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ME323 Engineering Design I

Unit 3

Fatigue Failure Resulting from Variable Loading

Dr. Mohamed Osman Abdalla

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Introduction to Fatigue in Metals

• The stresses vary with time or fluctuate between different

levels.
• Ex. A fiber on the rotating shaft subjected to the action of
bending loads undergoes both tension and compression for
each revolution of the shaft.

• Hence, loading produces stresses that are variable, repeated,

alternating, or fluctuating.
• The actual maximum stresses are well below yield strength, but
failure occurs after many stress cycles. This is called fatigue
failure.
• Fatigue failure is by sudden ultimate fracture.
• No visible warning in advance of failure is found.
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Stages of Fatigue Failure

• Stage I – Initiation of micro-crack

due to cyclic plastic deformation

• Stage II – Progresses to macro-

crack that repeatedly opens and
closes, creating bands called
beach marks.

• Stage III – Crack has propagated

far enough that remaining
material is insufficient to carry the
load, and fails by simple ultimate
failure
Fig. 6–1
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Schematics of Fatigue Fracture Surfaces

Fig. 6–2
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Schematics of Fatigue Fracture Surfaces

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Fig. 6–2

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Schematics of Fatigue Fracture Surfaces

Fig. 6–2
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Fatigue Fracture Examples

 AISI 4320 drive shaft

 B– crack initiation at
stress concentration in
keyway

 C– Final brittle failure

Fig. 6–3

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Fatigue Fracture Examples

 Fatigue failure
initiating at
mismatched grease
holes.

 Sharp corners (at

arrows) provided
stress concentrations

Fig. 6–4
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Fatigue Fracture Examples

 Fatigue failure of forged

connecting rod.

 Crack initiated at flash

line of the forging at the
left edge of picture.

 Beach marks show crack

propagation halfway
around the hole before Fig. 6–5
ultimate fracture

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Fatigue Fracture Examples

 Fatigue failure of a 200-

mm diameter piston rod
of an alloy steel steam
hammer loaded axially.

 Crack initiated at a
forging flake internal to
the part.

 Internal crack grew

outward symmetrically

Fig. 6–6
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Fatigue Fracture Examples
 Double-flange trailer wheel
 Cracks initiated at stamp marks

Fig. 6–7

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Fatigue Fracture Examples

 Aluminum allow landing-gear torque-arm assembly redesign to

eliminate fatigue fracture at lubrication hole

Fig. 6–8

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Fatigue-Life Methods

• Three major fatigue life models:

1. Stress life method
2. Stain life method
3. Linear elastic fracture mechanics method.

• These methods attempt to predict life in number of cycles to

failure, N, for a specific level of loading.

• Life of 1  N  103 cycles is generally considered as low cycle

fatigue, where as high cycle fatigue is considered to be N  103
cycles.

Sudan University of
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S-N diagram plotted from the results of completely reversed 14

axial fatigue tests.

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S-N diagram plotted from the results of completely reversed 15

axial fatigue tests.

 Number of cycles to failure at varying stress levels is plotted on

log-log scale

 For steels, a knee occurs near 106 cycles

 Strength corresponding to the knee is called endurance limit Se

or fatigue limit.

• Nonferrous metals (such as Aluminium & Aluminium Alloys,

Copper, Brass, Lead, Zinc, Stainless Steel, etc..) often do not
have an endurance limit.

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The Endurance Limit

• The determination of endurance limits by fatigue testing is now

routine, though a lengthy procedure.

• Simplified estimate of endurance limit for steels for the rotating-

beam specimen, S'e.

Sut is minimum tensile strength.

• The unprimed symbol Se is reserved for the endurance limit of an

actual machine element subjected to any kind of loading.

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Endurance Limit Modifying Factors

• Endurance limit S'e is for carefully prepared and tested

under a closely controlled conditions.

• It is unrealistic to expect the endurance limit of a

mechanical member to match values obtained in the
laboratory.
• If warranted, Se is obtained from testing of actual parts.

• Testing of actual parts is not practical, hence, a set of

Marin factors are used to adjust the endurance limit

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Marin equation

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Surface Factor ka

• Stresses tend to be high at the surface.

• Surface finish has an impact on initiation of cracks at

localized stress concentrations.

• Surface factor is a function of ultimate strength.

• Higher strengths are more sensitive to rough surfaces.

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Parameters for Marin surface modification factor

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Example 6-4

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Size Factor kb
• Larger parts have greater surface area at high stress levels
• Likelihood of crack initiation is higher
• Size factor is obtained from experimental data with wide scatter
• For bending and torsion loads, the trend of the size factor data is
given by:

• Applies only for round, rotating diameter

• For axial load, there is no size effect, so kb = 1

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Size Factor kb

• For parts that are not round and rotating, an equivalent round
rotating diameter is obtained.
• It is obtained by equating the volume of material stressed at and
above 95% of the maximum stress to the same volume in the
rotating-beam specimen.
• When these two volumes are equated, lengths cancel, we need
only consider the areas.
• For a rotating round section, the 95% stress area is the area of a
ring, having an outside diameter d and inside diameter 0.95d

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Size Factor kb

• For non-rotating round, the 95% stress area is twice the area
outside of two parallel chords having the space of 0.95d.

