Fatq

MSC.
Fatigue 2005
QuickStart Guide
Corporate
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This documentation, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used only in
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this document without prior notice.
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FA*V2005*Z*Z*Z*DC-QSG
C O N T E N T S
MSC.Fatigue QuickStart Guide
1
Introduction ■ Purpose of Guide, 2
❑ Assumptions, 2
❑ Organization of Guide, 2
■ Definitions, 3
❑ The Fatigue “Five-Box Trick”, 4
❑ Life Prediction Methods, 5
❑ FE Analysis Methods, 5
❑ Design Philosophies, 6
❑ Life Estimation Process, 7
■ When to Use Which Method?, 8

■ Different Methods of FE Import, 9
❑ MSC.Nastran FE Model and Results, 9
❑ ABAQUS (or Advanced FEA) FE Results, 11
❑ ANSYS FE Results, 12
❑ MSC.Marc FE Results, 12
❑ PATRAN Neutral and Result Files, 13
❑ I-DEAS Master Series Universal Files, 19
❑ MSC.Patran FEA Result Files, 20
■ MSC.Fatigue Modules, 21
■ Directory Structure, 25
2
A Simple S-N ■ Problem Description, 28
Analysis ❑ Objective, 28
■ Geometry, 29
❑ Import the Model, 29
❑ View the Stress Results, 30
■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 31

❑ Loading Information, 32
❑ Material Information, 35
❑ Solution Parameters, 38
■ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 39

■ Review the Results, 40
❑ View the Life Contour Plot, 40
❑ Tabular Listing, 41
❑ What If?, 41
■ Concluding Remarks, 43
❑ MSC.Fatigue Files, 43
3
Rainflow Cycle ■ Problem Description, 46
Counting ❑ Objective, 46

❑ Load the Previous S-N Analysis Parameters, 47

❑ Rainflow Cycle Counting, 52
❑ Damage Summation, 52
❑ Speeding up the Analysis, 53

❑ Histogram Matrix, 54
❑ Effect of Mean Stress, 56
❑ Probabilistic Nature of Fatigue, 57
4
Component S-N ■ Problem Description, 62
■ Geometry, 63
❑ Import the Model and Results, 63


❑ Design Optimization, 77
❑ Batch Operations, 80
5
A Simple e-N ■ Problem Description, 82
■ Geometry, 83


❑ Rainflow Cycle Counting, 96
❑ Elastic-Plastic Correction, 96


❑ Other Notch Corrections, 100
❑ Stresses vs. Strains, 100
6
Residual Stress ■ Problem Description, 104
❑ Objective, 104
■ Geometry, 105
■ Set Up First Fatigue Analysis, 107

❑ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 109
❑ Review the Results, 109
■ Set Up Second Fatigue Analysis, 110

❑ Include the Residual Stress, 110
❑ Review the Results, 111
■ Investigate Mean Stress, 112
■ Investigate Surface Finish/Treatment, 115
7
Introduction to ■ Problem Description, 120
Crack Growth ❑ Objective, 120
■ Geometry, 121
❑ Define a Compliance Function, 121
■ Set Up the Fracture Analysis, 125

■ Run the Fracture Analysis, 132

❑ Cycle by Cycle Growth, 132
❑ The Fatigue Crack Propagation Rectangle, 133

❑ Interactive Operation, 134
❑ Optimization, 136

❑ Analysis without an FE Model, 138
❑ MSC.Fatigue Files, 139
8
Design ■ Problem Description, 142
Philosophies ❑ Objectives, 142
■ S-N Analysis of Lug Weld, 144

❑ Job Control, 146
❑ Results - Factor of Safety Analysis, 146
■ e-N Analysis of Lug, 149

❑ Results, 150
■ LEFM Analysis of Lug, 151
❑ Results, 153
9
Multiple Loads ■ Problem Description, 158
❑ Objectives, 158
■ S-N Analysis of Engine Mounting Lug, 160

❑ Results, 166
■ Crack Growth Analysis of Engine Lug, 169

❑ Results, 172
10
A Multiaxial ■ Problem Description, 174
Assessment ❑ Objectives, 174
■ Geometry, 176
❑ Import FE Model and Results, 176
❑ Post/Create Groups, 177
■ Determine the Critical Location, 180

■ Evaluate Results, 189
❑ Biaxiality - a Multiaxial Assessment, 190
11
Welding ■ Introduction, 202
■ Problem Description for Spot Weld Analysis with Spot Welds
Modeled as Stiff BARS, 203
❑ Objective, 203
■ Geometry and FE Results, 204

■ Define a Group of CBARS, 206
■ Spot Weld S-N Analysis, 207
❑ Results Evaluation, 214

Modeled as CWELDS, 218
❑ Objective, 218
❑ Reading in the Model and CWELD Results, 218
❑ Set Up the Spot Weld Analysis, 219
❑ Run the Spot Weld Analysis, 221

Modeled with CHEX/MPC, 222
❑ Objective, 222
❑ Reading in the Model and CHEX/MPC Results, 222
❑ Convert CHEX/MPC to Equivalent BARs, 223
❑ Set Up the Spot Weld Analysis, 224
❑ Run the Spot Weld Analysis, 225

■ Problem Description for a Seam Weld Analysis, 229
❑ Objective, 229

❑ Creating a Weld Group, 230
❑ Viewing the Stress Results, 231
■ Setting up the Seam Weld Analysis, 232
❑ Listing the Fatigue Results, 236
12
Wheels Module - ■ Problem Description, 242
Analysis of ■ Geometry and FE Results, 243
Rotating
❑ Viewing the Stress Results, 244
Structures
■ Setting Up the Wheels Analysis, 246
❑ Loading Info, 248
■ Fatigue Analysis and Results, 251

❑ Plotting the Fatigue Results, 251
❑ Wheels Interactive Menu, 252
13
A Software Strain ■ Problem Description, 260
Gauge ❑ Objective, 260

❑ The Gauge Tool, 261
❑ Modify the Soft S/G, 265
❑ FE Results Extraction, 266
■ Time History Extraction, 268

❑ Fatigue Analysis Setup, 268
❑ Run Soft S/G (SSG), 274
■ Correlation Techniques, 275

❑ Overlays and Cross Plots, 275
❑ Rosette Analysis, 277
❑ Single Location Uniaxial Life Analyzer, 280
❑ Single Location Multiaxial Life Analyzer, 281

14
Vibration Fatigue ■ Problem Description, 286
❑ Objective, 286
■ Background, 288
❑ Definitions, 289
❑ Frequency Domain Life Estimation - General Procedure, 290
■ Pseudo-Static vs. PSD Approach, 292

❑ FE Model and Analysis, 292
❑ Pseudo-static Fatigue Analysis Setup, 296
❑ PSD Fatigue Analysis Setup, 298
❑ Additional Job Setups - Multiple Load Inputs, 305
❑ Results, 310
■ Dynamic Transient vs. PSD Approach, 320

❑ Plot Mode Shapes, 321
❑ Run Vibration Analyses, 321
❑ Run Transient Analyses, 322
❑ View and Compare Results, 323
❑ Recreate the Transfer Function, 325
❑ Plot the Stationarity, 328
■ Random Vibration FE Results, 330
15
Temperature ■ Temperature Corrected MSC.Fatigue Analysis, 334
Corrected Fatigue ❑ Objective, 334
Analysis ❑ Import the Model, 335
❑ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 336
■ Multiple Mean Stress Curve Support, 342

❑ Objective, 342
❑ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 342
16
Aerospace ■ Aerospace Spectrum File Support, 348
Spectrum File ❑ Objective, 348
Support
■ File Definitions, 349
❑ Spectrum file, 349
❑ Example Spectrum File, 349
❑ Load Control file, 350
❑ Example Load Control File, 350
■ Example Problem, 351
❑ Run Fatigue Analysis, 353
■ Conclusion, 354
17
Fatigue Utilities ■ Problem Description, 356
■ Fatigue Preprocessing, 357
❑ Low Damage Removal, 357
■ Material Management, 359

❑ Materials Database Manager - PFMAT, 359
❑ ASCII Materials File Reader, 359
■ Advanced Loading Utilities, 360

❑ Arithmetic Manipulation - MART, 360
❑ Multi-Channel Editor - MCOE, 361
❑ Rainflow Cycle Counter - MCYC, 363
❑ Formula Processor - MFRM, 367
❑ File Cut and Paste - MLEN, 369
❑ Multi-File Manipulation - MMFM, 370
❑ Peak-Valley Extraction - MPVXMUL, 371
❑ Amplitude Distribution - MADA, 371
❑ Auto Spectral Density - MASD, 372
❑ Fast Fourier Filtering - MFFF, 373
❑ Butterworth Filtration - MBFL, 374
❑ Frequency Response Analysis - MFRA, 374
❑ Statistical Analysis - MRSTATS, 376
❑ Header/Footer Manipulation - MFILMNP, 376
■ Advanced Fatigue Utilities, 377

❑ Single Location S-N Analysis - MSLF, 377
❑ Single Location e-N Analysis - MCLF, 378
❑ Cycle and Damage Analysis - MCDA, 379
❑ Cycles File Lister - MCYL, 380
❑ Time Correlated Damage - MTCD, 381
❑ Single Location Vibration Fatigue - MFLF, 382
❑ Stress-Strain Analysis - mSSA, 383
❑ Multi-Axial Life Analysis - MMLF, 383
❑ Crack Growth Data Analysis - MFCG, 384
❑ Kt/Kf Evaluation - MKTAN, 385
■ Graphical Display Utilities, 386
❑ Graphical Editing-mGED, 386
❑ Multi-File Display - mMFD, 386
❑ Two Parameter Display - mTPD, 388
❑ Polar Display - mPOD, 388
❑ Three Dimensional Display - mP3D, 389
❑ Plot File (.plt) Display - MQPLOT (for UNIX), 389
❑ Plot File (.plt) Display - MWNPLOT (for Windows), 390
❑ Printer and Device Setup - MPLTSYS, 390
❑ Plot/Pen Colors Utility - MNCPENS, 392
■ File Conversion Utilities, 394

❑ Convert Binary .dac to ASCII - MDTA and Convert ASCII to
Binary .dac - MATD, 394
❑ Signal Regeneration - MREGEN, 394
❑ Convert RPC File to .dac - MREMDAC and Convert .dac to RPC
file - MDACREM, 395
❑ Cross Platform Conversion - MCONFIL, 396
❑ Waterfall File Create - MWFLCRE, 396
■ Other Utilities, 397

❑ Environment Settings - MENM, 397
18
Miscellaneous ■ Problem Description, 400
Features ■ Multiple Fatigue Analysis (Duty Cycle Analyzer), 401
■ Element Centroidal Calculations, 406
■ Group Averaging, 407
■ Extracting Time Histories, 408
■ Identify Critical Location, 409
■ Defining Histogram Matrices, 410
■ Transient FE Results, 413
❑ Transient Keyhole Job, 413
❑ Static Keyhole Job, 416
■ Modal Superposition, 417

■ Constant Amplitude Zero Mean Time Histories, 419
A
Glossary of Terms ■ Glossary Terms, 422
B
Material Listing ■ Material Types, 442
■ Material Listing, 445
■ Alternative Names, 453
C
Support ■ Where to Get Help, 460
❑ Accessing Help from a Form, 460
■ Technical Support Centers, 461

❑ Preparing to Call the Hotline, 462
■ MSC Offices, 463
INDEX 465
CHAPTER
Introduction
1
■ Purpose of Guide
■ Definitions
■ When to Use Which Method?
■ Different Methods of FE Import
■ MSC.Fatigue Modules
■ Directory Structure
2
1.1 Purpose of Guide

Welcome to MSC.Fatigue.
MSC.Fatigue is an advanced fatigue life estimation program for use with finite
element analysis. When used early in a development design cycle it is possible to
greatly enhance product life as well as reduce testing and prototype costs, thus
ensuring greater speed to market. It is jointly developed in close cooperation between
MSC.Software Corporation and its fatigue technology partner, nCode International,
Ltd. of Sheffield, England.
The purpose of this manual is to provide you with typical example problems to
demonstrate proper usage of the program. Each example is designed to show certain
aspects and help to convey various principles of fatigue life estimation. The intent is
to get you up to speed as quickly as possible without a steep learning curve or hours
sifting through a thick manual.
Assumptions
This guide makes certain assumptions of the reader. The basic assumptions made are,
a good knowledge of basic computer skills and terminology, and a working
knowledge of finite element analysis. This manual does not deal with creation of finite
element models or any aspects of actual finite element analyses except where
necessary to achieve proper fatigue life estimations.
This manual assumes that the user has little or no experience with fatigue analysis in
general and therefore makes every effort to explain principles of fatigue life estimation
from example to example. It is not meant to be an exhaustive course on fatigue
analysis however. For this we refer you to the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide and the
many references sited therein.
Organization of Guide
All chapters but this one and Installation (Ch. 2), serve as tutorials to learn the basics
of MSC.Fatigue.
First read this chapter in its entirety and then after a successful installation, it is highly
suggested that you start at the first example and work your way sequentially. Each
exercise introduces concepts that build on each other from exercise to exercise.
CHAPTER 1 3
Introduction
1.2 Definitions
The first concept to understand before embarking on this tutorial is the definition of
the term fatigue within the confines of this guide. Very often the terms fatigue,
fracture, and durability are used interchangeably. Each does, however, convey a
specific meaning.
Note: Throughout this manual, when a new term or concept is introduced or

mentioned for the first time, it is highlighted in blue italics. This means that
a definition is provided in Glossary of Terms (App. A).
What is Fatigue?
Although many definitions can be applied to the word, for the purposes of this
manual, fatigue is failure under a repeated or otherwise varying load which never
reaches a level sufficient to cause failure in a single application.
It can also be thought of as the initiation and growth of a crack, or growth from a pre-
existing defect, until it reaches a critical size, such as separation into two or more parts.
Fatigue analysis itself usually refers to one of two methodologies: either the stress-
life or S-N method, commonly referred to as total life since it makes no distinction
between initiating or growing a crack, or the local strain or strain-life (ε-N) method,
commonly referred to as the crack initiation method which concerns itself only with
the initiation of a crack.
Fracture specifically concerns itself with the growth or propagation of a crack once it
has initiated.
Durability is then the conglomeration of all aspects that affect the life of a product and
usually involves much more than just fatigue and fracture, but also loading
conditions, environmental concerns, material characterizations, and testing
simulations to name a few. A true product durability program in an organization
takes all of these aspects (and more) into consideration.
Note: Fatigue cracks initiate and grow as a result of cyclic plastic deformation.
Without plasticity there can be no fatigue failure. All attempts are made in
this guide to explain how plasticity is taken into account when determining
fatigue life from linear elastic finite element analysis.
4
The Fatigue “Five-Box Trick”

Almost without exception,
each exercise is The Fatigue
Materials “Five-Box Trick”
constructed around the
concept of the fatigue
“five-box trick.” The Loading Analysis Results
illustration to the right
depicts this well. For any
life analysis whether it be Geometry
fatigue or fracture there
are always three inputs.
The first three boxes are
these inputs:
1. Cyclic Material Information: Materials behave differently when they are
subject to cyclic as opposed to monotonic loading. Monotonic material
properties are the result of material tests where the load is steadily increased
until the test coupon breaks. Cyclic material parameters are obtained from
material tests where the loading is reversed and cycled until failure at
various load levels. These parameters differ depending on the fatigue
analysis type involved.
2. Service Loading Information: The proper specification of the variation of
the loading is extremely important to achieve an accurate fatigue life
prediction. The loading can be defined in various manners. Whether it be
time based, frequency based, or in the form of some sort of spectra depends
on the fatigue analysis type to be used. When working with finite element
models the loading can be force, pressure, temperature, displacement, or a
number of other types. Loading in the test world usually refers to the
acquisition of a response measurement, usually from a strain gauge.
3. Geometry Information: Geometry has different meanings depending on
whether you are working from a finite element model or from a test
specimen. In the testing world, the geometry input is the Kt (stress
concentration factor) since the point of failure is usually away from the
actual point of measurement. Therefore a geometry compensation factor (Kt)
is defined to relate the measured response to that at the failure location. You
can think of this as a fudge factor. With a finite element model the local
stresses and strains are known at all locations (Kt=1 at all locations). The FE
geometry gives us the entire stress distribution needed for fatigue life
calculations. For crack growth analysis the geometry definition takes on yet
another form as a compliance function.
The correctness and accuracy of each of these inputs is important in that any error in
any of these will be magnified through the fatigue analysis procedure, the fourth box,
since this process is logarithmic. A ten percent error in loading magnitude could result
in a 100% error in the predicted fatigue life.
CHAPTER 1 5
Introduction
Do not worry too much about this, because the fifth box is the postprocessing or
results evaluation. This can take on the form of color contours on a finite element
model or a tabular listing but also quite often leads back into the three inputs to see
what effect variations of these inputs will have on the life prediction. This is referred
to as a sensitivity or a “what if” study. This is extremely useful at times when you are
not quite sure about the accuracy of one of the inputs. The software denotes this as
“optimization” in places.
Life Prediction Methods

MSC.Fatigue uses three life prediction
methods as already mentioned earlier. Total Life Crack Initiation Crack Growth
These are total life, crack initiation, and
crack propagation. Total life is aptly
named in that only the total life of the = +
component is of concern and not when a
crack will initiate or how quickly it will Nf Ni Np
grow.
The three methods are related to each other by the fact that the total number of cycles
to failure, Nf, equals the number of cycles to initiate a crack, Ni, plus the number of
cycles to propagate that crack, Np. The three methods have grown out of different
needs over the decades using different techniques and having different degrees of
accuracy. So in theory this equation is true, but in practice when applying the three
methods to the same problem, rarely, if ever does it add up.
In reality however, rarely are all three methods used on the same problem, mainly
because different industries adopt different analysis methods depending on the
driving design philosophy. See Design Philosophies (p. 6).
FE Analysis Methods
In addition to the three life prediction methods, MSC.Fatigue also supports use of
these methods using stress/strain response results from different finite element
analysis techniques. The table below summarizes which FE analysis types are
applicable to which life prediction methods in this release of the software.
Life Prediction Methods versus FE Analysis Results

Total Life Crack Initiation Crack Growth
Linear Static Linear Static Linear Static
Linear Transient Linear Transient Linear Transient
Frequency
Response
Random Vibration
6
Design Philosophies
There are three main fatigue design philosophies. Each centers around one of the
fatigue life estimation methodologies. To illustrate the three consider the design of a
stool.
Safe Life
The safe life philosophy is a philosophy adopted by many, but
especially the ground vehicle industry. Products are designed
to survive a specific design life. Full scale tests are usually
carried out with margins of safety applied. In general, this
philosophy results in fairly optimized structures such as a
stool with three legs. Any less than three legs and it would fall
over. This philosophy adopts the crack initiation method and
is used on parts and components that are relatively easy and
inexpensive to replace and not life threatening if failure were
to occur. Most of the life is taken up in the initiation of a crack.
The propagation of that crack is very rapid and short in comparison.
Fail Safe
On the other end of the spectrum of design philosophies is that
of fail safe. This is where a failure must be avoided at all costs.
And if the structure were to fail it must fall into a state such
that it would survive until repairs could be made. This is
illustrated with our stool now having six legs. If one leg were
to fail, the stool would remain standing until repairs could be
made. This philosophy is heavily used in safety critical items
such as in the aerospace or offshore industries.
Damage Tolerant
The middle ground philosophy is that of damage tolerance.
This philosophy, adopted heavily in the aerospace
community and nuclear power generation, relies on the
assumption that a flaw already exists and that a periodic
inspection schedule will be set up to ensure that the crack
does not propagate to a critical state between inspection
periods. As implied, this philosophy adopts the crack
growth method. This is illustrated using our stool (now with
four legs) but with someone inspecting it.
This particular design philosophy is generally used in
conjunction with the fail safe philosophy, first to design for no failure. and then to
assume that, for whatever reason, a flaw exists and must be monitored.
CHAPTER 1 7
Introduction
Life Estimation Process

The life estimation process really centers around two major relationships.
1. The first relation is that of the loading environment to the stresses and strains
in the component or model. This load-strain or load-stress relation is
determined using finite element modeling and running linear elastic FE
analysis. It is dependent on the characterization of the material properties
and in some instances requires that a notch correction procedure take
place. For the purposes of this discussion a notch correction is simply a way
to compensate for plasticity from a linear FE analysis.
2. The second relation is that of the stresses or stains to the life of the
component or model. This is accomplished by using damage modeling. Each
fatigue life method has its own techniques to determine and sum damage
which shall be explained as you progress through the example problems.
The Life Estimation Process
Loading Load-Strain Stresses Strain-Life

Environment Relationship Strains Relationship Life
Linear Elastic FE Damage

Material Characterization Modeling
Notch Correction
Note: All example problems were created on the Windows platform as well as all
graphical dumps of screen shots. The graphics may appear slightly
differently on UNIX platforms; however, all operations are identical unless
specified otherwise. In some situations, you may need to double click the
mouse on the Windows platform whereas on UNIX, a single click performs
the operation.
8
1.3 When to Use Which Method?

Of the three fatigue methods used to predict life, it is important to understand when
to use which. This will become more evident as you proceed through this manual and
work each exercise. As a quick answer to this question, the following guidelines are
presented.
S-N (Total Life)
• Long life fatigue problems where there is little plasticity since the S-N
method is based on nominal stress
• Components where crack initiation or crack growth modeling is not
appropriate, e.g., composites, welds, plastics, and other non-ferrous
materials
• Situations where large amounts of pre-existing S-N data exist
• Components which are required by a control body to be designed for fatigue
using standard data such as MIL handbook data.
• Spot weld analysis and random vibration induced fatigue problems
Crack Initiation
• Mostly defect free, metallic structures or components
• Components where crack initiation is the important failure criterion - safety
critical components
• Locating the point(s) where cracks may initiate, and hence the growth of a
crack should be considered
• Evaluating the effect of alternative materials and different surface conditions
• Components which are made from metallic, isotropic ductile materials
which have symmetric cyclic stress-strain behavior
• Components that experience short lives - low cycle fatigue - where
plasticity is dominant
Crack Growth
• Pre-cracked structures or structures which must be presumed to be already
cracked when manufactured such as welds
• Pre-prediction of test programs to avoid testing components where cracks
will not grow
• Planning inspection programs to ensure checks are carried out with the
correct frequency
• To simply determine the amount of life left after crack initiation
• Components which are made from metallic, isotropic ductile materials
which have symmetric cyclic stress-strain behavior
CHAPTER 1 9
Introduction
1.4 Different Methods of FE Import

There are various methods of results import or access to FE results available in MSC.Fatigue.
The most common methods, and the one most often used in the exercises described in the
following chapters, is the import of Output2 files.
Note: Although the method of import is discussed in this section for various analysis codes
and file types, once the results are imported into the database they are all treated the
same by MSC.Fatigue. This means that any linear static or transient stress or strain
tensor results that exist or can be imported into the database are supported by
MSC.Fatigue. Thus, the supported analysis codes are not necessarily limited to those
discussed here and can include customer customization of proprietary or in-house
codes within the MSC.Patran environment.
To prepare to run each of these exercises in this section, create a fully reversed unit load using
PTIME, the same as was done in the very first exercise in the manual. Call it unitload.
MSC.Nastran FE Model and Results

You will need the following files to perform this mini-exercise:
keyhole.bdf, keyhole.op2, keyhole.xdb, nastran_op2.fin,
nastran_xdb.fin
To use MSC.Nastran results you must set the Analysis Preference to
MSC.Nastran. This is done either when you open a new database and
are asked for the New Model Preferences | Analysis Code or you can
change it anytime from the Preference | Analysis pulldown selection.
Open a new database called keyhole, and set the Analysis Preference
to MSC.Nastran. Overwrite any old database if necessary.
There are two types of files that can be used from MSC.Nastran:
Output2 Files
The first type is the Output2 file. This file is very convenient to use because it generally
contains both the finite element results and the model FE connectivity information. To import
an Output2 file:
1. In Pre&Post, select the Import application switch on the main form. (This is the
Analysis switch in MSC.Patran.)
2. Set the Action to Access Results, the Object to Read Output2, and the Method to
Both.
10
3. Select the Output2 file, keyhole.op2, using the file browser from the Select Results
File... button and then press Apply.
XDB Files
The second type of MSC.Nastran file supported is the XDB file which is a MSC.Nastran result
database. The results contained in this file are not actually imported into the database but are
retained in the XDB file. A direct access attachment is made between the database and the XDB
file. To access XDB results:
2. Set the Action to Access Results, the Object to Attach XDB, and the Method to
Result Entities. Select the XDB file, keyhole.xdb, using the file browser from the
Select Results File... button and then press Apply.
Now we have read results and the model data from an Output2 file and have attached an XDB
file. The exact same results are available from the Results application from the two different
data sources in our example.
You should note that we read the model data from the Output2 file. This was unnecessary to
do since this could have been done from the XDB file also. When you reopen the database and
access any result cases associated with an XDB file, it will be reattached as long as you have
not moved or deleted it.
Input Files
Another mechanism for importing model data only from MSC.Nastran is to read the input file.
This is done either from File | Import with the Object set to Model and the Source set to
MSC.Nastran Input; or this is done from the Import application (Analysis application in
MSC.Patran) with the Action set to Read Input File. You can try this with the keyhole.bdf file
in a new database if you wish.
Note: When you read an MSC.Nastran input file and then import the results from an
Output2 or XDB file, but be sure to set the Method to Results Entities only.
CHAPTER 1 11
Introduction
Summary
With the database now containing the model and two sets of FE results, run a fatigue analysis
using either the file, nastran_op2.fin or nastran_xdb.fin. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup
form and in the Jobname databox type nastran_op2 or nastran_xdb depending on which one
you wish to run and press the carriage return to read in the job parameters. Investigate the job
setup if you wish; then open the Job Control... form and submit the analysis. Successful
completion of this exercise requires that the keyhole.op2 file be read in first and then the
keyhole.xdb file attached to the database. If for some reason the jobs do not run properly,
check carefully the Loading Info... form to make sure the correct Result Cases are selected.
Close the database when you are finished.
In summary, MSC.Nastran FE results and model information can be used in MSC.Fatigue in
the following ways:
1. Read both the model and results information directly into the database from an
Output2 file.
2. Attach an XDB file to the database to access the results and specify to import the
model information from the XDB file into the database.
3. Read the model information from an MSC.Nastran input deck into the database and
use the Output2 or XDB methods to access the results information only.
ABAQUS (or Advanced FEA) FE Results

You will need the following files to perform this mini-exercise: keyhole.fil, abaqus.fin.
To use ABAQUS or Advanced FEA
results you must set the Analysis
Preference to ABAQUS or
MSC.Advanced FEA.This is done either
when you open a new database and are
asked for the New Model Preferences |
Analysis Code or you can change it
anytime from the Preference | Analysis
pulldown selection.
Open a new database called keyhole, and
set the Analysis Preference to ABAQUS.
Overwrite the old database if necessary.
To read in the results and model data from ABAQUS:
2. Set the Action to Read Results and the Object to Both.
3. Select the results file, keyhole.fil, using the file browser from the Select Results
12
4. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and in the Jobname databox type abaqus
and press the carriage return to read in the fatigue job parameters from the
abaqus.fin file. Investigate the job setup if you wish; then open the Job Control...
form and submit the analysis. Close the database when you are finished.
ANSYS FE Results
You will need the following files to perform this mini-exercise: keyhole.rst, ansys.fin.
To use ANSYS results you must set the
Analysis Preference to ANSYS.This is
done either when you open a new database
and are asked for the New Model
Preferences | Analysis Code or you can
change it anytime from the Preference |
Analysis pulldown selection.
set the Analysis Preference to ANSYS 5
and overwrite any old database if
necessary.
To read in the results and model data from ANSYS:
3. Select the results file, keyhole.rst, using the file browser from the Select Results
4. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and in the Jobname databox type ansys and
press the carriage return to read in the fatigue job parameters from the ansys.fin file.
Investigate the job setup if you wish; then open the Job Control... form and submit
the analysis. Close the database when you are finished.
MSC.Marc FE Results
You will need the following files to perform this mini-exercise: keyhole.t16, marc.fin.
CHAPTER 1 13
Introduction
To use MSC.Marc results you must set the

Analysis Preference to MSC.Marc. This is
done either when you open a new
database and are asked for the New Model
Preferences | Analysis Code or you can
change it anytime from the Preference |
Analysis pulldown selection.
set the Analysis Preference to
MSC.Marc. Overwrite any old database
if necessary.
To read in the results and model data from MSC.Marc:
3. Select the results file, keyhole.t16, using the file browser from the Select Results
4. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and in the Jobname databox type marc and
press the carriage return to read in the fatigue job parameters from the marc.fin file.
Investigate the job setup if you wish; then open the Job Control... form and submit
the analysis. Close the database when you are finished.
PATRAN Neutral and Result Files

