MANSON-COFFIN

FATIGUE*

P. P. GILLISt
The low-cycle large-amplitude fatigue law AaN!2 = constant, is derived from a dislocation model of
crack growth. The crack is considered to increase its volume each half-cycle by absorption of dislo[!ations
from a pseudo-torroidal region around its perimeter.
LA FATIGUE

SELON

LA RELATIOS

DE MANSOK-COFFIN

La loi de fatigue B large amplitude et faible cycle AeN

= con&ante, peut &re d&ivee B partir dun
mod& de dislocations representant la croissance dune fissure.
Lauteur consid&rttque la fissure oroit en volume B chaque demi-cycle par absorption de dislocations
provenant dune region pseudo-torroidale entourant son p&im&re.
MANSON-COFFIN-~R~~DU~G
Das fiir niedrige Zyklen und grol3eAmplituden geltende Ermiidungsgesetz AEN/~ = konstant wird aus
einem Versetzungsmodell fiir das Risswachstum hergeleitet. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dalj der Riss
sain Volumen bei jedam Halbzyklus durch Absorption von Versetzungen eus einem pseudo-torroidalen
Gebiet entlang seines Umfanges vergrliRert.
INTRODUCTION

such cycles

In a recent paper (I) Grosskreutz

the

well-documented,

relation

empirical

for low-cycle

based on geometric
deformation

of

fatigue

life.

assumptions

present

Manson-Coffin(2,3)

nucleation

His analysis

regarding

a two-dimensional

was

the cyclic

elliptical

crack

derives

relation from considerations

the

Manson-Coffin

of dynamical

dislocation

processes,

without having to specify the crack shape.

Assuming

a relatively

bounded

The radius
dislocation

curve s, crack growth occurs

of dislocations

the pseudo-torroidal
radius z traversing

into the crack from

region generated

by a circle of

the curve s.

z is the maximum

distance

can move during a half-cycle,

an edge

and it can be

shown to depend linearly on the plastic deformation

amplitude.

This leads directly

to a Manson-Coffin

type relation.
CONSTANT

Consider
elastic

STRAIN

AMPLITUDE

a cylindrical

cross-sectional
modulus

by some unspecified

specimen

FATIGUE

of length

area A, of material characterized

E and a yield

stress

L and
by an

.rrR2 = A

section

cross

need

not

Let the specimen

be cycled at a constant

CRACK

specimen

failure

of the

due to the void

DURING

STAGE

disc-shaped

II

a crack nucleus

and perpendicular

to the

axis as shown in Fig. 1. If the transverse

cross section

of the crack is denoted

by a it is oon-

transverse dimension

T, such that ~TP = EC.

In

the region of the crack the st$resses and strains

will differ from the average values throllghout

of the specimen.

This variation

in the following

manner.

directions

the bulk

can be approximated

Consider

be

This work supported in part by the National Science

Foundation.
? Department of Engineering Mechanics, University of
Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
1966

and treat the specimen

segments : a solid cylinder

deforma-

14, DECEMBER

of ductile

vcnient to define a characteristic,

of LA&. Denote the number of

VOL.

consists

GROWTH

t,hat is roughly

* Received March 18, 1966.

METALLURGICA,

III

during a tensile half-cycle

Assume that Stage I has provided

tion amplitude LAe. That is, the test begins by an

elongatiou LA.@,
followed by alternating compressions and elongations

Stage II consists of the

created by the critical crack.

circular.

SCTB

Stage

specimen

oW. For con-

R is defined such that

the

process.

that the major

effects of the crack extend an axial distance r in both

venience a transverse dimension

although

Stage

of a suitable crack nucleus

growth of this nucleus to some critical size as described

flat crack the edge of which is

by an arbitrary

through absorption

and growth process in three stages:

I consists of the formation

below.

analysis

The

number of cycles to failure N, depends upon a crack

under plane strain.

The

since the start of the test by N.

was able to derive

1673

as comprising

of length I; -

2r;

two
and a

ACTA

3674

METALLURGICA,

cylinder of length 2r pierced by a hole of area cd. Let

1 and 2 refer respectively

subscripts

and approximate
within each.

to these segments

VOL.

14,

1966

written in terms of some unspecified?

which will be denoted

fur&ion

the stress and strain as being constant

Then the total deformation

sum of the deformations

must be the
In the immediate

in the two segments.

LF = (L -

24&l + 2YFs

(11

@,A = a,(A

dislocations

vicinity

moving

half-cycle.

of the crack there will be

towards

the crack during

In fact, for an isotropic

dislooation

bution, just half of the mobile dislocations

Also, ~quil~briLlm must be satisfied.

