A critical plane fatigue model applied to out-of-phase bending and

torsion load conditions

F. M O R E L
Laboratoire de Mecanique et de Physique des Materiaux, UMR 6617, ENSMA, Site du Futuroscope, Futuroscope Cedex, France
Received in final form 20 November 2000

A B S T R A C T This paper presents an easy to handle but efficient fatigue life prediction method based

on a plasticity analysis carried out at the scale of the grains, i.e. the mesoscopic scale.
The different steps of the model are described in the case of in-phase as well as outof-phase bendingtorsion load conditions. One striking feature of this method is that
the definition of the critical material plane and the estimation of the number of cycles
to initiation are made by means of analytical expressions that are functions of the
loading parameters such as amplitudes, means and phase angles. The identification of
the model parameters is readily carried out by means of one SN curve and two fatigue
limits. This model is able to reflect the influence of the phase shift on damage
accumulation with the introduction of no adjustable parameters. Furthermore, the
comparison between the predictions and in-phase and out-of-phase fatigue data found
in the literature leads to very good correlation.
Keywords bendingtorsion loading; fatigue life prediction; high cycle fatigue;
microplasticity.
NOMENCLATURE

C ac =amplitude of the shear stress on the critical plane

Ni =number of cycles to initiation
p, q, r=coefficients of the SN curve analytical expression
Ta =amplitude of the macroscopic resolved shear stress acting on a glide system
Ts (h, Q)=measure of stress proportional to an upper bound of the plastic mesostrain
accumulated on an elementary material plane D orientated by (h, Q), also
average value of Ta
TS =maximum value of Ts over h and Q
TSlim =maximum value of Ts relative to the multiaxial limit loading
SH =macroscopic hydrostatic stress
t=resolved shear stress acting on a glide system of a crystal
ty =shear yield limit of a crystal
ts =shear yield limit of a crystal in the saturation phase
tlim =generalized fatigue limit, also shear yield limit of a crystal in the saturation
phase

INTRODUCTION

In many cases, the design of structural parts requires

tools that can deal with any kind of complex load
sequence. Indeed, at locations where cracks occur in
components, the stress state is often of multiaxial characCorrespondence: F. Morel, Laboratoire de Mecanique et de Physique
des Materiaux, UMR 6617, ENSMA, Site du Futuroscope, BP 109,
86960 Futuroscope Cedex, France E.mail: morel@lmpm.ensma.fr

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

ter due the applied loading and its changes. Hence

modelling concepts that address only uniaxial loading
conditions are not sufficiently general to meet design
requirements. Among the numerous mechanical components, some such as axles, crankshafts and propeller
shafts undergo bending and torsion stresses which are
out of phase. For that state of stress, the task of researchers is then to build relevant methods that can take into
account non-proportional as well as proportional loadings. The fatigue strength under combined bending and

153

154

F. M O R E L

torsion has been extensively studied in the infinite fatigue

life regime.17 It has been proved6,7 in that field that the
phase difference does not significantly affect the fatigue
endurance of hard metals. Nevertheless, the influence of
the loading path shape on damage accumulation has
been less studied. This work is then devoted to the
domain of finite fatigue lives.
In an extensive review of multiaxial fatigue life prediction methods presented by You and Lee,1 it appears that
many approaches have been proposed and can be classified into several categories, i.e. empirical formulas, use
of stress and strain invariants, use of energy, critical
plane approaches. Among all these methods, only a few
try to describe the specific microscopic damage mechanisms in high-cycle fatigue.
For example, Lematre et al.8 according to the damage
mechanics initiated by Kachanov use the well-known
Lematre damage law9 extended in a two-scale model.
Indeed, in this theory, a self-consistent scheme is able
to reflect the microscopic nature of damage accumulation
in the high-cycle fatigue regime, namely when there is
no plasticity or damage at the scale of the Representative
Volume Element of Continuum Mechanics; that is when
plasticity and damage occur at a lower scale. The global
failure is then assumed to occur as soon as the microscopic damage reaches a critical value.
In a previous paper and according to the same philosophy, Morel10 proposed to apply a Schmid-type plasticity
model (critical plane) to a mesoscopic approach of crack
initiation. The local plastic strain is seen as the main
cause of crack nucleation. Its estimation requires the
introduction of relevant isotropic and kinematic hardening rules and a macro-meso passage; as for the wellknown Dang Van criterion,11 the LinTaylor hypothesis12 is utilized to link the mesoscopic (scale of the
grain) and the macroscopic (scale of the specimen)
mechanical quantities. The initiation of a crack at the
mesoscopic scale is assumed to appear when the local
plastic strain in some less favourably orientated grains
has reached a critical value. This model therefore focuses
more on issues related to crack nucleation than on
microcrack propagation.
Whereas the first paper10 presented the basic theory
of the mesoscopic approach, this new study shows
how the phase shift influences the finite and infinite
fatigue life regimes in the practical case of a nonproportional bending and torsion loading. The different steps of the initiation life assessment will then be
detailed and particular attention will be given to the
actual phase difference effect on fatigue strength. This
second paper attempts to add some information on
the way the mesoscopic approach can explain the
effect of complex path on damage mechanisms in
fatigue.

FATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION METHOD

Damage model and fatigue life to initiation

A distinguishing feature of high-cycle fatigue (HCF) is
the high degree of heterogeneity of local cyclic slip
processes. Indeed, for low-stress amplitudes the cyclic
plastic slip processes are highly heterogeneously distributed among grains and surface crack density is sparse.
On the contrary, under high amplitudes, persistent slip
bands and microcracks are fairly uniformly distributed
among grains. Typically, only a single dominant flaw
ultimately propagates to failure in HCF and the crack
density is relatively low in smooth specimens13 in comparison with the low cycle fatigue (LCF) case.14,15 There
is a corresponding increase of scatter of fatigue strength
under HCF conditions linked to this increasing
heterogeneity.
From this observation, it thus seems natural to assume
that only a few (most unfavourably orientated) grains
that suffer plastic glide under an external loading are
responsible for macrocrack initiation in HCF.
To describe the evolution of the damage in those
grains, Papodopoulos16,17 proposed the use of the
accumulated plastic mesoscopic strain as the damage
variable. Later, Morel10 followed the same method and
assumed that the initiation of slip in a crystal is determined by the Schmids law
f (t, b, ty )=(tb)(tb)ty2 =0

(1)

where t is the resolved shear stress acting on an easy

glide system of the crystal, ty is the yield limit of the
crystal and b is the kinematic hardening parameter.
Moreover the crystal is assumed to follow a combined
isotropic and kinematic linear hardening rule when
flowing plastically. To define the crystal behaviour from
the first yielding to failure, three successive isotropic
hardening rules have been adopted: hardening, saturation
and softening (Fig. 1).
When a cyclic loading is applied, Morel10 showed that
the damage variable (accumulated plastic strain) and the
crystal yield limit can be expressed through analytical
expressions. Those expressions relative to a particular
gliding system are expressed as a function of the applied
amplitude of the resolved shear stress Ta , the yield limit
in the saturation phase ts and the hardening parameters
of the three behaviour phases.
The number of cycles to initiation deduced when the
damage variable (i.e. the accumulated plastic mesoscopic
strain) reaches a critical value is given by:10
Ni =p ln

ts
r
Ta
+q

Ta ts
Ta ts Ta

(2)

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C R I T I C A L P L A N E FAT I G U E M O D E L

155

Indeed as long as the amplitude of the resolved shear stress

is less than this critical value, the plastically deforming
grain that would lead to crack formation tends to an elastic
shakedown state; the grain tends to recover a purely elastic
response. When this threshold is exceeded, a plastic shakedown occurs and the grain fails due to the exhaustion of its
ductility. As can be seen in Eq. (2) this critical value plays
the role of a fatigue limit. One main task of this method is
then to estimate this limit value for any kind of multiaxial
loading (proportional or non-proportional). This will be
done by means of an appropriate endurance criterion
proposed by Papadopoulos.17
Estimation of the saturation yield limit
Critical plane endurance criterion

Fig. 1 Evolution of (a) the yield limit, and (b) the damage
(mesoscopic accumulated plastic strain) as a function of the number
of applied load cycles for three phases of material behaviour
(hardening, saturation, softening).

