ME 215

CHAPTER 6
FATIGUE PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS

 Machine parts are rarely

loaded in simple manner as
the specimens in a tensile
or torsion test where load
is usually constant or very
slowly varying
The machine parts in real
life are often subjected
to loads and stresses that
vary with time either in
magnitude or in direction.

 In tensile (or compressive) tests of materials, loading usually

starts from zero and gradually goes up to a maximum value
where material no longer can resist the internal stresses and
fails /fractures around ultimate strength (Su) of material
before the load is removed. This type of failure is called the
static failure.
In such tests, material is loaded only once but up to the
ultimate limit (Su) of the strength. Life of the material is
therefore only half cycle of the loading.

 If we were to load the material up to a point half the

elastic limit (or ultimate strength) and then remove
the load material would not fail/fracture and a
second, third or more (n cycle) loading-unloading
would be possible.
The life of the material then would be n cycle of
the loading until it fractures/fails.

 In such type of loadings where the actual stresses

are usually lower than ultimate strength of the
material, failure will not happen in the first cycle of
loading and will take time.
After a certain number of cycles of loading, material
would fail and the number of cycles to the failure
would therefore be called the life of the part.

This kind of failures

with a certain number of
life cycles is then called
the fatigue failure.

The fatigue failure starts generally at

stress levels below the elastic limit of
the material and result in an unexpected
fracture of the component.
Therefore, in engineering life it is
important that we care more about
fatigue failure than static failure since
most of machine parts are required to
have a certain life with stress level well
below the ultimate strength (even below
elastic strength/limit)

FATIGUE EXAMPLES

A shaft fatigue failure

A bolt fatigue failure

Forward-backward
bending

Welded part
fatigue failure

A gear teeth fatigue

failure

???

A ship body fatigue failure

Fatigue failure account for about 80 % of part failure in

engineering and occurs in parts subjected to
fluctuating loads
Generally, fatigue fractures occurs as a result of crack
which usually start at some discontinuity in the
material, or at other stress concentration location,
and then gradually grow under repeated application of
load.
As the crack grows, the stress on the load-bearing
cross-section increase until it reaches a high enough
level to cause catastrophic fracture of the part

Beach marks

Crack initiation

Crack growth
smooth areas

Fracture
rough areas

Fracture surface which usually exhibits smooth areas

which correspond to the gradual crack growth stage,
and rough areas, which correspond to the
catastrophic fracture stage.
The smooth parts of the fracture surface usually
exhibit beach marks which occurs as a result of
changes in the magnitude of the fluctuating fatigue
load.
Fatigue behavior of materials is usually described by
means of a diagram called S-N diagram which gives
the number of cycles to failure (N ) as a function of
the max applied alternating stress (Sa)

BASIC DEFINITIONS
The time dependent stresses causing fatigue failure can be
classified into two main groups:
o A) Random stresses(fig. b). (no regular form or repetition exists)
o B) Constant amplitude and Constant frequency stresses (fig. a)
(a repeating form of the stress exists)

BASIC DEFINITIONS
A) Random stresses:
The time variation of such stresses does not follow a
definite pattern. The amplitude of the fluctuating
stress changes together with its frequency.
A random stress is characterised by a continuous
change in amplitude and frequency so that
instantaneous values have no meaning.

BASIC DEFINITIONS
B) Constant amplitude and constant frequency stresses
These are special case of random stresses with a
sinusoid wave form.
o Alternating stresses (rotating shaft example)
o Fluctuating stresses (no regular diagram)
o Repeated stresses (between zero and peak value)

BASIC DEFINITIONS
Regarding repeating (non-random) stresses there are some basic
parameters to keep in mind:
o Smax Maximum stress: The stress having the highest
algebric value in the stress cycle. Tensile stress being
considered positive and compressive stress negative.
o Smin, Minimum stress: The stress having the lowest algebric
value in the stress cycle.
Sm, Mean stress:
The average of Smax and Smin.
SM:(SMAX+SMIN)/2
Sr , Range of stress:
The difference between the max and min
stresses in one cycle.
Sr:Smax-Smin
Sa , Stress amplitude:
One half of range of stress.
Sa=(Sr/2)=[(Smax-Smin)/2]

BASIC DEFINITIONS
While the amplitude of a sinusoidal (nonrandom) stress is easily measured , the
amplitude of a random stress can only be
expressed and measured as the average of
the instantaneous amplitudes over a certain
time period.
Classic examples of random stress producing
loading conditions are sea waves,
atmospheric disturbances and road induced
vibrations in ground vehicles.

