ME 366: Design of

Machine Elements
Lecture 9: Introduction to Fatigue

ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Announcements & Reminders

HW 5 is posted and due Tuesday
Ok to use write a matlab script for repetitive
problems

Include code in HW
Great to learn MatLab
Not good practice for exam

Book editions

Be sure to do the problems from 10th U.S. edition

ME366 Spring 2015

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Agenda

Review of Static Failure

Introduction to Fatigue Analysis

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Ductile Static Failure Models

Tresca (maximum shear stress)

Calculate max shear stresses (principle stress)

Yield if:

von Mises (distortion energy)

1
2

ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Brittle Static Failure Models

Maximum Normal Stress

Plane Stress:
1 2 3
A B & 0

1 Sut or 3 Suc

Brittle Coulomb Mohr

A B 0

A 0 B

0 A B

Modified Mohr

( )

A B 0

A 0 B
0 A B
ME366 Spring 2015

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Fatigue is Complicated
Can appear brittle or mixed mode
Failure regularly occurs well below Su or Sy
Sudden failure common

No early deformation
Hard to detect

ME366 Spring 2015

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Case: SR-71 Blackbird

Fastest airplane in the world
18 months from initial design to first flight
After every test

What failed & why

What didnt fail & why

ME366 Spring 2015

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Case: Aloha Airlines Flight 243

Undetected multiple site fatigue cracking

ME366 Spring 2015

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Case Southwest Flight 812

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Fatigue in Metals
Stage I: Initiation

Microcracking due to cyclic plastic deformation

Not visable to the naked eye

Stage II: Growth

Beach marks / clamshell marks

Easy to see,
normal to crack growth direction
usually grow as crack progresses

Stage III: Failure

Usually ductile or brittle as before

ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Fatigue Initiation
Fatigue cracks usually start at discontinuities:

Stress concentrations; holes, keyways, changes in

cross section
Contact stresses
Stamp marks, tool marks, scratches, burrs, poor joint
design
Microscopic material discontinuities (foreign
material, voids, crystal discontinuities)

ME366 Spring 2015

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Fatigue Promoters

Residual Stresses
Elevated temperatures
Temperature cycling
Corrosive environment
Frequency

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Analyzing Fatigue
a

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Analyzing Failure
Where did fatigue
start?
Identify Beach
marks?
Final region of
failure?
Ductile or brittle
material?
Anything else
unique?

Q&A
ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Analyzing Failure
Where did fatigue
start?
Identify Beach
marks?
Final region of
failure?
Ductile or brittle
material?
Anything else
unique?

Q&A
ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Analyzing Failure
Where did fatigue
start?
Identify Beach
marks?
Final region of
failure?
Ductile or brittle
material?
Anything else
unique?

Q&A
ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Examples in Text
z

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Text table of Schematics

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Models for Fatigue

Fatigue Life (section 6-3 to 6-6)

Fatigue Strength & Endurance Limit (6-7 to 6-8)
Modification Factors (6-9)
Stress Concentrations and Notch Sensitivity (610)
Fluctuating Stresses (6-11 to 6-13)
Combination of Loading Modes (6-14)
Varying, Fluctuating Stresses; Cumulative Fatigue
Damage (6-15)
ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Fatigue Life Methods

Predict number of cycles (N) to failure for a specific loading
level
low Cycle fatigue N < 1000
Stress Life

Easy
Most common
Least accurate (adequate for high cycle fatigue)

Strain Life

Requires local analysis of plastic deformation

Good for low cycle
Requires assumptions and idealizations that lead to uncertainty in
results

Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics

Assumes a crack exists & is detected then predicts growth

ME366 Spring 2015

Professor Nathan Salowitz

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Testing & Data Collection

Specimens

Ground & polished (no surface imperfections)

Testing

Machine rotates at high speed

Demo
Constant moment applied (multiple tests with varying
moments)

Data

Many specimens tested at each condition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52knsY5AWIc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVzK9V5WxRw
Video
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Loading
Alternating load centered at 0

x
0

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Resulting Information
S-N curve
Endurance
limit

Fatigue strength
Sf (Mpa or psi)

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Example
What is the
maximum allowable
stress to survive
100,000 cycles?
How many cycles will
a component with
max= 35MPa survive?
What is the
endurance limit for
this material?
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Fatigue is Hard to Predict

Prediction is imprecise
Testing of components necessary for reasonable
prediction
Stress life is the most common method

Simple
Adequate for high cycle fatigue
Least accurate for low cycle fatigue

ME366 Spring 2015

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Strain Life Model

Best explains the nature of fatigue
Requires idealizations that lead to uncertainties
Not useful for design

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Hysteresis
Strain softening material

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Strain Life Coefficents

Fatigue Ductility
Coefficient: f': true
strain corresponding
to fracture
Fatigue Strength
Coefficient: f': true
stress corresponding
to fracture
Fatigue Ductility
Exponent: c
Fatigue Strength
Exponent: b
2N reversals / cycle
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Strain Life Equations

=
+
2
2
2

= 2
2

=
2
2

+
2N reversals / cycle
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Issues With Strain Life

How do you determine the total strain at
concentration point/crack tip?
Material data is not readily available

ME366 Spring 2015

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Coming Up

More Fatigue
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Exam Notes

Combined loading
Pressure vessels
Beam bending
Buckling
Static failure
Fatigue

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Homework #5 Due 3/3/2015 in class

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Reading
Chapter 5
Homework Assignment

5-3 a, b, & d
5-11
5-19 a & e
5-24
5-29
5-36
5-38 (see eq 3-42)

(10 points)
(10 points)
(10 points)
(10 points)
(10 points)
(10 points)
(10 points)
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