A critical plane criterion has been built by Papadopoulos

to take into account all kinds of non-proportional sinusoidal constant amplitude loading. This criterion is a
function of two mechanical parameters Ts (h, Q) and
SH,max defined by:
Ts (h, Q)=

where p, q and r are functions of the parameters of the

three isotropic hardening behaviour phases g (hardening
phase), h (softening phase), k (saturation phase), of the
kinematic parameter c, of the initial yield limit of the
crystal t(0)
coefficient m:10
y and of the Lame
p=

A B

c+m (0)
c+m 1
c+m 1 1
+ , q=
, r=
ty
4
g h
4 k
4g

(3)

p, q and r can be deduced from an experimental stresslife

(SN) curve to initiation by means of a least mean square
method.10 As the initial yield limit of the crystal is small
for most of the time, the term r/Ta in Eq. (2) can be
considered as negligible in comparison with the others.
It is important to mention that there is no way to
measure directly the parameters that are characteristic
of the behaviour at the mesoscale and unlike other
models8 a separate estimation of g, h, k, c and m is not
necessary here. The parameters p, q and r are enough to
carry out a fatigue life to initiation assessment when a
constant amplitude loading is applied.
McDowell13 notes that several mechanisms may lead to
a fatigue limit: grain boundary blockage for cracks of length
less than the order of the grain size and elastic shakedown
of the heterogeneous cyclic microplasticity response, this
second mechanism leading to a fatigue limit that is lower
than that associated with grain boundary blockage of microcracks. The model presented in this approach is based
on a microplasticity-type analysis and the yield limit in the
saturation phase is a threshold for damage accumulation.

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

SP
GP P
1
p

2p

T 2a (h, Q, y) dy

2p

SH,max =max
t

(4)

y=0

Q=0

N(h, Q, t) dh dQ

h=0

(5)

where Ta is the amplitude of the resolved shear stress

acting on a direction defined by the angle y made with
a fixed direction of a material plane whose spherical
co-ordinates are h and Q. The unit normal vector to this
plane n is then written as:

A B
sin h cos Q

n= sin h sin Q

(6)

cos h

N is the normal stress acting on the plane and a function

of the orientation of this plane (i.e. function of h and Q).
The criterion is finally expressed as a linear combination
of the two parameters maxh,Q (Ts (h, Q)) and SH,max :
max (Ts (h, Q))+aSH,max b
h,Q

(7)

The two criterion coefficients are readily deduced from

two fatigue limits of standard fatigue tests, e.g. fully
reversed bending, f1 , and fully reversed torsion, t1 .
t1
a=

b=t1

f1
2

f1
3

(8)

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F. M O R E L

To reflect the beneficial effect of a compressive mean

bending stress, the constant a must be positive. This
condition leads to a restriction of the criterion applicability. It applies to material for which f1 /t1 2; that
is to the great majority of industrial materials.
Out-of-phase bendingtorsion loading
Let us study now the fatigue strength of a specimen
submitted to out-of-phase bendingtorsion loading. At
any point of the gauge length and in a frame where the
axes x, y and z are directed along the radial, circumferential and axial directions (Fig. 2), the bendingtorsion
loading is defined by means of a dependence of the stress
components with time:
Szz (t)=Szz,m +Szz,a sin(vt)
Syz (t)=Syz,m +Syz,a sin(vtbyz )

(10)

(11)

where

C=Sz,a cos h sin hSyz,a cos 2h sin Q cos byz

(13)

On a material plane, the elliptic path related to the outof-phase bendingtorsion loading presents major and
minor axes whose half lengths are denoted, respectively,
as Ca and Cb . In the same way as Ts , these lengths are
function of the angles h, Q. Papadopoulos17 showed that
these values could be expressed by means of the
relations:16
Ca (h, Q)=

S S

Cb (h, Q)=

S S

K
+
2

K2
L2
4

(14)

K2
L2
4

(15)

where
K=A 2 +B 2 +C 2 +D 2

(16)

and

A=Syz,a cos h cos Q cos byz

B=Syz,a cos h cos Q sin byz

SH,max =SH,m +SH,a =(Szz,m +Szz,a )/3

(9)

