Metal fatigue

What is metal fatigue?

Metal fatigue is the common name used to

describe the unexpected failure of metal
parts by progressive fracturing while in
service. Metal fatigue is directly related to
the number of stress cycles undergone by a
part and the level of stress imposed on the
part. Studies have shown that infinite life for
a metal part is possible if the local stresses in
the part are kept below well-defined limits.
Fatigue failures increase if parts have stress
raising contours or if stress raisers such as
notches, holes and keyways are put into the
part.
The term dates back to the 19th century. In 1837, German mining administrator
Wilhelm August Julius Albert (1787–1846) published the first known article on
fatigue. In his work, Albert made a test machine that recorded metal fatigue on
conveyor chains that were used in local mines. One of the first cases of metal
fatigue that was studied scientifically was due to an accident that occurred when a
train derailed in France in 1842. The accident killed or injured over 90 people.
Scottish engineer and physicist William Rankine (1820–1872) investigated the
problem, which he eventually determined to be metal fatigue. Rankine discovered
that stress on a locomotive axle eventually broke it, causing the accident. Though
considerable observation of the phenomenon was made then in the first half of the
20th century, only with the spectacular failure of pressure cabins in British Comet
jetliners in 1954 did it receive widespread engineering attention. In the 1970s
much remained to be learned about metal fatigue, but empirical methods had
proved effective in overcoming it. Fatigue-resistant metals had been developed and
their performance enhanced by surface treatment, while fatigue stresses were
significantly lessened in aircraft and other applications by designing to avoid stress
concentrations.
 Theory of Fatigue Failures
The process of metal fatigue varies considerably
from one material to another. In some cases,
defects show up almost as soon as stresses and
strains are applied to the material and grow very
slowly until total failure occurs. In other cases,
there is no apparent damage in the material until
failure almost occurs. Then, in the very last stages,
defects appear and develop very rapidly prior to
complete failure.
The amount of stress or strain needed to bring
about metal fatigue in a material—the fatigue limit
or fatigue strength of the material—depends on a
number of factors. The first factor is the material
itself. In general, the fatigue limit of many materials
tends to be about one-fourth to three-fourth of the
tensile strength of the material itself. Another
factor is the magnitude of the stress or strain
exerted on the material. The greater the stress or
strain, the sooner metal fatigue is likely to occur.
Finally, environmental factors are involved in metal
fatigue. A piece of metal submerged in a saltwater
solution, for example, is likely to exhibit metal
fatigue sooner than the same piece of metal tested
in air. Similarly, materials that have undergone
some oxidation tend to experience metal fatigue
sooner than unoxidized materials.
Stress verses Life Cycle
Curves
A great deal of fatigue load testing has been
done with a wide range of metals. From these
tests graphs of tensile strength verses number
of cycles to failure have been developed. An
example of one for wrought (worked) steel is
shown in Figure 1.
The vertical scale on this log-log plot shows the
applied stresses as a proportion of the steel’s
ultimate tensile stress ‘Su’ while the horizontal
scale is the number of stress cycles to failure.
The left hand sloping line tells us is that a steel
part put under high cyclic loads producing
stresses in high proportion to its ultimate tensile
stress will fail after a given number of cycles.
Whereas the right hand side of the curve
indicates that if cyclic stresses are maintained Figure 1. Stress-Life Cycle Curve for Wrought Steel
below a definable limit the part will have
infinite life. The curve also tells us that a steel
part made of this metal will fail if it has just one
load cycle with a stress greater than its tensile
strength.
Designing for Fatigue
Conditions
Knowing a part will be subject to fluctuating
loads requires the designer to design the
part for that condition. Using the known
ultimate tensile stress and yield stress (stress
at which the metal first starts to permanently
deform, about 80 – 90% of tensile stress) of a
metal the designer constructs a stress
limiting envelope as in Figure 2. The part is Figure 2. Design within the Stress Envelope
then designed so that the cyclic loads applied
to it keep the relevant stresses within the
envelope.
Stress Concentration
Factors
Virtually all fatigue failures occur on the outside
surface of a part at stress concentration points
or stress raisers. Examples are grooves, fillets,
holes, threads, keyways, splines, welds, etc. The
designer must take into account the affect of
these stress raisers if the part is to provide long,
trouble free service. The effect a stress raiser is
directly related to the smallness of its radius. As
with the micro cracks mentioned earlier which
promote fatigue failure, the smaller the radius
of a stress raiser, the more focused and larger
are the resulting stresses. Interestingly metals
with high ductility suffer little from stress
raisers. The explanation being that the metal
deforms and in so doing the stress induced by
the stress raiser is limited to the yield stress.
Figure 3 shows a plate with a hole. The effect of
the hole on the stress levels across the plate is
shown by the stress curve rising as it gets closer Figure 3. Stress Increases at the Tress Raise
to the hole. Every stress raiser acts to
concentrate stresses at the location of the
imperfection.