Abstract:
Altering the microstructure in order to improve the tensile properties of bow shackles resulted in
inconsistency in the fatigue performance. This raises the question whether the inconsistency in fatigue
life can be attributed to microstructural changes along the profile of the shackle or to decarburization
at the surface.
Bow shackles forged from 080M40 (EN8) material were subjected to different heat treatments in
order to alter the microstructure. The shackles were subjected to five different fatigue load cases, which
represented typical loads experienced at termination points for an overhead power line with a span
length of 400 m, with changes in conductor type, configuration, wind, and ice loading.
Although the change in microstructure does improve both the tensile and fatigue performance, we
found that the depth of the decarburization layer has a greater effect on the high cycle fatigue life of bow
shackles than the non-homogeneous microstructure.
Description:
This paper was first presented
at the Mine-Impacted Water
from Waste to Resource Online
Conference, 10 and 12, 17 and 19,
3 and 24 November 2020.