain types of materials are subjected to The energy imparted to a material during sudden shock loading
extreme temperature changes or to high energy radiation envi- can be absorbed through deformation. Plastic deformation
ronments. caused by this sudden shock loading can preclude a structure
Material failure often manifests itself in the form of cracking, from performing its intended function. This is a failure mode
but it can also appear as material disintegration, mechanical known as impact deformation, and typically occurs in ductile
property degradation, or even physical deformation. For instance, materials, such as metals.
impact failure can occur by fracture, deformation, or material
disintegration, while radiation damage can cause a severe degra- Impact Wear
dation of a material’s properties. These failure modes, as well as Impact wear occurs when a material is repeatedly impacted by
spalling, wear, brinelling, and thermal shock are described another solid mass causing a gradual deterioration of the sur-
throughout the rest of this article. face. The impact of large or small masses or particles can cause
deformation to the material being impacted. This deformation
IMPACT can result in the ejection of particles from the material’s surface,
The collision of two masses, one of which can be stationary, caus- or the formation of near-surface cracks that under repeated
es a sudden increase in stress or an intense change in pressure impact can cause pieces of the surface to fracture (see description
(as in an explosive blast), and may result in impact failure. This of surface fatigue wear in this article). In the case of repeated
shock loading can cause permanent deformation or fracture to impact by particles that are very small relative to the size of the
one or both of the colliding bodies, which can render that mate- material being impacted, the wear that ensues could be consid-
rial unable to perform its intended function. Sudden impact ered erosive wear. Erosive wear is the continuous deterioration
loading can result in shock waves which induce localized stress- of a material by a fluid carrying solid particles. When the fluid
es and strains causing mechanical damage to the material. There is traveling in a direction that is normal to the surface of the
are several different types of impact failure including impact material, it can be considered impact wear.
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Material
E A S E

Impact Fretting Components such as bearings, cams, and gears are often
Impact fretting is a fretting damage mechanism (see section on susceptible to wear. There are several different types of wear,
fretting wear in this article) where the two contacting bodies including adhesive wear, abrasive wear, corrosive wear, surface
become physically disengaged momentarily and suddenly resume fatigue wear, impact wear, and fretting wear. Most of these will be
contact. This occurs while the two materials continue their rela- discussed in some detail in the following sections.
tive sliding motion causing both fretting and impact damage. Minimizing or protecting a material’s surface from wear can
This sudden separation and subsequent impact can cause an be accomplished through several methods including the use of
increase in the fretting wear rate, as an additional damage mech- lubricants and surface treatments.[3] Selecting a material that
anism is employed. is resistant to wear, such as one having high hardness (e.g.
ceramics), is also a good method to prevent excessive wear.
Impact Fatigue
Alternatively, hard coatings such as tungsten-carbide-cobalt can
Impact fatigue is a failure mode obviously related to impact
be used to augment the hardness of a component having a rela-
damage, but is briefly described in the section on fatigue failure
tively soft surface. Surface or heat treatments can also be used to
modes published in MaterialEASE 29, AMPTIAC Quarterly
increase the hardness or smoothness of the surface. Exampes
Volume 9, Number 1.[1]
include carburizing and superfinishing, which is described in
SPALLING Volume 7, Number 1 of the AMPTIAC Quarterly.[4]
Spalling is the deterioration of a component as fragments from
Adhesive Wear
the surface break free from the material. This phenomenon can
Adhesive wear occurs between two surfaces in relative motion as
occur through several mechanisms including the formation and
the result of high contact stresses, which are generated because
propagation of fatigue cracks underneath the surface. This
of the inherent roughness of material surfaces. No matter how
mechanism is related to the surface fatigue mechanism, which
finely polished a surface is, two materials in contact with each
is discussed in the following section. Another mechanism that
other do not mate completely. This allows localized areas on the
leads to spalling involves the propagation of shock waves through
surface to sustain a greater percentage of a mechanical load,
to the opposite side of a material after being impacted, which
while the areas that are not in contact with the opposing surface
results in significant localized stress and consequently cracking
absorb none of the mechanical load. In adhesive wear, the peaks
near the surface. This sub-surface cracking causes surface frac-
on the adjacent surfaces that do come into contact will plastical-
tures and particles to be dislodged from the material’s surface.
ly deform under pressure and form atomic bonds at the interface
Similarly, thermal shock can cause spalling failure (see section
(in some cases this is considered solid-phase welding). As the
on thermal shock in this article). Spalling can occur in met-
relative motion between the surfaces continues, the shear stress
als or ceramics or even surface coatings; it often occurs in armor
at the now atomically bonded contact point increases until the
materials, gear teeth, and bearings. Figure 1 shows spalling fail-
shear strength limit of one of the materials is reached and the
ure of a gear tooth.
contact point is broken bringing with it a piece of the opposing
surface. The broken material can then either be released as debris
or remain bonded to the other material’s surface. This process
Figure 1. Spalling Failure on the
Surface of a Gear Tooth Caused by is demonstrated in Figure 2. Adhesive wear is also known as
Surface Fatigue[2]. scoring, scuffing, galling or seizing (galling and seizure are
described briefly below).[3,5]
High hardness and low strength are desirable properties for
WEAR applications requiring resistance to adhesive wear. However, these
Wear is a general term used to describe the deterioration of a properties are somewhat mutually exclusive, which makes com-
material’s surface caused by frictional forces generated as a result posite materials desirable for such applications. Examples of
of contact between two surfaces that are moving in relation to one resistant monolithic materials include low strength, high ductil-
another. Temperature has an effect on the wear rate (rate at which ity polymers and high hardness, low density ceramics. Sintered
a material deteriorates under frictional forces) because friction copper infiltrated with polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon™) and
generates heat, which in turn can affect the microstructure of lead particle reinforced bronze materials are specific examples of
the material and make it more susceptible to deterioration. composite materials that are highly resistant to adhesive wear.[3]

