FundamentalMechanicalProperties

Fatigue

1
 Fatigue

Fatigueiscausedbyrepeatedapplicationofstresstothe
metal.Itisthefailureofamaterialbyfracturewhensubjectedtoa
cyclicstress.

Fatigueisdistinguishedbythreemainfeatures.
i) Lossofstrength
ii) Lossofductility
iii) Increaseduncertaintyinstrengthand
servicelife

2
 Fatigue
Fatigueisanimportantformofbehaviourinallmaterialsincludingmetals,
plastics,rubberandconcrete.
Allrotatingmachinepartsaresubjectedtoalternatingstresses.
Example:aircraftwingsaresubjectedtorepeatedloads,oilandgaspipes
areoftensubjectedtostaticloadsbutthedynamiceffectoftemperature
variationwillcausefatigue.
Therearemanyothersituationswherefatiguefailurewillbeveryharmful.
Becauseofthedifficultyofrecognizingfatigueconditions,fatiguefailure
comprisesalargepercentageofthefailuresoccurringinengineering.
Toavoidstressconcentrations,roughsurfacesandtensileresidual
stresses,fatiguespecimensmustbecarefullyprepared.

3
 Fatigue
TheSNCurve
AveryusefulwaytovisualthefailureforaspecificmaterialiswiththeSN
curve.
TheSNmeansstressversecyclestofailure,whichwhenplottedusing
thestressamplitudeontheverticalaxisandthenumberofcycletofailure
onthehorizontalaxis.
Animportantcharacteristictothisplotasseenisthefatiguelimit.

38
34
30
26
22
18
16
14
10
6

4
 Fatigue

Thepointatwhichthecurveflattersoutistermedasfatiguelimitandis
wellbelowthenormalyieldstress.
Thesignificanceofthefatiguelimitisthatifthematerialisloadedbelow
thisstress,thenitwillnotfail,regardlessofthenumberoftimesitis
loaded.
Materialssuchasaluminium,copperandmagnesiumdonotshowa
fatiguelimit;thereforetheywillfailatanystressandnumberofcycles.
Otherimportanttermsare fatiguestrength and fatiguelife.
Thefatiguestrengthcanbedefinedasthestressthatproducesfailureina
givennumberofcyclesusually107.
Thefatiguelifecanbedefinedasthenumberofcyclesrequiredfora
materialtofailatacertainstress.

5
 Factorsaffectingfatigueproperties

Surfacefinish:
Scratchesdentsidentificationmarkscanactasstressraisersandsoreduce
thefatigueproperties.
Electroplatingproducestensileresidualstressesandhaveadeterimental
effectonthefatigueproperties.

Temperature:
Asaconsequenceofoxidationorcorrosionofthemetalsurfaceincreasing,
increaseintemperaturecanleadtoareductioninfatigueproperties.

6
 Factorsaffectingfatigueproperties
Residualstresses:
Residualstressesareproducedbyfabricationandfinishing
processes.
Residualstressesonthesurfaceofthematerialwillimprove the
fatigueproperties.
Heattreatment:
Hardeningandheattreatmentsreducethesurface compressive
stresses;asaresultthefatiguepropertiesofthe materialsaregetting
affected.
Stressconcentrations:
Thesearecausedbysuddenchangesincrosssectionholesorsharp
cornerscanmoreeasilyleadtofatiguefailure.Evena smallhole
lowersfatiguelimitby30%.

7
 StressCycles

Therearedifferentarrangementsoffatigueloading.
Thesimplesttypeofloadisthealternatingstresswherethestressamplitudeis
equaltothemaximumstressandthemeanoraveragestressiszero.Thebending
stressinashaftvariesinthisway.

8
 FatigueFailure
Fatiguefractureresultsfromthepresenceoffatiguecracks,usually
initiatedbycyclicstresses,atsurfaceimperfectionssuchasmachine
markingandslipsteps.
Theinitialstressconcentrationassociatedwiththesecracksaretoolowto
causebrittlefracturetheymaybesufficienttocauseslowgrowthofthe
cracksintotheinterior.
Eventuallythecracksmaybecomesufficientlydeepsothatthestress
concentrationexceedsthefracturestrengthandsuddenfailureoccurs.
Theextentofthecrackpropagationprocessdependsuponthebrittleness
ofthematerialundertest.
Inbrittlematerialsthecrackgrowstoacriticalsizefromwhichit
propagatesrightthroughthestructuresinafastmanner,whereaswith
ductilematerialsthecrackkeepsgrowinguntiltheremainingareacannot
supporttheloadandanalmostductilefracturesuddenlyoccurs.

9
 FatigueFailure
Failurecanberecognizedbytheappearanceoffracture.
Foratypicalfracture,Twodistinctzonescanbedistinguished asmooth
zonenearthefatiguecrackitselfwhich,hasbeensmoothenedbythe
continualrubbingtogetherofthecrackedsurfaces,andarough
crystallinelookingzonewhichisthefinalfracture.
Occasionallyfatiguecracksshowroughconcentricringswhichcorrespond
tosuccessivepositionsofthecrack.

10
 DesignforFatigue

Tosecuresatisfactoryfatiguelife
Modificationofthedesigntoavoidstressconcentrationeliminatingsharp
recessesandseverestressraisers.
Precisecontrolofthesurfacefinishbyavoidingdamagetosurfaceby
roughmachining,punching,stamping,shearingetc.
Controlofcorrosionanderosionorchemicalattackinserviceandto
preventofsurfacedecarburizationduringprocessingofheattreatment.
Surfacetreatmentofthemetal.

11