You will need the following files to perform this mini-exercise: key.out, keyhole.nod,
keyhole.els, keyhole.res_tmpl, patran_nod.fin, patran_els.fin, external.fin.
PATRAN Neutral files contain model information and PATRAN Result files contain FE
results. Both are simple ASCII files with standard formats that have been used for years in the
CAE community. Many proprietary and in-house codes use these standard formats. Because of
the simplicity of these files it is simple to create them from any source for use with
MSC.Fatigue. There are two types of PATRAN Result files: nodal and elemental.
PATRAN Neutral Files

Only the nodes and elements are of interest or even necessary from a PATRAN Neutral file for
use with MSC.Fatigue. The format of this file is made up of various packets. The pertinent
packets necessary for MSC.Fatigue are (in order):
25 File title
26 Summary data
1 Node data
2 Element data
21 Named components (group information - optional)
99 End of file flag
14
The format of each of these packets is (see the file keyhole.out as an example):
Packet Type 25: Title Card
Header Card Format (I2,8I8)
25 ID IV KC
ID =0 Not applicable IV =0 Not applicable KC=1
User Title Card Format (20A4)
TITLE = Identifying title may contain up to 80 Characters
Packet Type 26: Summary Data
26 ID IV KC N1 N2 N3 N4 N5
ID =0 n/a N1=Number of Nodes
IV =0 n/a N2=Number of Elements
KC=1
Summary Data Card Format (3A4, 2A4, 3A4)
DATE TIME VERSION
DATE = Date neutral file was created
TIME = Time neutral file was created
VERSION = PATRAN release number - not necessary
Packet Type 01: Node Data
1 ID IV KC
ID =Node ID IV =0 n/a KC=2
Data Card 1 Format (3E16.9)
X Y Z
X =X Cartesian Coordinate of Node
Y =Y Cartesian Coordinate of Node
Z =Z Cartesian Coordinate of Node
Data Card 2 Format (I1, 1A1, I8, I8, I8, 2X, 6I1)
ICF GTYPE NDF CONFIG CID PSPC
None of these parameters are necessary but the card must exist.
CHAPTER 1 15
Introduction
Packet Type 02: Element Data

2 ID IV KC N1 N2
ID =Element ID
IV =Shape (2 = bar, 3 = tri, 4 = quad, 5 = tet, 7 = wedge, 8 = hex)
KC=1 + (NODES + 9)/10 + (N1 +4)/5(for text files)
N1=Number of associate data values
N2=ID of node in XY-plane (bar only)
Data Card 1 Format (I8, I8, I8, I8, 3E16.9)
NODES CONFIG PID CEID θ1 θ2 θ3
NODES=Total number of nodes, all other parameters are not necessary.
Data Card 2 Format (10I8)
LNODES=Element corner nodes followed by additional nodes
Data Card 3 Format (5E16.9)
ADATA=Associate data values (will not be present if N1 is zero)
Packet Type 21: Named Components
21 ID IV KC
ID =Component number IV =2 times the number of data pairs
KC=1 + (IV + 9)/10
Data Card 1 Format (A12)
NAME =Component Name
Data Card 2 Format (10I8)
NTYPE(1)* ID(1) NTYPE(2) ID(2) NTYPE(5) ID(5)
(NTYPE(i), ID(i)) =Data pairs of type and ID number of each item in (i = 1,
IV/2)component.
* NTYPE meanings:
5-node 8-quadrilateral
6-bar 9-tetrahedron
7-triangle 11-wedge
12-hexahedron
NTYPEs 6-12 may have 100 or 200 added to the basic

NTYPE. The number of hundreds is usually the number
of midside nodes.
16
Packet Type 99: End of Neutral File

Header Card Format (I2, 8I8)
99 ID IV KC
ID =0 not/applicable IV =0 not/applicable KC=1
PATRAN Nodal Result Files

These files contain results at nodes and are formatted as such:
Record 1: TITLE (80A1)
Record 2: NNODES,MAXNOD,DEFMAX,NDMAX,NWIDTH
(2I9 E15.6, 2I9)
Record 3: SUBTITLE1 (80A1)
Record 5 to n+4: NODID,(DATA(J), J=1, NWIDTH)(I8,
(5E13.7))
where
Parameter Description
TITLE 80A1 title stored in an 80 word real or integer array
SUBTITLE1 Same format as TITLE
NNODES Number of nodes (integer)
MAXNOD Highest node ID number (integer)
DEFMAX Maximum absolute displacement (real)
NDMAX ID of node where maximum displacement occurs (integer)
NWIDTH Number of columns after NODID for nodal information (integer)
NODID Node ID number (integer)
DATA Result quantities organized by column index (real)
PATRAN Elemental Result Files

These files contain results at element centroids and are formatted as such:
Record 1: TITLE (80A1)
Record 2: NWIDTH (I5)
Record 5 To N+4: ID, NSHAPE, (DATA(J), J=1,NWIDTH)
(2I8, /, (6E13.7))
CHAPTER 1 17
Introduction
where
Parameter Description
TITLE 80A1 Title Stored In An 80 Word Real Or Integer Array
NWIDTH Number Of Columns Of Data Stored In The File (Integer)
ID Element Identification Number (Integer)
NSHAPE Essential Shape Code (Bar = 2, Tri = 3, Quad = 4, Tet = 5, Pyr = 6,
Wedg = 7, Hex = 8; Int.)
DATA Result Quantities Organized By Column Index (Real)
Import the Files

All of these files can be imported into the database.
1. Open a new database called keyhole. Overwrite old database if necessary.
2. Import the Neutral file (key.out) first (File | Import - Object=Model,
Source=Neutral). Keep the Analysis Preference set to MSC.Nastran and ignore any
error/warning messages.
The FE model is now in the database and should be visible from the graphics screen.
Now import the FE results. There are two files to import, a nodal results file and an
element centroidal results file that contain stress components.
3. From File | Import set the Object to Results and the Format to PATRAN2 .nod....
Two file browsers will appear, one asking for a template file and the other asking for
the actual results file. The template file is called keyhole.res_tmpl and you will have
to locate it from the browser which defaults to a standard installation directory. Once
you have found and selected the template file, select the result file (keyhole.nod) and
press the Apply button to have it imported.
The template is a file that defines how the columns of a PATRAN Results file will
be translated and stored in the database. MSC.Fatigue requires stress or strain tensors
when imported into the database. Therefore the template file defines which 6
columns compose the 6 components of the tensor.
4. Repeat this procedure with the elemental results file (keyhole.els) but set the Format
to PATRAN2 .els....
18
5. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and in the Jobname databox type
patran_nod or patran_els and press the carriage return to read in the fatigue job
parameters from the patran_nod.fin or patran_els.fin file. Investigate the job setup
if you wish; then open the Job Control... form and submit the analysis. Success of
this exercise requires that the .nod file be read first and the .els file second. If the jobs
fail, check that the proper Results Cases are called out in the Loading Info... form.
Note that the patran_els setup uses Element as the Results Location.
External File Access

6. Before proceeding make a copy of the file keyhole.nod from a system window or
DOS prompt and call it keyhole1.nod.
7. The PATRAN Results files can also be accessed directly by MSC.Fatigue instead of
through the database. Read the job setup file external.fin by typing external in the
Jobname databox and then pressing enter.
8. Open the Loading Info... form and note that the Results From optionmenu is set to
External.
9. On the right side of the form the name of the external file is specified by putting a #
in the place of the load case ID. Even for one load case this is necessary. This is why
you renamed or copied the file to include a number in it.
The spreadsheet Load Case ID corresponds to the external file number that will be
used for accessing the results, e.g., Load Case ID 10 will use file filename10.nod if
filename#.nod is specified as the External File Name.
10. Submit the job from the Job Control... form if you so desire.
Note: Be careful as you import strains from external PATRAN Results files. Strains
accessed directly from the database are required to be true or tensor strains, and not
engineering strains. MSC.Fatigue will convert them to engineering strains (by
multiplying the shear components by two) in order to properly calculate strain
combination parameters such as von Mises. If you import a PATRAN Results file
that contains strains make sure they are true strains and not engineering strains. If
they are engineering strains then you must access them externally. You can specify
whether strains are tensor or engineering strains from the Strain Type selection on
the Loading Info... form only if the access is External.
Creating External Files

With the ability of MSC.Fatigue to access external results files in this manner and with the
ability of Pre&Post and MSC.Patran to write external results files, virtually any tensor result
that exists in the database can be accessed by MSC.Fatigue.
In the Results application, with the Object set to Report, you can specify the results to output
and the format in which to write them such as an .nod or an .els file.
For example, to write out an .nod file from the Results application:
1. Set the Action to Create, the Object to Report, and the Method to Overwrite File.
CHAPTER 1 19
Introduction
2. Select the Result Case and the Result to output and specify the 6
components of the tensor to be output from the Selected Quantities.
3. Under Target Entities, make sure that the Addlt. Display Control is set to
Nodes.
4. Under Display Attributes enter a file name and set the Report Type to Data
Only.
5. Open the Format... form. Set the File Width to 80 and blank out all other
databoxes. Set the Alignment of the Title to Left. Enter four lines for the Title as
such:
TITLE
$NNODES$MAXNOD$DEFMAX$NDMAX$NWIDTH
SUBTITLE1
SUBTITLE2
Set the Value Format of the Entity ID to %I8% and all of the Components to
%E13.7% except for the YZ Component which should be %E13.7%%1N%.
6. Press Apply to create the result file which can then be accessed externally by
MSC.Fatigue.
To create an element centroidal results file you follow the same procedure except the Addlt.
Display Control must be set to Element Centroids; you must select NSHAPE and the 6
components in that order from the Select Results mode of the form; the format of the second
line of the Title must be only $NWIDTH and the NSHAPE column Value Format must be
%I8%%1N% (all others should be components should be %E13.7%).
For more information on creating report files, see the MSC.Patran User’s Guide or access the
on-line help from Pre&Post.
I-DEAS Master Series Universal Files

Note: This type of Model and Results import is only available in the Pre and Post version.
It is not available in MSC.Patran.
Open a new database called keyhole, and set the Analysis Preference to anything. Overwrite
the old database if necessary. You will need the following files for this mini-exercise:
keyhole.unv, universal.fin.
To import model and results data from a Universal file using Pre&Post:
1. Select File | Import.
2. Set the Object to Model and the Source to Universal File.
3. Select the results file, keyhole.unv and press Apply.
20
4. Go to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and in the Jobname databox type universal
and press the carriage return to read in the fatigue job parameters from the
universal.fin file. Investigate the job setup if you wish; then open the Job Control...
form and submit the analysis. Close the database when you are finished.
Note: Both model and results are read even though we only specified that the Model be
read. Also you can achieve the same by typing uf_reader.select_file(
"keyhole.unv", "OPEN" ) in the MSC.Patran command window.
MSC.Patran FEA Result Files

One last type of results file can also be accessed by MSC.Fatigue which is a file produced by
the MSC.Patran FEA analysis code which produces a .res results file. There are two ways to
access it, either by importing its contents into the database or by accessing it externally.
Import the neutral file key.out as you did in PATRAN Neutral and Result Files (p. 13).
Then import the results into the database by using the File | Import mechanism with the Object
set to Results and the Format set to P/FEA 2 .res.
To access the results directly from the file itself, on the Loading Info... form set the Results
From pick to MSC.Patran FEA. Then type in the name of the file on the right side of the form
or use the Select File button to use a file browser.
If you would like to experiment with these operation, copy these files to your directory:
keyhole.res, patran_fea.fin, patran_res.fin. Open a new database called keyhole and import
the file and use the two setup files to run the fatigue jobs.
CHAPTER 1 21
Introduction
1.5 MSC.Fatigue Modules

MSC.Fatigue is made up of a number of actual executable modules. Below is a list of
MSC.Fatigue program modules with brief descriptions of their function. The use of
most of these modules is presented throughout this manual. The list is given here for
reference.
Table 1-1 MSC.Fatigue Modules and Descriptions
Module Name Description

MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post Allows for import of finite element (FE) model and stress/strain
results data, with graphical, form driven setup of fatigue
analysis jobs, graphical evaluation of FE stress and fatigue life
results, and access to all other modules of MSC.Fatigue. This
same functionality is also found in MSC.Patran.
Analysis Modules:
FEFAT S-N and crack initiation analysis from FE static and transient
stress/strain data including multi-axial assessments and factor-
of-safety analysis.
FEMLF Multi-axial crack initiation analysis from FE static and transient
stress/strain data including factor-of-safety analysis.
FEVIB Random vibration induced fatigue analysis from FE frequency
response and random vibration stress results. This module uses
the S-N method.
SPOTW Spot weld fatigue analysis using the S-N method and FE results
from MSC.Nastran bar and beam elements which simulate the
spot welds.
PCRACK Crack growth analysis using FE stress results from static or
transient analysis.
SEAMW Seam weld analysis using the stress (cubic) results from a
MSC.Nastran run.
WHEELS Wheels analysis using FE stress results.
SSG Software strain gauge analysis using FE strains results.
Data Management:
PAT3FAT Translates FE analysis stress/strain or force results from
MSC.Patran or MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post databases into a
MSC.Fatigue analysis input file.
PCPOST Crack growth results viewer and tabular listings.
22

PFMAT Materials database manager.
PFPOST Results tabulator for basic S-N and crack initiation analysis,
multi-axial assessment, factor-of-safety, and vibration induced
fatigue results.
PKSOL Compliance function library and generator for crack growth
analysis.
PTIME Loading database manager for time and frequency signals.
Graphical Display:
MGED Graphical time and frequency signal editor.
MGRAPHIC Batch graphical plotter (UNIX only).
MMFD Multi-file time and frequency signal display.
MP3D Histogram and waterfall (3D), three parameter (x, y, z) display.
MPLTSYS Plotter and printer definition setup (UNIX only).
MPOD Polar display plots for critical plane and spot weld analysis.
MQLD Quick look display of single parameter (y-only) time and
frequency signals.
MTPD Two parameter display of x-y data sensitivity plots.
MQPLOT Displays and prints plot files with slide show capability (UNIX
only).
MWNPLOT Displays and prints plot files with slide show capability
(Windows only).
MNCPENS Utility program for modifying plot colors (curves, background,
text, grid lines, etc.).
Load Manipulation:
MADA Amplitude distribution analysis of time domain signals.

MART Arithmetic manipulation of loading files.
MASD Auto-spectral density function creation from time domain
signals.
MBFL Butterworth filtration of time domain signals.
CHAPTER 1 23
Introduction

MCOE Multi-channel creator/editor for loading signal files.
MFFF Fast Fourier filtering of time domain signals.
MFILMNP Load signal header/footer manipulation.
MFRA Frequency response analysis of time domain signals.
MCYC Rainflow cycle counter processing of a time series signal.
MFRM Formula processor for load signal files.
MLEN File length manipulation.
MMFM Multi-file manipulation (addition, subtraction, division,
multiplication).
MPVXMUL Peak/valley slicing routine for multiple time signals.
MRSTATS Running statistics of time signals.
Fatigue Utilities:
MCDA Cycle and damage analysis display.
MCLF Single shot crack initiation analyzer for stress or strain data.
MCYL Cycles file lister/tabulator.
MFCG Crack growth data analyzer.
MFLF Single shot vibration fatigue analyzer for stress response power
spectral density information.
MKTAN Stress concentration library for use with MCLF and MSLF.
MMLF Single shot multi-axial fatigue analyzer for stress/strain rosette
data.
MSLF Single shot S-N analyzer for stress data.
MSSA Stress-strain analysis including elastic-plastic corrections, and
rosette analysis.
MTCD Time correlated damage analysis for crack initiation runs.
File Conversion:
MCONFIL Cross-platform file translation.

MDACREM RPC to DAC file translation.
24

MREMDAC DAC to RPC file translation.
MDTA Binary to ASCII load signal translation.
MATD ASCII to binary load signal translation.
MREGEN Regeneration of time signal from cycle files.
MWFLCRE Waterfall plot (3 parameter) creation from multiple single
parameter files and separation of waterfall plots into multiple
single parameter files.
General Utilities:
FASTAN Manages fast analysis executions from MSC.Patran or
MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post. Runs in batch only.
FEFTRN Translates FE data directly from MSC.Nastran xdb files and old
I-DEAS universal files into a MSC.Fatigue analysis input deck.
MENM MSC.Fatigue environment manipulator.
PFSETFONT Sets or changes fonts for the Mask driven user interface (UNIX
only).
UNVFES Translates old I-DEAS universal files into MSC.Fatigue analysis
input decks. Works only in batch mode and is called from
FEFTRN.
CHAPTER 1 25
Introduction
1.6 Directory Structure

A successful installation of MSC.Fatigue will have the following directory structure:
fatiguexx or patranXX
app-defaults bin icons helpfiles mscfatigue_files test_files res_templates schema
executables
Motif resource files bin database

on-line help files schema files
MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post or help result file
MSC.Patran executables
templates
central material database
user interface icons mats

installation
central environment test files
User’s Guide nssys
QuickStart Guide
central loading database
ptime
example problem files for all problems in this manual
examples
more on-line help files in pdf format
docs
26
CHAPTER
A Simple S-N Analysis
2
■ Problem Description
■ Geometry
■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis
■ Run the Fatigue Analysis
■ Review the Results
■ Concluding Remarks
28
2.1 Problem Description

In this first example problem we start with a very
simple model to introduce some fatigue analysis
concepts by investigating the total life of the
component shown to the side. For the purpose of this
exercise we will refer to it as the keyhole model as it is
a keyhole shape notched component. Due to
symmetry only the top half of the keyhole was
modeled.
Objective
To introduce the S-N fatigue life prediction method,
commonly referred to as the “total life” method.
All files necessary to perform this and subsequent examples are found in
<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/examples (UNIX)
x:<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\examples (Windows)
Where, <install_dir> is the installation top level directory such as /msc/fatigueXX

(/msc/patranXX) or z:\msc\fatigueXX (z:\msc\patranXX), z is the drive letter for
Windows workstations, and XX is the version number. The <install_dir> is
commonly referred to as P3_HOME and, as such, can be set as an environment
variable as explained in the MSC.Fatigue Installation and Operations Guide under the
section called User Environment. Each chapter will have a table in this section
indicating which files are necessary for proper execution.
Table 2-1 Chapter 2 Necessary Files
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/simpleSN.op2
Copy the file simpleSN.op2 to a clean working directory to begin.

CHAPTER 2 29
2.2 Geometry
A linear static finite element analysis has been performed
already with a load magnitude of 10,000 Newtons. To
begin, read this model and results information into a new
database using MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post (referred to as
Pre&Post from here on) or use MSC.Patran. From the
system prompt or a DOS window in a clean directory
invoke Pre&Post or MSC.Patran.
fXX or fatXX or fatigue where XX is the version
number
p3 or patran
Note: Pre&Post or MSC.Patran can also be invoked from the Start menu on
Windows workstations. In all cases, be sure that Pre&Post or MSC.Patran is
running from the working directory.
After the graphical interface starts open a new database from File | New and call it
keyhole. The model was run through an MSC.Nastran analysis, so keep the Analysis
Preference set to MSC.Nastran when asked.
Import the Model

Select the Import toggle switch
(Analysis in MSC.Patran) on the main
form. When the form appears, set the
Action to Access Results, the Object
to Read Output2, and the Method to
Both (model and results). Press the
Select Results File button and select
the file simpleSN.op2. Press the Apply button. The model will then appear and you
are ready to set up a fatigue analysis.
30
View the Stress Results

Before moving on to the fatigue analysis, first
press the Results application switch on the main
form to view the stress results from the
MSC.Nastran analysis. The Create | Quick Plot
form is displayed. Go to the “Select Fringe
Result” listbox and select Stress Tensor . Set the
Quantity Option menu to Maximum Principal
2D. Press the Apply button and note the areas
of high stress. The maximum principal stress
appears to be about 333 MPa.
When you are done, press the Results switch
again to close down the Results application
form.
CHAPTER 2 31
2.3 Set Up the Fatigue Analysis

To begin setup for a fatigue analysis, select the Analysis switch in Pre&Post (or from
the Tools pulldown menu in MSC.Patran, select MSC.Fatigue and then Main
Interface). This will bring up the MSC.Fatigue main form from which all parameters,
loading and materials information, and analysis control are accessed.
Access from MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post Access from MSC.Patran
Once the form is open, set the General Setup Parameters as

follows:
1. Analysis: S-N
2. Results Loc.: Node
This simply means that the fatigue lives will be
determined at the nodes of the model.
3. Nodal Ave.: Global
Accept the default which simply means element
nodal stresses will be averaged to the nodes for all
element contributions.
4. F.E. Results: Stress
S-N analyses require stresses; you do not have a
choice.
5. Res. Units: MPa
Model dimensions are millimeters and forces are
in Newtons, therefore stress units are MPa.
6. Jobname: simple_sn
7. Title: Simple S-N Analysis
32
Loading Information
Now in order to do a fatigue analysis using linear static FE results we must define how
the load varies with time. This is easily done in MSC.Fatigue using the Loading
Database Manager, PTIME.
Open the Loading Info... form. Then press
the Time History Manager button. This will
launch PTIME. The load will be defined as a
constant amplitude, fully reversed loading.
This will have the effect of oscillating the
10,000 Newton load from +10,000 to -10,000
newtons.
Note: Pre&Post or MSC.Patran will be
suspended during this operation
until PTIME is closed. This is
indicated by the blue busy signal in
the top right corner. Since PTIME is
a separate process, this suspension is necessary to make Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran’s graphical interface recognize any new time signals.
Define a Unit Load - Fully Reversed

When PTIME comes up, select Enter X-Y points as the
method of input (on Windows you will have to double
click on this option or select it and press the OK
button). A form will appear that will ask for a file name,
description and other information. Enter the following
leaving defaults for those not mentioned:
1. Filename: UNITLOAD
2. Description 1: Constant Amplitude, Fully
Reversed Unit Load
3. Fatigue equivalent units: Cycles
We are defining a single occurrence of this
fully reversed, constant amplitude signal as
one cycle of the loading.
Press the OK button to go on. Next you will be prompted to enter the XY points. We
actually only enter Y points as the X points are taken as evenly spaced intervals with
the sample rate set to one. Enter the following numbers with a carriage return after
each: 0, 1, -1, 0. End by putting in a blank entry and then press the End button.
CHAPTER 2 33
Plot the Time History

PTIME returns to its main menu
where you can select Plot an entry
and press the OK button. A new
form is displayed showing the
Database Entry to plot. Accept the
default file, UNITLOAD.
Note: The mean of this signal is zero. In fatigue analysis, constant amplitude
loading is usually accompanied by a description of the mean, commonly
referred to as the R-ratio. The R-ratio is the minimum value of the signal
divided by the maximum value and is a measure of the signals mean value.
In this case R=-1 signifying a fully reversed load where the maximum and
minimum absolute magnitudes are identical.
Select File | Exit to close the plot and press or double click the eXit switch in PTIME.
34
Associate the FE Load to its Time Variation

Now back
on the
Loading
Info... form
you must
associate the
time
variation of
the load that
you just
created to
the FE load
case. This is
done via a
spreadsheet.
Three pieces
of information must be input to the spreadsheet in the center of the form with all other
parameters using their default settings.
1. Load Case ID: 1.1-3.1-2-
Place the cursor in the cell in the first column and click the mouse button.
This selects the cell. A number of listboxes, buttons, and pulldown menus
appear below the spreadsheet. This is where you specify the FE analysis
results that you will use in the fatigue analysis. They appear empty at first.
To fill them, press the Get/Filter Results... button. On this form turn the
Select All Results Cases toggle ON and press the Apply button. This will fill
the listbox on the left with the only result load case that exists. Select it, and
select Stress Tensor from the second listbox and then press the Fill Cell
button. This will fill the cell with the internal IDs of the selected load case and
its stress results. This is the significance of the numbers 1.1-3.1-2-. They are
internal IDs only but are necessary to identify the results.
Note: The actual load case ID numbers you see may differ from those shown here.
What you want to select is the DEFAULT, Static Subcase and the
corresponding Stress Tensor at layer Z1.
2. Time History: UNITLOAD

The middle cell becomes active after successfully selecting a FE load case.
Another spreadsheet (with one row) appears at the bottom of the form from
which you select the previously created time history file. Click on the
UNITLOAD row anywhere with the mouse. This will fill the cell with the
time history file name.
3. Load Magnitude: 1.0
CHAPTER 2 35
The next cell becomes active and a databox appears below the spreadsheet.
Simply accept the default, which is unity. A specification of unity here
signifies that the stresses from the FE analysis will be used “as-is” in the
fatigue analysis and the time variation loading that we defined will be used
to scale the stresses up or down as needed. You must press a carriage return
(Return or Enter) to accept the value in the databox and fill in the cell in the
spreadsheet. A common error is to forget to do this.
The time variation of the loading is now associated to the static FE results. Press the
OK button to close the Loading Info... form.
Material Information
Now press the Material Info... button on the main MSC.Fatigue form.
Select an S-N Curve

This form behaves in a similar manner to the Loading
Info... form. A spreadsheet appears whose cells need to be
filled in. We will specify an S-N curve, a material surface
finish and treatment, and a region on the model to which
this combination will apply.
1. Material: MANTEN_MSN
Select the first cell with the cursor. A listbox
appears at the bottom of the form from which you
select a material (S-N curve). Select
MANTEN_MSN.
2. Surface Finish: No Finish
The next cell becomes active and a pulldown
menu appears. Select No Finish.
3. Surface Treatment: No Treatment
The next cell becomes active and a pulldown menu appears. Select No
Treatment.
4. Region: default_group
36
The next cell becomes active and a listbox appears. Select default_group.
This is a default group of entities defined in the database. It contains all the
nodes and elements of the model. This defines the area of the model (the
entire thing) to which this combination of material, finish, and treatment are
to be assigned.
View the S-N Curve

It is of interest to view the actual S-N curve that will be used to look up damage, and
ultimately, calculate a fatigue life from the stresses of the model. Press the Materials
Database Manager button. This will launch PFMAT, the materials database manager.
First load the material by pressing or double clicking on the Load switch, selecting
data set 1 from the optionmenu that pops up, and then selecting MANTEN_MSN
from the list. You can then press or double click the Graphical Display switch to view
the S-N curve.
Note: Again, Pre&Post or MSC.Patran will be suspended until PFMAT is closed so

that any newly created materials are recognized by the Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran graphical interface.
CHAPTER 2 37
Note: The dashed line portion of the S-N curve indicates a region where the S-N
curve is invalid. The S-N fatigue analysis method is generally only good for
high cycle fatigue problems, meaning that the number of cycles to failure is
generally very high. Note that this invalid region is below about 104 cycles.
Another region of the curve is the “cut-off” region where the endurance
limit is defined (108). Anything above this limit will be reported back as
being beyond the “cut-off” (infinite life).
The material information is complete. Select File | Exit to close the plot and eXit to
quit PFMAT. Press the OK button to close the Material Info... form.
38
Note: An S-N curve is based on

the principle of similitude.
This simply means that if
we can reproduce the
same stress as that
experienced in, say, Tower
Bridge as shown to the
right, in a test laboratory
specimen made of the
same material, then we
can expect the life of the Snom
two to be about the same,
if subjected to the same levels of stress.
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. On this form, set only these parameters:
1. Mean Stress Correction: None
The time signal we are using is fully
reversed, R=-1. The S-N curve itself
was generated by testing numerous
polished test specimens at different
constant amplitude, fully reversed
(R=-1) loading conditions. (The
parameters (power law) that defines
the S-N curve was determined by
regression analysis of the raw data.)
Therefore no mean stress correction
is required since there is no mean
stress to speak of.
2. Stress Combination: Max. Abs.
Principal
This is the stress parameter that will
be used in the fatigue analysis. The
stress tensor from the FE analysis results will be extracted at each node.
However only a single stress value can be looked up on the S-N curve. So the
six component values of the stress tensor will be resolved to the maximum
absolute principal value which will be used as the stress look up parameter.
Press the OK button to continue.
CHAPTER 2 39
2.4 Run the Fatigue Analysis

You are ready to run the fatigue analysis. Open the Job
Control... form. Set the Action to Full Analysis and press
the Apply button. The database will close momentarily as
the results information is extracted. When the database
reopens, the job will have been submitted. You can then
set the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply button
from time to time to view the progress. When the message
Fatigue analysis completed successfully
appears, the analysis is complete. Close down the Job

Control... form when done.
40
2.5 Review the Results

Open the Results... form on the main MSC.Fatigue
setup form (not to be confused with the Results
application switch on the main Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran form). With the Action set to Read
Results press Apply. The fatigue analysis results will
then be read into the database.
View the Life Contour Plot