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

Fatigue failure process is basically a
microscopic process.
The initiation and progress of fatigue
process depens upon the microscopic
variables
The fatigue process consists of varios stages as
follows:
o CRACK INITIATION
o STAGE 1 CRACK GROWTH
o STAGE 2 CRACK GROWTH
o FRACTURE

fracture

Crack growth
Stage 1 & 2
2
Crack
initiation

fracture

Crack growth
Stage 1 & 2
Crack
initiation

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

Crack initation:
The progressive,
localized,
permanent
structural change
which initiates
fatigue failure is
the
microplasticity.
Microplasticity is the
onset of plasticity
at microscopic
level while
material is still
nominally elastic!

FATIGUE PROCESS
STAGES
The usual method of
microplastic deformation in
metals is by sliding of blocks of
crystal grain over one
another, like a deck of cards.

o The extent of the plastic flow is

limited by the surrounding
elastic matrix.
o When the load or stress is
removed, back stresses arising
from the elastic matrix force
the plastic deformation to
return to their orginal state.
o On high stresses, the elastic
matrix, however, cannot
restore the plastic flow and a
microplastic deformation starts
at crystal grain level.

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

This phenomenon of microplastic
deformation is called deformation by
slip and involves three important
consideration:
o Slip planes
o Resolved shear stress
o Critical Shear Stress

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

Stage 1 crack growth:
The persistent slip bands are embryonic fatigue cracks.
A series of intrusions and extrusions are developed during load
cycling which are peculiar to the fatigue process.
One simple explanation of crack formation that suggests itself
is that these extrusions and intrusions build up a notch

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

The initial cracks form along the slip planes and usually at
45 degrees to the direction of loading in tensile type
applications (due to shear stresses).
The crack growth is crystallographically oriented
along the slip plane for a short distance.
In a polycrystalline metal the stage 1 crack may extend
for only a few grain diameters before it changes to
Stage 2 crack

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

Stage 2 crack growth:
The most important feature of the stage 2 crack is that
it is tensile stress dominated and comprises most of the
crack propagation life.
The stage 2 crack propagates in a zigzag transgranular
path along slip planes and "clevage" planes from grain to
grain and maintains a general direction perpendicular to
the maximum tensile stress

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

o General direction
of cracks is
perpendicular to
the maximum
tensile stress as
seen in a bi-cycle
body

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

o Fracture:
When the stage 2 crack
reaches sufficient lenght,
so that the remaining
section cannot sustain
the applied load, the
specimen fractures.

fractures

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES fracture

examples

FATIGUE PROCESS STAGES

Considering the life of parts, fatigue process
may be divided into two main catogories on
the S-N curve of metals:
o Finite life region (n<106 cycles)
o Low Cycle fatigue ( 100 cycles< n<103 cycles)
o High Cycle fatigue ( 103 cycles< n<106 cycles)

o Infinite life region (n>106 cycles)

 This is the S-N (stress versus cycle) curve

used to identify the regions of fatigue

S-N curves for

carbon steel

S-N curves for

aluminum alloy

Generally, fatigue is considered high cycle

fatigue when the peak stresses in the
material are held within the elastic range and
the fatigue life exceeds approximately 103
cycles.
Low-cycle fatigue occurs when stresses are
above the elastic limit of the material with
life less than 103 cycles.
This arbitrary division of fatigue life,
however, may vary from material to material,
depending upon the tensile properties.