It can be shown10,17 that the expressions of the two

parameters of the endurance criterion are given by:
Ts (h, Q)= A 2 +B 2 +C 2 +D 2

as:

(12)

D=Syz,a cos 2h sin Q sin byz

Furthermore, maximum hydrostatic stress can be written

(17)

L=ADBC

The use of the endurance criterion is possible after a

maximization of Ts (h, Q) with regard to the angles h and
Q. Figure 3 shows the evolution of Ts as a function of h
and Q for a combined bendingtorsion loading with a
phase shift of 90 and a load ratio R=Syz,a /Szz,a =0.5.
A critical plane relative to the maximum value of Ts is
then defined and is located with the angles hc and Qc .
The maximum value of the amplitude of the resolved
shear stress C ac can be estimated on this critical plane:
C ca =max [Ta (hc , Qc , y)]
y

(18)

It is important to notice that in some cases, this amplitude C ac can be different from the maximum value of the
resolved shear stress deduced from each direction of
each possible material plane. Indeed, a critical plane
defined as the plane experiencing the maximum value of
the amplitude of the shear stress can be different from
the critical plane located by a maximization of the
parameter Ts .
When dealing with in-phase bendingtorsion loading
(i.e. byz =0), it is easy to find the maximum value of Ts
(h, Q):
Fig. 2 Cylindrical frame of axes (x, y, z) attached to a point of the
gauge length surface of a specimen and definition of a critical plane
by means of spherical co-ordinates h and Q.

max [Ts (h, Q)]=

h,Q

S2zz,a
+S2yz,a
4

(19)

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C R I T I C A L P L A N E FAT I G U E M O D E L

157

Fig. 3 Evolution of Ts as a function of h

and Q for a combined bendingtorsion
loading with a phase shift of 90 and a load
ratio R=Syz,a /Szz,a =0.5.

The criterion can then be written in an analytical form:

S2zz,a
Szz,m +Szz,a
+S2yz,a +a
b
4
3

(20)

For out-of-phase bendingtorsion loading, a maximization must be carried out and an analytical expression of
maxh,Q [Ts (h, Q)] can not be achieved. Nonetheless, this
maximization is not very time consuming and it has the
great advantage of making it possible to locate the critical
plane. In the following, to make the relations less
cumbersome, the result of the maximization will be
denoted TS :
TS =max [Ts (h, Q)]
h,Q

(21)

authors find a clear dependence of phase angle.24 To

explain this contradiction, one can say that in moving
from HCF to LCF the phase difference has an increased
effect on fatigue strength. Thus we will assume in the
following that the fatigue limit is phase independent.
The fatigue limit independence property with regard
to the phase shift is only valid for combined bending (or
tension) and torsion loads. Indeed, there are some experimental evidence of the marked influence of the phase
difference between two normal stresses. For instance,
Mielke25 showed on a 25CrMo4 steel and for a tension
compression and internal pressure loading that the
fatigue strength for the phase shift byy =180 is 33%
lower than in the proportional conditions byy =0. These
observations are clearly reflected through this model.

Influence of phase shift on fatigue limit

To reflect the sensitivity of this model with regard to
the phase shift, some data from the literature1821 have
been used to draw on Fig. 4 the evolution of the normalized equivalent parameter Seq =TS +aSH,max as a
function of the phase angle. This comparison shows
clearly there is no marked influence of the phase shift.
Indeed almost all the points lie in a band of
10%. This observation leads to the conclusion that
the fatigue limit is almost independent with respect to
the phase difference related to the shear component of
the stress tensor. Although this independence has been
experimentally observed by some authors,2123 the widespread and popular fatigue criteria such as Sines and
Crossland are unable to reflect this fact. Moreover, this
phase shift influence is not yet well identified as some