Just as you viewed the stresses earlier, you can
view the life plot. Select the Results application
switch on the main Pre&Post or MSC.Patran form.
The Create | Quick Plot form will appear. On this
form select the Total Life, simple-snfef item in the
Select Result Cases listbox and the Log of Life
(Cycles) item in the Select Fringe Result listbox
and then press Apply. Note that the smallest life
reported is approximately 5.65. This is a log
base(10) value. So the actual life value is 10 5.65 .
Reporting life values in log units tends to spread
the contour bands out for better results
interpretation. Since such a large spread of results
values can occur (from finite to infinite at locations
where no damage occurs), it is not really practical
to plot pure life values. Press the Results switch
again to close the Results application.
CHAPTER 2 41
Tabular Listing
Press the Analysis switch to bring the main
MSC.Fatigue form back (this is not necessary in
MSC.Patran). On the MSC.Fatigue Results...
form, change the Action to List Results and press
Apply. This will start the module PFPOST which
tabularly lists the fatigue analysis results.
Accepting the jobname and the default filtering
values, by pressing OK a couple of times, will get
you to the main menu. Press or double click the
Most damaged nodes switch to view a tabular
listing. Note the life value of approximately
10 5.65 =4.5E5 cycles on Node 1. Press Cancel to
quit the listing and press or double click eXit to
leave PFPOST.
What If?
As one small exercise to introduce the concept of “what if” analyses, change the
Action to Optimize and press Apply (you do not need to enter a node number) on the
Results... form. This will launch the module FEFAT in its design optimization mode.
FEFAT is the FE-fatigue analyzer used to calculate fatigue life. It can be run in both
batch and interactive modes. When it comes up, press Worst Case to automatically
select the node with the lowest life prediction. Enter a Design Life of 1E6 (a million)
42
cycles. Press the OK button. The analyzer will re-analyze the fatigue life at Node 1 and
will report the life value to you. Pressing the End button will put you into the main
optimization menu.
Change the material from

MANTEN_MSN to
RQC100_MSN to see the
effect of a different material
on the fatigue life. Do this by
pressing or double clicking
the Material optimization
switch and selecting or
typing in the new material
name. Press OK and then
press or double click the
Recalculate switch to report
the new life. Note that the
life is bettered by almost an order of magnitude.
Hint: When you change materials, they must be the same types of materials
(steel vs. steel, aluminum vs. aluminum, etc.) If you wish to change from
steel to aluminum then the Young’s modulus changes would invalidate
the results. There are some general guidelines on how to do this properly,
however, in the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide.
CHAPTER 2 43
2.6 Concluding Remarks

This was a very simple analysis, the results of which should be obvious. The lowest
life was naturally predicted at the highest stressed location. Because the loading was
simple, perhaps a detailed fatigue analysis as performed here, was not necessary. In
fact you could have simply extracted the highest principal stress (333 MPa) and gone
directly to the S-N curve using PFMAT to assess the life. This, of course, starts to
become very impractical with anything much more complicated as you will see in
subsequent examples.
As an exercise, go back to the Material Info... form and invoke the materials database
manager, PFMAT, again and plot the S-N curve as done before. With the S-N curve
plotted you can use the left mouse button positioned on the curve to read off
coordinate values (reported in the lower left corner). You can also use the right mouse
button to zoom in on the curve (click once on one side of the curve and again on the
other side to zoom). To restore the curve, select the View | Full Plot option. You can
read the life value right from the curve.
Hint: To read the correct life value from the curve for this exercise, you must
multiply the maximum principal stress at Node 1 by two (666 MPa) since
the total range of the signal is twice the stress determined by the FE
analysis since it is experiencing full reversal.
Note: Note about plasticity: as mentioned in Introduction (Ch. 1), fatigue cannot
occur without some local plasticity. The S-N method makes no effort to
define the amount of plasticity or compensate for it in any specific manner.
All plasticity is built into the S-N curve itself.
The S-N curve used in this exercise is known as a material S-N curve. This is
significant because you must know beforehand what the S-N curve you use
actually represents. In this case the S-N curve is representative of the actual
material and relates local stress (σ) to life. That is, the monitored stress used
to create the S-N curve is the stress at the actual failure location. This will
become more clear when we discuss another type of S-N curve (component
S-N) in a later exercise.
Exit from Pre&Post when finished with this exercise. Keep the files and directory for
use in the next exercise.
MSC.Fatigue Files
MSC.Fatigue creates a number of files during an analysis. Every attempt is made to
explain the use of these files throughout the examples. The basic files created during
any analysis are these (generic names are shown along with file names that will be
created by the exercise in the remaining chapters).
44
Table 2-2 MSC.Fatigue Files
File Description
name.db This is the database containing the FE model and its results
(bracket.db) created by Pre&Post or MSC.Patran.
jobname.fin This is the job control file that is written by Pre&Post or

(comp_sn.fin) MSC.Patran when you press the Apply button in the Job
Control... form. The following Actions create this form: Full
Analysis, Partial Analysis, Translate Only, Save Job Only. If you
take a look at this file it contains Parameter=keyword entries. It
defines the analysis set up as specified when you fill out the
various forms. You can read this file in under the Job Control...
form also when the Action is set to Read Saved Job.
jobname.fes This is the fatigue analysis input file. It is a binary file and
(comp_sn.fes) contains all information necessary to run a complete fatigue
analysis using the FEFAT analyzer. It is created by the PAT3FAT
translator which reads the jobname.fin file and the FE results
information from the database name.db. You can view the
contents of this file with the Utilities... option in FEFAT. The
Action, Translate Only on the Job Control... form will create this
file and then stop.
jobname.fpp This binary file is created by FEFAT after preprocessing. It is
(comp_sn.fpp) the result of the rainflow cycle count. The Action, Partial
Analysis on the Job Control... form will create all files up to this
point and then stop.
jobname.fef This is the results file of a fatigue analysis created by FEFAT
(comp_sn.fef) when a Full Analysis is requested. It is an ASCII file and can be
read back into Pre&Post or MSC.Patran to create life contour
plots. It is also read by the MSC.Fatigue module PFPOST to do
tabular listings of results. A jobname.fef_tmpl file is also
created which is a template used when read back into Pre&Post
or MSC.Patran defining the meaning of each column of results
data in the jobname.fef file.
jobname.msg This is the message file containing all messages during an
(comp_sn.msg) analysis. If a job does not run properly for some reason, this is
the file to look in first to find clues as to the problem.
jobname.sta This is a one line status file read by the Monitor action from the
(comp_sn.sta) Job Control Form... which is updated constantly as the analysis
proceeds.
CHAPTER
Rainflow Cycle Counting
3
46

This example is an extension of the previous example where the simple constant
amplitude loading is replaced with a more complex randomly varying time signal.
Invoke Pre&Post or MSC.Patran by typing the following symbols at the system

prompt or from a DOS window:
fXX or fatX or fatigue where XX is the version number
p3 or patran
If you have not already, open the same database that you created in the previous
example working in the same directory from the File | Open menu. The name of the
database should be keyhole.
Objective
• To predict the life of the keyhole subject to a varying load signal.
• To understand how to normalize the FE stresses.
• To introduce the concept to rainflow cycle counting.
• To introduce the concept of damage summation.
• To investigate the effect of mean stress.
• To investigate the probabilistic nature of fatigue.
Note: The geometry and materials information are identical to that of the previous
exercise.
CHAPTER 3 47

To begin setup for a fatigue analysis press the Analysis switch in Pre&Post (or from
Load the Previous S-N Analysis

Parameters
Instead of defining all the analysis parameters again, let us
begin from the last analysis. Once the form is open, type
the jobname of the previous example in the Jobname
databox (simple_sn) and issue a carriage return (Return or
Enter). You will be prompted to read in an old analysis
setup file (it detects a file called simple_sn.fin in your local
directory and reads in the parameters).
Hint: You can do the same thing in the Job Control...

form with the Action set to Read Saved Job.
Now change the jobname and the title:

1. Jobname: rf_cycle
2. Title: Simple S-N Analysis, Variable Loading
48
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form. Then press the Time History Manager button. This
will launch PTIME. The time variation of the load will be defined by a signal called
SAETRN which is stored in the loading central database in the MSC.Fatigue
installation directory.
Copy SAETRN from the Central Database

When PTIME comes up, select Add an entry...
and then Copy from central as the method of
input. A form will appear that will ask for a
name. Use the List button to select SAETRN
from the central database.
Scale the Time History Load

From the PTIME main menu, select Change an
entry... and then Polynomial transform. We are
going to scale up the time history to represent
the actual loading applied to the component. You will be asked for the Database Entry
to transform and a new target file. Use the same name (SAETRN) for both and allow
CHAPTER 3 49
overwrite. The transformation from will then appear. We simply want to scale the
load up so all that is needed is to input a scale factor of 10 in the second databox. Press
OK when done.
Finally a form appears allowing you

to change any details associated with
this time history. Enter the following:
1. Description 1: Leave as is
2. Description 2: Blank this out
3. Load type: Force
4. Units: Newtons
5. Number of fatigue
equivalent units: 1
6. Fatigue equivalent units:
Repeats
Life results will be reported
as the number of Repeats of
this entire loading sequence
and not as individual stress
cycles as in the previous exercise.

PTIME returns to its main menu where you can select Plot an entry. Accept the default
file, SAETRN. Note that the maximum value is close to 10,000 Newtons. As a
comparison to the previous example, which oscillated in a fully reversed fashion
between positive 10kN and negative 10kN, this signal varies significantly with a very
positive mean and only occasionally reaches or nears the 10kN maximum. We
therefore would expect this loading to be less damaging with all else the same.
50
Select File | Exit to close the plot and press or double click the eXit switch in PTIME.

Now back on the Loading Info... form you must associate the time variation of the load
that you just created to the static FE load case. Go to the spreadsheet as was done in
the previous example. Two things need to be changed on this form.
1. Time History: SAETRN

Select the middle cell to make it active. Another spreadsheet (now with two
rows) appears at the bottom of the form from which you select the time
history file. Click on the SAETRN row anywhere with the mouse. This will
replace the cell with the new time history file name.
2. Load Magnitude: 10,000
Change this entry to 10,000. You must press a carriage return (Return or
Enter) to accept the value in the databox and fill the cell in the spreadsheet.
Forgetting to do this is a common error.
Note: In the previous example we entered unity for the Load Magnitude accepting
the FE load as being the true representation of the load and thus the stresses.
The time history, UNITLOAD, scaled the stress distribution between 1 and -
1 to signify the time variation of the loading. This time the time history
SAETRN is used to define the actual loading as it changes with time. The FE
load magnitude is therefore simply an arbitrary number used to obtain the
stress distribution. The stresses in the FE analysis need to be normalized by
this FE load magnitude of 10kN, to simulate the stress distribution due to a
unit load.
CHAPTER 3 51
The load magnitude acts as a divisor to normalize the stresses to obtain a stress
distribution due to a unit load as in the equation σij(t)=P(t)σij/Pfea, where σij and Pfea
are the stress tensor and load magnitude from the FE analysis, P(t) is the externally
defined time variation of the loading, and σij(t) is the resulting time variation of the
stress tensor (at any particular location in the component). This can be done because
the analysis is linear elastic. Using linear elastic FE analysis and associating an
external time variation of the loading for fatigue analysis is called the “pseudo-static”
method. “It might be said that all stress analyses are basically fatigue analyses, the
differences lying in the number of cycles of applied stress.” - quote from Carl C.
Osgood, Fatigue Design (1982).
52

Control... form, set the Action to Full Analysis and press
reopens, the job will have been submitted. You can then
set the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply button


This analysis takes a few minutes to run to
completion. The reason it takes longer than the
previous example is due to the complex nature of the
time signal. The program is performing a procedure
called rainflow cycle counting, referred to as
“preprocessing” in MSC.Fatigue. Cycle counting is a
mechanism to extract and count the number of stress
cycles in a signal.
The term Rainflow is attributed to two Japanese
gentlemen, Matsuishi and Endo, who invented the
method. It is based on the concept of rain drops
flowing off Japanese style pagoda roofs. Time history
signals are stood on end and rain is visualized to run
off of each peak or valley. Various rules were adopted
to count cycles and reversals which is beyond the
scope of this text; but suffice it to say that the end
result of rainflow cycle counting is a set of constant
amplitude signals and a count of the number of cycles
in each. Cycle counts can be visualized as probability density functions (PDF) or as
3-dimensional histogram matrices as you will see later.
Damage Summation
It is important to break up a variable signal into a number of constant amplitude
signals in order to assess the life from the S-N curve. The curve itself is created by a
series of constant amplitude tests. So for each cycle in the signal you must look up the
proper stress from the S-N curve. What stress to look up is the job of rainflow cycle
CHAPTER 3 53
counting. The next challenge to tackle is the summation of the damage from each cycle
in order to report a total life due to all cycles. This is accomplished by way of the
Palmgren-Miner linear damage summation law.
This states that damage can be
summed by determining the ratio of Total Damage= ∑ N i ⁄ N f
the number of cycles experienced to the i
∆D 1 = N 1 ⁄ N f
number of cycles to failure for a given ∆D 2 = N 2 ⁄ N f
1
stress range or level and then summing 2
all the ratios for every stress range.
When this number, known as Miner’s
Constant, reaches unity, failure is said
to have occurred. The predicted life is
then determined by summing the
percentage of life used by each stress
level for the entire time signal. Life is then reported back as to the number of times the
given time signal can be applied before failure.
Hint: This is where user-defined fatigue equivalent units come in handy, because
rarely does one want life reported in “repeats” of the time signal, but rather
in more meaningful units such as hours, miles, years, laps, missions, etc.
This is accomplished by defining these user-defined units in the PTIME,
loading database manager, utility. Use the Change an entry | Edit details
option.
Speeding up the Analysis

There are two ways that you could speed up this analysis.
1. First, since we already know where the failure location will be (at the point
of highest stress) because of the simplicity of this model, we could have
defined a Group with only this node (Node 1) and specified it in the
Materials Info... form. This however, would only calculate life at this one
node and would ignore the rest of the model.
2. Second, on the Job Control... form you can turn on the Simplified Analysis
toggle. As an exercise after you finish this problem, turn this toggle ON,
change the Jobname to something else and re-run the problem. Note how
much faster the analysis proceeds relative to the first time. What is
happening is that for a normal analysis, the rainflow procedure is being
applied to each location once its stress time variation is determined. When
the Simplified Analysis toggle is turned ON, the rainflow procedure is
applied to the loading time history first and the FE stresses are used to scale
the rainflow histogram matrix. This speeds up the analysis significantly for
a complex time signal for a single load. It does however, produce slightly less
accurate results. Notice the slight variation in predicted life when you do
this.
54

Open the Results... form on the main MSC.Fatigue
setup form (not to be confused with the Results
application switch on the main Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran form). With the Action set to Read
Results, press Apply. The fatigue analysis results have
been read into the database. You can review the life
contour plot as you did in the previous exercise if you
wish. The contour will look similar but the magnitudes
will be different.
Tabular Listing
On the MSC.Fatigue Results... form, change the Action
to List Results and press Apply. This will start the
module PFPOST which tabularly lists the fatigue
analysis results. Accepting the jobname and the
default filtering values by pressing OK a couple of
times will get you to the main menu. Press or double
click the Most damaged nodes switch to view a
tabular listing. Note the life value of approximately
105.26=184,000 repeats of the signal on Node 1. This is
significantly less damaging than the previous example
considering the life is reported in repeats of the time
history and not as individual cycles. To get the number of cycles, we would have to
multiply the life result by the rainflow cycle count. Press Cancel to quit the listing and
press or double click eXit to leave PFPOST.
Histogram Matrix
Let us take a look at the results of a rainflow cycle count. From the Results... form,
change the Action to Optimize and press Apply (you do not need to enter a node
number) on the Results... form. This will launch the module FEFAT in its design
optimization mode. When it comes up, press Worst Case to automatically select the
node with the lowest life prediction. Enter a Design Life of 1E6 (a million) repeats.
CHAPTER 3 55
Press the OK button. The analyzer will re-analyze the fatigue life at Node 1 and will
report the life value to you. Pressing the End button will put you into the main
optimization menu.
Select results Display and

then plot Cycles
histogram. This will
display a histogram plot
showing the results of the
rainflow cycle count for the
critical location on the
model. It looks a little bit
like a city skyline. Note that
there are quite a few cycles
that have low stress ranges
and that there are fewer
with high stress ranges.
The height of each tower represents the number of cycles at that particular stress range
and mean. Each tower is used to look up damage on the S-N curve and damage is
summed over all towers. A histogram cycle plot from our first example would yield
only a single tower of unit height with a mean of zero.
Hint: The accuracy of the fatigue calculation is dependent on the number of

towers allowed in the rainflow histogram. Typically it is broken up into
what are called bins which is the matrix size. These bins can be 32x32,
64x64, or 128x128. If you want to increase the accuracy, you can run FEFAT
interactively at the critical location and specify a larger bin size.
Now convert the cycle histogram plot to a damage histogram plot. This is done by
either returning to the main menu and selecting results Display | plot Damage
histogram or with the cycle histogram plot still displayed, select Plot_type | Damage.
56
Now you can see the damage caused by each bin. Notice that the lower stress ranges
produced zero damage. All damage came from cycles in the higher stress range,
which is to be expected. Select File | Exit when done viewing the graphics.
Effect of Mean
Stress
Now let us investigate the
effect of mean stress on the
fatigue life predictions. First
remember that the S-N
curve we are using was
produced for an R-ratio of
minus one, or no mean
stress in other words. The
time history used in this
example has a
predominately tensile mean. The initial life prediction did not take into consideration
this mean stress and therefore could perhaps be giving a somewhat non-conservative
answer. From FEFAT’s design optimization menu, select Sensitivity analysis | Mean
stress correction (all) then press or double click the Recalculate switch. A listing
showing no correction plus two mean stress correction methods appear: Goodman
and Gerber. Note that both of them give more conservative answers.
CHAPTER 3 57
How is mean stress compensated for in the S-N analysis?

The simple way to explain this is that for both the Goodman and Gerber methods,
knowing the ultimate tensile strength (Su) and the actual stress amplitude (σa) and
mean (σm), an equivalent stress range with zero mean is determined. Goodman and
Gerber follow these equations:
σa σm
------ + ------- = 1 Goodman
Se Su
σa σm 2
------ +  ------- = 1 Gerber
Se  Su 
Graphically this
looks like the plot
to the right where,
at least for
Goodman, if you
draw a line
connecting Su to
the intersection of
σa and σm and then
continue it on to
the stress
amplitude axis,
this will indicate
the equivalent
stress Se with zero mean. This stress is then used to look up damage on the S-N curve.
Note: As a stress range of a cycle becomes larger and larger, there tends to be less
and less possible variability in the mean of that cycle. This is indicated on the
cycle histogram plot since the base of these type of plots tends to be
triangular in nature, which means that as the stress gets larger, the mean
stress has less of an effect on the fatigue life.
Probabilistic Nature of Fatigue

As a final exercise in this example, let us investigate two different materials as we did
in the first problem. From the main menu of FEFAT’s design optimization mode,
select Material optimization. Change the material S-N curve from MANTEN_MSN
to RQC100_MSN and then press or double click the Recalculate switch again. Note
that RQC100_MSN, being a much higher strength steel, gives a much higher life
prediction (357,000 repeats vs. 184,000 repeats) for no mean stress corrections. This
means RQC100_MSN is a better material to use (or does it?). Just looking at the S-N
curve might indicate this also.
58
Press or double click the

Original parameters
button to put the material
back to MANTEN_MSN
and then press or double
click the Change
parameters switch and
change the Design
Criterion to 99. Press or
double click the
Recalculate switch. Note
the life of approximately
85,400 repeats. Now
change the material to
RQC100_MSN as done
earlier and press or double click the Recalculate switch. The life using the higher
strength steel is now only about 30,900 repeats, less than that of the lower strength
steel.
This is due to the probabilistic nature of fatigue and the scatter associated with the S-
N curves themselves. By specifying 99 as the design criterion, we are asking
MSC.Fatigue to calculate a life value based on a 99% certainty of survival. The larger
the scatter in the original S-N data that makes up the curve, the less certain we will be
of survival and the code takes this into account by reporting a more conservative
answer. The default is a 50% probability of survival (or failure).
Note: Scatter is associated with S-N curves and other damage curves due to the
fact that, for example, if you take 10 identical test coupons and subject them
to what you think are identical tests, you will get ten slightly different
answers. The material parameters associated with S-N curves take this into
consideration with the Standard Error of Log(N) (SE) determined by
regression analysis of the raw data.
CHAPTER 3 59

This exercise introduced you to rainflow cycle counting, damage summation, mean
stress effects, and the probabilistic nature of fatigue by using a randomly varying
load on our simple keyhole model. Though this example still did not help us identify
critical locations since we already knew where failure would occur, it did start to show
the power of MSC.Fatigue by being able to handle complex time signals and to make
compensation for parameters that may effect the fatigue life, something that would be
a daunting task to do by hand.
The next exercise will introduce the concept of a component S-N curve.
Quit from Pre&Post or MSC.Patran when you are through with this exercise.
Note: MSC.Fatigue does not take into account the frequency (speed at which cycles
are experienced) or the sequence (when a particular cycle is experienced
relative to other cycles) of cycles from a given signal. Rainflow cycle
counting simply counts the number of cycles and determines their range and
mean. Frequency and sequence can have an influence on the fatigue life but
is a third or fourth order effect on life prediction in most cases. MSC.Fatigue
does provide you with certain fatigue analysis utilities to determine if these
influences are important after the initial analysis using the MSC.Fatigue
module MTCD (for time correlated damage).
60
CHAPTER
Component S-N Analysis
4
■ Geometry
62

1”
10”
P
P
P
P
2”
A simple bracket as shown has a design life of 7 years (61,320 hours). Loading occurs
at the end of the short section which has been welded and the component is
constrained at both ends of the main bar. Because failure is known to occur at the
weld, the finite element modeling at the loading point and the stresses found there can
be ignored for the purposes of this exercise. The load applied in the model was 900 lbs
total. In service, the component experiences loading of 3000 lbs in the direction of the
finite element load and 7000 lbs in the reverse direction. This occurs once every 30
minutes. Only a 4% failure rate is allowed.
Objective
• To introduce the concept of a component S-N curve.
• To learn how to enter materials data into the database manager.
• To determine if the component achieves its design life.
• To determine what level of loading can be achieve and what failure rate
could be expected - a sensitivity study.
• To understand what files are created by an MSC.Fatigue analysis.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/bracket.op2
CHAPTER 4 63
4.2 Geometry
Invoke Pre&Post or MSC.Patran as you did in the previous examples. The geometry
can be found in the file bracket.op2. The results are from MSC.Nastran. Copy the file
to your working directory. Open a new database in a clean, empty work directory
from the File | New menu. Give the name bracket to the database.
Import the Model and Results

Press the Import toggle switch (Analysis in
MSC.Patran) on the main form. When the
form appears set the Action to Access
Results, the Object to Read Output2, and
the Method to Both (model and results)
then press the Select Results File button
and select the file bracket.op2 and press
Apply. The model will then appear and
you are ready to set up a fatigue analysis.
64

Before moving on to the fatigue analysis, press
the Results application switch on the main
form to view the stress results from the
MSC.Nastran analysis. Select Stress Tensor,
from the listbox and set the Quantity to
Maximum Principal. Press the Apply button
and note the areas of high stress mostly around
the applied load. This however, is not of
concern to us. What we are interested in is the
stress at Node 514 of around 2,690 PSI. This
will be explained in more detail as we set up
the material information.
To rotate the model, press the middle mouse
button or for a two button mouse, press both at
the same time.
When you are done, press the Results switch
again to close down the Results application
form.
Node 514 Highlighted

CHAPTER 4 65

To begin setup for a fatigue analysis, press the Analysis switch in Pre&Post (or from
Once the form is open, set the General Setup Parameters as

follows:
1. Analysis: S-N
determined at the nodes of the model.
nodal stresses will be averaged to the nodes.
S-N analyses require stresses; you do not have a
choice.
5. Res. Units: PSI
Model dimensions are inches and forces are in
Pounds, therefore stress units are PSI.
6. Jobname: comp_sn
7. Title: Component S-N Analysis
The component was tested under constant amplitude, fully-reversed conditions to
produce S-N data. In the previous examples we have used S-N curves that are
representative of the material and independent of geometry. They related local stress
(σ) to life. Now we have a different situation where the actual component geometry
66
itself as well as the material has been used in tests to create the S-N curve. This type of
S-N curve is called a component S-N curve. These type of curves relate nominal stress
(S) to life and are dependent on the geometry of the component. If you change the
geometry, the curve will no longer be valid. The nominal stress is a location away from
the actual failure location. This is usually because it is impossible to place a
measurement device such as a strain gauge in the failure location. The stress for the S-
N curve was measured using strain gauges at a point one quarter of an inch from the
weld on the main bar and 5 inches from each end of the bar. Node 514 of the model
corresponds to this measurement point for the S-N curve. The point of measurement
is sometimes referred to as the reference location.
For this model we have an S-N curve that needs to be input to PFMAT, the materials
database manager. Two methods of entering this data will be given.
Table 4-2 S-N Data Set for Bracket Assembly
Properties SI Imperial
S-N Properties:
Stress Range Intercept, SRI1 10,710 MPa 1553 KSI
First fatigue strength exponent, -0.33333 -0.33333
b1
Fatigue transition point (cycles), 1E7 1E7
NC1
Second fatigue strength -0.2 -0.2
exponent, b2
Standard error of Log (N), SE 0.2 0.2
R-Ratio of test, RRAT -1 -1
Monotonic Properties:
Young’s Modulus, E 205,800 MPa 29, 850 KSI
UTS 700 MPa 101.5 KSI
CHAPTER 4 67
Manual Entry of Materials Data

Open the Material Info... form and press the
Materials Database Manager button. This will
invoke PFMAT. Once the program has started, select
Create | data set 1.
You will be asked for a password to modify the
central database location. If you do not enter a
password and simply press the carriage return or the
OK button, a copy of the central materials database
will be copied to your local directory where you can
then proceed to enter your materials data.
Note: PFMAT always tells you at the top of its

main menu whether it is connected to the
central database in the MSC.Fatigue
installation area or a local database in the
current directory, or even some other
database that you may have created in
another directory.
Now a series of forms will open requesting data entry. On the first form, Names, enter:
1. Primary name: BRACKET_SN
2. Anything else you want - not required
On the next form, Static Data, enter the generic (monotonic) information:
1. UTS: Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa): 700
2. E: Elastic modulus (MPa): 205800
Only these two parameters are required to be entered. The next form (E-N data) is for
strain data. Skip over this form by pressing the OK button. The next form is for S-N
data. Select Component from the pulldown menu.
68
For the rest of the data, enter

the SI values as indicated in
Table 4-2. Press the OK
button when done. Fracture
Mechanics Data is
requested next. Just press
the OK button to skip over
this. Multiaxial data is
requested next. Skip over
this form also by pressing
the OK button. The material
will be entered into the
database. Press or double
click the Graphical Display
switch to view the S-N
curve.
Hint: We are entering the data here in SI units. All underlying fatigue
calculations are done using SI units. However if you wish to enter and
view materials data in Imperial units, set the preference using
Preferences | Stress units | PSI. You can save this setting globally, or
just locally in your working directory (or not at all) so that each time you
invoke PFMAT it remembers to display values and plots in your units of
preference.
Note: S-N curves are characterized by a power law and thus appear as straight
lines in log-log space. The equation is S=SRI1(N)b where SRI1 is the y-
intercept and b is the slope (after Basquin). It is interesting to note
historically that, although invented in 1870 by August Woehler, the S-N
curve was not actually displayed graphically until some 30 years later. And
it was not until 10 years after that that the curves were characterized in
equation form. Our curve actually has two slopes and a transition point. If
the second slope were zero it would act as a fatigue limit.
Exit from PFMAT when you are done using the File | Exit and the eXit switch.
CHAPTER 4 69
Batch Entry of Materials Data

For use later in this exercise, we are going to input another S-N data set. To illustrate
batch mode operation of PFMAT we are going to define the parameters of the second
S-N set in a file. Go to an available window and using your favorite editor, create a file
called bracket.mat.
Table 4-3 Second S-N Data Set for Bracket Assembly
S-N Properties SI Imperial

Stress Range Intercept, SRI1 (MPa) 13950 2023ksi
Slope, b1 -0.29 -0.29
Transition life, NC1 (cycles) 2E7 2E7
Slope, b2 -0.16 -0.16
Standard error, SE 0.14 0.14
Stress ratio, RRAT -1 -1
Enter the following lines in this file:

/OPT=CREATE
/INDB=YES
/PASS=
/MATNO=2
/PRI=BRACKET_SN2
/UTS=700
/E1=205800
/SNT=C
/SRI=13950
/B1=-0.29
/NC1=2E7
/B2=-0.16
/SE=0.14
/RRAT=-1
/OPT=EX
Then from the system prompt or a DOS

window issue the following command:
pfmat @bracket.mat
ASCII Materials File Reader

The MAT file created above can also be entered in the S-N data set by using the ASCII
Materials File Reader. This form can be accessed by going to the Tools pulldown menu
and selecting MSC.Fatigue (for the MSC.Patran version) or Fatigue Utilities (for the
Standalone version). From here, select Material Management and then ASCII
Materials File Reader.
70
On the form that comes up, enter the name

bracket.mat into the MAT Filename databox
and press the Apply button.
Note: The above mentioned MAT file can also be created from scratch by using the
“Edit” button on the form shown above.
Either of the above mentioned two methods will put the second data set into the
database. Graphically compare bracket_sn and bracket_sn2 by running PFMAT
interactively and using the Graphical display option. To run interactively you can
either just type pfmat at the system prompt or go back to Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and
spawn it from the MSC.Fatigue Material Info... form. Make sure both bracket_sn and
bracket_sn2 are loaded as data set 1 and 2 using Load | data set n.
Hint: If you do not have any S-N data, but only know E and UTS, you can have
PFMAT generate generic material properties based on empirical
formulas and the type of material. Simply enter E and UTS as if you were
going to enter your own S-N data and the Material Type Number (see the
MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide) and the S-N parameters will be generated
automatically for you. (99=steel of unknown heat treatment) Of course
you have to turn on the Generate all parameters from UTS toggle.
Specify the Material for the Analysis

On the Material Info... form enter the following in the spreadsheet:
1. Material: BRACKET_SN
Select the cell under the Material column to activate it and select the S-N
curve from the listbox that appears below the spreadsheet. The next cell will
become active.
2. Finish: No Finish
Select No Finish from the pulldown menu that appears below the
spreadsheet. Finish and treatment are not allowed in a component S-N
analysis (they are built into the curve). They will be ignored if you set them.
The next cell will become active once you select the finish.
3. Treatment: No Treatment
Select No Treatment. The next cell becomes active.
Select default_group which contains the nodes and elements from the entire
model.
CHAPTER 4 71
Close the Material Info... form when you are done by pressing OK.
Loading Information
To create the time history which represents the actual loading conditions of the
bracket, use PTIME and the X-Y points option representing y-values only. The time
history will have a maximum of 3000 lbs and a minimum of –7000 lbs. No other
information has been given so you can assume that there are no peaks and valleys
between these points and that only these two points are required. You will enter the
values 0, 3000, –7000, and 0 to create this loading.
The 1/2 hour interval can be modeled using the fatigue equivalent units. This is a term
relating to the real value of one repeat of the time history. In this case, you can use 30
minutes, 1/2 hours, 1/48 days, etc. The answer will be the same of course, but you can
choose the best parameter for reporting the life of your product.
Open the Loading Info... form and press the Time History Manager button.
Define the Load

When PTIME comes up, select Enter X-Y points as the method of input.
Note: If you have been working sequentially through this document, then you will
already have some entries in the PTIME database. The version of the form
that is displayed will be different than the one shown here. On this form,
select Add an entry and then select the option X-y time series, which is the
equivalent of selecting Enter X-Y points on the shown form.
72
A form will appear that will ask for a name, description

and other information. Enter the following leaving
defaults for those not mentioned:
1. Filename: BRACKET_LOAD
2. Description 1: Bracket Loading
3. Load Type: Force
4. Units: lbs force
5. Number of fatigue equivalent units: 0.5
6. Fatigue Equivalent Units: Hours
We are defining a single occurrence of this signal
as representing 1/2 hour.
Press the OK button to go on. Next you will be prompted to enter the Y points. Enter
the following numbers with a carriage return after each: 0, 3000, -7000, 0. End by
putting in a blank entry and then press the End button.

