Design For Strength Fatigue Failure From Variable Loading

Machine members are found to fail under the action of

fluctuating stresses. The actual maximum stresses were well
below the ultimate strength of the material, and even below
the yield strength.
Properties of materials and the material behavior can be
observed using the stress-strain diagrams or S-N curve
The most distinguishing characteristic of the fatigue failure is
that the stresses have been repeated a very large number of
times.
Fatigue failure gives no warning. It is sudden and total, and
hence dangerous.
Example of fatigue failure: shaft of electric motor, which
rotate at 1725 rev/min., that means it have stresses in
tension and compression 1725 each min.
A fatigue failure has an appearance similar to a brittle
fracture as the fracture surface are flat and perpendicular to
the stress axis with the absence of necking
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
, UiTM

Razali Hassan

Static conditions : loads are applied gradually, to give

sufficient time for the strain to fully develop.
Variable conditions : stresses vary with time or fluctuate
between different levels, also called repeated, alternating, or
fluctuating stresses.
When machine members are found to have failed under
fluctuating stresses, the actual maximum stresses were well
below the ultimate strength of the material, even below
yielding strength.
Since these failures are due to stresses repeating for a large
number of times, they are called fatigue failures.
When machine parts fails statically, the usually develop a very
large deflection, thus visible warning can be observed in
advance; a fatigue failure gives no warning!

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

, UiTM

Razali Hassan

Fatigue failures may contribute in 2 areas of failure:

1. Due to progressive development of crack.
2. Due to sudden fracture.

Cracks are initiated at the discontinuity, for example:

Change in cross-section.
A key way.
A hole.

Fatigue failure is quite different from a static brittle fracture

as it arise from three stages of development.
1. Crack initiation.
2. Crack propagation.
3. Final catastrophic failure.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

, UiTM

Razali Hassan

Stage 1: Crack initiation

Near stress concentration

90% of fatigue life is trying to initiate a crack
Mechanism intrusion and extrusion
Formation of persistent slip bands (PSB)
Only micron meter (m)
These cracks are not usually visible to the naked eyes).

Stage 2: Crack propagation

Propagation of microcracks to macrocracks forming parallel
plateau like fracture surfaces separated by longitudinal ridges (in
the form of dark and light bands referred to as beach marks).
Crack increase because of stress cycle.
Crack propagate normal to loading direction.
10% of fatigue life.
Mechanism blunting and reshaping.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
, UiTM

Razali Hassan

Stage 3: Final
catastrophic failure
Remaining area
(ligament) cannot
sustain loading
anymore.
Unstable (significant)
crack propagation and
rapid failure.
Fracture when the
remaining material
cannot support the
loads.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

, UiTM

Razali Hassan

Let N be the number of cycles to fatigue for a specified

level of loading
For 1 N 10, generally classified as low-cycle fatigue
For N > 10, generally classified as high-cycle fatigue

Three major fatigue life methods used in design and

analysis are
1.

stress-life method : is based on stress only, least accurate

especially for low-cycle fatigue; however, it is the most
traditional and easiest to implement for a wide range of
applications.

2.

strain-life method : involves more detailed analysis, especially

good for low-cycle fatigue; however, idealizations in the
methods make it less practical when uncertainties are present.

3.

linear-elastic fracture mechanics method : assumes a crack is

already present. Practical with computer codes in predicting in
crack growth with respect to stress intensity factor

The most widely used fatiguetesting device is the R. R.

Moore high-speed rotatingbeam machine.
Specimens in R.R. Moore
machines are subjected to
pure bending by means of
added weights.
Other fatigue-testing
machines are available for
applying fluctuating or
reversed axial stresses,
torsional stresses, or
combined stresses to the test
specimens.

In R. R. Moore machine tests, a

constant bending load is applied, and
the number of revolutions of the
beam required for failure is recorded.

Tests at various bending stress levels

are conducted.
These results are plotted as an S-N

diagram.

Log plot is generally used to

emphasize the bend in the S-N curve.
Ordinate of S-N curve is fatigue
strength, Sf , at a specific number of
cycles

In the case of steels, a knee occurs

in the graph, and beyond this knee
failure will not occur, no matter
how great the number of cycles this knee is called the endurance

limit, denoted as

Non-ferrous metals and alloys do

not have an endurance limit, since
their S-N curve never become
horizontal.
For materials with no endurance
limit, the fatigue strength is
normally reported at N = 5 x 10
N = is the simple tension test

The best approach yet advanced to

explain the nature of fatigue failure.
However, it needs to compound
several idealizations, and so
uncertainties will exist in the results.
A fatigue failure begins at a local
stress raisers. When the stress at
these discontinuity exceeds the
elastic limit, plastic strain occurs.

Bairstow using experiments to verify

that elastic limits of iron and steel can
be changed by the cyclic variation of
stress.
A stress-strain plot of controlled
cyclic loads could show the strength
variation due to stress repetitions.

The total-strain amplitude is the

sum of elastic and plastic strain

'F, is the fatigue strength

coefficient, the true stress
corresponding to fracture in one
reversal.
b, is the fatigue strength exponent
as the slope of the elastic-strain
line.
'F, is the fatigue ductility
coefficient, the true strain
corresponding to fracture in one
reversal.
C, is the fatigue strength exponent
as the slope of the elastic-strain
line.

Fatigue cracking consists three

stages
Stage I : crack initiation,
invisible to the observer.
Stage II : crack propagation,
most of a cracks life
Stage III : final fracture due
to rapid acceleration of
crack growth.
Linear-Elastic Fracture
Mechanics Method

Assuming a crack is
discovered early in stage II,
the crack growth can be
approximated by the Paris
equation as KI is the
variation in stress intensity
factor due to fluctuating
stresses.

