Fluctuating Stresses - Vijay K Jadon - Read - Learn - Grow

9/22/21, 10:02 PM FLUCTUATING STRESSES – Vijay K Jadon – Read | Learn | Grow
Vijay K Jadon
vijayonline.in Printed on September 22, 2021
FLUCTUATING STRESSES
 July 25, 2020
Categories: Machine Design
Tags: alternating stress, compressive stress, crack initiation, crack propagation, endurance limit, fatigue loading,
Fluctuating stresses, fracture, mean stress, mechanism of fatigue failure
Fluctuating stresses are those whose magnitude is varying with time. It is not necessary that the
curve showing fluctuating stress passes through zero or mean stress by zero. Commonly the
fluctuating stresses are classified as alternating stresses, reversed and repeated stresses. These
stresses vary between their maximum (σm ax) and minimum (σm in) values as shown in the

Figure 1.
Figure 1: General case of fluctuating stress
All fluctuating stresses are assumed to be made of two components; one is the static
component called as mean stress (σm ) and other is varying component called as stress

amplitude (σa ).
(σmax + σmin )
σm =
Eq 1a

2

(σmax − σmin )
σa =
Eq 1b

2

https://vijayonline.in/?print-my-blog=1&post-type=post&statuses%5B0%5D=publish&rendering_wait=0&columns=1&font_size=normal&image_siz… 1/9
Other terms associated with fluctuating stress are stress range, stress ratio and stress
amplitude ratio defined as below (Figure 2):
Figure 2: Various terms related to fluctuating stress
Stress range : σr = (σmax − σmin )

Eq 2a

σmin
Stress ratio : R =
Eq 2b

σmax
σa
Amplitude ratio : A =
Eq 2c

σm
For design of a machine element, the kind of waveform is not of practical importance as only
minimum and maximum values are used in the design equations for fatigue loading. Now
onward we shall be using sinusoidal wave for representing the variation of stress between
maximum and minimum values.
1.1 Alternating Stress

The variation of the alternating stress with time is shown in the Figure 3. The stress changes its
nature in one complete cycle and the magnitude of compressive and tensile stress is not same.
For these stresses following conditions hold.
σm < 0; σmax > 0

σm > 0; σmin < 0

σm =/ 0; σmax =/ 0; σmin =/ 0

Figure 3: Alternating Stress
1.2 Reversed Stress

In the case of reversed stress, the nature of stress essentially changes in one complete cycle and
the magnitude of the stress is same. The variation of the reversed stress with time is shown in
the Figure 4. For these stresses following conditions hold
σm = 0; σmax = −σmin

R = 1 and A = ∞
Figure 4: Reversed Stress
1.3 Repeated Stress

The nature of stress in the repeated stress does not change and can vary as shown in the Figure
5. For these stresses following conditions hold
σm > 0; σmin ⪖ 0

σm < 0; σmax ⪕ 0

Figure 5: Repeated Stress
2. MECHANISM OF FATIGUE FAILURE

Fatigue failure was first investigated by August Wohler during his investigation of failure of
railway axle and published his research findings in 1870 and also defined endurance limit for
steels. He developed Wohler diagram for completely reversed loading and these diagrams are
now popularly known as S-N diagrams. Fatigue results in a brittle appearing fracture and hence
it can easily be recognized from the appearance of the fractured surface. Initially, the brittle like
fracture of ductile material give rise to speculations that under the cyclic loading, material
becomes brittle but the Wohler experimentally proved the failed ductile material still have same
tensile strength as it had before failure. The fatigue failure always starts at a crack which may
exists since manufacture of the member or it may have developed due to cyclic loading. It is
impractical as well as impossible to have any member without discontinuities. Even the
smallest discontinuity of the range of 0.01 mm causes the crack to develop. The stage of
development of crack near discontinuity is termed as crack initiation and followed by crack
propagation and fracture.
2.1 Crack Initiation
The local yielding, which begins at the location of the stress concentration, introduces the
regions of intense deformation due to shear motion along the crystal boundaries of the
member under fatigue loading. The distortion in the material creates slip bands and when
these bands coalesce, it generates a microscopic crack. The crack initiates along the plane of
maximum shear stress. It initiates early if the member is having a notch. Though, it is
impractical to have any member without discontinuity (notch), but, if we have notch free
member, voids or inclusions serve as stress raisers to initiate crack. It is established in case of a
mechanical system that a crack usually begins at a free surface. The fatigue crack may initiate
at some interior location in case of some interface exists such as interface layer of coating and
base metal (substrate). The rate of crack propagation is very low of the order of nano metre per
cycle. This stage of crack initiation is missing in the case of cast brittle materials; because such
materials possess inherent discontinuities.
2.2 Crack Propagation

