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Fatigue Testing Worksheet

The document describes a lab experiment on fatigue testing. The objectives are to understand fatigue testing principles and construct an S-N curve relating stress levels to the number of cycles before failure. Students will perform tests using a fatigue testing machine, recording stress levels and cycle counts until samples fracture. They will then plot an S-N curve and determine the fatigue endurance limit, fatigue life, and fatigue strength of the materials.

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Mohammed AL-Maaitah
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© © All Rights Reserved
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127 views

Fatigue Testing Worksheet

The document describes a lab experiment on fatigue testing. The objectives are to understand fatigue testing principles and construct an S-N curve relating stress levels to the number of cycles before failure. Students will perform tests using a fatigue testing machine, recording stress levels and cycle counts until samples fracture. They will then plot an S-N curve and determine the fatigue endurance limit, fatigue life, and fatigue strength of the materials.

Uploaded by

Mohammed AL-Maaitah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Biomechanics Lab - Fatigue Testing Experiment

Objectives:
Students are required to understand principle of fatigue testing
as well as practice how to operate the fatigue testing machine in
a reverse loading manner.
Students are required to construct an S-N curve (stress level number of cycles to failure) of the test samples provided.
Students can define the fatigue endurance limit or fatigue life and
fatigue strength of the materials.
Students are able to interpret the obtained experimental results
and use them as a tool for material selection in engineering
applications.
Introduction:
Safety has become a fundamental concern and limiting factor as
engineers continue to push the boundaries of mechanical design. One
possible cause of material failure occurs when materials undergo
fatigue, a type of failure caused by fluctuating or cyclic loading at
stress levels below the ultimate strength of the material. Fatigue
occurs in the stages: crack initiation (formation of microcracks
containing stress raisers), crack growth (crack propagation), and
fracture (sudden failure).
The fatigue testing can also be conducted using an instrument as
shown in figure below The fatigue specimen is gripped on to a motor at
one end to provide the rotational motion whereas the other end is
attached to a bearing and also subjected to a load or stress. When the
specimen is rotated about the longitudinal axis, the upper and the
lower parts of the specimen gauge length are subjected to tensile and
compressive stresses respectively. Therefore, stress varies sinusoidally
at any point on the specimen surface. The test proceeds until specimen
failure takes place. The revolution counter is used to obtain the
number of cycles to failures corresponding to the stress applied.

Increasing of the weight applied to the fatigue specimen results in a


reduction in number of cycles to failure. We can then use the
experimental results to construct an S-N curve. The S-N curve shows a
relationship between the applied stress and the number of cycles to
failure, which can be used to determine the fatigue life of the material
subjected to cyclic loading.
Stress in the Specimen
The standard bending equations for the specimen as a circular
cross- section can be given as:
=

L F 32
D3

Where:
L: Distance from a given load which is = 28mm, for the standard
specimen.
F: Given Load
D: Diameter of the specimen ( the Thinnest part " Neck" )
Normal Procedure:
1. Preparation for the experiment: choose a test specimen and check
that it is straight and not damaged , accurately measure the neck
dimensions of your specimen and write the details of the
specimen into your table and finally move the dead weight along
to the furthest left position (Lowest or neutral position)
2. Fit the specimen to the machine.

3. Adjust the dead weight to the furthest right hand position on the
load arm to give the maximum allowable stress level.
4. Start and slowly turn the motor speed up until the cycle rate is
60Hz (+/- 1 Hz).
5. Take your hand away from the loading arm and allow the motor
unit to run. Record the cycle rate.
6. When the specimen breaks, record the cycle count.

Fatigue Testing Experiment- Lab Worksheet


Name

ID:

Section:

Basic Test in the laboratory

Specimen

Test

Fatigue Test
Type
Material
Diameter at Neck
Test Load (N)
Test Stress (MPa)
Cycle Rate (Hz)
Start time of Test
Stop time of Test
Cycles to fatigue
fracture (Cycle
Count)
Time Taken to
fracture

A steel rod 100 mm in length and 9 mm diameter is subjected to a


repeated load as shown in the following table , use the given data to
complete the table and answer the following questions:
Trial
No.
1
2
3
4
5

Load
(Newton)
201
173
134
122
104

Number of
cycles (N)
14000
50000
166000
350000
900000

Stress
(MPa)

Log (N)

Plot stress (MPa) vs. number of cycles (Log(N)) and answer the
following questions: .

1. What is the relationship between applied stress and number of


cycles?

2. According to your drawing what is the endurance limit?

3. What is the fatigue strength corresponding to 50x103 cycle?

4. What is the fatigue life corresponding to 200MPa?

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