Fatigue Life

h The total number of cycles for which a specimen sustains before failure is
called “fatigue (cyclic) life”, denoted by N. The graph by plotting values of
Sa and N is called “S-N curve” or “Wöhler diagram”.

h The curve may y be p

plotted as semi-
log-log plot
logarithmic or logarithmic. Vertical
axis is stress amplitude (Sa) while
horizontal axis is fatigue life (N).
For S, linear scale is preferred, but
sometimes log scale is also used.
A log scale is always used for N.
semi log plot
semi-log
h Fig. 11 shows S-N curves in log-log
and semi-log g scales for superalloy
p y
S/SAV. S-N curve is a straight line
in log-log plot. However, in semi-
log plot, a smooth curve is fitted.
Figure 11
 Fatigue Life
h Fig. 12 shows schematic S-N curves for ferrous alloys & titanium (Curve A)
and nonferrous alloys (except titanium) & nonmetallic materials (Curve B).
F ferrous
For f alloys
ll & titanium,
tit i th curve becomes
the b asymptotic
t ti to
t horizontal
h i t l
line (the specimen will not fail for an infinite number of cycles). The stress
l
levell att such
h point
i t is
i called
ll d “endurance
“ d (f ti
(fatigue)
) limit”,
li it” denoted
d t d by
b Se. It is
i
not observed for nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials. Their fatigue
strength is determined for a specified number of cycles.
cycles
h When a specimen does not fail Curve A: ferrous alloys & titanium
even if the specified cycle is Curve B: nonferrous alloys
reached, test is stopped and
the corresponding stress value
is marked on the curve as “run-
out”
t” (given
( i b an arrow as in
by i
Curve B). The fatigue limit in
such h case is
i assumed d as 5*108
cycles for design purposes. Figure 12
 Construction of S-N Curve
h S-N curve is obtained by conducting several rotating bending fatigue tests.
In each test, the specimen is loaded to create a certain level of stress (S)
and rotated until it fractures. When the specimen fractures, level of stress
applied (S) and the number of cycles (N) to fracture are noted. The results of
t t are represented
tests t d by
b a point
i t on the
th curve.
h Tests at different stress levels (from
ultimate strength down to very low
stress values) with corresponding
cycles to fracture create multiples of
test points for construction of curve.
h The stress level where the curve
becomes asymptotic
y p to horizontal
line is determined as “endurance
strength (Se)” of material.

3
 Mathematical Representation of S-N Curve
hR
Regions
i on the
th idealized
id li d
Finite Life
S-N curve (log-log scale) Sut
for steel are as follows: Infinite
0.8·Sut Life
1. Finite life (N <106~7)
a. Low cycle
y fatigue
g
(100 < N < 103) Se
b. High cycle fatigue
Low Cycle Hi h Cycle
High C l
(N • 103)
2. Infinite life (N > 106~7) 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108

h In general, fatigue is considered as high cycle when the peak stresses in

material are held within the elastic range while low cycle fatigue occurs
when stresses are above the elastic limit. This arbitrary division may vary
from material-to-material
material to material depending upon tensile properties.
properties

h From design viewpoint, the main interest in engineering is for the high cycle
region of S-N curve. However, low cycle fatigue data can be advantageous
when only a short service life is required. 4
 Mathematical Representation of S-N Curve
h Cycle of 100 refers to
Finite Life
ultimate tensile strength Sut
Infinite
(Sut) while
hile endurance
end rance 0.8·Sut Life
strength (Se § 0.5·Sut) is
obtained at 106 cycles.
cycles
The stress amplitude is Se
about 0.8·Sut by y which Low Cycle Hi h Cycle
High C l
high cycle fatigue starts
(103 cycles). 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108

h The correlation between S & N in high cycle region (103 ” N ” 106) can be
obtained
bt i d based
b d on equation
ti off the
th line
li (i.e.
(i y = b·x
b + c):
)

log S = b ∗ log N + c S = 10c ∗ N b or N = 10- c / b ∗ S 1/ b

1 § 0.8Sut · ª ( 0.8Sut )2 º
where b & c are: b = − ∗ log ¨ ¸ and c = log « »
3 © e ¹
S «¬ Se »¼
5
 Example: Fatigue with Constant Amplitude and Frequency Stresses
Q. A roundd steel
Q t l shaft
h ft (having k / 2 andd Se = 25 kg/mm
(h i Sut = 90 kg/mm k / 2) is i carrying
i a static
t ti tensile
t il
stress of 10 kg/mm2. The shaft is also subjected to a variable stress of ±40 kg/mm2.
a) Determine the stress components.
components
b) Draw stress-time diagram, and specify the type of stress state.
c) Calculate the fatigue life of this shaft.

