Failure Prediction for

Fluctuating Load
Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand
• In design of machine elements, the following three fundamental equations are used

P
t 
A
M y Elementary
b  b Equations
I
Mt r
 
J

• These equations are based on a number of assumptions.

• One of the assumptions is that there are no discontinuities in the cross-section of the
component.

• The „elementary‟ equations do not give correct results.

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

Stress Concentration
• Stresses at or near a discontinuity, such as a hole in a plate, are higher than if the
discontinuity did not exist.

• The stress concentration is the region where stress raisers are present.

• A stress raiser is any discontinuity in a part that alters the stress distribution.

• The stress concentration factor, Kc, is the factor used to relate the actual maximum
stress at the discontinuity to the average or nominal stress:

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

• The theoretical stress concentration at the edge of the hole is given by

• If the crack is sharp and has a tip radius of , the theoretical stress concentration
factor is given by

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

The following observations can be made about stress concentration factors:

─ The stress concentration factor, Kc, is independent of material properties.

─ Kc is significantly affected by part geometry.

─ Kc is also affected by the type of discontinuity; the stress concentration factor is

considerably lower for a fillet than for a hole.

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Fluctuating Stresses

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Fatigue Failure
• Time Delayed fracture under cyclic loading.
• 80 % failures of mechanical components are due to
“Fatigue Failure”.

Example of fatigue failure: Cut a wire of 2 to 3 mm

Examples of parts in which fatigue failure is common:

 Transmission Shafts
 Connecting Rods
 Gears
 Vehicle Suspension Springs
 Ball Bearings

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Endurance limit

 The endurance limit and fatigue strength are two important cyclic properties of the
materials.

 The endurance limit or fatigue limit is usually defined as the maximum completely
reversed stress a material can withstand indefinitely without fracture.

 106 cycles are significant to determine the endurance limit.

 Fatigue Life: defined as the no. of stress cycles that the standard specimen can
complete during the test before the appearance of the first fatigue crack.

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 S-N diagram or Curve (Wholer Diagram)

 Low Cycle and High Cycle fatigue

1 < N < 103

N > 103

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Estimating the Endurance Limit and Fatigue Strength
• No correlation exists between the endurance limit and such mechanical properties as yield strength
and ductility.

• However, experiments show that the endurance limit, endurance strength, endurance limit in shear,
and ultimate strength in shear can be related to the ultimate strength in tension.

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

  Modified Endurance Limit

• Material, manufacturing, environmental and design conditions influence Rerating

fatigue. Factors

• Typical effects include the size, composition of the material, heat treatment
and mechanical treatment, stress concentration, residual stresses,
corrosion and temperature.

• Modified Endurance Limit:

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Surface Finish Factor
 The surface finish factor Cf , which depends on the quality of the finish and tensile
strength, may be expressed in the form:

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Reliability Factor
 The factor of reliability Cr accounts for material variation in fatigue data and
depends on Survival Rate. It is defined by the following commonly used formula:

z is the number of standard deviations.

 Size Factor

 The endurance limit decreases with increasing member size.

 The approximate results for bending and torsion of a part of diameter D may be
stated as follows:

For Rectangular Parts

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand
 Temperature Factor

• A temperature factor Ct can be approximated at moderately high temperatures by the

formula:

 Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor

• The stress concentration is a very significant factor in failure by fatigue.

• The fatigue stress concentration factor may be defined as:

• The two stress concentration factors are related by the ratio of the notch sensitivity q:

• This expression can be written in the form

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

Theories of Fatigue Failure

• To predict whether the state of stress at a critical point in an element would result in
failure, a fatigue criterion based on the mean and alternating stresses is used.

• Utilizes static and cyclic material characteristics.

• Frequently employed fatigue failure theories or criteria.

If σa = 0, load is static and failure

criteria is Sut or Syt

If σm = 0, stress is reversing and failure

criteria is Se

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand

 Failure
Points

• Goodman Line is more safe compared to Gerber curve but results in increased
dimensions of the component.

• Combination of both stresses σa and σm resulting in Modified Goodman Line

Dr. Anshul Sharma NIT Uttarakhand