PTIME returns to its main menu where
you can select Plot an entry to make sure
it took correctly. Accept the default file,
BRACKET_LOAD.
Select File | Exit to close the plot and
press or double click the eXit switch in
PTIME.
Associate the FE Load to its Time

Variation
Now back on the Loading Info... form
you must associate the time variation of
the load that you just created to the FE
load case. Go to the spreadsheet as was
done in the previous example. Select the
first cell with the mouse to activate it.
1. Load Case ID: 1.1-3.1-1-
This is the internal database ID. You select the FE results from the listboxes
below. You must select a Result Case, a Stress result, and a layer. Then you
press the Fill Cell button to enter it in the spreadsheet cell. The listboxes may
appear empty at first. To fill them select the Get/Filter Results... button and
turn ON the Select All Result Cases toggle and press Apply.
Note: The load case ID may be different than that shown here.
CHAPTER 4 73
2. Time History: BRACKET_LOAD

The middle cell should become active after selecting the FE result. Another
spreadsheet appears at the bottom of the form from which you select the time
history file. Click on the BRACKET_LOAD row anywhere with the mouse.
This will fill the cell with the time history file name.
3. Load Magnitude: 900

Change this entry to 900. You must press a carriage return (Return or Enter)
to accept the value in the databox below the spreadsheet. A common mistake
is to forget to press the carriage return to accept the value. Remember we are
normalizing the FE stresses by dividing by the total applied load magnitude
of 900 lbs from the FE analysis to simulate a stress distribution due to a unit
load. The time variation represents the actual load magnitudes.
74
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. On this form leave all the defaults except:
Certainty of Survival: 96
As we learned in the last exercise, the
S-N data can have significant scatter
associated with it. We are asking
MSC.Fatigue to calculate a fatigue live
with 96% certainty of survival based
on the scatter in the S-N data. This
corresponds to a 4% failure rate.
CHAPTER 4 75

You are ready to run the fatigue analysis. Open the Job Control... form. Set the Action
to Full Analysis and press the Apply button. The database will close momentarily as
the results information is extracted. When the database reopens, the job will have been
submitted. You can then set the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply button

76

Open the Results... form on the main MSC.Fatigue setup form (not to be confused with
the Results application switch on the main Pre&Post or MSC.Patran form). With the
Action set to Read Results press Apply. The fatigue analysis results have been read
into the database.

Just as you viewed the stresses earlier,
you can view the life plot. Press the
Results application switch on the main
from and select the Total Life result
case and Log of Life (Hours) as the
Fringe Result and press Apply. Press
the Results switch again to close the
Results application.
Now, the point of putting up this life
contour plot is to make a point. The
plot is of absolutely no value and is
meaningless. The only node on this
structure with the correct fatigue life
prediction is Node 514, the reference point of the component S-N curve. By allowing
all the nodes of the model in the analysis, MSC.Fatigue treats them all as reference
CHAPTER 4 77
nodes but only Node 514 is of interest to us. This is only the case when using
component S-N curves. Contour plots from material S-N curves and the crack
initiation method are perfectly valid and meaningful.
Note: Since only Node 514 is valid in this analysis, it would have been better to
have created a group (under Group | Create) that contained only Node 514
and then have assigned it as the region of analysis in the Material Info... form
as opposed to using default_group.
Tabular Listing
Now let us find out what the actual fatigue life is at Node 514. On the MSC.Fatigue
Results... form, change the Action to List Results and press Apply. This will start the
module PFPOST which tabularly lists the fatigue analysis results. Accepting the
jobname and the default filtering values by pressing OK a couple of times will get you
to the main menu. Press or double click the User specified nodes switch, enter 514 as
the node number. Note the life value of approximately 10 4.115 =1.303E4 repeats
(=6,515 hours) hours. This is certainly less than the design life of 7 years (61,320 hours).
Press Cancel to quit the listing and press or double click eXit to leave PFPOST.
Design Optimization
The objectives of this example have been partially met. The life of the component is
below that of the design life for a 96% confidence level. You can enter the design
optimization portion of MSC.Fatigue to answer the other objectives. This can be done
by picking Optimize from the MSC.Fatigue Results... form. This time however, enter
Node 514 as the node to optimize (or select it graphically from the screen).
Once in FEFAT’s design optimization mode, you can reanalyze the component. Enter
the design life of 61,320 hours. You should obtain the same life estimate of around
6,500 hours. Press End to continue.
Note: A file called pfatigue.ents is created when you select nodes or elements from
the graphical screen or type them into the Results...| Optimize form. Node
514 is contained in this file in this case. You can also simply type 514 in the
Node/Element field also in FEFAT.
78
You will be placed into the FEFAT design optimization main menu. Select Parameter
optimization | Scale factor to back calculate a scale factor that will be needed to
achieve the appropriate design life of 61,320 hours and then press or double click
Recalculate. This should give you a scale factor of about 0.5 which tells you that to
achieve your design criteria you need a 50% reduction in load. This may be
unacceptable.
You can also set the Design criterion under Parameter optimization to determine the
certainty of survival after 7 years. Remember to press the Recalculate switch. Note that
it is less than one percent. So premature failure is certain.
You have submitted a report to your manager which has caused panic and have been
asked to re-analyze the component after using a modified welding technique, which
is more expensive. After re-testing, a new S-N data set has been generated. This is
BRACKET_SN2 which was imported earlier.
Try a new analysis using this modified S-N data set to see if the life is satisfactory.
Reset the analysis from the main menu of FEFAT by selecting the Original parameters
switch. Next go to Material optimization and change the S-N curve to
BRACKET_SN2 and press or double click Recalculate.
You should find that the new life is around 97,000 hours or approximately 11 years.
By back calculating a scale factor again in FEFAT, you will get around 1.1, which
means your component should be able to survive a 10% overload and still maintain
the design criteria. Also, the failure rate after seven years should be less than 0.1%.
This can all be seen by repeating the steps done with the new S-N curve.
Sensitivity Analysis
As one last exercise in this example,
select Sensitivity analysis | Scale
factors. Enter the following for scale
factors: (.5, 1.5, .1). This includes the
parentheses. Press or double click the
Recalculate switch. A sensitivity
analysis will proceed and the results
displayed tabularly. The scale factor
input signifies (to, from, increment) a
50% reduction to a 50% overload by
increments of 10%. (You can also enter
a series of values separated by commas
or spaces.)
It is, of course, more interesting to view
the results graphically. Select results
Display | Sensitivity plot. The last
sensitivity analysis results will be
CHAPTER 4 79
plotted. You have specified to scale the loading (or the stresses) or you can think of the
scale factors as stress concentration factors (Kt). Now you can see how sensitive the
component is to loading. The same thing can be done for certainty of survival.
Hint: When you do a sensitivity plot in FEFAT, it creates a couple of files, one
XY (.xyd) plot file and a template (.tem) file that can be read into
Pre&Post’s or MSC.Patran’s XY plotting application. From the
MSC.Fatigue Results... form, set the Action to Plot Sensitivity. There you
will see all sensitivity plots that have been created by FEFAT. You can
simply select one and it will plot after you press the Apply button.
When you are done, close the plot (File | Exit) and exit from FEFAT.
80

The component S-N method is the most macro view of the world of life prediction
since all the failure mechanisms are built right into the component S-N curve:
plasticity, geometry effects, residual stresses, surface conditions, etc. When the failure
mechanisms are unknown or not well understood this method must be used. For this
reason it is a completely general purpose method and lends itself well to most
applications where other methods of life prediction fail. Non-ferrous materials such
as plastics, ceramics, rubber, and composite structures as well as welds can use this
method, whereas the other two main methods of life prediction (crack initiation and
crack growth) are mainly restricted to metals or materials that behave like metals
under cyclic loading conditions.
Batch Operations
In this example you ran one of the MSC.Fatigue modules in batch mode. Most
MSC.Fatigue modules can be run in batch mode either by including the batch
commands in a file and then issuing the command using the @ sign to direct the
module to read the commands from the file (pfmat @filename). Or the commands can
be included on the same line as the command:
fefat /opt=p/inp=filename/out=filename/ov=y
Batch operation can be quite convenient if you have to do a lot of repetitive tasks. See
the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for batch operation descriptions.
CHAPTER
A Simple e-N Analysis
5
■ Geometry
82

A model, as shown to the side, aptly named the
spider model because of its unique shape, is fixed
at the shafts of its three legs. The center shaft is
subject to a fully reversed 15 KSI amplitude
pressure loading on its underside that oscillates
in a sinusoidal fashion. A linear static finite
element analysis was performed using
MSC.Nastran with this load magnitude of 15 KSI.
Everything that you have learned thus far using
MSC.Fatigue and the Total Life method is now 15 KSI Pressure
also applicable to the next method of fatigue life
prediction. We will build on this knowledge to introduce and explain the Crack
Initiation method, sometimes known as the local strain or strain-life method. As the
name implies, the failure criterion now is life to initiate a crack. Once an engineering
crack appears, failure is said to have occurred.
Objective
• To introduce the Crack Initiation method
• To understand cyclic hardening/softening
• To learn how cyclic stress-strain and strain-life curves are created
• To understand how plasticity is accounted for
• To relate stress-life to strain-life prediction methods
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spiderCI.op2
CHAPTER 5 83
5.2 Geometry
The geometry of the model and the FE results of the linear static analysis can be found
in the file spiderCI.op2. By now you should know how to invoke Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran. Do so now in a clean working directory.
Import the Model

Open a new database from File | New and call it spider. The model was run through
a MSC.Nastran analysis so keep the Analysis Preference set to MSC.Nastran when
asked.
In Pre&Post, press the Import toggle switch on the main form (not to be confused with
the File | Import pulldown) or in MSC.Patran, press the Analysis toggle. When the
form appears set the Action to Access Results, the Object to Read Output2, and the
Method to Both (model and results); then, press the Select Results File button and
select the file spiderCI.op2 and press Apply. The model will then appear and you are
ready to set up a fatigue analysis.

Before moving on to the fatigue analysis however, first press
the Results application switch on the main form to view the
stress results from the MSC.Nastran analysis. Select Stress
Tensor from the listbox and set the Quantity to von Mises.
Note the areas of high stress. You can rotate the model using
the middle mouse button and then dragging for a better view.
The areas of interest are going to be the nodes with the highest
stresses. These are nodes 981, 2314, and 3650 on the top, inside
portion of the center shaft between the three legs.
Node 2314
Node 3650
Node 981
84

By now you should know how to access the MSC.Fatigue
setup form. Once the form is open, set the General Setup
Parameters as follows:
1. Analysis: Initiation
determined at the nodes of the model. With a solid
model this is always preferred since cracks always
initiate at the surface (unless there is an internal
flaw). If set to Element, the fatigue lives would be
calculated at the element centroids.
nodal stresses will be averaged for nodes with more
than one element contribution.
You now have the choice of using either stresses or
strains. Either one should give you equivalent
answers. Stresses are converted to strains in this
method.
5. Res. Units: PSI
6. Jobname: spider_ci
7. Title: Crack Initiation Analysis of Spider Model
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form. Then press
the Time History Manager button to launch
PTIME. The load will be defined as a
constant amplitude, fully reversed loading.
This will have the effect of oscillating the 15
KSI load from +15 KSI to -15 KSI.
CHAPTER 5 85
Define a Sinusoidal Unit Load - Fully Reversed

As we have done in previous exercises, when PTIME comes up, select Copy from
central as the method of input.
Note: If you have been working sequentially through this document, then you will
already have some entries in the PTIME database. The version of the form
that is displayed will be different than the one shown here. On this form,
select Add an entry and then select the option Copy from central, which is
the equivalent of selecting Copy from central on the shown form.
Use the List button to select SINE01. This will copy a unit sinusoidal signal to your
local directory.
Now select Change an entry | edit Details. Enter
SINE01 as Target Filename and allow overwrite when
asked and enter the following, leaving defaults for those
fields not mentioned:
1. Description 1: Constant Ampl., Fully Reversed
Sinusoidal Unit Load
2. Description 2: whatever you want
3. Load type: Pressure
4. Units: PSI
5. Fatigue equivalent units: Cycles
We are defining a single occurrence of this
fully reversed, constant amplitude signal as
one cycle of the loading.
Press the OK button to go on.
86

PTIME returns to its main menu
where you can select Plot an entry.
Accept the default file, SINE01.
Select File | Exit to close the plot and
press or double click the eXit switch
in PTIME.
Associate the FE Load to its Time

Variation
Now back on the
Loading Info...
associate the time
variation of the load
that you just created
to the FE load case
just as you have done
in previous exercises.
Fill out the
spreadsheet in the
center of the form as
follows with all other
parameters using
their default settings.
1. Load Case ID: 1.1-4.1-1-
Use the Get/Filter Results... button to see the available results in the
database. Select the only Result Case from the first listbox and Stress Tensor
from the second listbox and then press the Fill Cell button. This will fill the
cell with the internal IDs of the selected load case and its stress results.
Remember, the load case ID shown here may not correspond to the ID you
see.
2. Time History: SINE01
When this cell become active, select the sine wave you just created.
CHAPTER 5 87

Remember a specification of unity here signifies that the stresses from the FE
analysis will be used “as-is” in the fatigue analysis and the time variation
loading that we defined will be used to scale the stresses up or down as
needed. You must press a carriage return to accept the value in the databox
below the spreadsheet.
The time variation of the loading is
now associated to the static FE
results. Press the OK button to close
the Loading Info... form.
This is where the major differences
lie between what you have learned
thus far with the Total Life method
and the Crack Initiation method.
Press the Material Info... button on
the main MSC.Fatigue form.
Create a Group
Before selecting the material we
wish to use, first create a group
which contains all the nodes and
elements of the finite element model
except the nodes that have no stress
results associated with them. Select
Group | Create from the main menu
bar of Pre&Post or MSC.Patran. Call
it spider_only, change the Group
Contents to Add all FEM. Press the Apply button.
Now remove unwanted nodes. Change the Action to Modify. Press the Change
Target Group and select our new group, spider_only. In the Member List to
Add/Remove databox, type Node 10000:10006. Press the Remove button, then close
the form. These nodes are associated to an MPC and have no FE results associated to
them. They are removed from the analysis to avoid confusion.
88
Select a Material
First let us set up this
form and then we
will discuss the
material information
involved in a Crack
Initiation analysis.
We will specify a
material, a surface
finish and treatment
and a region on the
model to which this
combination will
apply just as we
have done in
previous exercises.
1. Material: BS4360-50D
Only materials with strain data appear in the listbox.
2. Surface Finish: Polished
Select Polished for now as most cyclic material data is created using polished
test specimens, therefore we wish to use the data “as-is.”
4. Region: spider_only
Select the group we just created in the previous step to calculate lives for the
entire model less those that have no results associated with them.
Cyclic Stress-Strain Curve

Now press the Materials Database Manager button to launch PFMAT. Let us take a
look at a couple of materials we have used before. Load the materials by pressing the
Load | data set 1 switch and selecting MANTEN from the list. Do the same for Load
| data set 2 and select RQC100. Although we do not use these materials in this
analysis, they serve as good examples.
CHAPTER 5 89
Press or double click Graphical

Display | Cyclic stress-strain curve
plot to view the cyclic stress-strain
curves for these two materials.
This plot shows how these two
materials behave under cyclic loading
conditions. It also shows how they
behave relative to one another.
RQC100 is obviously a much higher
strength steel with its yield point well
above that of MANTEN. Three
parameters (E, K’, n’) need to be
defined in order to characterize these
plots according to the following
equation that relates stress amplitude
to strain amplitude:
σa σ a 1 ⁄ n'
ε a = ------ +  ------
E  K' 
The first part of the right hand side can be recognized as the elastic stress-strain
equation (Hooke’s law) and the second part defines the plastic strain. This equation is
identical to the Ramberg-Osgood equation that relates total strain to the elastic strain
plus plastic strain in the monotonic sense. The only differences are the primes (’) on
K’ and n’ to signify that it represents a cyclic condition as opposed to a monotonic
condition.
90
Cycle Hardening, Cycle Softening

Now an interesting thing to do is to plot the cyclic and the monotonic stress-strain
curves on top of each other for each of the two materials we have loaded. Select File |
New Plot from the current plot pulldown menu. Now select cyclic Monotonic stress-
strain curves plot and press the OK button. You will be asked which data set to plot.
Select data set 1, MANTEN and press the OK button. Do the same operation for data
set 2. Note the following from these plots:
1. It appears that RQC100’s cyclic yield point is below its monotonic yield
value. This implies it is weaker under cyclic conditions. This is known as
cyclic softening or strain softening.
2. MANTEN’s cyclic yield point is above its monotonic yield point, implying
that it is stronger under cyclic loading. This is known as cyclic hardening or
strain hardening.
CHAPTER 5 91
When a material softens under cyclic material properties, this can be very bad from a
durability standpoint. This is why many structures or components fail prematurely
even though, supposedly, they have been designed to remain below yield. The
problem in these cases is that the actual yield point is much lower when subject to
cyclic loading.
5
Cyclic Hardening 3 5 σ
1 3 5 1 3
1
stress
strain
t t ε
2 4 2 Hysteresis
Control Condition 2 Loops
4 4
Measured Response
1
Cyclic Softening 1 σ
1 3 5 3 5 3
5
stress
strain
t t ε
4
2 4 2 4 Hysteresis
Control Condition Measured Response 2 Loops
Note: Because of this hardening or softening phenomenon, it is highly suggested

that if you do non-linear (load step) FE analysis, that you use the cyclic
stress-strain curve(s) and not the monotonic ones if fatigue and durability is
of concern to you.
Hint: You can put the elastic line on the stress-strain curves by selecting
Plot_Type | Elastic Line. To remove the line select Plot_Type | Remove
Lines.
Cyclic Material Tests

How are these cyclic stress-strain curves created? The monotonic stress-strain curve is
created by simply placing a test coupon in a servo-hydraulic test machine and slowly
increasing the load until the component breaks. The elastic modulus can be
determined from this test as well as the yield and ultimate tensile strengths.
A cyclic stress-strain curve is created through a series of tests where the strain level is
precisely controlled. The load is increased until the specified strain level is reached
and then the load is reversed. These tests are typically performed using fully reversed
loading. Each test is done at a different strain level. Initially each test will exhibit a
softening or hardening effect as can be seen if the hysteresis loops are plotted for a
given test (see diagram above). Eventually the material will stabilize and stop
hardening or softening. This stable hysteresis loop is then extracted. The maximum
stress/strain level from the stable hysteresis loop of each test is then cross-plotted onto
its own stress-strain space which then constitutes the cyclic stress-strain curve.
92
Stable Hysteresis Loops σ3

σ2 σ3
σ1 σ2
ε1 ε2 ε3 σ1
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 ε1 ε2 ε3

Cyclic σ-ε Curve
Strain-Life Curve
From each of these strain-controlled
tests also comes another piece of
information: the number of cycles to
failure. This information can be
plotted onto its own curve called the
strain-life curve. Select File | New
Plot and then select Strain-life plot.
You can compare the two strain-life
plots for MANTEN and RCQ100.
Note that they cross each other and
therefore exhibit different life
behavior depending on the stain level
experienced. So it is impossible to say
from the plot which would perform
better.
Note: The failure criterion (that is, when a crack has actually initiated) is
determined by ASTM standard E606. It is not a specified length of the crack,
but instead a percentage drop in load as measured by the test device. When
a crack initiates the component can no longer sustain the same level of stress
for the same strain rate. If you actually looked at a test specimen after
reaching the failure point, there would appear to be an engineering sized
crack of, say, 1 to 2 mm in length.
CHAPTER 5 93
Now unload both materials. First, you

will need to exit your plot. This is done
by selecting File | Exit. Now you can
unload the materials by doing an unload
| data set 1 and then Unload | data set
2. Now let us look at the strain-life plot
of BS4360-50D. Select Load | data set 1;
select BS4360-50D. Now go and select
Graphical Display | Strain life plot.
This curve can be fully characterized by
knowing four material parameters as
shown in the equation of the strain-life
plot (σf’,b,εf’,c):
∆ε σ' b c
------ = -----f- ( 2N f ) + ε f' ( 2N f )
2 E
(Elastic) (Plastic)
Like the stress-strain curves, it also is broken into an elastic component and a plastic
component which can also be plotted separately (Plot_Type | EP Lines). The
summation of the two lines makes the total strain-life curve. The following notes are
made about this plot:
1. The elastic and plastic lines cross each other at some point which is called the
transition point.
2. The transition point defines the difference between high cycle fatigue
(HCF) versus low cycles fatigue (LCF).
3. To the right of the transition point is considered HCF because elastic events
dominate plastic events.
4. To the left of the transition point is considered LCF because plastic events
dominate elastic events.
The software makes every attempt to inform you (in FEFAT’s design optimization
mode) what amounts of HCF, LCF, or transition life the component is experiencing.
Why is this important?
The type of fatigue being experienced will dictate the remedy or solution. For
example, in HCF you might try a higher strength steel, or change the surface
finish/treatment or mean stress (residual) to better the fatigue life. If LCF is being
experienced these remedies would have little or no effect and in some cases, perhaps
even worsen the situation. The solution there is to find a material that is more resistant
to plastic deformation, such as a more ductile material.
94
Note: Just as with the S-N method, an ε-N curve

is also based on the principle of similitude.
This means that if we can reproduce the
same local strain as that experienced in,
say, the plate with a hole shown to the
right, in a test laboratory specimen made
of the same material, then we can expect
the life of the two to be about the same,
when subjected to the same strain levels.
Stress-Life vs. Strain-Life

With the strain-life plot on the screen and the elastic-plastic lines posted, take a good
look at the elastic portion of the strain-life equation. If you ignore the plastic
component and take E to the other side of the equation you get a stress equaling some
constant times the number of cycles to failure raised to the power b. This is the exact
formula for the stress-life curve. So the elastic strain-life curve is, in fact, a material S-
N curve (with crack initiation as the failure criterion). The significance is that the S-N
method is nothing more that a subset of the Crack Initiation method ignoring plastic
influences.
Note: The crack initiation method, taking into account elastic and plastic
contributions to fatigue life, is more widely applicable to a greater range of
problems (HCF and LCF) whereas the Total Life method breaks down below
the transition point (usually around 105 cycles) because plasticity dominates.
This is why S-N curves are only good for HCF.
When finished, select File | Exit to close any plot and eXit to quit PFMAT. Press the
OK button to close the Material Info... form.
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. On this form, set only these parameters:
1. Analysis Method: None
This is analogous to a mean
stress correction method as
was done in the S-N method.
Selecting None is equivalent
to no mean stress correction.
2. Plasticity Correction: Neuber
We will correct for plasticity
using the Neuber method.
This is explained in the next
section.
CHAPTER 5 95
3. Stress/Strain Combination: Max. Abs. Principal

This is the stress parameter that will be used in the fatigue analysis identical
to what we have used in all previous examples thus far.
96

reopens, the job will have been submitted. You can then set
the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply button from
time to time to view the progress. When the message


When the analysis starts it first converts stresses
to strains if stresses have been supplied. The A
σ
B
rainflow counting procedure then takes place as C D
E
discussed in earlier chapters. This results in a F
time
G
matrix of strain cycles with their respective H
ranges and means. The Crack Initiation method
B D
helps to, perhaps, better understand rainflow
F
cycle counting. C
σ
The reason rainflow cycle counting works so well H
E
is because it actually counts the number of stress- A
G ε
strain cycles (hysteresis loops) in a time varying
signal. So consider a signal stood on its end. As it
is loaded from point A to B and unloaded from point B to point C, this converts into
the section A-B-C in stress-strain space. On loading from point C to D, in stress-strain
space, it actually remembers it was on the original path from A to D and the
interruption B-C-B is counted as one cycle. E-F-E also counts as a cycle as does G-H-
G. All cycles fall inside of one large, outer cycle (A-D-A) representing the maximum
and minimum of the signal. Cycles with some noticeable area inside within this large,
outer loop cause damage while those that are straight lines are purely elastic and
cause no damage.
Elastic-Plastic Correction
Now before damage can be determined and summed for each cycle certain corrections
need to take place, the main correction being the conversion of purely elastic stresses
and strains to elastic-plastic stresses and strains. Other corrections will be dealt with
in later chapters.
CHAPTER 5 97
Plasticity is accounted for in the Crack Initiation method by the Neuber method. The
elastic stresses and strains are looked up on the elastic line and then corrected to fall
onto the cyclic stress strain curve to determine the elastic-plastic stresses and strains.
This elastic-plastic strain is used to look up damage on the strain-life damage curve.
Neuber’s elastic-plastic correction (sometimes called a notch correction) is based
on the simple principle that the product of the elastic stress and strain should be equal
to the product of the elastic-plastic stress and strain from the cyclic stress-strain curve.
Then through an iterative method, the elastic-plastic stress and strain can be
determined. This is illustrated below.
∆σ ∆ε = σ
[ ∆σ
1/n’
+ ]
Ε∆εe 2 2E 2K’
∆σ∆ε = E∆ε
∆εe2
σ, ε
∆εe
Note: If we want to do stress-strain tracking so that we can calculate the maximum

or mean stress of each cycle we need to know what the shape of each arm of
a hysteresis loop is. We get this by using Masing's hypothesis which says
that the hysteresis curve is the same shape as the cyclic stress strain curve,
but doubled up in both directions, hence the factors of two in the equation
for the cyclic stress strain curve above.
98

Before we actually look at the results of this analysis, let us try and predict
approximately what the life prediction will be. This will help solidify some of the
concepts introduced in this chapter. We can do this because the loading is simple,
constant amplitude, and has zero mean. We need the following information first:
1. Node with highest stress: Node 2314
2. Maximum Principal Stress: 58,732 PSI
3. Young’s Modulus: 2.776e7 PSI
4. Strain = Stress/E: 2.12e-3
Hint: An easy way to recover the Maximum Principal Stress is to use the
Report function in the Results application. Press Results application
switch on main Pre&Post or MSC.Patran form. Set the Action/Object to
Create/Report. Select Stress Tensor | Max Principal. Change the mode of
the form to Target Entities (the second button icon) and change the Target
Entity to Nodes and type in Node 2314. Press Apply. The report is sent to
the invoking UNIX or DOS window.
Now before doing anything else, look this strain level up on the strain-life curve:
55,900 reversals = 29,110 cycles. To do this yourself, go to the Material Info... form and
invoke the database manager and graphically plot the strain-life plot for BS4360-50D.
Using the left mouse button, click on the curve to have the coordinate locations
reported to you in the lower left corner of the graphics screen. (On UNIX the
coordinates are reported above the graphics on the plot command line.) This will of
course be an approximation.
Now correct for plasticity. The value we just read off the curve was using the elastic
strain only. To find out what the elastic-plastic strain is we need to use the cyclic
stress-strain curve for BS4360-50D. We need to solve this equation for σ and ε,
knowing σe and εe: σeεe = σε = 124.5. This has to be done using trial and error.
Graphically display the cyclic stress-strain curve. Then use the mouse as you did on
the strain-life curve to find a stress and a strain that lies on the stress-strain curve that
has the product of approximately 124.5. This again will be an approximation. You may
end up with slightly different answers than reported here if you perform this exercise
yourself: ε = 2.835e-3, σ = 45,290. Quit from PFMAT when you are done if you
followed this exercise.
Hint: It might help to zoom in on the area of interest of the curve for a more
accurate coordinate reading. Either press the right mouse button in the
bottom left zoom corner and again in the top right zoom corner or use the
View | Window X and Window Y options and type coordinate values in.
CHAPTER 5 99
Now look this new value of strain up on the strain-life as you did before. So our guess
is that the life prediction will be around 22,2880 reversal = 11,440 cycles.
Note: The S-N curve usually is reported as stress range (∆S) versus cycles to failure
(N). The ε-N curve is usually reported as strain amplitude (εa) versus
reversals to failure (2N). Be aware of these facts since they could throw your
calculations off by a factor of two or more if you think you are using range
instead of amplitude or reversals instead of cycles.

