In this study, the effects of residual stress induced by three different cooling methods during heat treatment on the crack propagation behaviour of the GH4169 disc were investigated. Different levels of stress fields were induced to the specially designed discs by using air cooling (AC), air jetting cooling (AJC) and water quenching (WQ) methods and were quantitated by numerical simulation. These discs were then subjected to prefabricated cracking, and crack propagation tests were conducted on a spin tester with two load spectrums. Crack growth behaviour was depicted via the surface replica technique and fracture morphology. Regarding the linear superposition of residual stress and centrifugal force, the crack propagation behaviour of different discs was simulated using the FRANC3D software. AJC and WQ introduced compressive residual stress (-259 MPa and -109 MPa, respectively) into the disc compared with the AC method (about -1.5 MPa). The AJC method increases the crack propagation life of the disc by introducing residual compressive stress into the area near the surface of the central hole to inhibit the opening of the crack surface. When the fatigue load was low, this inhibition effect was more significant.
Keywords: crack propagation; heat treatment; residual stress; spin test; surface replica method.