12 The AMPTIAC Quarterly, Volume 9, Number 2

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A D VA N C E D M AT E R I A L S AND PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY
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Horizontal arrows in a direction parallel (as opposed to perpendicular which is

indicate directions
Bonded junction of sliding impact wear) to the surface, and the particles gradually deterio-
rate the material’s surface.
Material hardness is a critical factor in the abrasive wear rate
of the surface, as higher hardness results in a lower wear rate.
Moreover, if the hardness of the material’s surface is higher than
the hardness of the abrading particles, then little wear is observed
and the particles are likely to be broken into smaller pieces.
Sheared asperity Materials with high hardness and toughness properties are well-
suited to prevent or minimize abrasive wear. Examples of materi-
als that are inherently resistant to abrasive wear include high
Bonded asperity hardness or surface hardened steels, cobalt alloys and ceram-
Figure 2. Illustration of Adhesive Wear Mechanism[3]. ics.[3]

Force/Pressure Corrosive Wear

When the effects of corrosion and wear are combined, a more
Travel rapid degradation of the material’s surface may occur. This
process is known as corrosive wear. Films or coatings are often
Abrasive Debris
used to protect a base metal or alloy from harsh environments
particle that would otherwise cause it to corrode. If such a coating were
Asperity
subjected to abrasive or adhesive wear causing a loss of coating
from the material’s surface, for instance, the base metal or alloy
could be exposed and consequently corroded. Alternatively, a sur-
Debris face that is corroded or oxidized may be mechanically weakened
Figure 3. Illustration of Abrasive Wear Mechanism[3].
and more likely to wear at an increased rate. Furthermore, corro-
sion products including oxide particles that are dislodged from
Galling and Seizure
the material’s surface can subsequently act as abrasive particles.
Galling is an extreme form of adhesive wear that involves exces- Surface Fatigue Wear
sive friction between the two surfaces resulting in localized Surface or contact fatigue occurs when two material surfaces that
solid-phase welding and subsequent spalling of the mated parts. are in contact with each other in a rolling or combined rolling
This process causes significant damage to the surface of one and sliding motion create an alternating force or stress oriented
or both materials. Seizure is even more extreme in that the two in a direction normal to the surface. The contact stress initiates
surfaces experience a sufficient amount of solid-phase welding the formation of cracks slightly beneath the surface, which then
such that the two components can no longer move. grow back toward the surface causing pits to form, as particles of
Abrasive Wear
the material are ejected or worn away. This form of fatigue is
Gouging, grinding and scratching are examples of abrasive common in applications where an object repeatedly rolls across
wear, which occurs when a solid surface experiences the dis- the surface of a material resulting in a high concentration of
placement or removal of material as a result of a forceful inter- stress at each point along the surface. For example, rolling-
action with another surface or particle. Particles can become element bearings, gears, and railroad wheels commonly exhibit
trapped in between the two surfaces in contact, and the relative surface fatigue.[3,6] Figure 4 illustrates an example of the sur-
motion between them results in abrasion (displacement and face fatigue mechanism.
removal of surface material) of the surface that has a lower
Direction of rotation
hardness. This process is demonstrated in Figure 3. Sources of
particles can include foreign contaminants (particles originat-
ing outside the system), wear debris, or solid constituents sus- Solid
pended in a fluid. Alternatively, abrasive wear can occur in the
absence of loose particles when the roughness of one surface
causes abrasion and/or removal of material from the other sur-
face. This wear mechanism differs from adhesive wear in that Cracks originate below surface
there is no atomic bonding between the two surfaces. Abrasive
erosion occurs when a fluid carrying solid particles is traveling Figure 4. Illustration of Surface Fatigue Mechanism[3].