(x)

(21

Obviously, there will exist a transition region between

gl, c1 and g2, e2 and also there will be lateral variations

will move

towards the crack during the other half-cycle.

of these dislocations

ought to provide

string of vacancies, ~1 those that are absorbed

approximate

basis for

description
of the macroscopic
response, and it is
expected that during most of Stage II the growing crack

the boundary

surface

af the crack.

sidering that the edge dislocations

by
Con-

are equivalent

to a

by the

crack increase its volume by an amount a,pproximately

equal to b21 where 1 is the dislacation

line length.

Very low stresses exist near the surface of the crack

will indeed be small.

If oJE < AE ihe elastic deformations
men earn be neglectsed. Then during

in the specia half-cycle

except in the vicinity

Z+C)&,P -j- (3Y/L)&,

(3)

of its edge so that dislocations

are expected to feed inta the crack primarily from the

vicinity

(1 f asserts that :
AE = (1 -

Some

will pass out of the specimen

reaching

a reasonable,

each
distri-

towards the crack during one half of the strain cycle

and the other half of the dislocations
will move

of stress and strain within the segment containing the

crack. However, for small cracks equations (1) and (2)

equation

of (r/R)

a5 p.

of the crack

described

front.

the element of volume

empty

If the crack

front

is

by a curve s, at any point, along this curve

from which dislocatlions may
7~2~d.s where

into the crack is approximately

Here the superscript p denotes plastic deformation.

According
to Gillis and Gilman4)
the plastic

z = f~s dt. (See Fig. 2.) Call S the total length of crack

deformation

front,

rate due to dislocation

glide processes can

be written as:

dep/dt = ~?bpv

(4

Here p is an orientation

factor, b is the di5Iocation

p is the length of dislocation line per unit

strength,
volume,

and

21 is an average

dislocation

velocity

specified by :

21= w* exp {-223/o)

After

the first few

half-cycle.
half-cycle,

strain

will nor vary

Treating

cycles

greatly

crack

perimeter.

dislocations

per half-cycle
tion density

the

p as a constant,

dislocation
any given
during

the

volume
and the

line reaching the crack

is pm%/2 where p is the edge dislocain the region of the crack front.

earresponding

volume

cycle the volume

change is twice this.

dVldN = bzpm2S
expressed
particular

as functions
crack

The

change is ~z~~~2S~2. For a full

Now both the crack volume

during

Then

into the crack is &S

total length of edge dislocation

(8

Here u* and D are material parameters.

population

or the

emptying

shape,

(111

and perimeter

of the parameter
For

the

can be

r for any

convenience

of

one

~rp and .QP can be written as:

Elp =

ybp,v* f exp {-ZD/qj

%P = phpiv j exp {-Bz)/cQ

dt

(6)

dt

(3

Bath integrals are evaluated over a half-cycle.

To relate the integral involving b2 to As consider the
two limiting cases a = 0 and a = A.

In the first case

d1 = oz so that 1/x = ZJ~and equation

(3) gives:

FIG. 2. An element of the volume from which disbcations can reach the crack during a half-cycle.

p5 j UJ& = A+$&

(31

In the second case cur= 0 so that vu1= 0 and:

~2.f v2dt

Thus

p2jz+ dt depends

(~+$JW+~)

linearly

(9)

on AC and

can

be

t From physical arguments a monotonic transition is

expected between these two values. That is, the deformation
per cycle in the crack region is expected to increase continuously as the crack grows. Another way of saying this is that
more and more of the total deformation will occur in the
region of hhe crack.

GILLIS:

non-dimensionalization
expressed as functions

they

may

of c = rlR.

MANSON-COFFIN

be alternatively
Equation (I 1) can

from a simple tension test seem quite inconsistent

the

type

of mechanism

to reasonably

(d V/d~)(d~ld~)

= b2pm2X(<)

for 9 from equation

(12)

(10) and rearranging

gives :

mean

that

accurate

typical,

= As2dN

Integrating

(13)

the right hand side of equation

(N-N,,)Ae2=

(13) gives :

s,;$($)dl

(14)

The number of cycles to failure, Nf, will equal the

number required for crack nucleation
N,? the number
to critical

during Stage I,

required for growth during Stage II

growth and coalescence,

which failure occurs.

this quarter-cycle

Neglecting

of growth cycles is Nf -- No.

and governed

No) be2 =

active

During any given set of tests geometric

similarity

of the specimens insures that & will be the same in all

Material identity

histories

of

observations

requires essentially

F:!, pz and

Finally,

p.

identical

experimental

indicate that the same sort of crack grows

in each test so that the histories of p, S and d V/d5 are

always

the same.