• Equating to Eq. (6-22) and (6-23) and solving for equivalent

diameter,

• Similarly, for rectangular section h  b, A95s = 0.05 hb.

Equating to Eq. (6–22),

• Other common cross sections are given in Table 6–3

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Size Factor kb

Table 6–3

A95s for common

non-rotating structural
shapes

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Example 6-4

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Loading Factor kc

• Endurance limit estimated in Eq (6-8) is typically obtained

from testing with completely reversed bending.

• Load factor accounts for changes in endurance limit for

different types of fatigue loading.

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Temperature Factor kd

• Endurance limit appears to maintain same relation to ultimate

strength for elevated temperatures as at room temperature
• This relation is summarized in Table 6–4

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Temperature Factor kd

• If ultimate strength is known for operating temperature, then just

use that strength. Let kd = 1 and proceed as usual.
• If ultimate strength is known only at room temperature, then use
Table 6–4 to estimate ultimate strength at operating temperature.
With that strength, let kd = 1 and proceed as usual.
• Alternatively, use ultimate strength at room temperature and
apply temperature factor from Table 6–4 to the endurance limit.

• A fourth-order polynomial curve fit of the underlying data of

Table 6–4 can be used in place of the table, if desired.

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Reliability Factor ke

• From Fig. 6–17, S'e = 0.5 Sut is typical of the data and represents
50% reliability.
• Reliability factor adjusts to other reliabilities.
• Only adjusts Fig. 6–17 assumption. Does not imply overall
reliability.

Fig. 6–17

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Reliability Factor ke

• Simply obtain ke for desired reliability from Table 6–5.

Table 6–5

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Miscellaneous-Effects Factor kf

• Reminder to consider other possible factors.

– Residual stresses
– Directional characteristics from cold working
– Case hardening
– Corrosion
– Surface conditioning, e.g. electrolytic plating and metal
spraying
– Cyclic Frequency

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Stress Concentration and Notch Sensitivity

• For dynamic loading, stress concentration effects must be applied.

• Obtain Kt as usual (e.g. Appendix A–15)
• For fatigue, some materials are not fully sensitive to Kt so a
reduced value can be used.
• Define Kf as the fatigue stress-concentration factor.
• Define q as notch sensitivity, ranging from 0 (not sensitive) to 1
(fully sensitive).

• For q = 0, Kf = 1
• For q = 1, Kf = Kt

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Notch Sensitivity

• Obtain q for bending or axial loading from Fig. 6–20.

• Then get Kf from Eq. (6–32): Kf = 1 + q( Kt – 1)

Fig. 6–20

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Notch Sensitivity
• Obtain qs for torsional loading from Fig. 6–21.
• Then get Kfs from Eq. (6–32): Kfs = 1 + qs( Kts – 1)
• Note that Fig. 6–21 is updated in 9th edition.

Fig. 6–21

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Table for Kts

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Table for Kt

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Notch Sensitivity

• Alternatively, can use curve fit equations for Figs. 6–20 and 6–21
to get notch sensitivity, or go directly to Kf .

Bending or axial:

Torsion:

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Notch Sensitivity for Cast Irons

• Cast irons are already full of discontinuities, which are

included in the strengths.
• Additional notches do not add much additional harm.
• Recommended to use q = 0.2 for cast irons.

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Example 6-6

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Fluctuating Stresses

General
Fluctuating

Repeated
Fig. 6–23

Completely
Reversed

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Characterizing Fluctuating Stresses

• Fluctuating stresses can often

be characterized simply by the
minimum and maximum
stresses, smin and smax
• Define sm as midrange steady
component of stress
(sometimes called mean
stress) and sa as amplitude of
alternating component of
stress

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Characterizing Fluctuating Stresses

• Other useful definitions

include stress ratio

and amplitude ratio

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Equations for Commonly Used Failure Criteria

• Intersecting a constant slope load line with each failure

criteria produces design equations
• n is the design factor or factor of safety for infinite fatigue
life

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Torsional Fatigue Strength

• Testing has found that the steady-stress component has no

effect on the endurance limit for torsional loading if the
material is ductile, polished, notch-free, and cylindrical.
• However, for less than perfect surfaces, the modified
Goodman line is more reasonable.
• For pure torsion cases, use kc = 0.59 to convert normal
endurance strength to shear endurance strength.
• For shear ultimate strength, recommended to use

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Exercise

• Determine the factor of safety of a design considering the

following data:

smax = 200 Mpa; smin = -100 Mpa; Sut = 700 Mpa;

Sy = 400 Mpa; Se = 200 Mpa

Use Soderberg criterion to solve the problem.

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End of Fatigue theory

Next Topic: Shafts Design

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