12/2/2010

Fatigue Failure
Dr. Xinjun Cui

Fatigue Failure :

A progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a

material is subjected to cyclic loading (stress) and unloading.

The peak stress in each cycle is less than the ultimate tensile stress
limit, and may be below the yield stress limit of the material.

Causes at least 80% of the failures in modern engineering
components.

Examples subject to cyclic stress
 Railway lines; Gear Teeth; Springs;
 Suspension cable on a suspension bridge
 Skin and structural members of an aeroplane;
 Pulley belt drive shaft; connecting rod in a reciprocating engine
 Stub axle on a vehicle wheel

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Fatigue Failure - Examples

 If the loads are above a certain threshold, microscopic cracks will begin
to form at the surface  a crack will reach a critical size  the structure
will suddenly fracture.

Versailles train crash

Following the King's fete celebrations at the Palace of Versailles, a train returning to
Paris crashed in May 1842 at Meudon after the leading locomotive broke an axle,
and at least 55 passengers were killed.

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de Havilland Comet
Two de Havilland Comet passenger jets broke up in mid-air and crashed within a few
months of each other in 1954. The crash had been due to failure of the pressure cabin at
the forward Automatic Direction Finder window in the roof.

The 1980 capsize of the oil platform

Alexander L. Kielland
A Norwegian semi-submersible drilling rig that capsized whilst working in the Ekofisk
oil field in March 1980 killing 123 people.

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Other Fatigue Failure Examples

 The 1919 Boston Molasses Disaster
 The 1957 Philippine President Ramon M agsaysay crash
 The 1968 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417
 The 1985 Japan Airlines Flight 123
 The 1988 Aloha Airlines Flight 243
 The 1989 United Airlines Flight 232
 The 1992 El Al Flight 1862
 The 1998 Eschede train disaster
 The 2002 China Airlines Flight 611
 The 2005 Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
 The 2010 A380 Engine Fatigue Cracking

Characteristics of Fatigue Failure

1. A fatigue crack often starts at some point of stress concentration.
 Can be seen on the failed material as a smooth, flat, semi-circular or elliptical region –
often referred to as the nucleus.
2. Surrounding the nucleus is a burnished zone with ribbed markings,
resembling seashell markings or the marks left of a beach by the tide.
 These marks are produced by the crack propagating relatively slowly through the
material and the resulting factured surfaces rubbing together during the alternating
stressing of the component.
3. When the crack is long enough, it spontaneously propagate to give a
sudden abrupt fracture of the remaining material
Crystalline
Burnished zone Limit of fatigue crack abrupt failure
with ribbed markings
nucleus

1. initially 2. Fatigue crack slowly spreads 3. Sudden failure

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Fatigue Testing

Should ideally reproduce the same stress levels and fluctuations as in
service.

Most common – Wohler Test
Cyclic stresses

Fatigue Testing – stress range

Stress range = max stress – min stress

Stress amplitude S = ½(max stress – min stress)

Mean stress = ½(max stress + min stress)

Load ratio = max stress/min stress

stress

amplitude range
time

one cycle

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S-N Graph

During test, the machine is kept running with a particular stress range,
alternating the stress until the test piece fails – the number of cycles of
stressing up to failure is recorded;

The test is repeated for different stress ranges  S-N plot

S – Stress σ; N – Number of cycles

Endurance limit – σE = (0.3σu – tensile strength), below which a material
never fails;
 or σN – number of cycles at specified stress; Fatigue limit;

Normally plotted in logarithm scales

σ u = 320Mpa

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Factors Affecting Fatigue Life

Cyclic stress state
 stress amplitude, mean stress, biaxiality, and load sequence etc

Geometry
 Notches and variation in cross section throughout a part lead to stress concentrations
where fatigue cracks initiate.

Surface quality
 Surface roughness cause microscopic stress concentrations that lower the fatigue
strength.
 Compressive residual stresses can be introduced in the surface by e.g. shot peening to
increase fatigue life.
 Low Plasticity Burnishing, Laser peening, and ultrasonic impact treatment can also
produce this surface compressive stress and can increase the fatigue life of the
component.

Material Type
 Fatigue life, as well as the behavior during cyclic loading, varies widely for different
materials, e.g. composites and polymers differ markedly from metals.

Residual stresses
 Welding, cutting, casting, and other manufacturing processes involving heat or
deformation can produce high levels of tensile residual stress, which decreases the
fatigue strength.

Factors Affecting Fatigue Life - 2

Size and distribution of internal defects
 Casting defects such as gas porosity, non-metallic inclusions and shrinkage voids can
significantly reduce fatigue strength.