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

Estimation of a generalized fatigue limit

As previously explained, the cyclic hardening behaviour
at the mesoscopic scale is function of the applied loading.
Indeed, the yield limit in the saturation phase depends
on the stress state, the phase shift and the mean stresses.
It is then necessary to define for each different multiaxial
sequence a fatigue limit that plays the role of a threshold
for damage accumulation. More precisely, a multiaxial
limit loading will be built by means of the previous
endurance criterion. As for uniaxial loading (e.g. pushpull, torsion), it is defined by keeping the means of the
stress components and the phase angles constant and by
applying the same coefficient to all the stress amplitudes.
In the plane of the criterion, it has been shown that a
sinusoidal constant amplitude loading is displayed by a

158

F. M O R E L

Fig. 4 Influence of the phase angle on the fatigue limit in combined bendingtorsion.1821

point. When searching for a limit loading, a coefficient

must be applied to the stress amplitudes. Different values
of this coefficient lead to a set of points which belong
to the same line if the means and the phase differences
are kept constant. This line represents a group of similar
multiaxial loadings. It is then easy to define for one
group a limit loading represented by a point on the
endurance line. The characteristics of this limit loading
and of the loading under consideration are enough to
define the generalized fatigue limit tlim :
tlim =

TSlim
(TS /C ca )

(22)

with
TSlim =

aSH,m +b TS
TS
SH,a
a+
SH,a

(23)

This last value TSlim is deduced by studying the intersection between the endurance line and the similar loading
group line. The corresponding shear limit tlim will now
represent the yield limit in the saturation phase ts . It is
important to notice that the amplitude of the resolved
shear stress C ac must exceed this critical value to break

the crystal. If not the saturation phase is never reached

and no initiation is possible.
The estimation of this generalized fatigue limit is
illustrated for different states of stress on Fig. 5 and
in Table 1.
Let us consider now the example of an in-phase
bendingtorsion loading applied to a high strength steel
(30 NCD 16) whose fatigue characteristics are:
f1 =680 MPa and

t1 =426 MPa

For this load condition, the calculated evolution of the

generalized fatigue limit as a function of the ratio R=
Syz,a /Szz,a is shown on the Fig. 6. When R=0, the
loading is of pure bending whereas when R2 it is a
pure torsion state of stress. It is clearly shown on this
figure that the generalized fatigue limit tlim strongly
depends on the ratio R and lies between f1 /2 and t1.
This initiation threshold value depends therefore upon
the applied stress state. Let us remember that, in this
model, it also plays the role of a yield stress in the
stabilized state reached after a first hardening phase.
Consequently, the hydrostatic stress is acting on the
damage mechanism. Indeed the generalized fatigue limit
is estimated according to an endurance criterion. A

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C R I T I C A L P L A N E FAT I G U E M O D E L

159

Fig. 5 Estimation of the generalized fatigue

limit for a pure reversed bending
loading( f1 ) and for a pure reversed torsion
(t1 ) loading.

Table 1 Expression of the generalized fatigue limit for different states of stress
Fully reversed bending:

Fully reversed torsion:

Fully reversed in-phase bendingtorsion:

Szz (t)=Szz,a sin(vt)

Syz (t)=Syz,a sin(vt)

bendingtorsion:
Szz (t)=Szz,a sin(vt)
Syz (t)=Syz,a sin(vt)

TS =(Szz,a )/2, C ca =(Szz,a )/2

TS =Syz,a , C ca =Syz,a

TS =

Pmax =(Szz,a )/3

Pmax =0

C ca =

tlim =TSlim [tlim =( f1 )/2

tlim =TSlim [tlim =t1

tlim =TSlim [tlim =

S
S

S2zz,a
+S2yz,a
4

S2zz,a
+S2yz,a
4
Pmax =(Szz,a )/3

1+

t1
t1 1

f1 2

A B
SA B
Syz,a
Szz,a

1
4

negative hydrostatic stress is beneficial to the initiation

fatigue life whereas a positive one leads to a decrease of
the fatigue life.

mated by means of a staircase method for the infinite

life regime and of the cumulated frequencies method for
the limited endurance.