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Material
E A S E
Impact Wear brinelling since an indentation can cause an increase in vibra-
Impact wear is discussed in the section addressing impact fail- tion, noise and heating.[7] Brinelling failures can be caused by
ure modes. improper handling, such as forcing a bearing into a housing,
by dropping the bearing, or by severe vibrations, such as those
Fretting Wear
produced during ultrasonic cleaning.[8] Selecting a material
Surfaces that are in intimate contact with each other and are sub-
with a high hardness or taking extra care during handling and
ject to a small amplitude relative motion that is cyclic in nature,
cleaning can help prevent brinelling.
such as vibration, tend to incur wear. Fretting wear is normally
accompanied by the corrosion or oxidization of the debris and worn THERMAL SHOCK
surface. Unlike normal wear mechanisms only a small amount of Thermal shock is a failure mechanism that occurs in materials
the debris is lost from the system; instead the debris remains with- that exhibit a significant temperature gradient (indicating a
in the conjoined surfaces. The mated surfaces essentially exhibit sudden and dramatic change in temperature has occurred).
adhesion through mechanical bonding, and the oscillatory motion For instance, if the temperature gradient is so large that the
causes the surface to fragment, thereby creating oxidized debris. If material experiences thermal stresses (or strains) great enough
the debris becomes embedded in the surface of the softer metal, the to overcome its strength, it may lead to fracture, especially if
wear rate may be reduced. If the debris remains free at the interface the material is constrained. An example of the consequence
between the two materials the wear rate may be increased. Fatigue of thermal shock is shown in Figure 5. Awareness of a system or
cracks also have a tendency to form in the region of wear, resulting component’s operating conditions when selecting materials is
in a further degradation of the material’s surface. Liquid or solid important in order to prevent thermal shock failure from occur-
lubricants (e.g. surface treatments, coatings, etc.), residual stresses ring. The designer should choose a material that has an appro-
(e.g. through shot or laser peening), surface grooving (e.g. to priate thermal conductivity and heat capacity for the intended
enable the release of debris), and/or appropriate material selection environmental conditions. In addition, residual stresses (from
for the material pair can help to reduce the effects or prevent the shot or laser peening, for example) can help accommodate
occurrence of fretting wear.[7] thermal stresses that are generated during thermal shock, there-
by potentially protecting the material from fracture.
BRINELLING
Brinelling can be very basically defined as denting. When a local- RADIATION DAMAGE
ized area of a material’s surface is repeatedly impacted or is sub- The space environment is very unfriendly to most materials due to
jected to a static load that overcomes the material’s yield strength an array of harsh conditions that can easily and rapidly degrade the
causing it to permanently deform, it is considered to have under- material and/or its properties. Degradation of an exposed material
gone brinelling. Bearings are often susceptible to failure by often comes as a result of the different types of radiation present in

Figure 5. Brittle Fracture of a Ductile Weld Material that Is Constrained – Caused by

High Stresses Induced from a Rapid 1000°F Change in Temperature. (Photo Courtesy
of Sachs, Salvaterra & Associates, Inc.)