Open the Results... form on the main MSC.Fatigue setup
form (not to be confused with the Results application
switch on the main Pre&Post or MSC.Patran form). With
the Action set to Read Results, press Apply. The fatigue
analysis results have been read into the database.
Now go to the Results application in Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran and plot the Log of Life (Cycles). Set the
Action/Object to Create/Quick Plot. Select the Crack
Initiation result case and Log of Life (Cycles). Press the
Apply button. Note that the smallest life reported is at
Node 2314 of approximately 10 4.124 = 13,346 Cycles,
very close to our hand calculation of 11,440 cycles.
100

This exercise has served to introduce the Crack Initiation method which uses local
strain and is mostly accredited to Manson and Coffin; the material parameter, c, is
named after Coffin. The cyclic stress-strain curve and the strain-life curve have been
introduced as well as the Neuber notch correction method.
Other Notch Corrections

Other elastic-plastic correction methods are available in MSC.Fatigue which are
valuable to use for very low cycle fatigue where the Neuber method tends to break
down and not be as accurate. To use the other methods (Seeger-Beste or Mertens-
Dittman) you need to define a parameter, αp. These methods, as αp tends to infinity,
revert to the Neuber method.
This parameter, αp, is known
as a shape factor or a limit
load ratio (Lu/Ly). Ly is the
yield limit and Lu is the limit
load where you assume A
elastic-perfectly plastic B
behavior yield stress (+ or -)
E
across the whole section. To D
C
determine Lu it becomes a A: Neuber Eεε2 formulation
simple integration (if you B: Neuber εσ formulation
C: Neuber εσ and corrected curve
have a simple geometry). If D: Mertens-Dittman and corrected curve
you also have a small notch, E: Seeger-Beste and corrected curve
the Kt of the notch will

reduce the yield load but not
the limit load (much) so the
shape factor goes up. These
ratios generally fall somewhere between 1.5 and 3. See the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide
for a more detailed definition of αp and its value for some standard shapes.
The diagram above compares an elastic-plastic FE analysis to the Neuber and other
notch correction methods.
Stresses vs. Strains

In this example we used stresses from our FE model. We could have just as easily
selected the strains to use instead. We would expect to get exactly the same answers,
however there are a few things to be aware of.
1. Young’s Modulus must be the same as that used in the FE analysis and that
defined in the material BS4360-50D. Otherwise the strains reported in the FE
model will be different than the ones calculated by MSC.Fatigue when
converting stresses to strains.
CHAPTER 5 101
2. The number of rainflow bins can influence the accuracy between using stress
vs. strains. Try this as an exercise to see the influence of the number of bins
on the fatigue life prediction.
From the Results... form select Re-Analyze and enter Node 981 2314 3650.
These are the nodes with the highest stresses. This will run FEFAT for you.
When FEFAT appears accept all the defaults except change the Matrix size to
64. Then do it for 128 bins. Note that the fatigue life predictions increase to
over 14,000 cycles. Now go back to the original job setup and change the
General Setup Parameter, FE Results: to Strains, and go to the Loading Info...
form and select the Strain Tensor in the Load Case ID column. Re-run the
analysis and do the same Re-Analyze operation as you did when using the
stress FE results. Note that for 32 bins, the same exact results are determined
for all three nodes. Even for a higher matrix size, the strain FE results are less
conservative than when using the FE stresses. This is because the resolution
of the bins is better when using stresses.
3. You should be very careful using FE strains from plate models. Because
many FE codes do not calculate or do not include the out-of-plane strain (εz),
which is needed to determine the proper strain combination parameter (max.
abs. principal, signed von Mises, etc.), it is safer to use the stresses from the
FE analysis.
4. One final thing to be aware of using FE strains: the strains that are usually
stored in the database when imported from a typical analysis code such as
MSC.Nastran are stored as strain tensors, not as engineering strain.
MSC.Fatigue multiplies the three shear strain components by two to convert
them to engineering strain before using them in a fatigue analysis. This does
not happen when external result files are used.
102
CHAPTER
Residual Stress
6
■ Geometry
■ Set Up First Fatigue Analysis
■ Set Up Second Fatigue Analysis
■ Investigate Mean Stress
■ Investigate Surface Finish/Treatment
104

In this example problem we investigate how
residual stress can be incorporated into a
fatigue analysis. The techniques used here are
applicable to any type of fatigue analysis but
for illustration purposes we use the Crack
Initiation method.
An injection mold, already in service,
experiences a 12 KSI pressure load when it is
filled. The mold experiences premature failure
in the fillet area. To investigate ways to
improve the fatigue life an overload of 20 KSI is
applied to the mold to induce a compressive
residual stress. Due to symmetry, only one
quarter of the actual injection mold is modeled using finite elements. The design life
of the mold is to last a half a million injections (Fills).
Objective
• To illustrate how residual stress can be incorporated into a fatigue analysis
• To investigate mean stress effects in Crack Initiation
• To investigate surface finish and treatment
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/mold_linear.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/mold_nonlin.op2
CHAPTER 6 105
Residual Stress
6.2 Geometry
The geometry of the model and the FE results of the linear static analysis and the
residual stress can be found in the files mold_linear.op2 and mold_nonlin.op2. Two
FE analyses were performed on this geometry. The first was to simulate a normal fill
(the operating load) of 12.5 KSI. The second was to simulate the overload that imposed
the residual stress (20 KSI). The load was imposed and then removed using a non-
linear load step analysis in MSC.Nastran.
To begin, invoke Pre&Post or MSC.Patran in a clean working directory.
Import the Model

Open a new database from File | New and call it mold. The model was run through
a MSC.Nastran analysis so keep the Analysis Preference set to MSC.Nastran when
asked.
Press the Import toggle switch in Pre&Post (Analysis in MSC.Patran) on the main
form. When the form appears, set the Action to Access Results, the Object to Read
Output2, and the Method to Both (model and results); then, press the Select Results
File button, select the file mold_linear.op2, and press the Apply button. The model
will then appear and you are ready to set up a fatigue analysis.
Also read in the non-linear result with the Action set to Access Results, the Object set
to Read Output2, and the Method set to Results Entities, and then select the file
mold_nonlin.op2.

Before moving on to the fatigue analysis however, view the stress results from the
MSC.Nastran analysis if you wish by pressing the Results application switch on the
main form. There are two Result Cases of interest: LS_PRESSURE_12.5KPSI,Static
Subcase and LS_PRESSURE_20KPSI_REMOVE, PW Linear : 200.% of Load. The
first is simply the static operating load and the second is the result of removing the 20
KSI overload showing the remaining residual stress. Select Stress Tensor from the
106
listbox and set the Quantity to von Mises. Note the area of high stress is in the fillet
area as expected. You can rotate the model using the middle mouse button and then
dragging, for a better view.
Node 2314
Node 3650
Node 981
Stress Distribution due to Residual Stress after
Operating Load Overload
CHAPTER 6 107
Residual Stress
6.3 Set Up First Fatigue Analysis

By now you should know how to access the MSC.Fatigue
setup form and have a fairly good idea how to set up a basic
fatigue analysis. Open the form and set the General Setup
Parameters as follows to run a fatigue analysis on just the
operating load case:
5. Res. Units: PSI
6. Jobname: mold
7. Title: Crack Initiation Analysis of Injection Mold
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. Nothing needs to be
changed here. Simply accept all the defaults.
Open the Material Info... form. Set the following on this form as done in previous
exercises:
1. Material:
SAE4340-
350A_QT
2. Surface
Finish:
Polished
3. Surface
Treatment:
No
Treatment
108
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form. Then press the Time History Manager button to
launch PTIME and define a unit load with R= ∞ . Use X-Y time series with three points
(0, 1, 0) to define this simple load simulating a fill of the injection mold form zero load
to the maximum and back to zero.
Note: As mentioned in the previous chapters, if you have been working

sequentially through this document, then you will need to select Add an
entry before you can enter the X-Y point data.
Call it FILL_LOAD. Give it the following details when asked:

1. Description 1: Constant Amplitude, R=infinity, Unit Load
3. Load type: Pressure
4. Units: PSI
5. Fatigue equivalent units: Fills
Next fill out the Loading Info... form with the following input:
1. Load Case ID: 2.1-2.1-1-

This corresponds to the LS_PRESSURE_12.5KPSI result case which is the
operating load only without any residual stress. Remember, the load case
IDs may not match those shown here.
2. Time History: FILL_LOAD
CHAPTER 6 109
Residual Stress
Run the Fatigue Analysis

You are ready to run the fatigue analysis.
Open the Job Control... form, set the Action
to Full Analysis and press the Apply
button.
Review the Results

Open the Results... form on the main
MSC.Fatigue setup form and either read
the results into the database and create a
contour plot or use the tabular listing Life Contour Plot
facility to find the node with the lowest life
as has been done in previous analyses. You should find that the smallest life reported
is approximately 67,000 Fills, which is far off from the design goal of 500,000 Fills.
110
6.4 Set Up Second Fatigue Analysis

Now we will set up the second fatigue analysis where we will include the residual
stress to see how this effects the life of the mold. The Solution Params... and the
Material Info... form setups will remain identical. Only the Loading Info... form
requires a change. First change the Jobname to residual and change the Title to
something such as Mold with Residual Stress and then open the Loading Info... form.
Include the Residual Stress

To include the residual stress in the
analysis is a simple task. On the
Loading Info... form set the Number of
Static Load Cases: to 2. (You must
press the Return or Enter key to effect
a change.) Two rows will appear in the
spreadsheet. The first row should still
be set from the first analysis with the
load case that represents the operating
stress.
Set up the second row as follows:
1. Load Case ID: 4.7-2.1-1-
In the second row, select the
Load Case ID column cell
and select the result case
which contains the residual
stress: LS_PRESSURE_20KPSI_REMOVE, PW Linear: 200.% of Load.
Press the Fill Cell button after selecting the Stress Tensor (not the Nonlinear
Stresses). Again, the load case IDs may not match those shown here.
2. Time History: STATIC
When the next cell becomes active you will see that the bottom spreadsheet
containing the names of externally defined load histories now has two
entries. The original FILL_LOAD is accompanied by a new one called
STATIC and its Type is Offset. Whenever more than one static load case is
used, you have the option of setting any one of them to be defined as a simple
static offset that does not have any time variation associated with it. This
STATIC load history shows up automatically. You do not have to create it.
3. Load Magnitude: N/A
This is automatically set to N/A since it is “not applicable.”
Note: You must have at least one load case associated to a time varying load.
CHAPTER 6 111
Residual Stress

You are ready to run the
fatigue analysis. Open the
Job Control... form and set
the Action to Full
Analysis and press the
Apply button. What
happens during the
analysis when a STATIC
load case is specified is
that the FE stresses from
the operational load case
are scaled by the
magnitude of the load
history at any given time
step and the FE stresses
from the STATIC (residual) load case are then used to offset the stress.
Review the Results

Open the Results... form on the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and either read the
results into the database and create a contour plot or use the tabular listing facility to
find the node with the lowest life. You should find that the smallest life reported is
approximately 225,000 Fills. We have significantly bettered the life of the mold and
but appear not to have achieved the design goal of 500,000 Fills.
112
6.5 Investigate Mean Stress

As with the S-N method, there are ways with the Crack Initiation method to account
for mean stress also. The material properties (cyclic stress-strain and strain-life curves)
are derived with zero mean stress (R = minus 1). The signal used in this exercise has
tensile mean stress and R= ∞ . Two methods are available for mean stress correction:
Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) and Morrow. SWT is the default and was used in these
analyses.
It is not necessary to go back and redefine anything in the original jobs to investigate
the effect of mean stress correction. Open the Results... form if it is not already open
and set the Action to Optimize and press Apply. When FEFAT comes up in its Design
Optimization mode, select Worst Case node, enter a Design Life of 500,000, and press
OK. You should see the same fatigue life at the worst case node of about 255,000 fills
or 67,000 fills for the first job. Press End to move to the main menu.
Hint: You can do this with either job (mold or residual). Type in the name of the
analysis you want to investigate in the Jobname databox on the main
MSC.Fatigue job setup form. Any options you select will retrieve the
jobname and use it.
Now select Sensitivity analysis | Mean stress correction (all). Then press or double
click the Recalculate switch. Note the life values calculated for each:
Table 6-2 Mean Stress Effects
Mean Stress mold (no residual mold (with residual

Correction stress) stress)
Smith-Watson-Topper 67,000 Fills 225,000 Fills
Morrow 132,000 Fills 323,000 Fills
Strain-Life (none) 546,000 Fills 546,000 Fills
CHAPTER 6 113
Residual Stress
The following observations are made:

1. Note that with no mean stress
correction, the life prediction
is identical. This is expected
since all a residual stress is an
offset. The only difference
between the two analyses is
that they have different mean
stresses. The actual strain
range between the two is
identical. If mean stress is not
taken into account, the two
will give identical answers.
2. SWT gives the most
conservative answer for
predominately tensile signals.
SWT tends not to account too
well for compressive mean
stress. For this reason Morrow gives more conservative answers for
compressive signals.
3. Had we not considered mean stress in this example we might have been
mislead to think that we had met our design life of 500,000 Fills.
4. Changing the mean stress tends to only have effects in the high cycle fatigue
(HCF) region. The effect of mean stress gets washed out with low cycle
fatigue (LCF) problems due to the higher plasticity. This can be seen in the
Morrow equation for mean stress where the mean stress is accounted for
only on the elastic side of the equation. The plot above also illustrates this
comparing a strain-life plot with and without Morrow mean stress correction
(note only the HCF side is effected).
∆ε σ f' – σ m b c Morrow
- ( 2N f ) + ε f' ( 2N f )
------ = -------------------
2 E Mean Stress
SWT mean stress correction has the effect of shifting the entire curve and
plotting a new parameter on the right hand side of the equation by
multiplying by the maximum stress.
2
∆ε σ f' 2b b+c
------ σ m ax = --------- ( 2N f ) + σ f'ε f' ( 2N f ) SWT
2 E Mean Stress
To illustrate this last point using FEFAT, do a sensitivity plot from each analysis by
increasing the loading. You will see that at higher load levels the answers tend to
converge between the two analyses, negating the effect of the residual stress. Follow
these instructions assuming you are at the Design Optimization main menu of FEFAT
still:
114
1. Select Original parameters. This resets the analysis to all original settings.
2. Select Sensitivity analysis | Scale Factor. Enter (1,3,0.2) including the
parentheses to calculate all factors between one and three by increments of
0.2.
3. Select Recalculate. This will calculate lives based on SWT.
4. Select Change Parameters. Change the Mean Stress Correction to Morrow.
Leave all other settings as is.
5. Select Recalculate. This will calculates lives based on Morrow.
6. Select new Jobname and re-do these steps with the other analysis job if you
wish.
Scale
mold (no residual stress) mold (with residual stress)
Factor
SWT Morrow SWT Morrow
1.0 67,000 132,000 225,000 323,000
1.2 23,700 37,700 51,500 65,500
1.4 10,100 15,300 18,172 21,500
1.6 5,400 7,600 8,400 9,600
1.8 3,200 4,400 4,700 5,200
2.0 2,100 2,800 2,900 3,200
2.2 1,500 1,900 1,950 2,100
2.4 1,100 1,400 1,400 1,500
2.6 820 1,050 1,040 1,100
2.8 640 814 801 860
3.0 515 650 635 680
CHAPTER 6 115
Residual Stress
6.6 Investigate Surface Finish/Treatment

MSC.Fatigue can compensate for different surface treatments and finishes as you have
noticed when setting up analysis jobs. Up to this point we have always set the finish
and treatment to either none or a polished finish (which are the same) signifying that
we wish to use the material properties “as-is” with no corrections. Do the following to
investigate the effect of surface finish and treatment assuming you are still at the
Design Optimization main menu of FEFAT:
1. Select Original parameters. This resets the analysis to all original settings.
2. Select Sensitivity analysis | surface Finishes (all).
3. Select Recalculate. This calculates lives based on SWT for all surface finishes.
4. Select Original parameters.
5. Select Change Parameters. Change the Surface Condition to Poor Machined.
Leave all other settings as is.
6. Select Sensitivity analysis | surface Treatment (all).
7. Select Recalculate. This calculates lives based on SWT with Poor Machined
finish for all surface treatments.
Select new Jobname and re-do these steps with the other analysis job if you wish.
To meet the design life of this injection mold we could have left it machined with a
poor finish and nitrided it and not imposed a residual stress at all:
mold (no residual mold (with residual

Surface Condition
stress) stress)
Polished 67,000 Fills 225,000 Fills
Ground 44,000 Fills 122,000 Fills
Good Machined 27,000 Fills 60,900 Fills
Average Machined 20,000 Fills 41,200 Fills
Poor Machined 15,500 Fills 29,300 Fills
Nitrided 3,170,000 Fills 946,000 Fills
Cold Rolled 738,000 Fills 287,000 Fills
Shot Peened 130,000 Fills 72,400 Fills
116
Surface finish and treatment corrections are imposed by changing the material
properties. This is accomplished by changing the slope of the S-N curve or for strain-
life curves, the slope of the elastic line at the endurance limit. A scale factor for each
finish or treatment is stored in the materials database. These factors are based on the
UTS of the material and derived from empirical data.
Surface treatments and finishes tend
again to only effect HCF jobs. To
illustrate, you can perform an exercise
similar to that done in the previous
section where the load was increased by
doing a sensitivity analysis on the scale
factor. Except this time do it for different
surface finishes or treatments. Note that
the answers tend to converge between
the various surface finish/treatments at
higher load levels. The curve to the right
shows two strain-life curves, one with
polished and one with some other finish,
where only the HCF end is effected.
Note: Shot Peening is a mechanism used to impose a compressive residual stress

into the surface, thus changing the mean stress. However, it is compensated
for by surface finish/treatment techniques.
CHAPTER 6 117
Residual Stress

Imposing a residual stress is simply a mechanism of changing the mean stress.
Residual stress can be the result of a manufacturing process or an overload as in the
case of this example. Prestress and offset stresses due to other effects such as gravity
or centrifugal forces can be accounted for in the same manner. When these offset
stresses vary over the model, generally an additional FE load case must define them.
If the offset is constant, other methods of accounting for residual stress are possible in
MSC.Fatigue:
Accounting for Constant Residual Stress

1. Material Info... form. On this form, if you scroll the spreadsheet over you will
see a column called Offset. Here you can impose a constant residual offset
that will be applied to only the area of your model defined in Region (Group)
with the specified combination of material, finish and treatment.
Scroll spreadsheet.
2. Loading Info... form. Aside from selecting an entire FE load case as a offset
which varies from node to node, you can also set a constant offset for any
specified FE load case. If you scroll the spreadsheet over on this form you
will also see a column to specify an Offset.
Scroll spreadsheet.
3. FEFAT: Residual stress can be entered in the form of a loading or stress offset
when performing analysis interactively using FEFAT. In the Design
Optimization mode, Sensitivity analysis on residual stress is possible as well
as in the Parameter optimization menu to back calculate a residual stress to
meet the design life.
118
MSC.Fatigue QuickStart GuideG
CHAPTER
Introduction to Crack Growth
7
■ Geometry
■ Set Up the Fracture Analysis
■ Run the Fracture Analysis
120

We now revert back to our first problem, the keyhole
model to introduce the concept of linear elastic
fracture mechanics (LEFM) or Crack Growth.
Subject to the same loading as before and to the
complex transmission loading sequence (SAETRN),
we are interested in determining what remnant of
life is left in this component after crack initiation and
how long until the crack will become a catastrophic
failure.
A detailed discussion of fracture mechanics and its
governing principles is beyond the scope of this
tutorial guide and the user is referred to the for a
more detailed description. However, the concepts
are explained here in as simple terms as possible to introduce the method.
Objective
• To introduce the LEFM life prediction method, commonly referred to as
“Crack Growth.”
File
CHAPTER 7 121
7.2 Geometry
Copy the file simpleSN.op2 to a clean working directory to begin.
A linear static finite element analysis has been performed already with a load
magnitude of 10,000 Newtons. To begin, read this model and results information into
a new database using MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post or use MSC.Patran. Open a new
database from File | New and call it keyhole. The model was run through a
MSC.Nastran analysis so keep the Analysis Preference set to MSC.Nastran when
asked.
Import the Model

Press the Import toggle switch (Analysis
in MSC.Patran) on the main form. When
the form appears, set the Action to
Access Results, the Object to Read
Output2, and the Method to Both
(model and results); then, press the
Select Results File button and select the
file simpleSN.op2. The model will then
appear and you are ready to set up a
fatigue analysis.
Define a Compliance Function

For all fatigue and fracture analyses thus far, we have been defining the three major
inputs: geometry, materials, and loading. This is no different for a Crack Growth
analysis except that geometry definition takes on a different form than what we have
dealt with to this point. For the Total Life and Crack Initiation methods we have been
tightly linked to the FE analysis and the stress/strain distribution. This link to FE
analysis is much weaker for the Crack Growth method in that the only information
necessary is the remote stress used in the Paris Equation, defined as cyclic range of
stress intensity, ∆K,
da m
------- = C ( ∆K )
dN
where
∆K = Cyclic range of stress intensity

da
-------
dN
= Rate of cracked growth
C = Paris Law coefficient

m = Material constant
122
and the definition of stress intensity, defined as driving force, K, the applied stress,
σ, the crack size, a
K = Yσ ( πa )
where
K = The driving force

σ = The applied stress
a = The crack size
Y = The compliance function
Y is known as the compliance function and describes the geometry in which the
crack exists.
The Fracture Mechanics Triangle

The driving force behind a crack that causes it to
Stress Intensity
propagate is not stress or strain but the stress intensity
factor, K. (This is not to be confused with stress
concentration Kt.) The stress intensity factor accounts
for both the stress and the crack size and is a way of Fracture
describing the stress field around a crack tip Mechanics
independent of the overall geometry. The relationship Triangle
between stress intensity, stress, and crack length is
known as the fracture mechanics triangle. If you know Crack Size Stress
two of the corners you can derive the other.
Compliance Function Library

MSC.Fatigue contains a library of standard crack geometries from which you can
derive a compliance function. Open the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and set the
Analysis to Growth. Then open the Solution Params... form. On the top of the form
you will see a button called Compliance Generator. Press this button. An
MSC.Fatigue module called PKSOL will initiate that will give you access to the
compliance function library.
CHAPTER 7 123
The first thing that you are asked for is the units in which to define the geometry.
Select 1. Millimeters. Then select option four, 4. Generate a Y function table. Call it
keyhole when asked. A file called keyhole.ksn will be created containing the
compliance function lookup table.
Two more menus will be presented to you to select 127 (5.0)

the library entry to use. Select option 1. Standard
25.4 (1.0) P
specimens and then option 8. Compact tension 68.6 (2.7)
specimen (CTS). You will then be presented with

a graphic representation of the geometry to which 152 (6.0)
Notch Depth 6.35 (0.25)
mm (inches)
you will specify dimensions. The dimension of our
keyhole model are as shown here.
76.2 (3.0)
Press the Define button on the top of the form. At 9.525 (0.375) Dia.
3.175 (0.125)
Notch Root Radius
this point you will be asked for the dimensions of
the geometry, B (thickness) and W (width). Enter P
9.525 (0.375) Thick
9.525 and 94 mm. Press the carriage return each
time and a final carriage return when asked if any
changes are necessary. To generate the compliance function, select the Calculate item
on top of the form.
124
At this point you are presented with one final menu selection which allows you to
either plot, tabulate or create another compliance function. Select Plot Y function
against crack ratio.
This plot gives you a good feel as to how the crack will grow as it gets larger. In this
case, as the crack ratio (a/W) increases, the crack growth rate will accelerate whereas,
at first, the growth rate will be much slower. When you are done select File | Exit to
close the plot and then quit from PKSOL by selecting eXit.
Hint: The compliance library contains around 35 different crack geometries.

You can view the different geometries once you enter PKSOL by selecting
option 5. Display solution library from the main PKSOL menu. A
graphical display of available geometries for the selected option is
plotted.
CHAPTER 7 125
7.3 Set Up the Fracture Analysis

The MSC.Fatigue setup form should be visible; set the
General Setup Parameters as follows:
1. Analysis: Growth
Crack Growth analyses require stresses; you do not
have a choice.
5. Res. Units: MPa
Model dimensions are millimeters and forces are in
Newtons, therefore stress units are MPa.
6. Jobname: simple_cg
7. Title: Simple Crack Growth Analysis
Loading Information
We are going to use the same loading as was used in
Rainflow Cycle Counting (Ch. 3) but with a different scale
factor to accelerate the crack growth for illustration purposes. So open the Loading
Info... form and then press the Time History Manager button:
Copy SAETRN from the Central Database

When PTIME comes up, select Copy from central as the method of input. A form will
appear that will ask for a name. Use the List button to select SAETRN from the central
database.
Note: If you have been working sequentially through this document, then there is
a good chance that the entity SAETRN already exists in your database. To
check this, select List all entries. If the entity SAETRN is listed, you will
need to delete it before continuing. Go back to the PTIME main menu, select
Delete entries, then go and select the database entry SAETRN and press
OK. You will be asked to verify that you want to delete this entry. Now that
the entry has been deleted, we can get a fresh copy from the central database.
Select Add an entry..., then select Copy from central. Use the List button to
select SAETRN from the central database.
126
Scale the Time History Load

From the PTIME main menu, select Change an entry... and then Polynomial
transform. Allow overwrite when asked. Scale up the time history to represent the
actual loading applied to the component. Enter scale factor of 40 in the second
databox. Press OK when done.
Enter the following details when asked:
1. Description 1: Leave as is
2. Description 2: Blank this out
3. Load type: Force
4. Units: Newtons
5. Number of fatigue equivalent units: 1
6. Fatigue equivalent units: Repeats
Press OK to continue. Plot the time history if you wish and then select File | Exit to
close the plot and press the eXit switch in PTIME.