Application

First step: identification of the model parameters: a, b, p

and q

Some experimental results concerning in-phase as well

as out-of-phase bendingtorsion loading have been found
in the experimental work of L. Dubar26 who studied the
fatigue strength of a high strength steel 30 NCD 16.
The monotonic mechanical properties of this material
are sy (0.2%) =1090 MPa and su =1177 MPa. We focus
on this data because they stem from a statistical analysis
carried out over many specimens (almost 200). The
different fatigue limits given by Dubar have been esti-

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

One SN curve to initiation and two fatigue limits are

enough to carry out the identification of the model
parameters. First of all the use of the multiaxial endurance criterion requires two coefficients a and b given by
Eq. (8). The fatigue limits at 106 cycles in purely reversed
plane bending and purely reversed torsion are, respectively, f1 =680 MPa and t1 =426 MPa. Consequently
a=0.38 and b=426 MPa. These two values define the

160

F. M O R E L

Fig. 6 Evolution of the generalized fatigue

limit as a function of the ratio R=
Syz,a /Szz,a for an in-phase bendingtorsion
loading submitted to a high strength steel
30 NCD 16.26

position of the threshold line in the plane of the endurance criterion (Fig. 7) and will enable the estimation of
the generalized fatigue limit tlim .
By considering the initial yield limit of the deforming
grains as small and by using the maximum amplitude of
the resolved shear stress on the critical material plane
C ac , the expression of the SN curve to initiation [Eq. (2)]
becomes:

tlim
C ca
+q c
Ni =p ln
c
C a tlim
C a tlim

A B
C ca

1
tlim
+q c
C ca
Ca
1
1
tlim
tlim

(25)

During his experimental work, Dubar established two

A B
A B

in bending Ni =p ln

(24)

Or in a normalized form with respect to the generalized

fatigue limit tlim :

Ni =p ln

SN curves: in purely reversed plane bending and in

purely reversed torsion. The corresponding experimental
data estimated for a probability of failure of 50% are
presented on Fig. 8. According to the Table 1 and
Eq. (25), the two SN curves are written as:

in torsion Ni =p ln

Szz,a
f1

Szz,a
1
f1
Syz,a
t1

Syz,a
1
t1

+q

+q

1
Szz,a
1
f1
(26)

1
Syz,a
1
t1

The use of the ratio C ac /tlim enables us to put the

bending data and the torsion data on the same curve
(Fig. 8). From these normalized data, the coefficients p

Fig. 7 Representation of the eight

loading conditions of Dubar tests26 in the
plane of the endurance criterion (TS ,
SH,max ).

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C R I T I C A L P L A N E FAT I G U E M O D E L

161

Fig. 8 Experimental and theoretical

normalized SN curve for Dubars
tests26 on 30 NCD 16 high strength
steel.

and q can be deduced by means of a least mean square

method. For this steel, their values are found to be: p=
1.0104 and q=9.0103.
It is important to point out that only one SN curve is
enough to identify p and q. On Fig. 8, all the points lie
close to the same curve. It proves that the model is able
to predict an SN curve in torsion knowing an SN curve
in bending and vice-versa.

values and phase shifts are constant whereas a single

coefficient applied to the amplitudes enables to shift
from one loading to the other:
Loading 1

Szz,m =0 MPa
byz =0

and

and

Szz,a =600 MPa

Syz,a =335 MPa

Loading 3
Second step: estimation of the generalized fatigue limits
Table 2 presents the eight experimental conditions of
stress and phase shift used for the combined tension
torsion tests in the finite life regime. These test conditions can be represented by points in the plane of the
endurance criterion (TS , SH,max ) (Fig. 7). All the points
lie above the threshold line in the unsafe domain. It
means that these load conditions must lead to initiation
of a crack and consequently failure of the test specimen.
This fact has been experimentally observed by Dubar
since all the test specimens failed under those conditions.
Let us describe now the estimation of a generalized
fatigue limit through the definition of a similar loading
group. The two proportional load conditions 1 and 3
can be considered as similar loadings since the mean

Szz,m =0 MPa
byz =0

Szz,a =548 MPa

Syz,a =306 MPa

Loading 1Loading 3:

S1zz,a =1.095S3zz,a
3
S1yz,a =1.095Syz,a

According to Eqs (22) and (23) and the different values:

S1H,a =200 MPa;
S3H,a =183 MPa;
SH,m =0 MPa;
1
3
T S =450 MPa; T S =411 MPa; one can readily deduce
TSlim =364 MPa and tlim =364 MPa (the same value is
found because the loading is proportional).
In the same way the non-proportional load conditions
2 and 4 (byz =90) are similar and the same generalized
fatigue limit is common to these loadings: SH,m =

Table 2 Experimental conditions (stresses, phase shifts and numbers of cycles to initiation) from Dubar26 combined tensiontorsion tests
and load parameters used in the estimation of the fatigue lives to initiation

No.

