A high‐cycle fatigue apparatus at 20 kHz for low‐cycle fatigue/high‐cycle fatigue interaction testing

High‐cycle fatigue (HCF) failures in aircraft engines are attributed to material damage states, created during processing or by in‐service loading and environmental conditions, and then propagated to failure by HCF loading. The loading configuration experienced by aircraft engine turbine blades consists of an axial load caused by the centrifugal acceleration during rotation combined with the tensile and compressive loads caused by the natural vibrations of the blades themselves. To simulate these loading conditions a new testing apparatus was developed that is capable of providing interactive low‐cycle fatigue/high‐cycle fatigue (LCF/HCF) loading, in ratios (of magnitude and frequency) that give a realistic simulation of the actual flight loads experienced by engine components. This testing apparatus is based on a HCF cell operating at 20 kHz. The cell can also be integrated to a servo‐hydraulic load frame, which provides a second fatigue cycle. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the capabilities of the new HCF apparatus via thermographic measurements and by performing LCF/HCF interaction tests.