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A D VA N C E D M AT E R I A L S AND PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY
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space. Radiation is not limited to the space environment, however, CONCLUSION

as there are a number of environments and specific applications A number of material failure modes were introduced in this
that subject materials to this damaging energy (Figure 6). article including impact, spalling, wear, brinelling, thermal
High-energy radiation, such as neutrons in a nuclear reactor, shock and radiation damage. These mechanisms can affect
can damage almost any material including metals, ceramics and metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites in various applica-
polymers.[3] Typically, when a material is subjected to high-ener- tions and in many different environments. Thus, it is impor-
gy radiation its properties are altered through structural mutation tant to take these failure modes into consideration during the
in order to absorb some of the energy that is incident on the mate- design phases of a component or system in order to make
rial. For instance, when a metal is exposed to neutron radiation appropriate materials selection decisions.
from a nuclear reactor, MaterialEASE 31 will be published in Volume 9, Number 3,
atoms in the metal are dis- of the AMPTIAC Quarterly and will contain the final installment
placed resulting in the cre- of failure modes. These will include uniform, galvanic, crevice,
ation of defects. These pitting, intergranular, and erosion corrosion; selective leaching/
defects can diffuse and dealloying; hydrogen damage; stress corrosion cracking; and
coalesce to create crack corrosion fatigue.
initiation sites or can sim-
ply leave the metal brittle REFERENCES
and susceptible to failure [1] B.D. Craig, Material Failure Modes, Part I: A Brief Tutorial on
through another mecha- Fracture, Ductile Failure, Elastic Deformation, Creep, and Fatigue,
nism. Another portion of AMPTIAC Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1, AMPTIAC, 2005, pp. 9-16,
Figure 6. CO2 Laser Used to Study the http://amptiac.alionscience.com/pdf/2005MaterialEASE29.pdf
the energy incident on the
Effects of Radiation on Materials[9]. [2] NASA Spur Gear Fatigue Data, NASA Glenn Research Center,
metal is absorbed and con-
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/5900/5950/Fatigue-data.htm
verted to heat. Metals are often better suited to withstand radia- [3] J.P. Shaffer, A. Saxena, S.D. Antolovich, T.H. Sanders, Jr., and
tion energy than are ceramics. Typically, the ductility, thermal S.B. Warner, The Science and Design of Engineering Materials,
conductivity and electrical conductivity are negatively impacted 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1999
when a metal is exposed to radiation.[3] Ceramics are affected by [4] P. Niskanen, A. Manesh, and R. Morgan, Reducing Wear
radiation to varying extents depending on the type of inherent With Superfinish Technology, AMPTIAC Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 1,
bonding (i.e. covalent or ionic). Ionically-bonded ceramics expe- AMPTIAC, 2003, pp.3-9, http://amptiac.alionscience.com/pdf/AMP
rience decreases in ductility, thermal conductivity and optical Q7_1ART01.pdf.
properties, but the damage can be reversed with proper heat treat- [5] Wear Failures, Metals Handbook, 9th Edition, Vol. 11: Failure
ment (similar to metals). Covalently-bonded ceramics experience Analysis and Prevention, ASM International, 1986, pp. 145-162
similar damage, however the damage is somewhat permanent.[3] [6] J.R. Davis (editor), ASM Materials Engineering Dictionary, ASM
International, 1992
Polymers are especially susceptible to radiation even at low
[7] J.A. Collins and S.R. Daniewicz, Failure Modes: Performance and
energy levels, such as UV radiation. Damage from radiation in
Service Requirements for Metals, M. Kutz (editor), Handbook of
polymers usually manifests itself as cracking. For this reason, Materials Selection, John Wiley and Sons, 2002, pp. 705-773
polymers have been known for their cracking problems in out- [8] Failures of Rolling-Element Bearings, Metals Handbook, 9th
door applications, where they are constantly exposed to UV radi- Edition, Vol. 11: Failure Analysis and Prevention, ASM International,
ation. UV blockers, absorbers and stabilizers are often added to 1986, pp. 490-513
polymers used for outdoor applications to augment their ability [9] Projects Archive, Air Force Research Laboratory, http://www.afrl.af.
to withstand incident radiation energy. mil/projects.html

... Don’t forget to look for Material Failure Modes, Part 3

in the next issue of MaterialEASE!

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