MEAN STRESS EFFECTS IN STRESS-LIFE

AND STRAIN-LIFE FATIGUE

Norman E. Dowling
Engineering Science and Mechanics Department
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA, USA 24061
Fatigue 2004
2nd SAE Brasil International Conference on Fatigue
June 2004, So Paulo, Brasil

max

a
min

R = min/max

Stress-Life Curve:
ar = f (2 N f ) b

Mean Stress Equations

Goodman:

ar =

a
m
1
u

Morrow (two forms):

a
a
ar =
,
ar =
m
m
1 ~
1
fB
f

1.4
AISI 4340 Steel
u = 1172 MPa

1.2

a/ar

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
-400

u
0

400

800
m, MPa

~
f B
1200

'f
1600

2000

1.2
2024-T3 Al

1.0

a / ar

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
-200

u
0

200

400

'f

~
fB

600

800 1000 1200 1400 1600

m, MPa

Additional Mean Stress Equations

Smith, Watson, and Topper (SWT)

ar = max a = max

1 R
2
= a
2
1 R

Walker

ar = 1max
a

2 1
1 R

= a
= max
1 R
2

1.6
AISI 4340 Steel
u = 1172 MPa

1.4

a / ar

1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2

= 0.650
Data
SWT
Walker

0.0
-1.2 -0.8 -0.4

= 0.500

0.0

0.4

0.8

m / ar

1.2

1.6

2.0

2.4

1.4
Data
SWT
Walker

1.2

a / ar

1.0
0.8
0.6

= 0.500

0.4
0.2
0.0
-0.4

= 0.460

2024-T3 Al
0.0

0.4

0.8

1.2
m / ar

1.6

2.0

2.4

2.8

Materials Studied
Yield, MPa

Ultimate, MPa

SAE 1015 Steel

228

415

SAE 1045 Steel

1841

2248

AISI 4340 Steel

1103

1172

2014-T6 Al

438

494

2024-T3 Al

359

497

2024-T4 Al

303

476

7075-T6 Al

489

567

Ti-6Al-4V

930

978

Material

Fitting Walker
ar

,
= AN bf = max
2

where A = f 2 b

1 / b

R
1 1

N f = max

A
2

1
1 R 1
log A
log N f = log max + log
b
b 2 b

y = m1 x1 + m2 x2 + d

Walker Fits

Material

Fit m = 0 Data

Fit All Data to Walker

'f

'fw

bw

SAE 1015

801

-0.113

799

-0.114

0.713

AISI 4340

1758

-0.098

1963 -0.108

0.650

2014-T6

1120

-0.122

949

-0.108

0.480

2024-T3

1602

-0.154

1772 -0.163

0.460

2024-T4

1294

-0.142

2452 -0.195

0.505

1000

ar , MPa

Mean Stress, MPa

100
1.E+02

621
414
207
-207
0
0 Fit
1.E+03

Goodman
AISI 4340 Steel
u = 1172 MPa
1.E+04
Nf , Cycles

1.E+05

1.E+06

1000

ar , MPa

Mean Stress, MPa

100
1.E+02

621
414
207
-207
0
0 Fit

1.E+03

Morrow, Intercept
AISI 4340 Steel
u = 1172 MPa

1.E+04
Nf , Cycles

1.E+05

1.E+06

ar , MPa

1000

Mean Stress, MPa

100
1.E+02

621
414
207
-207
0
0 Fit
1.E+03

SWT
AISI 4340 Steel
u = 1172 MPa
1.E+04
Nf , Cycles

1.E+05

1.E+06

ar, MPa

1000

Mean Stress, MPa

100
1.0E+02

621
414
207
-207
0
Fit
1.0E+03

Walker
AISI 4340 Steel
u= 1172 MPa

1.0E+04
Nf, Cycles

1.0E+05

1.0E+06

1000

ar, MPa

Goodman
2024-T3 Al

100
1.E+02

0.6
0.4
0.02
-0.3
-0.6 R-ratio
-1
-1 Fit
1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

Nf, Cycles

1.E+06

1.E+07

1000

ar , MPa

Morrow, Fracture
2024-T3 Al

100
1.E+02

0.6
0.4
0.02
-0.3
-0.6 R-ratio
-1
-1 Fit
1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

Nf , Cycles

1.E+06

1.E+07

1000

ar, MPa

R-ratio

0.6
0.4
0.02
-0.3
-0.6
-1
-1 Fit

Morrow, Intercept
2024-T3 Al
100
1.E+02

1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

Nf, Cycles

1.E+06

1.E+07

1000

ar , MPa

R-ratio

0.6
0.4
0.02
-0.3
-0.6
-1
-1 Fit

SWT
2024-T3 Al
100
1.E+02

1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

Nf , Cycles

1.E+06

1.E+07

1000

ar, MPa

R-ratio

0.6
0.4
0.02
-0.3
-0.6
-1
Fit

Walker
2024-T3 Al
100
1.0E+02

1.0E+03

1.0E+04

1.0E+05

Nf, Cycles

1.0E+06

1.0E+07

Strain-Life Equation
ar =

f
E

( 2 N f ) b + f ( 2 N f ) c

Common Equations for Nonzero Mean Stress

f m
( 2 N ) b + ( 2 N ) c
1
a =
f
f
f
E f

max a =

(f ) 2
E

(2 N f ) 2b + f f (2 N f ) b + c

Equivalent Mean-Stress-Adjusted Life

ar

f (a , m )
= f (a , m ) = a
= f ( 2 N f ) b
a

1 / b b

= f (2 N *)b
a = f 2 N f
f (a , m )

1 / b
a

N* = N f
f (a , m )

Mathematically Consistent Strain-Life Curve

a =

f
E

( 2 N *) b + f (2 N *) c

1 / b
a

Nf = N *
f (a , m )

Particular Cases
Morrow, Fracture:

Morrow, Intercept:

*
N mf

1/ b

= N f 1 ~
f B

*
N mi

1 / b
m
= N f 1

1 R 1 /( 2b)

= Nf
2

SWT:

*
N swt

Walker:

(1 ) / b
R
1

N w* = N f
2

Some Resulting Strain-Life Curves

SWT
1 /( 2b ) b
1 /( 2b ) c

f
1 R
1 R

a =
2N f
+ f 2 N f

E
2

Walker
(1 ) / b b
(1 ) / b c

f
1 R
1 R

a =

2N f
+ f 2 N f
2

E
2

a, Strain Amplitude

0.100
Mean Stress, MPa
621
414
207
-207
0
Fit

AISI 4340 Steel

u = 1172 MPa

0.010

= 0.650
0.001
1.E+02

1.E+03

1.E+04

1.E+05

1.E+06

N*w , Walker Equivalent Cycles

1.E+07

1.E+08

0.100
= 0.505
a, Strain Amplitude

Mean Stress, MPa

0.010

0
72
140 to 230
290
-70 to -135
Fit

2024-T4 Al
Prestrained
0.001
1.E+01 1.E+02 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08
N*w, Walker Equivalent Cycles

Conclusions
Goodman with u is excessively conservative for tensile mean.
Morrow with the true fracture strength ~
f B works well.
Morrow with 'f works well for steels, but not for aluminum alloys.
Smith, Watson, and Topper (SWT) is a good choice for general use.
Walker gives superior results where is known.

Future work
Identify generic values of for various classes of metal.
Develop correlations for estimating .