Thus, the right hand integral

in

equation (15) is approximately

independent of the
details of any given cycle and can be treated as a
constant

for some range of Nf.

For tests within this

range the results compare using

(N;

No)(Ae)2

that

during

the number

N,)As2

of cycles

required

(16)

Assuming

that

nucleation

is always a small fraction of the number to

for

Equation
(17) is equivalent
Manson-Coffin relation.

to

(17)
the

well-known

DISCUSSION

Arguments

asserting that the value of the constant

in equation (17), i.e. the square root of the value

of the integral in equation (15), can be evaluated

(1.0) implies

stage

voids in the tension test will be similar to growth of the

fatigue crack.
The

main

differences

of tensile

in behavior

voids,

partially

test

have

although

dynamical
present

no

of the

by flow of material

away

analysis

also

they are effects

failure.

Hence

sumably

be required

in fat)igue-crack

must

be governed

processes.

agglomeration

additional

These feat#ures of a

counterparts

they

dislocat,ion

dislocation

arise in gross

and final failure

from the failure cross section.

a larger

In terms
which

process
tensile

mechanisms

and thus

add to the

in

strain

promoting
would

prethese

half the uniaxial

the value predicted

simple tension test ar~ments,

by

of the

to cause failure without

tensile strain at failure,

is expected

by the

to be too

small.
The proposed
N because

analysis is not precise for very small

of the above-mentioned

additional

anisms not accountsed in the theory.

mech-

Ate the other

extreme of very large N the analysis again fails because

o,/E

basic mechanism
dislocations

c< Ae is violated.

of crack growth

is probably

However,

by absorption

still operative

details of the present description

although

the
of
the

may no longer apply.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Growth

A&N,ils = constant

grows

it does not matter

whether one or more nuclei are active. Growth of the

failure N, can be neglected and equation (16) rewritten

as:

tensile

of initial

to form voids.

leading to equation

the growth

the assumption

= (N, -

and

one nucleus

and these finally agglomerate

tensile

(15)

In fatigue

But the development

tensile specimen

J:-
$$$($1d(
0

fatigue

flaws.

growth,

(Nf -

links

by the same

while in tension many flaws are initially

of

(14) :

here to
by void

preferentially,

the contribution

From equation

the

or developed

distortlion

of N,, the number

with

of

tensile-failures

failures is that both result from the grouth

in

to the magnitude

basis

necking, etc. are att,rib~ltable

to similar mechanisms?

quarter-cycle

size, plus the Stage III

the

values is interpreted

dnctile

dynamical relations.
The similarity
which

-dc

tests.

forming

The fact that these arguments lead

foregoing analysis.

then be rewritten as :

Substituting

1675

FATIGUE

of fatigue cracks can be considered

process of absorption
front.

of dislocations

as a

into t,he crack

2. The Hanson-Corn
relation for low-cycle fatigue
life can be deduced on the basis of dislocations feeding
into a growing crack from a pseudo-torroidal
surrounding the crack front.

volume

t Prism&o punching is expected to play an important

role in void growth.

ACTA

1676

METALLURGICA,

3. For the case of constant plastic-strain

dynamical
independent

dislocation

theory

predicts

amplitude

a frequency-

specimen response.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to thank Dr. J. C. Grosskreutz

for stimulating

an interest in this problem.

support was provided

Financial

in part by the National

Science

Foundation.
REFERENCES
I. J. C. GROSSKREITTZ,USAFML

Report

10883 (1964).

VOL.

14,

1966

2. S. S. MANSON, SACA TN 2933 (1953).

See also FatigueAn Inte~disci$inary
Approach
Proc.
10th
Sagamore
A. M. R. Conf., edited by J. J. Burke, N. L. Reed and
V. Weiss, p. 133.
Syracuse University
Press, Syracuse,
N.Y. (1964) and Exp. Mech. 5,193 (1965).
3. L. F. COFFIN, JR., Tram Am. Sot. Mech. Engrs 76, 923
(1954).
See also AppZ. Mater. Res. 1, 129 (1962), and
Fatigzse-An
Interdisciplinary
Approach,
Proceedings of
the 10th Sagamore Army Materials Research Conference,
Edited by J. J. Burke, N. L. Reed and V. Weiss, p. 173.
Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, N.Y. (1964).
4. P. P. GILL~S and J. J. GILRZAN, J. appl. Phys. 36, 3370
(1965).
and Mechanical
Properties
of
5. W.
BOAS, Dislocations
Crystals, p. 333. Wiley, New York (1957).