On the Loading Info... form, associate the time variation of the load that you just
created to the FE load case as you have done in all previous exercises.
1. Load Case ID: 1.1-3.1-2-
Make sure to select Default, Static Subcase and Stress Tensor at layer Z1.
2. Time History: SAETRN
3. Load Magnitude: 10,000
The Load Magnitude of 10,000 Newtons is the same as that used in the
previous S-N analysis and is used to normalize the stresses such that they are
due to a unit load.
4. Results Transformation: No Transformation
In the upper right hand corner of the Loading Info... form, set this to No
Transformation. FE results will not be transformed to the basic coordinate
system before averaging. Generally you will want to transform results to the
basic coordinate system when they are element nodal (integration points),
such that proper averaging can be done. There is no need to transform
element centroidal or nodal results, since no averaging takes place for these
types.
OK button to close the Loading Info... form. Remember, the load case ID may not
match that shown here but should be the only one available in the database.
CHAPTER 7 127
Now press the Material Info... button on the main MSC.Fatigue form.
Make a Group
Before proceeding, use the Group facility to create a group of
nodes that is representative of the far field stress. The stress
from these nodes will be averaged and used in the
determination of the stress intensity as earlier described in the
equation K = Yσ πa. This is where the departure from the other
two methods can be somewhat confusing. The region that is
defined on the Material Info... form should not contain the
nodes from the entire model or an interested portion thereof,
but must contain the area of the model that is representative of
the stress in this stress intensity equation. What this stress
should be is best described as the stress that would be there if
there were no crack (or notch) in the structure. So in this case
the stress would be load divided by area (P/A) where the area
is the entire cross section without the notch.
Open the Group | Create form from the main pull down
menus of Pre&Post or MSC.Patran. Give the new group a
name such as far_field. Select all the nodes from Element 166.
This can be done by activating the Entity Selection databox and
graphically selecting them (use the shift key for multiple
selections) or simply type the node numbers in as Node
211:213 594:595 606:608. Press the Apply button to create the
group and the Cancel button to close the form.
Note: Although the above statements are true, the nodes selected here to represent
the far field stress have been chosen somewhat arbitrarily to force the crack
to grow rapidly for illustration purposes only.
128
Select a Material and Environment

On the Material
Info... form the
spreadsheet layout
is slightly different
than that for other
analysis types. It
now asks for a
material as before,
and also an
environment. No
surface finish or
treatments are
applicable. Also
only one
combination of
material,
environment, and
region can be
specified. It no
longer makes sense
to define multiple
materials.
1. Material:
MANTEN
Select the first cell with the cursor. A listbox appears at the bottom of the
form from which you select a material. Only datasets with LEFM data appear
in the listbox. Select MANTEN.
2. Environment: Air
You only have one choice.
3. Region: far_field
Select the group you just created defining the area of far-field stress.
View the da/dN Curve

It is of interest to view the actual material information that will be used to look up
damage and calculate crack growth rate. Press the Materials Database Manager
button. This will launch PFMAT, the materials database manager. First load the
material by pressing the Load switch and selecting the data set 1 option. Now select
CHAPTER 7 129
MANTEN from the list. You can then select the Graphical Display | Apparent delta
k plot switch to view the da/dN curve. You will be asked to enter an R-ratio. Enter 0.5
and press the OK button. The curve will be displayed.
Note: You can enter a couple of R-ratios if you wish. Mean stress is accounted for
in Crack Growth analysis by using the curve corresponding to a given stress
cycles R-ratio
Material response is modeled by

measuring crack growth rates versus
stress intensity (∆K) in constant
amplitude tests. From these tests are
derived the da/dN curve and the
threshold characteristics and fracture
toughness of the material.
da/dN
Fast
Fracture
Effects
Paris Equation
Region
Threshold
Effects ∆K
In fatigue we are concerned with stable crack growth occurring below a catastrophic
level. When you plot crack growth rates against ∆K on log scales, you get sigmoidal
shaped curves like these which have three distinct regions. There is a linear region in
the middle of these curves which is described by the Paris Equation. At the bottom end
of the curves there is a threshold below which no crack growth occurs (very similar to
a fatigue limit). This is caused by crack closure and the interaction of the crack with
the micro-structure. If the mean stress is raised the threshold decreases because the
cracks are held open for more of the time. At the other end of the curve, crack growth
rates increase as the maximum stress of each cycle gets close to the fracture toughness
of the material.
The curve you just plotted in PFMAT is called the Apparent ∆K curve describing the
apparent driving force acting on the crack. However there are many effects that this
equation does not take into account, such as crack closure, corrosive environments,
the influences of a notch, and static fracture mode contributions to name a few.
MSC.Fatigue models these by using an Effective ∆K curve which has the effect of
linearizing the entire Apparent ∆K curve through all three of its distinct regions. It is
130
this Effective ∆K that is the actual (effective) driving force that is then used in the Paris
Equation to determine crack growth. Select File | New Plot | Effective delta k plot to
view this da/dN curve.
The material information is complete. Select File | Exit to close the plot and eXit to
quit PFMAT. Press the OK button to close the Material Info... form.
Note: A da/dN curve is based on the

principle of similitude just as with
the previous two methods discussed
thus far. This simply means that if
we can reproduce the same driving
force as that experienced in the real
structure, in a test laboratory specimen made of the same material, then we
can expect the crack propagation rate to be about the same, when subjected
to the same driving force
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. On this form, set
these parameters:
1. Select a Compliance Function: KEYHOLE
The name of the compliance function that
you created earlier should appear in this
listbox. Select it.
2. Stress Combination: Max. Abs. Principal
This is the stress parameter that will be
used in the fatigue analysis. The stress
tensor from the FE analysis results will be
extracted at each node, the maximum
absolute principal calculated and then
averaged over all nodes defined in the
Region specified on the Material Info...
form. It is this stress that will be used to
determine the stress intensity range for
each cycle.
3. Crack Length Units: Inches
Define the units in which all the below
parameters will be defined.
4. Initial Crack Length: 0.1

CHAPTER 7 131
This is the initial crack length which can be anything but zero. If zero is
entered this acts as a flag to tell MSC.Fatigue to use minimum crack sizing
rules to determine the minimum crack size for valid fracture mechanics
analysis. Here we have entered a typical engineering crack size that might be
detectable after crack initiation.
5. Final Crack Length: 2.13
We do not know what this will be but it cannot be any larger than from the
end of the notch to the other side of the keyhole specimen. It is very likely
that the crack will not actually grow to this size before catastrophic failure.
6. Notch Depth: 2.3
This is the physical depth of the notch (keyhole) in this compact tension
specimen. By entering a non-zero value here, MSC.Fatigue will compensate
for notch influences.
7. Notch Radius: 0.375
This is the radius of notch. The default is zero.
8. Sharp Crack Radius: 0.0
This is a sharp crack radius. The default is zero. If zero is entered here and/or
for the Notch Radius, a minimum default is used since they cannot actually
be zero.
Note: We have mixed units in this example using Inches in the above discussion
and Millimeters when the compliance function was defined. This is OK and
there is no mismatch here because the compliance function is a non-
dimensional number and the initial and final crack lengths and the notch
dimensions are converted to SI units internally.

132
7.4 Run the Fracture Analysis

You are ready to run the fracture analysis. Open the Job
reopens, the job will have been submitted. You can then set
the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply button
from time to time to view the progress of the crack growth.
When the message
Crack growth calculation completed
successfully
appears, the analysis is complete. Close down the Job Control... form when done.
Cycle by Cycle Growth

The only accurate way of predicting crack growth is by adopting the cycle-by-cycle
approach. Normal rainflow cycle procedures are used in Crack Growth analysis as
with the other two methods, however the cycles are re-ordered into their original
sequence to retain the sequence effects. For each cycle the crack extension, da, is
calculated and added to the current crack size and this process continues until a
failure condition is reached.
The driving force for propagation due to each cycle is the range of stress intensity, ∆K.
For each cycle the apparent or applied driving force is calculated from the stress range,
current crack size, and geometry (compliance function) of the component. It is then
modified due to various considerations of crack closure, history or overload effects,
notch and environmental influences, and static fracture mode contributions. The
modified (effective) ∆K is then used to determine crack extension for any given cycle
using material parameters and the Paris Equation.
Note: It should be clearly understood that even though the growth of microscopic
cracks is governed by linear elastic fracture mechanics, the microscopic crack
extension process by fatigue still necessitates local plasticity. At the tip of a
fatigue crack there is a plastic zone. The crack tip plastic zone is assumed to
be negligibly small in relation to crack size, especially for high strength
materials, but essential to the fatigue crack growth process.
CHAPTER 7 133
The Fatigue Crack Propagation Rectangle

As discussed earlier, the Fracture Mechanics
Triangle relates stress intensity, stress, and crack
length. When speaking in terms of crack growth
and overall life, a rectangular rather than a
triangular representation is used. In Crack
Growth there is a relationship between stress
range and life just as with the Total Life (S-N)
method except it is extended to include the
initial and final crack lengths (and all crack sizes in-between these two limits). So in a
similar way to solving the triangle, the fatigue crack propagation rectangle can be
solved by knowing any three of the four corners to derive the fourth.
134

Open the MSC.Fatigue Results... form. No color contour plotting is available with
Crack Growth.
Tabular Listing
On the MSC.Fatigue Results... form,
change the Action to List Results and
press Apply. This will start the
module PCPOST which tabularly
lists the fracture analysis results and
also plots the final situation.
The main menu of PCPOST includes
a host of items, the most useful
perhaps, being the Results summary
page. Selecting this will reveal that
the crack grew to a bit over 10 mm
before fracture and took over 400
repeats of the SAETRN time history. The mode of failure is also revealed (stress
intensity exceeding the fracture toughness of the material). Press the End button to
continue.
Also plot the final a-N curve. This plot will be described in more detail shortly. This
reveals how the crack grew over time. Select Return to return to the main menu of
PCPOST.
Interpolate Crack Sizes

One of the interesting things you can do with PCPOST is interpolate the life based on
different crack sizes. Select Interpolate life. Now you can enter a different initial crack
length or a different final crack length or both. It will then, on-the-fly, report back to
you the interpolated life. It is very possible that the actual initial crack is much larger
than previously thought. With this tool you can quickly assess any deleterious effect
this may have on product life. Note that an extra millimeter initial crack length (3.54
mm) will half the life.
Press eXit to leave PCPOST.
Interactive Operation
Back on the MSC.Fatigue Results... form, change the
Action to Optimize and press Apply. This will invoke
the Crack Growth analyzer PCRACK.
CHAPTER 7 135
By running PCRACK interactively we can re-run the entire Crack Growth analysis
and make any changes necessary. You will be presented with a number of setup
screens before the job is started.
1. Loading Definition: The first of these is where you can alter the scaling factor
or impose a constant residual offset. Accept all the defaults by pressing the
OK button.
2. Output Parameters: The second screen is for graphical updates and general
output parameters. Change the Results File Output Interval and the Screen
Update Interval to 0.25 Repeats. This is done so that the updates do not occur
at the end of the signal but somewhere in the middle of the signal where the
crack growth rate and stress intensity are more certainly non-zero. This
interval is simply a snap-shot at a particular time or location in the signal; so
we will get four snap-shots per repeat of the signal. Press OK to continue.
3. Local Geometry Definition: On this page you select the compliance function.
Press OK. The form then updates to allow you to modify initial and final
crack length specifications and notch dimensions. Accept the defaults and
press OK.
4. Material and Environment Selection: The last page allows for selection of
material and environment. Accept the defaults and press OK.
The Crack Growth analysis will initiate
and you will be presented with a
graphical screen that updates as the
crack grows. You will see the plot
update as well as the numbers on the top
of the plot and the modifying effects to
the right of the plot. The plot features
crack size versus life in cycles. The
following explanations are given from
left to right and top to bottom:
1. Repeats: This is self
explanatory. This reports the
number of repeats of the time
history that the component has
survived.
2. Size: This reports the length of
the crack at the given snap-shot in time.
3. DLKAPP: This is the apparent stress intensity (∆K) or the apparent crack
driving force without accounting for any modifying effects.
4. DLKEFF: This is the effective stress intensity (∆K) or the actual crack driving
force which is based on the apparent ∆K with modifying effects. All
modifying effects are listed to the right of the plot. If a modifying effect is
highlighted, it was being experienced at that particular snap-shot in time.
136
5. da/dN: This is the current crack growth rate at the reported time.
6. CLOSURE: This is an effect used to modify the apparent ∆Κ. When this
modifying effect is lit, the component is currently experiencing crack closure
which necessarily slows down the crack growth.
7. HISTORY: This modifying effect to the apparent ∆Κ is caused by the
sequence of cycles. A large cycle followed by many smaller cycles can
actually cause a slow down in the crack growth rate due to an extension of
the plastic zone around the crack tip. This is called crack retardation. It than
takes some time for the driving force to become sufficiently large to
overcome that plastic zone and continue the crack propagation.
8. NOTCH: In our example we modeled an additional notch into our compact
tension specimen. The influence of a notch is also accounted for as a
modifying effect to ∆K apparent.
9. ENVIRON: If we had selected a material and used an alternate environment
(a function of the material properties), this modifying effect would be lit.
10. STAT FRAC: Static fracture modes are accounted for also as modifying
effects. These occur when the driving force approaches the fracture
toughness of the material causing the crack to grow rather rapidly.
All of these effects are discussed in more detail in the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide.
When the analysis is done you are presented with a page describing the final situation
just as was done when using the result listing facility, PCPOST. Press the End button
when you are satisfied that the same answers are given as the original analysis. The
PCRACK main Post Analysis Menu will appear. This is very similar to the Design
Optimization main menu of FEFAT for Crack Initiation and Total Life jobs.
Optimization
From this Post Analysis Menu you can do
numerous things such as view the final situation
graphically or tabularly, interpolate on life as has
been discussed already, or change any of the
original parameters without re-doing the entire
job setup.
As an exercise let us change the material from
MANTEN to RQC100 as was done with the
original Total Life analysis to see the effects on the
propagation life of the component. Select Edit analysis parameters | Select material
and environment. When this form appears, change the material to RQC100 and press
OK. Press or double click the Recalculate switch on the main menu. You will be asked
to allow overwrite of the output file. Select the Yes button. The job will restart using
the new material.
CHAPTER 7 137
Note that with RQC100, which is a

higher strength steel than MANTEN, the
propagation life is a little bit longer
(closer to 500 Repeats) but the final crack
size is a couple of millimeters shorter (~8
mm) before ultimate failure. This would
indicate that it is a more brittle material
and less resistant to plastic deformation.
Press the End button to go back to the
main menu and then select final a-N
graph. Note the final situation plot has a
much flatter, constant slope confirming
our suspicion. Select File | Exit and then
press or double click the eXit button
when done to quit from PCRACK.
138

The branch of engineering science concerned with linear elastic fracture mechanics
(LEFM) is by no means a new one. The earliest work in the UK dates back to Inglis
(1913) but the major developments took place following the research of Griffith and
Rae in 1920, and Irwin in the USA in 1956; and LEFM has since flourished.
There are three modes of crack growth. Mode I - opening, Mode II - sliding, Mode III
- tearing. Of the three modes, mode 1 is by far the most common. It is quite difficult to
make cracks grow in modes 2 or 3. For these reasons MSC.Fatigue only supports Mode
I.
Analysis without an FE Model

It is not actually necessary to use a FE model to
run a Crack Growth analysis. You may find this
more convenient.
Invoking PCRACK from a system prompt by
typing the symbol, pcrack, will place you in its
main menu mode where you can preprocess
(rainflow and cycle re-order), run a full fracture
analysis, output or display a time history or enter
its utility menus. Within the Utilities, there is an
option where you can create a simple input file
(.fes file). You will be prompted for all the
pertinent information including the far field
stress.
Hint: A stress tensor is expected but you can simply put in one value for the X-
component and zero for the rest and specify the X-component only to be
used in the analysis.
CHAPTER 7 139
MSC.Fatigue Files
MSC.Fatigue Crack Growth analysis creates the same files as the other methods with
the following two exceptions:
Table 7-2 MSC.Fatigue Files
File Description
jobname.tcy This binary file is the equivalent of the jobname.fpp
(simple_cg.tcy) preprocessing file created after rainflow cycle counting for the
other two methods. The jobname.tcy file is also the result of the
rainflow cycle count but after time cycle re-ordering created by
PCRACK’s preprocessing phase. It serves as the input to the
actual Crack Growth analysis. The Action, Partial Analysis on
the Job Control... form will create all files up to this point and
then stop.
jobname.crg This is the results file of a fracture analysis created by PCRACK
(simple_cg.crg) when a Full Analysis is requested. It is a binary file and can be
processed by the result listing facility, PCPOST, only. It cannot
be read back into Pre&Post or MSC.Patran to create life contour
plots as with the jobname.fef file created by the other methods.
Hint: If you experience difficulty with a Crack Growth job, check the following
files for clues: batlog.lst, jobname.sta, jobname.msg, pfatigue.prt. It
is also helpful to interactively run the programs from the system prompt
by issuing the proper commands: pksol, pcrack, pcpost.
Exit from Pre&Post or MSC.Patran when finished with this exercise.

140
CHAPTER
Design Philosophies
8
■ S-N Analysis of Lug Weld
■ e-N Analysis of Lug
■ LEFM Analysis of Lug
142

The component under design in this
example is a lug assembly which is
welded onto a base plate and is loaded in 30mm
the opposite direction by a cyclic load 30mm

acting at the top of the lug. The finite
element analysis was carried out to 15mm
simulate the load applied to the assembly 140mm
during normal operation. (A sinusoidal

distributed load variation was applied
σx >> τxy
around the hole.) The design life objective
is 100 years of service.
Now that all three major fatigue life prediction methods have been introduced, this
exercise will use all three methods of fatigue analysis to analyze various parts of the
lug assembly. Namely, you will use the Total Life approach to determine the useful
life of the welded connection. For the non-welded part, you will use the Crack
Initiation approach to investigate crack formation due to stress concentrations at the
hole followed by Crack Growth. This will also illustrate the different fatigue life
design philosophies.
Since you should be quite familiar with the
job setup procedure by now, only brief
explanations are provided in this exercise. To
begin, open a new database and call it
load
direction
lug_weld. Import the MSC.Nastran model
and results using the file lug_weld.op2 as has
been done in previous exercises.
Maximum Principal Stress Plot
Objectives
• To use the weld classifier to determine the type of weld
• To determine the useful life of the weld using the Total Life method
• To run a factor-of-safety analysis on the weld
• To determine the crack initiation fatigue life of the lug itself
• To investigate sensitivity of initiation life to alternative surface finishes
CHAPTER 8 143
Design Philosophies
• To determine if a crack will grow

• To determine at what interval an inspection is necessary
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/lug_weld.op2
144
8.2 S-N Analysis of Lug Weld

Due to symmetry, only one half of the lug assembly was
modeled. Open the MSC.Fatigue setup form; set the General
Setup Parameters as follows:
1. Analysis: S-N
5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: lug_weld
7. Title: S-N Analysis of Lug Weld
Solution Parameters
Open the Solutions Params... form and set the widgets as
follows leaving the defaults if not mentioned:
2. Design Criterion: 96
Set the design criterion at 96% certainty of
survival.
3. Run Factor of Safety Analysis: ON
Turn this toggle ON. More will be explained about this analysis later.
4. Options: Life Based
5. Enter a Design Life: 100
This will correspond to 100 years of operation as will be designated when the
service loading is defined.
Since the assembly has a welded connection, it is appropriate to assess the life of this
feature using the Total Life approach since the weld material properties are unknown.
CHAPTER 8 145
Design Philosophies
Enter the materials database manager PFMAT either from the MSC.Fatigue forms or
directly from the system prompt by typing pfmat. One of the selections in PFMAT is
a Weld Classifier. See if you can determine which type of weld you are dealing with
by answering the questions from the weld classifier.
Hint: The assembly has a welded detail on the surface of a member with
potential cracks initiating at short weld attachments. The weld toe is
more than 10 mm from the member edge. The shear stress is less than
half the applied direct stress.
The weld classifier should identify the weld as Class F type 2.9 if all the inputs are
correct. You will refer to this weld class in the Material Info... form. Exit PFMAT.
Open the Material Info... form and fill out the spreadsheet for a single material as
follows:
1. Material: classF
4. Region: reference
The Group called reference does not yet
exist. You will need to create it. The classF
entry is a component S-N curve. If you
remember back to the discussion about
component S-N curves you will recall that
they are representative of the component’s
geometry (the weld in this case) and the
measured nominal stress is from a reference
location away from the weld failure itself
(such as where a strain gauge could be
properly located).
For the sake of this example, let us assume
that we know only approximately where this reference location is but only within a
certain tolerance. Select all the nodes on the surface one element thickness away from
the weld on the flat plate and two elements thick. The analysis will assume that each
of these nodes is the reference location respectively and we will make the
determination of the worst case later. Call the new group reference.
Note: In this particular case the reference location for this Class F component S-N
curve corresponds to Node 284 on the model. This node is in the area away
from the stress concentration but reasonable for definition of Class F weld.
146
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form and select the Time History Manager button. The load
history, to be called LUGLOAD, consists of a single cycle with a min = 0 and max =
10. (The actual load applied is ten times greater than that applied in the FE model.) The
units are Force in Newtons. The service load simulates the lug being lifted which
happens two times a day. The fatigue equivalent unit should be Years with one repeat
of the time history simulating 1/(2lifts*365days) = 0.00137 years. Enter this
information into PTIME using Enter X-Y points where the y values are 0,10,0. To
reiterate the details:
1. Filename: LUGLOAD
2. Description 1: Lug Loading
4. Load type: Force
5. Units: Newtons
6. Number of fatigue equivalent units: 0.00137
7. Fatigue equivalent units: Years
On the Loading Info... form, associate the time variation of the load that you just
created to the FE load case by filling out the spreadsheet.
1. Load Case ID: 1.1-3.1-1-
Select the only result case available, Default, Static Subcase and Stress
Tensor, NON-LAYERED.
2. Time History: LUGLOAD
Job Control
Open the Job Control... form and set the Action to Full Analysis and press the Apply
button to run the job. Monitor the job form time to time. Since you have requested to
do a Factor-of-Safety analysis, when you see the message
Safety factor analysis completed successfully.
the job is complete.
Results - Factor of Safety Analysis

For the Factor of Safety Analysis, the options are None, stress based, and life based.
Stress based analyses are relevant to S-N analysis and apply to a class of structures
where fatigue lives are essentially infinite. In the simplest sense, in order to assess the
fatigue life of this class of structures, it is useful to obtain a measure of the margin
between the working (applied stress) and the fatigue endurance stress (the limit below
CHAPTER 8 147
Design Philosophies
which no fatigue damage is incurred). The ratio of the endurance stress/working

stress is known as the factor of safety. This is ideal for hand calculations using
idealized loadings but for realistic variable amplitude loading, a more rigorous
approach is used (see the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for the equations used) that
estimates the overdesign or underdesign factor on the user supplied reference stress.
Factors close to unity indicate the design has been achieved, factors less than unity
indicate underdesign and factors greater than unity indicate overdesign.
The Life based calculation is an iterative calculation used to find the magnitude of the
scaling factor on the stress-time spectrum that will cause failure for a specified design
life. The scaling factor is applied to all cycles and is, thus, an overall factor of safety,
far better suited for random loading.
To begin the analysis, open the Results... form and with the Action set to Read Results,
press the Apply button to read the analysis results into the database. Next set the
Action to List Results and invoke PFPOST, the tabular listing module. If you request
to list the Most damaged nodes you will see that there are no damaged nodes.
Therefore, for the weld, we have satisfied the design goal of 100 years of service and,
in fact, have designed a fail safe structure, i.e., it will never fail.
If you desire, assume that the weld is the worst class which is Class W. Re-run the
analysis using this new S-N data set. You should see that there are still no damaging
nodes and therefore the weld does not fail.
Infinite life does not tell us much however. For this reason we ran the Factor-of-Safety
analysis. Open the Results... form from the main form to make a contour plot of Safety
Factor using the Factor of Safety result case. Note that the smallest safety factor (at
Node 284) is around 8 1/2 times.
When you expect a component to survive a very large number of significant loading
cycles, e.g., around 108 cycles or more, it is not reasonable to make finite life
predictions; you are too near to the fatigue limit where the amount of scatter is very
large. For cases like this it makes more sense to apply a Factor-of-Safety method which
aims to put the design below the fatigue limit by a selected safety margin. Two
methods can be used.
148
In general, the Stress Based method

compares the largest stress cycle that occurs
in the loading sequence to a Reference Stress
(normally the fatigue limit) taking into
account the mean stress.
The Life Based method requires the target
Design Life, the usage of a Material Cutoff
value, and a Maximum Factor (default is
100) to be set. The Maximum Factor is
simply used to stop the analysis for any
particular location when this maximum is
reached and go on to the next location. This
can speed up the analysis if lowered
significantly.
The Material Cut-off is like the fatigue limit. It is the point beyond which damage will
not be considered. If you are carrying out a life-based safety factor calculation, it is
clear that if you change the cutoff you will reduce the influence of small cycles and
hence get a larger safety factor. If you are doing a crack initiation based safety factor,
changing the cutoff may also change the slope of the strain-life curve if you are using
a surface finish or treatment correction. This is because the surface factors are applied
at the cutoff.
For a life-based calculations, the method is iterative. The calculation stops when the
life is within a certain percentage of the target life - 5% by default. If you increase the
allowable error, the number of iterations is reduced. This can only be changed by
running FEFAT interactively.
Note: In an earlier exercise we stated that making a contour plot of life (or safety
factor in this case) from a component S-N analysis is meaningless and only
the result at the reference location has any meaning. This is true, except in
the case where you are not quite sure where that location is and wish to
weigh the relative importance between different locations. Really only Node
284 has the correct safety factor but you can tell the relative magnitude
difference if some other node were the actual reference location. With this
simple loading, it is obvious that all other nodes will be less than Node 284
but with more complicated loading situations, this quickly becomes unclear.
Hint: PFPOST can also tabulate safety factor results. When you invoke
PFPOST, type the .fos extension onto the jobname. This way it will pick
up the jobname.fos result file created by a Factor-of-Safety analysis
instead of the default jobname.fef file from regular life analysis.
CHAPTER 8 149
Design Philosophies
8.3 ε-N Analysis of Lug

Now set up a Crack Initiation analysis of the lug itself. We
are not concerned about where this crack will initiate since
we know this due to the nature of the simple loading, i.e.,
the high stress area. We wish to determine the life until a
crack initiates in the hole. Set the General Setup
Parameters as follows:
5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: lug_ci
7. Title: Crack Initiation Analysis of Lug
Solution Parameters
Accept all the defaults on this form.
The material used in this analysis is BS4360-50D. This
material is already in the materials database. Assume
there is a good machined finish with no surface treatment. Open the Material Info...
form and fill out the spreadsheet as follows:
2. Surface Finish: Good Machined
This group contains the nodes for the entire model.
Loading Information
The load history is identical to that of the S-N analysis of the lug weld problem.
Job Control
button to run the job. Monitor the job form time to time until it is complete.
150
Results
Open the Results... form from the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and read the results
in.
Do a contour plot of the log of the life
(in Years) or list the results using
PFPOST to identify the node with the
shortest life. Note that the initiation
life is approximately 3000 cycles at
Node 7 or about 4 years assuming 2
lifts per day.
On the Results... form set the Action to
Optimize, select Node 7 to run the
design optimization mode of FEFAT.
Set the design life to 100. After re-
analyzing Node 7 and entering into
the main menu, do a Sensitivity
analysis on surface Finishes (all). Do
not forget to press the Recalculate
switch. Note that a polished surface only increases the life to less than 6 years. This is
obviously not sufficiently long, even with a polished surface.
The Safe Life design philosophy would have us scrap this component after 4 to 6 years
depending on surface finish/treatment we could apply or impose. This would be OK
if the component were small and inexpensive and easy to replace such as automobile
parts. However, this is not an option in the case, and the existence of a crack will not
hinder the operation, nor is it a safety critical item. However, this calculation is only
to crack initiation. There may still be many years of life left in this assembly depending
on how fast this crack propagates.
CHAPTER 8 151
Design Philosophies
8.4 LEFM Analysis of Lug