The cracks initiated in the first stage of the fatigue that acts as the stress concentration. The
effect of such crack is more than the effect of actual notch that exists before the crack. The
tensile stress opens the crack tip increasing the size of crack and making the tip blunt. The
compressive or reduced stress during fatigue cycle closes the crack a bit making blunt crack
again sharp. The crack further grows once the stress increases or becomes tensile. Hence, we
can say that the force behind crack growth is the tensile stress. A compressive fatigue loading
will not cause crack growth as the effect of the compressive stress is to close the crack. The
fatigue fractured surface has clear indication of crack growth in each stress cycle in the form of
ripples or fatigue striation (Figure 6). Each striation is formed by a single cycle of loading and
represents the progress of the crack that is normal to the tensile stress. The approximate rate
of crack growth in this stage is 10-8 to 10-4 mm per cycle and increases with number of cycles.
Figure 6: Typical fatigue failure of a ductile material
2.3 Fracture
The size of crack continues to grow in the presence of the fatigue stress as discussed and finally
fracture takes place. The increased size of the crack increases stress concentration factor and
thereby increasing maximum value of stress. When the crack is large enough or the cross
section of the member is not able to sustain the applied load, fracture takes place immediately.
The fatigue fractured surface shows a smooth region made of series of rings generated because
of the rubbing action during the crack propagation process. This is followed by a rough region
indicating the final ductile failure as shown in the Figure 6.
3. ENDURANCE LIMIT: S-N CURVE

Most common example of a member subjected to fluctuating load is rotating shaft under
bending load. The upper fiber of the shaft at any instant will be under tension and lower fiber
will experience the compression. After some time the top fiber and bottom fiber change their
position and nature of stresses also changes. It means that in one complete rotation of shaft
every fiber of the shaft experiences the change in the stress twice e.g. top fiber under
compression changes to tension when occupy bottom position and once again changes to
compression when retain its original position i.e. top of the shaft. If the shaft has N rpm then
shaft will be subjected to N times tensile and N times compressive stresses. Such stresses are
called alternating stresses in general and completely reversed stresses in particular. The failure
by such alternating stress is called fatigue. Under such condition the metals are likely to break
under loads much less than static load they are capable of supporting.
This phenomenon is experienced in our day-to-day life when a ductile aluminum or steel wire
is broken with nominal load applied by two hands when it is bent one way and then reversing
the direction of bent time and again. By doing so we can break the wire with too less effort and
the load applied is many times less than the static load required to break the same wire. Just to
make it clearer, let us consider an example of static shaft which can safely take a bending load
5000 N. This load is then called its static load carrying capacity. If the same shaft is rotating at
some rpm under same load then it is experienced that the shaft is failed after working for a
limited number of cycles. Fatigue failure is a progressive failure leading from the point of stress
concentration. Now question rises that what stress a component can resist for infinite number
of cycle. For that we perform an experiment on fatigue testing machine.
3.1 Rotating Beam Test