a) Stress components are as follows: fluctuating stress state (Sm  0):

b) This is “fluctuating”
S m = 10 kg/mm 2 S (kg/mm2)

S a = 40 kg/mm 2 50

S max = 10 + 40 = 50 kg/mm 2 10
0
S min = 10 + ( −40 ) = −30 kg/mm 2 time
-30

c) Fatigue life refers to the number of cycles to fracture, and calculated as:
b = ( −1 3) ∗ logg ( 0.8Sut Se ) = −0.1167
N = 10-c / b ∗ Sa1/ b = 1.791 ∗104 cycles
c = log ª( 0.8Sut ) Se º = 2.0984
2
¬ ¼
 Cumulative Fatigue Damage
h Until now, stresses with constant amplitude and frequency were considered.
However, in actual case, machine elements are subjected to fatigue under
varying stress amplitudes. When such stress steps are above the fatigue
limit of material, it is necessary to consider the fatigue damage accumulated
at eachh step. The
Th totall damage
d i known
is k as “cumulative
“ l i fatigue
f i d
damage”.
”

h Palmgren
Palmgren-Miner
Miner linear damage rule is the most widely used concept due
to its simplicity. According to this rule, the damage obtained at a specified
stress level is a linear function of the number of cycles:

di = (ni / Ni) * Dt
ni : cycles at ith stress level during service
di : the damage at ith stress level
the failure occurs when: Ȉdi = Dt
l at ith stress level
Ni : cycles l l on S-N
S N curve
Dt : the total damage required for failure
simplification gives: Ȉ (ni / Ni) = 1

7
 Example: Cumulative Fatigue Damage (using S-N curve)
Q. Based
Q B d on given i S N curve, calculate
S-N l l t the
th remaining
i i
life of a part at the stress amplitude of 50 kg/mm2
after subjected to the following alternating stresses:
z 66 kg/mm2 for 2.5 * 104 cycles
z 45 kg/mm2 for 1.5
1 5 * 105 cycles
z 72 kg/mm2 for 104 cycles

A. For the given stress amplitudes, the corresponding

number of cycles (N) are determined from curve:
S 3 , N3
S 1 , N1
No. S (given) n (given) N (from curve) ni / Ni
1 66 2 5 * 104
2.5 105 0 25
0.25 S 2 , N2
2 45 1.5 * 105 7 * 105 0.21
3 72 104 7 * 104 0 14
0.14
ȉ= 0.60

h For 50 kg/mm2 : N = 3 * 105 cycles (from the curve)

h Remaining life : 1 – 0.6 = 0.4, which corresponds to 0.4 * (3 * 105) = 1.2 * 105 cycles
 Example: Cumulative Fatigue Damage (using formula)
Q. Calculate
Q C l l t theth remaining
i i life
lif off a roundd steel
t l bar
b z / 2 for
35 kkg/mm 1 5 * 104 cycles
f 1.5 l
(having Sut = 75 kg/mm2 and Se = 25 kg/mm2) at z 30 kg/mm2 for 5 * 104 cycles
the stress amplitude of 42 kg/mm2 after subjected z 40 k / 2 for
kg/mm f 104 cycles
l
to the given alternating stresses:

A. For the given stress amplitudes, h Thus, the total damage is calculated as follows:
the corresponding number of
No. S (given) n (given) N (from formula)
No ni / Ni
cycles (N) are determined using
1 35 1.5 * 104 7 * 104 0.21
following equations:
2 30 5 * 104 2 4 * 105
2.4 0 21
0.21
1 § 0.8Sut · 3 40 104 2.5 * 104 0.41
b = − ∗ log ¨ ¸
3 © Se ¹ ȉ= 0.83

