Resumen:
In the present work, low-cycle fatigue testing of a ferritic ductile cast iron named SiMo51 has been carried out in three atmospheres: argon, air and a synthetic diesel exhaust-gas at 700C. The fatigue life was reduced up to 80% in the worst case. Two crack growth mechanisms were observed and directly linked to oxidation. At weak oxidation, a nodule-to-nodule crack growth occurred. At strong oxidation, crack growth occurred through oxidized material in front of the crack tip.