Data produced from the use of a proposed new ASTM International standard will be employed in the design of new, more efficient aircraft engines as well as for piping, steam and gas turbines used in power generation. The proposed new standard, WK21984, Test Method for Creep-Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Testing, is being developed by Subcommittee E08.06 on Crack Growth Behavior, part of ASTM International Committee E08 on Fatigue and Fracture.

“The primary impetus for the standard is the need for advanced power plants and aircraft engines that will be designed to operate at higher temperatures to boost energy conversion efficiencies,” say task group co-chairs Ashok Saxena, Ph.D., dean, College of Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., and Bilal Dogan, Ph.D., senior project manager, EPRI, Charlotte, N.C.

Saxena notes that the maximum operating temperature of turbines and power plant components depends on the ability of materials to resist sustained and cyclic loads at high temperatures, particularly metals used in critical structure components of engines.

“The lives of these components at high temperatures are determined by the creep-fatigue properties of the materials used in these applications,” says Saxena. The proposed standard will also be useful in extending the lives of existing engines and generators through a more accurate creep-fatigue analysis, thus postponing the cost of large replacements. In addition to aircraft engine and power-plant component manufacturers and users, WK21984 will be beneficial to chemical process equipment operators and designers.

All interested parties are invited to participate in the development and round robin testing of WK21984.For technical Information, contact Ashok Saxena, Ph.D., University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark. (phone: 479-575-3054; asaxena@uark.edu). Committee E08 meets May 18-21 during the May committee week in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. ASTM’s open consensus process, using advanced Internet-based standards development tools, ensures worldwide access for all interested individuals. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, please contact Jeff Adkins, ASTM International (phone: 610-832-9738; jadkins@astm.org).

Release #8167/Jan2009