ª ( 0.8Sut )2 º h For 42 kg/mm2 : N = 1.7 * 104 cycles (from formula)

c = log « »
«¬ Se »¼ h Remaining life : 1 – 0.83 = 0.17, corresponding to
(1 7 * 104) = 2.9
0 17 * (1.7
0.17 2 9 * 103 cycles
N = 10- c / b ∗ S 1/ b
 Interpretation of Fatigue
h Fatigue is influenced by many factors. S-N curves are approximations to represent
fatigue behaviour of specimens at laboratory conditions. Fatigue life of an actual part
varies considerably from laboratory tests.
tests Followings are important considerations:

1. Statistical nature of fatigue: When identical specimens are tested at the same
stress
t l
level,
l their
th i fatigue
f ti li
lives are generally
ll nott the
th same, but
b t scatter
tt att a greatt deal.
d l
S-N curve represents a statistical average of the test results.

h Thereby, a modifying factor (Mr) Figure 13

is used to modify S-N curve for
different probabilities (reliabilities)
of failure, denoted by P (Fig. 13):

M r = 1 − 0.08
0 08 ∗ P

10
 Interpretation of Fatigue
2. Effect of surface quality: This factor predominantly affects the fatigue behaviour.
Microscopic irregularities on the part surface which are not visible to naked eye
(e g rough surface after machining,
(e.g. machining a decarburized layer, layer corrosion pits,
pits inclusions
and gas blowholes, etc.) will trigger the fatigue failure.
h Modifying factor for surface quality (Ms) Figure 14
is used to modify fatigue strength of a part
p
machined with specific process ((Fig.
p g 14).
)
h Fatigue life increases with decrease in
surface roughness.
h Machining is detrimental to fatigue life due
to formation of tensile residual stresses in
the near-surface area.
h Cold working causes relaxation of stress
concentration, so better fatigue properties.
a : mirror polished e : hot-rolled
h Finishing and heat treatment operations b : ground f : corroded in tap water
are also beneficial by forming compressive c : honed
h d g : as-forged
f d
d : machined h : corroded in salt water
residual stresses to improve fatigue life.
11
 Interpretation of Fatigue
3 Si
3. Size effect:
ff t Experiments
E i t have
h shown
h th t the
that th fatigue
f ti results
lt depend
d d strongly
t l upon
specimen size, which is one of the most important problems in fatigue applications.
h The general observation is that fatigue strength of large parts may be considerably
lower than that of small specimens. This may be due to the fact that materials
become more heterogeneous with increasing size, which makes it impossible to
prepare specimens retaining the nominal properties of specified material.
h Also,, the capacities
p of testers are limited to conduct experiments
p with large
g pparts.

4. Method of testing: S-N curves obtained by three methods of fatigue testing differ
appreciably (Fig.
(Fig 15).
15) The ranking based on curves from the highest to the lowest:
1) alternating bending test 2) rotating bending test 3) push-pull test
h Most S
S-N
N curves are produced by the rotating bending test due to its simplicity.
simplicity

Figure 15
12
 Modified (Actual) Fatigue Strength
h Since fatigue properties of materials are easily influenced by many factors
(as mentioned previously), S-N curve obtained from laboratory tests must be
related
l t d to
t real-life
l lif design
d i conditions.
diti

h Therefore,
Therefore the endurance strength of h Actual endurance strength
material obtained by laboratory tests always has lower value than
is modified with following factors laboratory result (Fig. 16).
(having values of < 1.0): Figure 16

S e = k a * k b * k c * k d * k e * k f * S Ǝe
Se : actual endurance strength of material
SƎe : endurance strength in laboratory conditions
ka : surface quality factor
kb : size factor
kc : reliability (probability) factor
kd : temperature factor
ke : stress concentration factor
kf : miscellaneous factor
13
 Endurance Ratio
h Endurance limit of a material can usually be related to its tensile strength.
h Ratio of endurance limit (fatigue strength) to tensile strength is known as
“endurance ratio”, that is used to predict fatigue behaviour of materials.

14