Direction of loading
 For non-isotropic materials, fatigue strength depends on the direction of the principal
stress.

Grain size
 For most metals, smaller grains yield longer fatigue lives
 However, the presence of surface defects or scratches will have a greater influence
than in a coarse grained alloy.

Environment
 Environmental conditions can cause erosion, corrosion, or gas-phase embrittlement,
which all affect fatigue life.
 Corrosion fatigue is a problem encountered in many aggressive environments.

Temperature
 Extreme high or low temperatures can decrease fatigue strength.

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Design against fatigue

1. Design to keep stress below threshold of fatigue limit
 infinite lifetime concept
2. Design for a fixed life after which the user is instructed to replace the part
with a new one
 finite lifetime concept, or "safe-life" design practice
3. Instruct the user to inspect the part periodically for cracks and to replace
the part once a crack exceeds a critical length.
 This approach usually uses the technologies of nondestructive testing and
requires an accurate prediction of the rate of crack-growth between
inspections.
Above all, a sophisticated mechanical system design against fatigue-failure requires
comprehensive explorations in structural engineering, mechanical engineering and
materials science.

A specific issue –
Fatigue Notch Sensitivity

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Fatigue Notch Sensitivity

Stress concentration factor -- ratio of the raised stress to the normal stress
level
σ
kf =
σo
Example
A shaft of 50 mm diameter is subject to a bending moment of 3000 Nm.
On the surface, there is a notch with a stress concentration factor of 1.67.
Calculate the stress produced at the notch.
D = 0.05m, M = 3000 Nm, k f = 1.6
πD 4
second moment of area I = = 306.8 × 10-9 (m4 ) Recap: next page
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stress due to bending moment
My 3000 × D2
σo = = = 244.5 (Mpa)
I 306.8 × 10−9
∴σ = σ o × k f = 391.1 Mpa

Stressing due to Bending Moment (supplementary)

Compressed -- Compression
Neutral axis -- unstressed

Stretched -- Tension

M σ E
= =
I y R
M – bending moment (N.m); I -- second moment of area about the neutral axis (m4);

R – radius of the neutral curvature (m); y – radial displacement upon I = ∫ y 2dA

compress/tension (m);
E – modulus of elasticity (pa); σ – stress due to transverse loading (pa)

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M σ E
= =
θ I y R

A R B
C D

y
Max tensile stress

AB – neutral axis
Length of an arc: AB = Rθ
Radius of curvature at a point = radius of a circle touching that point

1. Strain
Original length AB = Rθ
Stretched length CD = ( R + y )θ
θ
change in length
strain =
A R B original length
C D
∆l CD − AB ( R + y )θ − Rθ y
ε= = = =
l AB Rθ R

y 2. Modulus of Elasticity, E
stress σ force
E= = (N/m 2 ), stress σ = (N/m 2 )
strain ε area
Substitute ε into E
σ σ σR E σ y
E= = = , = σ =E
ε Ry y R y R
Stress and strain vary along the length of the beam depending on the
radius of curvature

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Relationship between Stress and Bending Moment M

E σ M
= =
R y I
top
I =∫ y 2 dA -- second moment of area about the neutral axis
bottom

top E 2
M =∫ y dA -- bending moment about the neutral axis
bottom R
y
B B
top
BD 3 BD 3 − bd 3
I= D
b
d I=
D x 12 12

bottom

d πD 4 − πd 4
πD 4 I=
D I= D 64
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Exercise
1. A shaft 90 mm diameter is subject to a cyclic bending moment of ±1500 Nm. On
the surface, there is a notch with a stress concentration factor of 1.35.
(i) Calculate the stress fluctuation produced at this notch.
(ii) With the S – N graph shown for this material, what is the expected life of the
shaft?
(iii) According to the S-N graph, what is the endurance limit of this material?

(Ans: ±28.3 Mpa; about 240 Mega cycles; about 18 Mpa)

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2. For the material given in question 1, determine the safe bending moment under
which this shaft would never fail in a fatigue test. Other conditions remain
unchanged.
(about 1288 Nm)
3. A shaft 80 mm diameter is subject to a cyclic bending moment of ±8000 Nm. On
the surface, there is a notch with a stress concentration factor of 1.3.
Calculate the stress fluctuation produced at this notch. S – N graph for this
material is shown. What is the expected life of the shaft?
(±207 Mpa, about 1000 cycles)

4. Explain what is meant by fatigue failure. With the assistance of diagram, explain
the terms ‘fatigue limit’ and ‘endurance limit’.
Describe the various stages in the failure of a component by fatigue.
5. List at least four factors affecting fatigue life, and briefly explain.

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