Szz,a
(MPa)

Syz,a
(MPa)

Szz,m
(MPa)

byz
()

SH,a
(MPa)

SH,m
(MPa)

SH,max
(MPa)

TS
(MPa)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

600
600
548
562
500
500
490
490

335
335
306
315
290
290
285
285

0
0
0
0
290
290
450
450

0
90
0
90
0
90
0
90

200
200
183
187
167
167
163
163

0
0
0
0
97
97
150
150

200
200
183
187
263
263
313
313

450
394
411
369
383
334
376
328

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

TSlim

C ca
(MPa)

tlim
(MPa)

Nexp

Ncalc

Ncalc /Nexp

364
357
364
357
334
327
317
310

450
285
411
267
383
238
376
233

364
259
364
258
334
233
317
221

8.00 E+04
1.00 E+05
2.00 E+05
2.00 E+05
1.20 E+05
2.10 E+05
9.50 E+04
2.30 E+05

5.51 E+04
1.12 E+05
9.27 E+04
2.99 E+05
8.22 E+04
4.68 E+05
6.67 E+04
1.88 E+05

0.69
1.12
0.46
1.49
0.69
2.23
0.70
0.82

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F. M O R E L

0 MPa;
S2H,a =200 MPa;
S4H,a =187 MPa;
2
4
T S =394 MPa; T S =369 MPa,
Consequently TSlim =357 MPa and tlim =258 MPa
(the values are different because the loading is nonproportional).
The other four load conditions lead to four different
similar loading groups as can be seen in Fig. 7 (i.e. they
belong to four different lines).
All the load parameters used in estimation are listed
in Table 2 together with the experimental number of
cycles to initiation.
Third step: Estimation of the number of cycles to initiation
Initiation is supposed to occur on the critical plane in
the most stressed direction. Indeed, it seems natural to
assume that there are enough grains in the considered
metallic aggregate so that this direction coincides with
an easy glide direction of a less plastically resistant grain.
The amplitude of the resolved shear stress in that
direction has been denoted C ac . It has also been proved
that at the fatigue limit this direction is submitted to the
amplitude tlim . The plastic strain accumulated in that
direction is deduced from the identified hardening rules
and at failure the number of cycles is given by Eq. (24).
The predicted number of cycles to initiation are compared with the experimental ones in Table 2. The agreement is found to be very good both for proportional and
non-proportional load conditions since the points lie in
a scatter band of 2 with no systematic deviation to
one side of the graph (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9 Comparison between the observed fatigue lives and the

calculated fatigue lives for in-phase and out-of-phase loading
conditions on high-strength steel.26

