Autonomous healing of fatigue cracks via cold welding

Christopher M. Barr, Ta Duong, Daniel C. Bufford, Zachary Milne, Abhilash Molkeri, Nathan M. Heckman, David P. Adams, Ankit Srivastava, Khalid Hattar, Michael J. Demkowicz () and Brad L. Boyce ()
Additional contact information
Christopher M. Barr: Sandia National Laboratories
Ta Duong: Texas A&M University
Daniel C. Bufford: Sandia National Laboratories
Zachary Milne: Sandia National Laboratories
Abhilash Molkeri: Texas A&M University
Nathan M. Heckman: Sandia National Laboratories
David P. Adams: Sandia National Laboratories
Ankit Srivastava: Texas A&M University
Khalid Hattar: Sandia National Laboratories
Michael J. Demkowicz: Texas A&M University
Brad L. Boyce: Sandia National Laboratories

Nature, 2023, vol. 620, issue 7974, 552-556

Abstract: Abstract Fatigue in metals involves gradual failure through incremental propagation of cracks under repetitive mechanical load. In structural applications, fatigue accounts for up to 90% of in-service failure1,2. Prevention of fatigue relies on implementation of large safety factors and inefficient overdesign3. In traditional metallurgical design for fatigue resistance, microstructures are developed to either arrest or slow the progression of cracks. Crack growth is assumed to be irreversible. By contrast, in other material classes, there is a compelling alternative based on latent healing mechanisms and damage reversal4–9. Here, we report that fatigue cracks in pure metals can undergo intrinsic self-healing. We directly observe the early progression of nanoscale fatigue cracks, and as expected, the cracks advance, deflect and arrest at local microstructural barriers. However, unexpectedly, cracks were also observed to heal by a process that can be described as crack flank cold welding induced by a combination of local stress state and grain boundary migration. The premise that fatigue cracks can autonomously heal in metals through local interaction with microstructural features challenges the most fundamental theories on how engineers design and evaluate fatigue life in structural materials. We discuss the implications for fatigue in a variety of service environments.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06223-0

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