Effect of Pre-corrosion on Fatigue Life of High Strength Steel 38CrMoAl

The effect of pre-corrosion on fatigue behavior of high strength steel 38CrMoAl was investigated with a fatigue test method using the accelerated pre-corrosion specimen in the neutral salt spray environment. The methods of weight-loss and energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) were adopted. The corrosion weight-loss rate was fitted with the test time using power law, and the relationship between the corrosion weight-loss rate and the time was formulated. Moreover, the fatigue behaviors of the steel for different pre-corrosion time were investigated by the axis-direction tensile fatigue test. The fatigue life distribution characteristics of the pre-corrosion specimens were studied using the statistical probability methods, and the mathematical expectations and the standard tolerances of the material fatigue lives after different pre-corrosion time were obtained. It was found that the crack initiation of the high strength steel was accelerated by the preferential corrosion at the local plastic deform areas. The fatigue life obeys the lognormal distribution perfectly. Furthermore, within the common time range of the engineering, the standard tolerances of the logarithm of the fatigue life were independent of the pre-corrosion time.