The fatigue testing machine and standard test specimen are shown in Figure 7. A specimen of
known yield and tensile strength is taken conforming to the relevant standards. To start the
experiment we load the specimen in such a way that the stress induced is just less than the
ultimate strength in tension. The shaft is rotated till failure and the number of stress cycles is
noted. Repeat the test by lowering the value of load. We see that the number of cycles for failure
is increased. This procedure is continued and results are plotted on either log-log or semi-log
graph paper. The curve so obtained is known as S-N curve as shown in Figure 8. In the case of
ferrous metals and its alloy, the S-N curve becomes horizontal after 106-107 will not be
encountered irrespective of the number of stress reversals. The strength corresponding to this
knee is called endurance limit of fatigue limit. The ordinate of S-N curve shows the fatigue
strength and strength at a particular number of cycle N.
Figure 7:
Figure 8(a): S-N curves for material exhibiting knee
Figure 8(b): S-N curves for material not exhibiting knee
The endurance limit or fatigue limit Se′ is the endurance or fatigue strength of a material for

infinite number of stress reversal and fatigue strength is the stress induced in material to
withstand for a specified number of stress reversal.
3.2 Theoretical Endurance Limit

The endurance limit obtained above is based on the standard experiment and knee was
obtained which clearly identify the endurance limit or fatigue limit. The knee does not exist in
S-N curves for all material of engineering importance. The materials which exhibit the knee are
low strength carbon and alloy steels, some stainless steels, irons, titanium alloys and
molybdenum alloys. There are some other materials such as aluminum, copper, nickel alloy,
high strength carbon and alloy steel and some stainless steels do not exhibit knee. For such
materials, fatigue strength at 5×108 cycles is taken as fatigue limits (Figure 8b).
Sometime we even do not have the experimental fatigue data, in such case following relations
are used for calculation purposes:
Steel:
S’e = 0.5Sut f or Sut < 1400MP a;

S’e = 700MP a f or Sut ⪖ 1400MP a;

S’se = (0.5to0.6)S’e

Iron:
S’e = 0.4Sut f orSut < 400MP a;

S’e = 200MP a f or Sut ⪖ 400MP a;

S’se = 0.32S’e
Aluminium:
S’e @5E8 = 0.4Sut f or Sut < 330MP a;
S’e @5E8 = 130MP a f or Sut ⪖ 400MP a;

S’se = 0.7S’se
Copper alloys:
S’e @5E8 = 0.4Sut f or Sut < 280MP a;

S’e @5E8 = 100MP af orSut ⪖ 280MP a;

S’se = 0.7S’se

Fluctuating Stresses - Vijay K Jadon - Read - Learn - Grow

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Fluctuating Stresses - Vijay K Jadon - Read - Learn - Grow

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

9/22/21, 10:02 PM FLUCTUATING STRESSES – Vijay K Jadon – Read | Learn | Grow

Figure 1: General case of fluctuating stress

Figure 2: Various terms related to fluctuating stress

Stress range : σr = (σmax − σmin )

1.1 Alternating Stress

σm < 0; σmax > 0

σm > 0; σmin < 0

σm =/ 0; σmax =/ 0; σmin =/ 0

Figure 3: Alternating Stress

1.2 Reversed Stress

σm = 0; σmax = −σmin

Figure 4: Reversed Stress

1.3 Repeated Stress

σm > 0; σmin ⪖ 0

σm < 0; σmax ⪕ 0

Figure 5: Repeated Stress

2. MECHANISM OF FATIGUE FAILURE

2.1 Crack Initiation

2.2 Crack Propagation

Figure 6: Typical fatigue failure of a ductile material

3. ENDURANCE LIMIT: S-N CURVE

3.1 Rotating Beam Test

Figure 8(a): S-N curves for material exhibiting knee

Figure 8(b): S-N curves for material not exhibiting knee

3.2 Theoretical Endurance Limit

S’e = 0.5Sut f or Sut < 1400MP a;

S’e = 700MP a f or Sut ⪖ 1400MP a;

S’e = 200MP a f or Sut ⪖ 400MP a;

S’e @5E8 = 0.4Sut f or Sut < 330MP a; ​ ​

S’e @5E8 = 130MP a f or Sut ⪖ 400MP a;

S’e @5E8 = 0.4Sut f or Sut < 280MP a;

S’e @5E8 = 100MP af orSut ⪖ 280MP a;

You might also like

S’e @5E8 = 0.4Sut f or Sut < 330MP a;