DISCUSSION

The initiation criterion proposed in this model is based

on a physical interpretation of crack nucleation where
the microplasticity governs the damage mechanism.
When a cyclic loading is applied in the high-cycle field,
a few grains of the polycrystalline aggregate considered
undergo different hardening levels depending on their
orientations and their initial hardening states. However,
the hardening behaviour of each of these grains is
impossible to reach by the experimental methods proposed until now. To get round this problem, it seems
more appropriate to look for a stabilized cyclic hardening
state which could be related to an elastic shakedown
state of the deforming grains. This state could explain
the appearance of a fatigue limit for a great variety of
metallic materials and could then be simply linked to
the macroscopic cyclic elastic behaviour. Indeed, the
yield limit representing the saturation phase of crystal
behaviour (acting after the first hardening phase) is
supposed to be equal to the generalized fatigue limit tlim
estimated from the macroscopic stress components of
the (multiaxial) limit loading.
The expression of the SN curve [Eq. (2)] deduced
from a threshold condition applied to the accumulated
plastic mesoscopic strain uses the amplitude of the
macroscopic shear stress Ta acting on one glide system
and a generalized fatigue limit tlim . Although simple,
this relation is able to predict the exact numbers of
cycles to initiation for a torsion loading by knowing
some bending fatigue data. One has first to identify the
parameters according to a bending SN curve and then
use the relevant generalized fatigue limit tlim relative to
a pure shear loading, i.e. t1 . The good correlations
shown on Fig. 8 imply that the damage mechanism
leading to crack initiation and modelled according to a
microplasticity analysis is convenient and is the same for
a torsion and a bending loading. In others words, for
proportional loading such as the in-phase multiaxial
loading conditions, the microplasticity assessment on the
most stressed direction of a material plane seems to
reflect adequately the damage accumulation in a few
shear bands and the subsequent crack initiation.
Problems arise when dealing with non-proportional
loading as many directions of a material plane can be
highly stressed. The hardening behaviour of the plastically deforming material can then be different due to
the higher strains of the surrounding grains.
From the macroscopic point of view, the stress state
and the phase shift influence the fatigue limit; that is to
say the local stabilized hardening state of the most
stressed grains relative to this fatigue limit depend on
these parameters. In the present approach, it is assumed
that cracks nucleate in the most stressed direction of the

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C R I T I C A L P L A N E FAT I G U E M O D E L

critical plane but the contribution of other grains to the

damage mechanism is considered as well. Indeed, the
shear parameter TS of the endurance criterion takes into
account all the possible glide systems of the critical
material plane. Consequently the definition (according
to the endurance criterion) of the generalized fatigue
limit tlim made for one glide system is a function of the
slip intensity in other grains. Moreover, the amplitude
and the mean value of the hydrostatic stress induces a
significant effect on the fatigue limit. For this reason,
the generalized fatigue limit tlim is a decreasing function
of these two parameters.
For the loading conditions (combined out-of-phase
bendingtorsion) studied in this paper, it is shown that
the generalized fatigue limit tlim (Table 1) is a function
of the reference fatigue limits t1 and f1 and of the
load ratio R. The phase difference also contributes to a
decrease of this limit but no simple analytical expression
can be reached.
To conclude, an increase of the initiation life predicted
by this model can appear for only two reasons:
1 the intensity of the loading is lower which means that
the maximum amplitude of the resolved shear stress
acting on the critical plane decreases; and
2 the loading is of different kind (different load ratios,
different mean normal stress values, different phase
shifts). In that case a change of the generalized fatigue
limit tlim is expected.
CONCLUSIONS AND PROSPECTS

A new HCF life prediction method that is simple to

handle has been presented in this work. The model is
based on a mesoscopic approach and the accumulated
plastic mesostrain is used as the damage variable. This
quantity can be reached by means of proper plasticity
rules (isotropic and kinematic hardening) of the plastically deforming grains in which initiation occurs. The
method is convenient for any kind of in-phase and outof-phase sinusoidal constant amplitude loading but is
applied in the paper to out-of-phase bendingtorsion
loading.
A critical plane type endurance criterion is required
to define a generalized fatigue limit that is a fatigue limit
for any multiaxial loading. From considerations related
to the crystalline structure of the metals, this threshold
value can be linked to a hardening stabilized state where
the deforming grains accumulate plastic strain at a
constant rate. It is of some interest to underline the fact
that except for the location of the critical plane, which
needs a maximization of an analytical expression function
in spherical co-ordinates, the fatigue life to initiation is
defined only with analytical relations. Moreover, the

2001 Blackwell Science Ltd. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 24, 153164

163

identification of the model parameters are readily made

by means of one SN curve and two fatigue limits.
Nevertheless this simple formulation is able to reflect
the influence of the phase shift on damage accumulation
without the introduction of new parameters. In addition,
the comparison carried out with the in-phase and outof-phase fatigue data of Dubar leads to very good
correlation.
An extension of this method to variable amplitude
loading has been presented elsewhere27,28 but many
theoretical and experimental studies are still required to
identify the loading parameters (frequency, phase shift,
amplitude variations, etc.) that can influence damage
accumulation in HCF, whatever the loading path may be.
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