Set up a Crack Growth analysis now to determine if a
crack will grow in the lug and to determine at what
interval an inspection may be necessary. Set the General
1. Analysis: Growth
5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: lug_cg
7. Title: Crack Growth Analysis of Lug
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. Before we can fill this
form out completely we need additional information
about the crack geometry, namely the compliance
function. Run PKSOL (press the Compliance Generator
button) and create a compliance function for a specimen
with a double crack at a hole in tension where R = 15mm
and W = 70mm. Call it LUG. These are the PKSOL steps:
1. Millimeters
2. Generate a Y function table
3. Output K-Solution Filename: LUG
4. Cracks a holes
5. Double crack at a hole in tension
6. Define
7. R: 15
8. W: 70
9. Changes: Carriage Return - no changes
10. Calculate
Select Plot Y function against crack ratio to see the graph of the crack ratio.
152
On the Solution Params... form set the

following widgets and accept defaults
for those not mentioned:
1. Select a Compliance Function:
LUG
2. Initial Crack Length: 3
3. Final Crack Length: 55
Hint: You can plot the compliance functions from the Solution Params... form
(if you have done so from PKSOL first) by selecting a compliance
function from the listbox and pressing the Plot button. To remove the
plot, press the Unpost or Delete buttons.
CHAPTER 8 153
Design Philosophies
Open the Material Info... form. Before filling the form out however, create a group
with only Node 223 in it. Call the group far_field. Node 223 is chosen to indicate the
area of nominal or far-field stress. It is not too close to the high stress gradient where
the influence of the hole is dominant. LEFM theory is based on a nominal far-field
stress.
The material again is BS4360-50D and the environment is air. The properties for this
material are already in the materials database manager. On the Material Info... form
set the cells of the spreadsheet as follows:
2. Environment: air
3. Region: far_field
This group contains the node of the far field stress point only.
Loading Information
The load time history is identical to the previous two lug analyses.
Job Control
Results
Open the Results... form and with the Action set to List Results, press Apply to invoke
PCPOST. View the Results summary page and the final a-N curve. Note that the
crack takes over 150 years to grow to a critical size before total failure. Then close
PCPOST.
The Damage Tolerant design philosophy would have us determine an inspection
interval. Re-run the analysis by changing the Action to Optimize. Accept all the
defaults on each setup screens presented to you by PCRACK. When the analysis
begins you will notice that the crack grows, but fairly slowly. Therefore, you could feel
good about a fairly long interval between inspections (say once a year).
154
When the analysis has completed, make your way

back to the PCRACK Post Analysis main menu. It
may be of interest to change the initial crack size
to something less than 3 mm. We assumed a 3 mm
initial crack length based on an engineering crack
size from the initiation analysis. Use the Edit
analysis parameters | local Geometry option to
change the crack size to 2 mm. Then Recalculate.
Do it again for 1 mm. Finally put in 0 mm which
flags the code to calculate the minimum initial
crack length valid for LEFM in this case. Note that the crack hardly grows for a long
time. Growth of the crack is quite sensitive to the initial crack length. This could have
been surmised from a plot of the compliance function which shows slow growth at
first but very accelerated growth at a high crack ratio. Press the Abort button when
you get tired of watching the crack grow.
CHAPTER 8 155
Design Philosophies

This exercise ran all three methods of
fatigue analysis to investigate
different aspects of life evaluation on
the same component.
The Total Life (S-N) analysis was
performed on the lug weld to
demonstrate a fail safe design.
As a side note, a weld class S-N
curve was used. Note that two types
of S-N analysis can be performed
with a weld. Either a normal S-N
analysis or an S-N analysis based on
the current British Standard. The
British Standard can be turned on
using the Materials Info... form by
scrolling the spreadsheet to the right
and setting the Weld cell to YES. Try
reruning the analysis to see the differences in results. With Weld set to YES, various
effects are taken into account according to the British Standard such as residual stress
based on the weld class selected.
The Crack Initiation analysis was performed on the lug itself to demonstrate the safe
life approach.
And finally the Crack Growth analysis was performed on the lug to demonstrate a
damage tolerant approach where inspection intervals were determined based on
crack growth rate.
To be completely thorough you might also run a crack growth analysis at the lug weld.
It is highly unlikely, though, that this would yield any crack growth since the S-N
analysis gave infinite life and a safety factor of greater than 8 was achieved.
For this particular component, the safe life approach really did not avail us much. The
crack initiates very quickly in comparison to the time it takes to propagate the crack.
From this perspective, we can ignore the Crack Initiation analysis entirely.
156
CHAPTER
Multiple Loads
9
■ S-N Analysis of Engine Mounting Lug
■ Crack Growth Analysis of Engine Lug
158

To this point we have used simple, semi-fabricated
examples to illustrate concepts. Now we revert to a more
realistic, real-world example. The model is still simple
but the loading is complex. This example describes a
typical multiple load case fatigue analysis as applied to a
safety-critical component. Because it is safety critical,
both a Total Life method (to ensure that it will survive its
design life) and a defect tolerant approach (to ensure that
a crack will not grow to failure too rapidly) are
employed.
The component is a titanium alloy aircraft rear engine
mounting lug. It is mounted across the rear of the aircraft
wing and is used to locate a pin which constrains the rear
of the engine in the x-y plane. The engine is restrained in
the z-direction (direction of travel) by the front engine
mounting. Thrust results in a downward distribution of
pressure and is simulated by a cos2t pressure
distribution over a 90 degree angle, amounting to a
resultant force of around 1000 Newtons. The model is
composed of 2D quadratic elements. The lug is mounted
very stiffly along its top edge, simulated by constraining this edge for all degrees-of-
freedom.
Loading around the lug hole is simulated by applying 8 different load cases. Each load
is a separate FE analysis and spaced every 45 degrees. A loading spectrum is available
consisting of horizontal and vertical loads that represent 1000 flights. The design life
is approximately 30,000 flights.
Objectives
• To assess the fatigue life of safety critical items
• To demonstrate setup of multiple loading conditions
• To determine the critical location
• To assess a damage tolerant design
CHAPTER 9 159
Multiple Loads
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/mounting_lug.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/lug.mat
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/lug.ksn
Load Load Load Load

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4
von Mises Stress
Load Load Load Load

Case 5 Case 6 Case 7 Case 8
As you can see, each load case gives a different stress distribution. It is not clear from
these stress plots where the critical location will be when combined. To begin, start
Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and import the model and results using the MSC.Nastran
results file mounting_lug.op2 into a new database called mounting_lug.
160
9.2 S-N Analysis of Engine Mounting Lug

First we will run a Total Life analysis of the mounting lug.
Open the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and set the General
1. Analysis: S-N
5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: mountlug_sn
7. Title: S-N Analysis of Rear Engine Mounting Lug
Solution Parameters
Open the Solutions Params... form and set the Design
Criterion (certainty of survival) at 96%, i.e., we are going to
predict the lifetime we expect 96% of these mounting lug
components to exceed. Accept the default Goodman mean
stress correction method (which tends to be a bit
conservative) in conjunction with the Abs. Max. Principal
stress to use in the fatigue analysis.
A material test was performed for this titanium alloy and a material S-N curve created.
It needs to be loaded into the materials database. Copy the file lug.mat to your
working directory. Go to the Tools pulldown menu and select MSC.Fatigue (for the
MSC.Patran version) or Fatigue Utilities (for the Standalone version). Under this
pulldown menu select Material Management and then ASCII Materials File Reader.
Use the form that comes up to read in the lug.mat file.
An alternative method would be to issue the
pfmat @lug.mat
command from a system prompt (not from Pre&Post or MSC.Patran).
Note: If you open this file, lug.mat, and examine its contents you will find all the
parameters necessary to define and load the material, lugmaterial, into the
database. Any MSC.Fatigue module that runs in batch mode can accept a file
of parameters to define its operation. Use the file name as the argument with
the @ symbol in front of the file name. Likewise, the parameters themselves
can be used as the arguments also, e.g., fefat /opt=a/inp=jobname/ov=y.
CHAPTER 9 161
Multiple Loads
Open the Material Info... form. Press the

Materials Database Manager button to see
that a new S-N curve called lugmaterial
has been created and loaded into the
database, which now resides locally in
your working directory. Graphically
display the new S-N curve if you wish.
Note the scatter band representing +/- 2
standard deviations (Plot_Type | Scatter
Curve). When satisfied, quit from PFMAT.
Define a Group
The fatigue problem is clearly going to be
around the hole, so we can speed up the
analysis by calculating fatigue damage for
this area only. To create this group we are
going to enlist the help of the List function. First open the Group | Create form. Create
a new group called hole. In the Entity Selection databox include only the elements on
the inside of the hole. The easiest way to do this is to use the graphical polygon
picking. Zoom in on the hole using the View Corners icon on the top level form (you
click and drag a rectangle around the area of interest). Set the Select Mechanism to
pick only Quad elements. Select all the inside elements by placing the cursor just
inside the inner-most layer of elements and press and hold down the control key to
surround the elements as you drag the mouse. Each click of the mouse will define a
new corner of your polygon. Double click to close the polygon when you get near the
starting point.
Start
View End
Corners Icon Drag Polygon Making the
Polygon Pick
Select Mechanism Drag Hold down the
Click Control key
and click the mouse
to create polygon
corners.
Select Quads Illustration shows a

Select FEM Entities partial pick.
162
Press the Apply button on the Group form to create

the group and close the Group form.
The elements are in the group now but we really
need the nodes of the elements. From the Tools
pulldown menu select List | Create.
Two forms will appear. On the Create List form set
the Model to FEM, the Object to Quad, and the Method to Association. Set the
Association to Group and pick the group we just created, hole. Press the Apply
button. You will notice that the other form called List A fills with all the elements we
just created in group hole.
Now on the Create List form set the Model
to FEM, the Object to Node, and the Method
to Association. Set the Association to
Element. In the Element databox type ‘lista‘
including the back quotes. Near the bottom
of the form change the Target List to “B”
and press the Apply button. You will notice
that another form called List B appears
filled with all the nodes associated with the
elements of List A (the elements that are in
group hole).
Add the nodes to group hole by pressing the
Add to Group... button on the List B form.
Select hole as the group and press Apply on
the List Save form that appears. Close all the
List forms when you are done. All nodes
from elements on the inner ring of the lug
elements are now in the group.
Fill Out the Spreadsheet

Fill out the spreadsheet on the Material Info... form for a single material as follows:
1. Material: lugmaterial
4. Region: hole
Loading Information
In practice the load could be in any direction. However for practical reasons we can
not have an infinite number of load cases, so we have applied a finite number around
the perimeter of the hole and will simulate loading in any particular direction by a
linear combination of the nearest two load cases. In the original FE analysis, eight load
CHAPTER 9 163
Multiple Loads
cases were set up around the perimeter. To simplify things for this example we use
only four of these in the fatigue analysis. Of course, the more load cases you use in a
case like this, the more accurate the simulation of the load distribution at any instant.
In this analysis the four load cases used are in positive
and negative x and y directions, respectively.
Originally the x and y loadings contained both
positive and negative content. The problem with this
is that when you have loading via a pin as in this case.
The stress distribution for a unit negative x loading is
not -1 times the stress distribution for a positive x
loading. Positive and negative loads have to be
treated as separate load cases, with separate load
histories. For this reason, the x and y loadings are
separated into positive and negative parts.
Hint: This was simply achieved using a MSC.Fatigue utility routine module
called MFRM (formula processor). If you have a measured or derived
time variation that you wish to separate into positive only and negative
only components, use MFRM.
Multi-file Display
Look at the time variations of the four load cases. Open the Loading Info... form and
press the Time History Manager button. This time, instead of copying from the
Central database, copy from Remote and specify the directory where the example
files reside such as, e.g.,
<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/examples/
or
x:\<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\examples\
Do not forget the last slash (/ or \).

Copy the four histories called XPOS, YPOS, XNEG, and YNEG.
Note: You can select all four histories by holding down the Shift key as you select
them.
You will need to Change an entry | edit Details and change the load Units to
kNewtons, the Number of fatigue equivalent units to 1000, and the Fatigue equivalent
units to Flights for each history. Each repeat of the combined load history is equal to
1000 flights.
164
To view all four histories at once, use the

Multi-channel... | Display Histories
option. This will run the multi-file display
module, MMFD. When MMFD appears,
use the List facility to select the four files
above (use the Shift key to make multiple
selection from the file browser). Note that
the files will not appear in the databox but
the number of files selected will appear
below it. Accept all the other defaults on
the form and press OK. The files will be
displayed.
Note: If you make a mistake selecting the files for multi channel display, you can
always add to or delete from the currently selected list. Simply press the List
button again and a menu will appear allowing you to make modification to
the list of files. If you are already in graphical display, select File | New
File(s) to return to the file selection screen.
Note that all the histories have positive values. The stress distributions from the FE
analyses will be used to define the actual sign (positive or negative). Click on Full Plot
to see the same plots as shown above. Close the graphics by selecting File | Exit and
then quit from PTIME.
Fill Out the Spreadsheet

On the Loading Info... form, the spreadsheet is used to establish the association
between the load histories (the time variation of the load) and the FE load cases.
MSC.Fatigue scales and combines the stress distributions according to the time
histories, to obtain the stress history for each node. Set the Number of Static Load Case
to 4 and press the Return or Enter key to effect the change, then fill out the spreadsheet
as shown below. The load magnitude from each load case is around 1000 N (they vary
slightly with each load case). The time variations have been defined in kNewtons
whereas the FE loads use Newtons. To keep the loading consistent the Load
Magnitudes are defined in kNewtons. The load cases selected correspond to
Load_Case.1, Load_Case.3, Load_Case.5, and Load_Case.7.
Load Case ID Time History Load Magnitude

Row 1: 2.1-3.1-2- (Load_Case.1) XPOS 0.924
Row 2: 4.3-3.1-2- (Load_Case.3) YPOS 1.023
CHAPTER 9 165
Multiple Loads

Row 3: 6.5-3.1-2- (Load_Case.5) XNEG 1.121
Row 4: 8.7-3.1-2- (Load_Case.7) YNEG 1.218
Note: The spreadsheet is filled out in exactly the same manner as with a single
load. With multiple load cases however, it is only necessary to Get/Filter
Results... once. Each subsequent time you fill in a cell with a load case ID, all
results remain in the selection listbox. Also note that the actual load case IDs
may vary from what is shown in the table.
Job Control
button to run the job. Monitor the job form time to time until the job is complete. The
job, because of the complexity of the loading, takes a few minutes to run.
Principal of Linear Superposition

In a previous example we explored the possibility of offsetting the load by imposing
a residual stress. It was treated as a multiple load case situation where one of the load
cases was a simple offset of the first. Now we have four load cases all of which vary
independently of one another. MSC.Fatigue uses the principle of linear superposition
to combine all load cases together to determine the stress variation at each node due
to the combination of all loads. This is done using the following formula:
σ i j, k
 
σi j ( t ) = ∑ P k ( t )  --------------
P f ea, k
-
k
where the elastic FE stresses, σij, from each load case, k, are normalized by the load
magnitude from the FE analysis, Pfea and then multiplied by the time variation of the
loading, Pk(t). The result of summing over all load cases gives the total stress time
variation at each location of the model.
Or in terms of strains for Crack Initiation jobs:
Time FE Load FE Load Local Strain
Histories Case Results Case Loads Histories
Repeated for all Load Cases

166
To summarize the procedure:

1. All load cases are normalized with respect to each FE load case magnitude,
i.e., converted to unit loads, if necessary. This is done by dividing the FE
stresses by the load magnitudes and then multiplying by the time history.
2. All normalized stress time histories for each load case are superimposed
using the principal of linear superposition.
3. The stress time history tensor is resolved down to a single scalar value versus
time (as defined on the Solution Params... form - the Stress Combination
value).
4. Rainflow cycle counting is performed.
5. Any reductions and corrections (surface finish, mean stress, etc.) are applied.
6. Finally, damage is summed according to the linear damage summation
rules.
Hint: In order to properly do linear superposition, it is important that all the
time variations used in the same analysis have the same sample rate
(same number of total points). You can easily adjust the sample rates to
achieve this in PTIME using the Change an entry | Sample rate adjust
option.
Results
The quick evaluation is to read the results in and do a contour plot of life. Do this by
opening the Results... form from the MSC.Fatigue main form and press the Apply
button with the Action set to Read Results.
Now make a fringe plot of life. Open the Results
application from the main form in Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran. Select the result case called Total Life,
mountinglug_snfef and select Log of Life (Flights)
and press the Apply button. A fringe plot of only the
first ring of elements will appear.
Critical Node 1121
CHAPTER 9 167
Multiple Loads
Note: If you have not noticed already, when results are read into the database a
new color spectrum, fatigue_spectrum, is made which has the opposite
color scheme as that used for plotting stresses. This is done to display lowest
life in red just as highest stress is plotted in red. You can change the
spectrum under the Display | Spectrums if necessary to revert back to the
other spectrum, standard_spectrum. You may have to re-create the plot to
make the spectrum active.
The lowest value of around 6 in the spectrum/range means that the shortest predicted
lifetime is around 2E6 Flights. This comfortably exceeds the design life of around
30,000 Flights. Close the Results application by pressing on its switch again in the top
menu bar and then re-open the MSC.Fatigue main form if it is not already open.
Now go to the MSC.Fatigue Results... form and set the Action to List Results and press
the Apply button. List the Most damaged nodes as done in previous exercises to find
the node with the lowest life (Node 1120). This will be useful later. Exit from PFPOST.
Change the Action to Optimize from on the Results... form. Do not select a node on
this form. Press Apply. Use the first page of FEFAT’s Design Optimization option to
select the Worst Case node. Enter the design life of 30000 flights and press OK. Press
the End button after being presented with the analysis results for the worst case node.
First look at the cycles results Display | plot Cycles histogram and damage
histograms (results Display | plot Damage histogram). You can see that the loadings
in the critical region are predominantly tensile.
Cycles Damage
168
Now try a sensitivity analysis on scaling factor

(Sensitivity analysis | Scaling factors), applying
factors from 1 to 3 by steps of 0.2 (you can use the
syntax ‘(1, 3, 0.2)’ to define these values). Use the
Recalculate option to re-do the analysis. When the
calculation is complete, you can X-Y plot the
results (results Display | Sensitivity plot). This
calculation indicates that a factor of 2.2 would
have to be applied to the loads to cause failure Sensitivity
according to the design criterion. However, a
factor of 2.2 puts the largest cycle (and remember
that there will only be a small number of these,
maybe 30 or 60 in the design life) apparently above
the UTS of the material. This is a shortcoming of
the S-N method, due to the fact that it does not model yielding and load redistribution
at all. If we wanted to design this component so that it only just survived the design
life, we would need to use the local strain approach, which is more appropriate for
low-cycle fatigue problems. Quit from FEFAT when done.
CHAPTER 9 169
Multiple Loads
9.3 Crack Growth Analysis of Engine Lug

The Total Life calculation we have just carried out is for a
defect-free component. Because this is such a safety-critical
component we should not assume that it is defect free. The
part can be inspected for cracks, and the method used to
inspect it is capable of detecting cracks of 1.5 mm or more in
depth. If inspection reveals no cracks, we should assume the
worst case which is that there is a crack of 1.5 mm at the most
highly stressed location, i.e., Node 1120. We then want to
know what will happen to this crack in service. Will it grow?
And if so, how long will it take to cause failure?
It is assumed that the database is still open and the
MSC.Fatigue main form is open. Set up the Crack Growth
analysis now by setting the General Setup Parameters as
follows:
1. Analysis: Growth
5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: mountinglug_cg
7. Title: Crack Growth Analysis of Mounting Lug
Solution Parameters
Copy the file lug.ksn to your working directory.
Open the Solution Params... form. A compliance function for the specimen has been
created to define the crack geometry. It was empirically derived via specimen tests
and curve fit to a polynomial function. It was in this form, using PKSOL, that it was
input (by defining the coefficients of User parametric definition).
170
The compliance shows roughly what the

crack growth rate will be. In this
particular example the crack growth rate
will increase as the crack gets larger
relative to the width of the lug. The
compliance function is used to derive
the driving force (∆K) of the crack as
formulated in the Paris Law, using the
equation K = Y ( a ⁄ T )σ πa . T is a model
dimension, in this case the width of the
lug at the critical location, 24mm.
Hint: Compliance function files(.ksn) have the same format as .dac (time
history) files and can be plotted by PTIME and other MSC.Fatigue
modules that do graphical X-Y displays such as MQLD.
In this case the starting crack size is the minimum detectable crack size of 1.5 mm and
the final crack length is the width of the lug from the critical location. In practice of
course, the fracture toughness K1C may be reached before the crack grows right
through, and in any case, the Y function may not be valid at this point. For instance,
the Y function used in this calculation is not valid beyond a/T=0.85.
Fill out the Solution Params... form as follows:
1. Select a Compliance Function: lug
3. Crack Length Units: Millimeters
4. Initial Crack Length: 1.5
5. Final Crack Length: 24.0
Leave the defaults for all else not specified here and close the form.
Open the Material Info... form.
The material information form looks similar to that for the S-N analysis, but has a few
notable differences. Number of Materials is grayed out, because we can consider only
one material at a time. The options to correct for surface finish and roughness are no
longer appropriate, but the material may have a number of LEFM data sets for
different environments. lugmaterial has only air data, but if you select BS4360-50D
there are 5 sets of different environments.
CHAPTER 9 171
Multiple Loads
Create a Group
The Region means something different here also. The software will average the stress
across the calculation region for use in the crack growth calculation. In this analysis,
we will use the stress from the critical Node 1120 only. Open the Group | Create form
and create a group called critical_node. This stress used in the equation for K (shown
earlier) is known as the far field stress or the stress that would be there if there were
no crack (or notch influence).
Once this group is created close the form and go back to the Material Info... form.
Fill Out Spreadsheet

On the Material Info... form set the cells of the spreadsheet as follows:
1. Material: lugmaterial
2. Environment: air
3. Region: critical_node
This group contains the node of the far field stress point only.
Plot da/dN Curves

Now start the Material Database
Manager and make sure that the
data set lugmaterial is loaded as
dataset 1. From the Graphical
display options, choose
Apparent delta k plot, entering
stress ratios of 0.5 and 0.7 to see
the effect of mean stress on
threshold and growth rates. Also
look at the Threshold:ratio delta
k plot, which shows how the
threshold delta K value is related
to stress ratio. Now leave
PFMAT and close the Materials
Info... form.
Loading Information
The loading information form is
exactly the same as for the S-N
job.
172
Job Control
Results
PCRACK can also be run interactively by selecting Optimize from the Results... form
menu. This is more revealing as you get an on-line display of crack growth.
Do this now and accept all the defaults, and overwrite existing files. Watch the crack
grow to failure.
Note that failure is not predicted
to occur within the 30,000 Flight
design life (~49,000 Flights). The
final a-N curve can usefully be
used to determine acceptable
inspection intervals. Note also
that the crack only grew over 5
mm before the fracture toughness
of the material was exceeded.
There are a number of other ways
of postprocessing the results.
These can be accessed by running
PCPOST (the List Results option
from the Results... form menu.)
You may like to explore these if
you wish.
CHAPTER
A Multiaxial Assessment
10
■ Geometry
■ Determine the Critical Location
■ Evaluate Results
174

This example is a local-strain (Crack strut mount
Initiation) analysis of a steering knuckle
subjected to a complex, multiple load-case
loading environment.
The component is a steering knuckle from a
car. It is cast from a spheroidal graphite cast
iron. The obvious features are the strut
mount at the top, the lower ball joint at the
bottom and the steering arm on the right.
The wheel spindle goes through the large ball
cylindrical hole in the central part. joint
When the vehicle is driven through a steering arm

cobblestone slalom, loads are applied to the
component via the strut mount, the lower ball joint, the steering tie rod and the wheel
axis.
In the FE analysis the loads are applied via
loading devices in an attempt to make the transfer
of loads to the component as realistic as possible.
This has been done using devices made from
elements rather than MPCs.
The model has been constrained at the wheel
center (again through element loading devices)
Three of the and 12 load cases have been applied: 3 forces
Twelve Loads (1000 N in x-y-z) at the lower ball joint, the
steering arm and the strut mount, and 3 moments
(1000 Nmm) at the strut mount.
Three of the 12 loads are plotted here. A linear
combination of these 12 load cases can describe
any loading condition that occurs during the test
track event.
Objectives
• To assess where the critical fatigue locations are in a component due to
multiple loading conditions
• To explore the application of the biaxiality analysis feature and
interpretation of the results
CHAPTER 10 175
• To assess the multiaxial stress state and make decisions on the validity of the
fatigue analysis, i.e., are the original uniaxial assumptions valid, does
proportional loading have to be taken into account, or does a critical plane
analysis need to be done.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle.out
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle*.nod
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle.nod_tmpl
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle.ses
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle_ma.fin
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle*.dac
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/knuckle_ma.fef
176
10.2 Geometry
Because this is a fairly large model with a time consuming analysis, and for the sake
of simplifying this example, it has been semi-automated for you. This is done to help
speed up the study of this exercise. However, all the steps necessary to reproduce the
results manually are indicated if you so desire.
To begin, start up Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and open a new database giving it the
name knuckle. (Any Analysis Preference will do for this analysis, but leave it at
MSC.Nastran when asked.) Initially you will need these files copied over from the
central installation area to a clean, empty working directory: knuckle.out,
knuckle*.nod, knuckle.nod_tmpl. (There are 12 .nod files where * = 1 through 12.)
Import FE Model and Results

This has been automated by running a session file (a file full
of commands to be executed). Copy the file knuckle.ses to
your directory and then from the File | Session | Play
command select the file and press Apply. Answer Yes to any
questions. Playing this session file accomplishes the
following which you can do manually if you wish:
1. Imports a neutral file containing the FE model and
creates some convenient groups. (You can do this
via File | Import... by setting the Object to Model
and the Source to Neutral and selecting the file
knuckle.out. The session file does this for you.)
2. Sets the view of the model and names it so you can
recall it easily. (To name a view use Viewing |
Named View Options... Press the Create View button from the form that
appears. Supply a name and the current view will be stored for later recall
from the Named View Options form.)
3. Reads the FE stress results into the database. (This can be done from the File
| Import... pick. Set the Object to Results and the Source to PATRAN 2
.nod.... You will have to select a template file which is knuckle.nod_tmpl
using the file browser that appears. The template file defines what to name
each column or columns of results in the result files. Next you select the
actual .nod file. There are twelve of them and you must repeat this operation
11 more times to import all files. The template file only needs to be selected
the first time however.)
CHAPTER 10 177
Post/Create Groups
The entire model should have appeared in the graphics screen including the loading
devices. The neutral file that you read in the previous step contained some convenient
groups called KNUCKLE_ONLY and SURFACE_NODE. Post the
KNUCKLE_ONLY group from Group | Post; select KNUCKLE_ONLY and press
Apply. Only the knuckle itself should appear in the viewport now.
These groups were created automatically for you, however we digress a bit here to
teach you how to easily create some convenient groups for subsequent fatigue
analysis. These techniques are especially helpful with large solid models. This
discussion is not crucial to the successful completion of this exercise. You may skip to
the next step if you wish.
Group of External Elements Only

To create a group of external elements, thus removing all internal elements use the list
functionality - Tools | List | Create. Set the Model to FEM, the Object to Element, and
the Method to Attribute. The Select Mechanism will appear from which you should
select the Elements with free faces option.
Graphically surround all element of the model using the mouse by clicking and
dragging from the top left corner down to the bottom right corner. All the elements
with free faces will be selected. Press the Apply button to add these elements to the
List A form, then on the List A form press the Add to Group... button. On the form
that appears, give a new group name such as Surface_elements and press the Apply
button. Press Cancel to close the form. A new group now exists with only the external
elements.
Group of External Nodes Only

Because fatigue damage usually only initiates on the surface of components, it is
helpful to have a group of surface nodes only. The previous group we made only
contains elements. By creating groups with only the surface nodes we can speed up
the analysis by eliminating nodes from the analysis in which we are not interested.
With the Create List form still open, set the Object to Node and the Method to
Association. The Association should be set to Element Face and the Target List needs
to be set to “B” (or you can Clear the List A contents). Now before proceeding, go to
Group | Post and post only the group you just created, Surface_elements. Cancel the
Group form when have accomplished this.
178
Now on the Create List form, set the focus (click the mouse) in
the Element Face databox. The Select Mechanism will appear
again from which you should select Free face of element.
Then surround the entire model (by clicking and dragging
with the mouse) as you did before to select all free faces. Press
the Apply button. The List B form will fill with the nodes associated to the free faces.
Add these nodes to the group Surface_elements. Now you have a group with only the
external elements and the external nodes of the model.
Cancel the Create List form to close it down.

