Machine Design II

Prof. K.Gopinath & Prof. M.M.Mayuram

Stress Concentration Effect

Fatigue Stress Concentration
The existence of irregularities or discontinuities, such as holes, grooves, or
notches, in a part increase the magnitude of stresses significantly in the immediate vicinity
of the discontinuity. Fatigue failure mostly originates from such places. Hence its effect
must be accounted and normally a fatigue stress-concentration factor Kf is applied when
designing against fatigue, even if the materials behavior is ductile.

Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor

Recall that a stress concentration factor need not be used with ductile materials
when they are subjected to only static loads, because (local) yielding will relieve the stress
concentration. However under fatigue loading, the response of material may not be
adequate to nullify the effect and hence has to be accounted. The factor Kf commonly
called a fatigue stress concentration factor is used for this. Normally, this factor is used to
indicate the increase in the stress; hence this factor is defined in the following manner.
Fatigue stress concentration factor can be defined as

k =
f

Fatigue strength (limit) of unnotched specimen

Fatigue strength (limit) of notched free specimen

The other form of use, where necessary is the miscellaneous-effects factor ke applied as a
strength reduction factor on the fatigue limit value. With this approach we define

ke =

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

1
Kf

Machine Design II

Prof. K.Gopinath & Prof. M.M.Mayuram

Geometric stress concentration factor Kt and Fatigue Stress

Concentration factor Kf
This form of definition needs that the fatigue stress concentration factor or the
endurance strength values for different notch geometries on each of the material to be used
should be evaluated. However once sufficient data was available a simple approach, useful
at preliminary design stages was evolved to determine the fatigue stress concentration
factor value from the geometrical (theoretical) stress concentration values, data charts for
which is readily available, using a notch sensitivity relation.

Notch Sensitivity
Notch sensitivity q is defined by the equation

q=

Kf 1
Kt 1

Actual intensification of stresses over nominal stress

Theoretical intensifcation of stress over nominal stresses

The values of q are between zero and unity. It is evident that if q=0, then Kf =1, and the
material has no sensitivity to notches at all. On the other hand if q=1, then Kf = Kt, and the
material has full notch sensitivity. In analysis or design work, find Kt first, from geometry of
the part. Then select or specify the material, find q, and solve for Kf from the equation
K f = 1 + q(K t 1)

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Machine Design II

Prof. K.Gopinath & Prof. M.M.Mayuram

Notch sensitivity curves

use these values with bending and axial load
use these values with torsion

Steel
Su ksi
and Bhn
as marked

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
q 0.6
Aluminium alloy (based on 2024- T6 data)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
0

0.02

0.04

0.5

1.0

0.08
0.10
0.06
Notch radius r (in.)
1.5
2.0
2.5
Notch radius r (mm)

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

0.12

0.14

0.16

3.0

3.5

4.0