The bar shown in Fig. 616 is subjected to a repeated moment 0 M 1200 lbf
.in. The bar is AISI 4430 steel with Sut = 185 kpsi, Sy = 170 kpsi, and KIc = 73
kpsiin. Material tests on various specimens of this material with identical heat
treatment indicate worst-case constants of C = 3.8(10-11)(in/cycle)/(kpsiin)m
and m = 3.0. As shown, a nick of size 0.004 in has been discovered on the
bottom of the bar. Estimate the number of cycles of life remaining.

Moment M, = 0 M 1200 lbf .in. C = 3.8(1011)(in/cycle)/(kpsiin)m

Sut = 185 kpsi,

Sy = 170 kpsi,
KIc = 73 kpsiin.

m = 3.0.

1. Find the stress range , it is always computed by using the nominal (uncracked) area. Thus

I bh 2 0.25(0.5) 2

0.01042in 3
c
6
6
Therefore, before the crack initiates, the stress range is

M
1200

115.20(103) psi 115.2kpsi

I / c 0.01042

which is below the yield strength. As the crack grows, it will eventually become
long enough such that the bar will completely yield or undergo a brittle fracture.
For the ratio of Sy/Sut it is highly unlikely that the bar will reach complete yield.
For brittle fracture, designate the crack length as af . If = 1, then from Eq. (5
37) with KI = KIc, we approximate af as

1 K Ic
a f
max

1 73

0.1278in
115.2

From Fig. 527, we compute the ratio af/h as

af
h

0.1278
0.256
0.5

Thus af/h varies from near zero to

approximately 0.256. From Fig. 527, for

this range is nearly constant at
approximately 1.07. We will assume it to be
so, and re-evaluate af as
1 K Ic
a f
max

1
73

0.112in

1
.
07
(
115
.
2
)

from Eq. (66), the estimated remaining life is

af

0.112

1
da
1
da
Nf

(1.07(115.2) a )3
C ai ( a ) m 3.8(1011) 0.004
0.112

5.047(103 )
Nf
64.7(103 )cycles
a
0.004

For steels, the endurance

limit relates directly to the
minimum tensile strength as
observed in experimental
measurements.

From the observations, the

endurance of steels can be
estimated as

Low-cycle fatigue considers the range from N=1 to about 1000 cycles.
In this region, the fatigue strength Sf is only slightly smaller than the tensile
strength Sut .

High-cycle fatigue domain extends from 10 to the endurance limit life (10
to 10 cycles).
Experience has shown that high-cycle fatigue data are rectified by a
logarithmic transform to both stress and cycles-to-failure.

For actual mechanical applications, the

fatigue strength calculated above is extended
to a more general form as

Define the fatigue strength at a specified number of cycles as, (Sf )N

By combining the elastic strain relations, we can get,

(S 'f ) N 'F (2 N )b

Define f as the fraction of tensile strength. The value of f at 10 cycles is

then

'F
Sut

(2.103 )b

To find b, substitute the endurance

and the corresponding cycles
'F strength
log(
)
and solving for b as
S'

For example, for steels when

ut

log( 2 N e )

The endurance limit of the rotating-beam specimen might differ from the
actual application due to the following differences from laboratory tests.
Material : composition, basis of failure, variability
Manufacturing : method, heat treatment, fretting corrosion, surface
condition, stress concentration
Environment : corrosion, temperature, stress state, relaxation times.

Design : size, shape, life, stress state, stress concentration, speed,

fretting, galling

Modifying factors of surface condition, size, loading, temperature, and

miscellaneous items are proposed by Marin to quantify these differences.

Fracture mechanics is mechanics of solids containing planes of displacement

discontinuities (cracks) with special attention to their growth Fracture
mechanics is a failure theory that
1. determines material failure by energy criteria, possibly in conjunction
with strength (or yield) criteria
2. considers failure to be propagating throughout the structure rather than
simultaneous throughout the entire failure zone or surface.

Linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) is the basic theory of fracture, that
deals with sharp cracks in elastic bodies. It is applicable to any materials as
long as the material is elastic except in a vanishingly small region at the
crack tip (assumption of small scale yielding), brittle or quasibrittle fracture,
stable or unstable crack growth
Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics is the theory of ductile fracture, usually
characterized by stable crack growth (ductile metals) the fracture process is
accompanied by formation of large plastic zone at the crack tip

The linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM)

assume that cracks can grow during service.

The use of elastic stress-concentration factors

provides an indication of the average load
required on a part for the onset of plastic
deformation, or yielding.
For the infinite plate loaded by an applied
uniaxial stress , the maximum stress occurs
at (a, 0) and is given by

Such that the crack growth occurs when the

energy release rate from applied loading is
greater than the rate of energy for crack
growth.

Three distinct modes of crack

propagation exist

Mode I : the opening crack

propagation mode ( the most common
and important mode)
Mode II : the sliding mode
Mode III : the tearing mode

Consider a mode I crack of length 2a

in the infinite plate, the stress field

on a dx dy element in the vicinity of
the crack tip is given by where KI is
the stress intensity factor with a
mode I crack defined as

When the magnitude of the mode I stress

intensity factor reaches a critical value, the
critical stress intensity factor KIc crack

propagation initiates.

The critical stress intensity factor KIc is also

Fracture toughness KIc for engineering metals

called the fracture toughness of the material.

lies in the range 20 KIc 200 MPa m;
for engineering polymers and ceramics, 1
KIc 5 MPa m.

For a 4340 steel, where the yield strength due

to heat treatment ranges from 800 to 1600
MPa, KIc decreases from 190 to 40 MPa m.
The strength-to-stress ratio KIc /KI can be

used as a factor of safety as