Open the Results application and plot the
stresses from any of the result cases.
Make plots of the von Mises stress for Z-Component
load cases 7, 8 and 9 in turn. Note how the
Stress of
individual load cases cannot be relied
upon to predict the fatigue hot spots. Load Case 1
Surface Resolved Stresses

Specifically plot the Z component stresses
and note that they are very close to zero
over the majority of the model except at
the loading points as would be expected.
(A good look at these stresses would
reveal model quality.) The results are
surface resolved stresses, meaning the two major principal stresses lie in the plane
of the surface with the third principal stress being zero (normal to the surface). This is
important for models with solid elements especially given that 99% of cracks initiate
on the surface. The principal stresses correspond to the X, Y, and Z component
stresses.
The main reason that we need surface resolved stresses is for the biaxiality analysis to
properly calculate the biaxiality ratio which will be discussed later in this example.
Without surface resolved stresses it would be difficult, if not impossible, to assess the
multiaxial stress state of the component.
Many FE analysis codes will calculate surface resolved stress or may give you the
option to do so. The best approach is to first assess the magnitude of the out-of-plane
component to determine if the stresses are already surface resolved. If you find that
CHAPTER 10 179
you need to resolve your stresses, MSC.Fatigue can do this for you with a couple of
easy steps. Physically the out-of-plane stresses must be zero (unless subject to some
sort of hydrostatic pressure).
Note: It is always good to know in what coordinate system the stresses have been
output from the FE analysis, i.e., the global system, or some defined element
coordinate system.
Calculate Normals
Although this is not necessary for this example, to have MSC.Fatigue surface resolve
your stresses for you during a fatigue analysis you must first create a vector file (for
coordinate transformations).
Before submitting your fatigue job, open the Job Control... form. The Calculate
Normals option is an essential precursor to running the biaxiality analysis with a solid
model if you know your results are not surface resolved (z-normal is not zero). This
routine determines surface normals at each surface node, and writes them to the file
jobname.vec. MSC.Fatigue detects the presence of this file and uses it to define a local
coordinate system at each surface node that has its z-axis normal to the surface. The
stress results in the fatigue analysis input file are then written in this coordinate
system, permitting the software to carry out a biaxiality analysis in the x-y plane only.
Do not run this unless you have some time
to spare because of the size of this model.
(Besides the stresses are already surface A Normals
resolved.) A graphical depiction of a Calculation
normal vector calculation is shown to the
side.
During the fatigue analysis translation
surface resolved stress tensor files are
created with the name jobname_lc#.nod
where the # is the load case number. There
will be one file for each load case in the
fatigue analysis setup. You can read these
.nod files back into the database exactly as
described earlier (using the jobname.nod_tmpl file) to evaluate the success of the
surface stress resolution (by plotting the Z component stress from these files).
Note: If you do run the Calculate Normals option while going through this
problem, be sure to use a different jobname than the one used in the analysis
described in this chapter. The analysis will detect the .vec file and use it if the
job names are the same. This will not effect the fatigue results but will result
in an erroneous biaxiality analysis because each nodal stress tensor is in its
own local coordinate (since it is already surface resolved) which is unknown
by Pre&Post or MSC.Patran which makes the local coordinate
transformation invalid.
180
10.3 Determine the Critical Location

You are ready to set up the fatigue analysis to determine the critical location. Copy the
file knuckle_ma.fin to your directory. Instead of filling in the forms as we have done
in all previous exercises, read in the fatigue job setup file. Of course you can still do it
manually if you wish also.
Bring up the MSC.Fatigue main setup form. Open the Job Control... form. Set the
Action to Read Saved Job, select the job knuckle-ma, and press Apply. The
parameters from the file are read in and all the widgets on the various forms are filled
in.
Reading the saved job recovers all the information from the job and sets up the forms.
One of the nice features of MSC.Fatigue is the ease with which job files are handled. If
you have a number of similar jobs to run you can simply change the job name and
make any other edits before saving the job, and then repeating this process as often as
necessary. If desired, all the resulting jobs may then be run in batch mode. This is the
most efficient way of working if you have a lot of analyses to carry out.
What reading an old job file does not do however, is recreate the material group(s)
used in the previous analysis just in case they have been removed or changed. Nor
does it ensure that the referenced result cases actually exist. This is up to the user.
Hint: Another way to easily and conveniently read in an old job setup file is to
type the jobname in the Jobname databox on the main form and press the
carriage return. If a file called jobname.fin is detected in the local
directory, it will be read. This can be more convenient than opening the
Job Control... form.
CHAPTER 10 181
The General Setup Parameters should appear as follows:

5. Res. Units: MPa
6. Jobname: knuckle_ma
7. Title: Slalom on cobblestones, but with loads scaled
by a factor of 13
Now open the various forms to see how the job has been setup.
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form.
1. Analysis Method: S-W-T
S-W-T (Smith-Topper-Watson) is a variant on the
standard strain-life methodology which takes into
account the mean stress of each cycle.
Neuber is the default elastic-plastic correction method.
3. Run Biaxiality Analysis: ON
This is the only real variant from previous examples.
4. Biaxiality Correction: None
This is the default correction method. Correction methods will be discussed
later.
5. Stress/Strain Combination: Max. Abs. Principal
The Max. Abs. Principal is the default choice of Stress/Strain Combination.
This is the principal strain that has the largest magnitude (in a uniaxial test,
this would be the axial strain).
6. Certainty of Survival (%): 50.0
The Certainty of Survival (%) defaults to 50%. This means that the
component will have a 50% chance of surviving the calculated life. The
probability is based on the scatter defined in the material parameters.
7. Run Factor of Safety Analysis: OFF
Many components are designed for infinite life, e.g., crankshafts; these are
better analyzed using a Run Factor of Safety Analysis. This is not covered by
this demonstration.
182
Close the Solution Params... form when done.
Open the Material Info... form. The original material of this component is not used in
this example analysis. Instead a representative material, for illustration purposes only,
has been selected.
The material information form is used to assign fatigue properties to different parts
(groups) of the model. You can have up to 20 different groups which may have any
combination of materials, surface finishes and treatments. Clicking on the material
box gives access to a picklist of suitable materials from the database. Corrections can
be made for surface finish and treatment. These are valid only for steels, though you
can set up your own corrections if desired. In the case of this analysis, no correction is
made, because the specimens were tested as-cast, i.e., with the same surface condition
as the component. The region for this analysis is the group containing the surface
nodes only. This speeds up the analysis.
The spreadsheet on the Material Info... form is filled out as follows:
1. Material: MANTEN
4. Region: KNUCKLE_ONLY
Note: You can change the Region to the group Surface_elements that you created
earlier if you wish as long as the nodes exist in it also. A very common
mistake that results in an error during translation is that the selected group
does not contain nodes when a nodal fatigue analysis has been requested or
the group does not contain elements when an element centroidal fatigue
analysis has been selected.
Close the Material Info... form down when done. Always use the OK button when
changes have been made. If you use the Cancel button, any changes will not be saved.
Loading Information
Copy the load variation signals to you local directory. They are called knuckle*.dac
where * is a wild card for the twelve load cases.
Open the Loading Info... form.
Load the Time History Files

The spreadsheet appears filled out on the form but the actual time history files are not
loaded into the time history database yet. Press the Time History Manager button to
invoke PTIME.
CHAPTER 10 183
When PTIME appears select the Load files option. A

form will appear from which you can load all files at
once. In the Source Filename databox type *.dac and
press the Tab key so that the Target Filename databox
automatically gets a wild card * placed there. Ignore any
warning messages if there are any. Put something in the
Description 1 databox such as Cobblestone Loads. Press
the OK button accepting all the other defaults. The files
will be loaded into the database. PTIME will show you a
list of the new entries that it loaded.
Note: If you have been working sequentially

through this document, then you may need to
select Add an entry... before the option Load
files is visible to you. In the Source Filename
databox type knuckle*.doc, then proceed as
described above.
One point ought to be made here. Nine of the 12 loads are forces in Newtons. The other
three are Moments in Nmm. We loaded all files as Forces (N). In practice, this makes
no difference at all to the analysis. The load type and units are simply labels. It is up
to the user to make sure that the loading in the time history file and the loading in the
FE model use consistent and compatible units regardless of how they are labelled.
Customized Loads and Units

Change the details of the three moments (KNUCKLE10, 11, and 12) using the Change
an entry | edit Details option. Change the Load type to Moment then change the
Units to Nmm. A problem you may encounter is that there may not be units defined
as Nmm. Your choices could only be Nm or Ft lbs.
If you have access and privileges to modify the installation area of MSC.Fatigue you
can customize the load types and units. There are two files in
<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/ptime (UNIX)
or on Windows:
x:\<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\ptime (Windows)
called ltypes.ind and utypes.ind. You can edit these files to add your own load types
and/or units if they do not exist. For instance, edit utypes.ind and add the following
line at the bottom of the file:
92 11 0.001 0 Nmm
The first number indicates the unit type ID; the second is the load type ID defined in
ltypes.ind that the units are associated to; the third defines the conversion from SI
units (N, m); the forth is an offset; and the fifth is the common name. See the
MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for more details.
184
If you are able to modify this file and wish to edit the details to change the moment
units, you will have to stop and restart PTIME for it to recognize the changes.
If you don’t have access to modify these files then simply select Nm as the unit types
since it will not make any difference to the resulting fatigue calculations.
Note: The only time that the actual load type and units are important is when you
use the PTIME option Change an entry | Unit conversion to convert the
selected time history to other units, although a compatibility check is made
between the header of a .dac file and that specified in the jobname.fes file.
View the Time Histories

The loads have been derived from a single test-track event, namely a slalom on
cobblestones. There are 12 load histories which correspond to the 12 FE static load
cases. For example, knuckle09.dac is the Z vertical load on the strut mount
corresponding to static FE load case 9. Loads are forces in Newtons (N) and Moments
in Nmm.
Let us take a look at these time
variations of the twelve load cases that
are used in this example.With PTIME
still running select the Multi-channel...
| Display Histories option which will
run the multi-file display module
MMFD. Using the List facility select as
many files as you would like to view.
You can select all 12 but only eight will
be visible at once. Use the Shift key to
make multiple selection from the file
browser. Note that the files will not
appear in the databox but the number
of files selected will appear below it.
Accept all the other defaults on the
form and press OK. The files will be
displayed.
If you displayed more than eight, use
the View | Scrn_Options | Next Scrn option to view the rest of the time histories. Exit
from MMFD and PTIME when you are done.
The Load Association Spreadsheet

The spreadsheet in the Loading Info... form is used to establish the association
between the load histories and the FE load cases. The other piece of information
required is the FE load case load magnitude. This is used to ensure correct scaling of
the stresses. In this analysis there are a couple of peculiarities. One is that the load case
CHAPTER 10 185
loads are set to 333 (N) instead of 1000. This effectively scales all the loads up by a
factor of 3. This has been done to make the pictures prettier - the first pass analysis
showed very little damage. The other peculiarity is the sign. This is due to a difference
between the coordinate set used in the FE model and that in which the load histories
were defined. The spreadsheet should be filled out accordingly.

Row 1: 15.1-1.1-1- (Load Case 1) KNUCKLE01 -333.
Row 3: 17.3-1.1-1- (Load Case 3) KNUCKLE03 333.
Hint: There is a toggle called Fill Down on the Loading Info... form. If you have
many load cases, it becomes a tedious task to fill out each cell in the
spreadsheet. If you turn this toggle ON when you select anything such as
a Load Case ID or Time History, all cells below the active cell will also be
filled in by selecting the next Load Case ID or Time History available.
This is a very convenient tool.
Note: Depending on the coordinate system in which your stresses are defined, you
may want or need to set the Transform to Basic option ON in the Loading
Info... form. This will have the effect of transforming all results into the
global system such that all results are in the same coordinate system before
nodal averaging. This ensures proper nodal averaging and that the
subsequent surface resolution will be as good as possible.
186
Note also that the Results Transformations is set to No Transformation. This is

because the results are nodal and in surface resolved coordinates and we wish them
to remain so. Close the Loading Info... form when done.
Job Control
If you do not want to wait for the analysis to run, copy the file knuckle_ma.fef to your
directory and go on to the Evaluate Results (p. 189). Otherwise, open the Job
Control... form and set the Action to Full Analysis and press the Apply button to run
the job. Monitor the job form time to time until the job is complete. Because of the
complexity of the loading, the job takes a while to run.
Note: If you do not want to wait that long, you might want to do the fast analysis
run instead.
Fast Analysis
Your analysis can be made to run faster by selecting the Simplified Analysis toggle in
the Job Control... form for a multiple load case analysis and turning it ON. The
analysis will perform peak-valley-slicing to reduce the time histories and run the
analysis using these reduced time histories. This quickly identifies the nodes with the
most damage and then the original time histories are used in a complete analysis on
only the identified locations.
Note: This does make it more difficult to view the critical locations in the form of a
contour plot because only the damaged locations are retained in a Simplified
Analysis. The contour plot will not be continuous over the entire model.
CPU Times
There are certain thing that will affect the CPU time it takes to run a fatigue analysis.
These are:
1. Number of Analysis Locations (Nodes or Elements). Selecting only a certain
group of locations can certainly speed up the operation. Knowing which
areas to include in the group(s) you create is the challenge if you do not know
where the critical locations are before hand.
2. The Number of Load Cases. There is not much you can do about this. The
number of load cases required is generally the number of load cases
required. However you may be able to eliminate some load cases if they have
no influence on the life.
3. The Number of Time History Points. The number of points in each time
history is a significant factor. The longer the time histories, the more
computationally intensive is the rainflow cycle counting procedure. Peak-
valley-slicing can be used to reduce time histories and still retain the
damaging events.
CHAPTER 10 187
4. The Processor Speed. The final influence on the CPU time is the processor
speed of course.
Peak-Valley-Slicing
The original load histories which were around 44,000 points, have been reduced using
a multi-channel peak-valley-slicing program called MPVXMUL. They have been
reduced down to around 1600 points.
Peak-valley-slicing is a fairly simple mechanism which tracks and extracts the peaks
and the valleys of all signals to be used in an analysis. Whenever a peak or a valley is
encountered in one of the signals, the corresponding points from the other signals are
also retained. This procedure can be accomplished directly from PTIME using the
Multi-channel... | Peak Valley Extract option, which will run MPVXMUL. You may
wish to try this while the analysis is running.
Open PTIME from the Loading Info... form and invoke
PTIME from the Time History Manager button. Then
select the Multi-channel | Peak Valley Extract option.
When MPVXMUL appears select DAC as the file type.
The next screen asks for the input files

(channels). Accept all the defaults. The
names of the files must have the same
(generic) name in front of the channel
numbers (KNUCKLExx.DAC). The
output file names will have a .pvx
extension.
The next screen is the Analysis
Set-up where you specify by
which method to do the slicing.
Accept the defaults and see the
MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for
detailed descriptions of these
methods.
Finally a spreadsheet is
presented to you with the names
and statistics of the signals to be
sliced. There are two editable
column, F and G. You must fill in
one of these columns in order to affect a change in the original signals. In the first cell
of column G (Gate %) enter 10 and press the carriage return. A 10 will appear under
the File pulldown menu. Press the Copy button. This will copy 10 down the column
for all the signals.
188
A percentage gate specifies a percentage of the total

1 5
stress or strain range of the time history. For example
3 if the largest range is 1000MPa and the gate is set to
4
Gate 10%, then any cycles encountered with ranges below
this gate (100MPa) will be ignored. The program does
not actually count cycles but during the course of the
2 peak-valley extraction process, the number of turning
points detected is restricted by imposing this
hysteresis “gate”. This gate corresponds to the
smallest difference between adjacent turning points that can be accepted. For turning
points to be counted, they must be separated by a distance greater than the specified
gate. By these means, small disturbances or “noise” in the time series may be “gated
out” from the set of extracted turning points.
To perform the slicing, select File
| OK. Load the files back into the
Time History Database Manager
by doing the Add an entry | Load
files operation again but this time
specifying *.pvx as the Source knuckle01.pvx
Filename. You may wish to use
the Multi-channel... | Display
Histories to compare the before
knuckle01.dac
and after files in MMFD. To the
right shows the time history for
the first load case where 49% gate
has been used.
After you have finished with this
exercise you may wish to re-run
the analysis using the *.pvx files
to see the difference in the speed
of the analysis and the accuracy of
the answers.
CHAPTER 10 189
10.4 Evaluate Results

The quick evaluation is to read the results into the database and do a contour plot of
life. You will need to copy the file knuckle_ma.fef to your directory to do this. Open
the Results... form from the MSC.Fatigue main form and press the Apply button with
the Action set to Read Results. Then make a fringe plot of Log of Life, Repeats (of
slaloms) from the Crack Initiation, knuckle_ma result case using the Results
application as has been done in previous exercises.
If you have rotated the model for any reason, select the named view nice_view from
Viewing | Named View Options... to restore the original view when the session file
was played.
The shortest lives (greatest damage)
appear to be around the loading
devices, notably at the end of the
steering arm, but this is spurious Critical
and should be ignored. The real hot- Location
spot is at Node 7977 which is on the
left most of the two ribs running
down from the strut mount.
On the MSC.Fatigue Results... form
change the Action to List Results
and run PFPOST to list the most
damaged nodes. The first few are all
around the loading devices. Note
that Node 7977, the node of interest,
gives a life of around 330 Repeats. If
you list fatigue lives for all nodes,
you can see that most nodes are
“beyond cutoff,” meaning that no
damage accumulates.
Hint: All your listings have been written to the file pfatigue.prt, which is an
ASCII file that acts as a report file for all MSC.Fatigue activity.
190
If you are so inclined you may run FEFAT’s design optimization mode to view
rainflow histogram plots or do sensitivity analyses or a number of other activities.
This is done from the Results... form with the Action set to Optimize. Since these
operations have been covered in detail in previous exercises, this will be left out of this
discussion.
Hint: The influence of individual load cases can be investigated using FEFAT
from the Job Control... form with the Action set to Interactive.... From the
Preprocessing and analysis pick in FEFAT you can specify a single node
to process and then edit individual load cases to change scaling factors or
even the time histories themselves. Be aware that the jobname.fpp and
jobname.fef files will be overwritten each time however.
Biaxiality - a Multiaxial Assessment

What we really want to know now, (and this is what “biaxiality analysis” will tell us)
is whether the analysis we have carried out is appropriate to the states of stress
occurring in the component. A biaxiality analysis accomplishes the following:
1. First we are concerned with stresses and strains at free surfaces, where a state
of plane stress exists, i.e., the stress state is two dimensional in the plane of
the free surface. We therefore simplify our attempts to understand the free
surface by transforming the stress results to local coordinate systems at each
location where the x-y plane is the plane of the surface, i.e., surface resolved
stresses.
2. The principal stresses are re-ordered from the conventional order where σz
is the surface normal stress (should be 0) and σ1 and σ2 are ordered in
magnitude. σ1 is the largest in-plane principal (in absolute value) and σ2 is
therefore the other in-plane stress.
3. The biaxiality ratio is calculated for every location at every time point: ae =
σ2/σ1. The angle, φp, that σ1 makes with the local x-axis is also retained for
each location at every time point.
4. The surface stress state is therefore described completely by σ1, ae and the
angle, φp.
5. ae and the angle, φp, get a bit unstable when the stresses are small, so when
we calculate statistics of these parameters a gate is applied to filter out these
small stresses.
It is obvious that the biaxiality ratio, ae, can take on any number between -1 and +1.
There are two reasons that we are interested in biaxiality.
1. One is that we need to know what the biaxiality is to calculate the stress-
strain response correctly.
2. The other is that it affects the type and severity of fatigue damage.
CHAPTER 10 191
When the biaxiality analysis is negative (as indicated by the Mohr's circles of stress),
the maximum shear plane where cracks tend to initiate is oriented as shown in the
diagram. In the early stages of initiation the type A cracks grow mainly along the
surface in Mode 2 (shear), before transitioning to Mode 1, normal to the maximum
principal stress.
When the biaxiality is positive however the cracks tend to be driven more through the
thickness. These are therefore more damaging for the same levels of shear strain.
Uniaxial loading is a special case.
Biaxiality Negative Biaxiality Positive Uniaxial Loading

Maximum Type B Cracks
Type A Cracks shear plane
Biaxiality Ratio - (ae) = σ2/σ1
What is Multiaxial Loading?

This table below describes what is meant by proportional and non-proportional
multiaxial loadings. “Loading” in this case means the local stress state variations, not
the global loading environment. Fortunately we very often find that although the
global loading environment has a complex set of out-of-phase loads, the local stress-
state variations in the critical locations are much simpler. This is often dictated by
geometry - for instance the stress state at the edge of a thin metal sheet will always be
uniaxial.
φp ae Rarity/Difficulty
Uniaxial constant 0 Most common and easily dealt

with. Only one principal stress
exists, σ1. Standard methods
OK.
Proportional Loading constant –1 ≤ ae ≤ 1 Less common but easily dealt

with by knowing ae to correct
from a uniaxial case.
Non-proportional Loading may vary may vary Most rare and tricky to deal
with.
192
Biaxiality Indicators
A biaxiality analysis calculates three main indicators available for graphical plotting
along with the damage and life.
1. Mean Biaxiality Ratio: Plot this result
type from the Results application. This
is the average value of the biaxiality
ratio over the entire combined time
signals for every location. The average is
carried out throughout the loading
history, except values are ignored if the
stress does not exceed a gate value set by
default to 20% of UTS. Zero indicates
uniaxial (or below gate), -1 pure shear
(torsion), +1 equi-biaxial and 0.3 plane
strain. We can see here that most of the
model remains below the gate, the
critical region is very close to uniaxial and the steering arm experiences
considerable shear (torsion). If you have ratios of +0.3 or more, it may be
better to use the signed Tresca strain combination method, as this will be
more conservative.
2.Biaxiality Ratio Standard Deviation:
This parameter provides a measure of the
variability of the biaxiality ratio, i.e., is the
loading proportional or not. Small values
(close to zero) denote proportional
loadings. Non-proportional loadings are
more difficult to handle, and the results
may be misleading. If you plot this (use
the standard spectrum selection on the
form - Display | Spectrums... ) you will
see that once again, the critical area
presents no problem and all the action
seems to be on the steering arm.
Proportional loading indicates that the magnitudes of σ1 and σ2 vary
proportionally to one another. Large standard deviations in the biaxiality
ratio indicate non-proportionality between these two stresses.
CHAPTER 10 193
3. Angle Spread: This gives an indication

of the mobility of the absolute maximum
principal stress (range φp=0-180). 45
degrees or so is not a big problem.
Movements of around 90 degrees or
more is either another indication of non-
proportionality of loading or may occur
when there is pure shear, when the
stress will “flip” through 90 degrees.
When this occurs, MSC.Fatigue may
give misleading results, although when
the problem is due to shear stresses, the
predictions will tend to be conservative.
Again, in the critical location the angle
spread is less than 45 degrees.
In this component the extra information provided makes us feel quite comfortable
about the assumptions of uniaxiality used in the initial fatigue analysis. To further
enhance this confidence there are more ways to look at the above results.
Biaxiality Cross-Plots
Close down the Results application (by selecting
the Results switch again on the main form) and go
back to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form. Open
the Job Control... form; set the Action to
Interactive... and press Apply to run the FE fatigue
analyzer FEFAT.
FEFAT will start by presenting you its main menu.
Select Assess multiaxiality. The next screen
presented will ask you what location to assess
besides the jobname and output file which should be defaulted to knuckle_ma. Enter
7977 as the node number for the location to assess multiaxiality. Press the OK button
to proceed accepting all the other defaults. The analysis will present you with a
summary form. Press End to close this form down and be placed in the main Analysis
Postprocessing menu for assessing multiaxiality.
194
There are four main choices on

this menu. Select each one to view
the results:
1. Plot all outputs: This
plot simply displays the
time variation of all the
parameters such as the
biaxiality ratio, ae, and
the angle, φp, for the
critical location, Node
7977. The time variation
of these parameters can
be interesting, however
the more useful plots are
when each of these is
cross-plotted against the
principal stress for all
time points.
2. Biaxiality vs. Principal:

This a cross-plot of the
biaxiality ratio vs. the
maximum absolute
principal stress for all time
points at the critical node,
Node 7977. The interesting
thing to note is that the
biaxiality ratio, ae, tends to
line up vertically close to
zero for this node indicating
a uniaxial condition for the
higher stress values. The
lower stress values should
be gated out.
CHAPTER 10 195
3. Angle vs. Principal:

This is a cross-plot of the
angle, φp, vs. the
maximum absolute
principal stress for all
time points at the critical
node, Node 7977. Again
note that for the higher
stress levels, they tend
to line up vertically at a
particular angle
suggesting that the
mobility is minimal and
uniaxial conditions
exist. The smaller stress
cycles do show quite a
bit of mobility but they
should be gated out as
they are of no
consequence to the
damage of the component.
Note: The gate value used was zero (the default). To properly check for mobility
you should set a reasonable gate value to exclude small stress/strain cycles
that may mislead you in the interpretation of the angle spread which will be
reported larger than it really is for the damaging cycles only.
4. Angle Distribution:
This is another way of
looking at the stress
tensor mobility. This
plots displays the
number of times each
angle, φp, appeared
during the loading
sequence. A spike
indicates the
predominate angle.
The other angles that
appeared occasionally
are generally due to the
lower stress cycles as
indicated by the
previous plot.
196
Finally repeat these steps for a different node where there is a lot of mobility in the
stress tensor, say Node 1045 which is located on the steering arm. A multiaxial
condition results in plots as seen at this node: random and scattered for ae and φp not
constant (flops back and forth between two predominant angles indicating a shear
condition). Note however that the stress range is much less than that at Node 7977 and
therefore is not of concern to us. Exit from all programs when you are finished.
CHAPTER 10 197

This exercise has dealt with a FE model with complex geometry subject to multiple
loading inputs. The critical location was determined and a stress state evaluation was
done to determine the amount of multiaxiality at the critical location. From this the
validity of the fatigue analysis was determined based on the assumption of a uniaxial
stress state. Had the loading been proved to be other than uniaxial the following
approaches must be taken:
Accounting for Proportional Loading

Proportional loading, which means ae is non-zero but constant and the stress tensor
mobility is minimal, can be accounted for on the Solution Params... form by setting the
Biaxiality Correction method. Two methods exist, both of which modify the uniaxial
material properties using ae.
1. Material Parameter: The Material Parameter method basically makes a new
set of parameters (E, K' and n') for each state of stress. For example, Young’s
Modulus becomes E* = E/(1-νae). It assumes the ratio of the principal strains
remains fixed and that the von Mises stress and strain yield criteria obey the
cyclic stress strain curve postyield. It is only valid to use with a maximum
strain based combination parameter (Max. Abs. Principal).
2. Hoffman-Seeger: The Hoffmann-Seeger method makes the same basic
assumptions, but makes the Neuber correction in equivalent stress-strain
space. It has the advantage that it predicts all the principal stresses and
strains and can therefore be used in conjunction with any equivalent stress
or strain combination parameter.
See the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for more details on these correction methods.
Accounting for Non-proportional Loading

There is, as yet, no general agreement about how
to fully deal with non-proportional loadings - it is
still a major research topic. A full multiaxial
fatigue analyzer is included as part of
MSC.Fatigue however, and can be run externally
once an initial global location fatigue analysis has
been run (at least through the translation stage,
i.e., the creation of a jobname.fes file). The module is called FEMLF and can be
invoked from the system prompt using the symbol, femlf or from the Tools pulldown
in Pre&Post.
This module has a few different methods and you are referred to the MSC.Fatigue
User’s Guide for detailed description of its usage. In general, fatigue life estimation
from a non-proportional loading situation can only be properly determined by doing
a critical plane analysis. This entails doing multiple analyses at representative
angles of φp. A new rainflow cycle counting procedure is also adopted which takes
198
into consideration that a cycle may begin on one plane and close on another. The notch
correction procedure of correcting for plasticity also becomes complicated and uses a
kinematic hardening model (the equivalent of using Neuber and Masing’s hypothesis
for a uniaxial stress state). It is an advanced subject and beyond the scope of this text.
But procedures do exist in MSC.Fatigue.
Note: As of the release of this version of MSC.Fatigue, the multiaxial analyzer,

FEMLF, although available, has not been fully validated. This is mainly due
to the fact that the theoretical basis is not well established or fully accepted
in the circles of fatigue experts. For this reason a number of methods are
included in FEMLF.
The moral of the story is to not assume a non-proportional loading situation just
because the external loading and geometry are complex:
1. First assume a uniaxial stress state and perform the fatigue analysis.
2. Run a biaxiality analysis to produce the stress state parameters needed to
evaluate multiaxiality.
3. Evaluate the biaxiality parameters at the critical locations to determine if any
corrections need to be made for proportional or non-proportional loading.
The evaluation criteria for proportional or non-proportional loading is as such:
1. If ae is close to zero and φp is constant, uniaxial assumptions stand.
2. If ae is non-zero but constant and φp is constant, a state of proportional
loading exists. Compensation can be made by using the Material Parameter
or Hoffman-Seeger methods to modify the uniaxial material properties.
Hint: For ae=0 Signed Tresca, Signed von Mises and Max. Abs. Principal
should give close to the same results. If ae is negative, Max. Abs.
Principal is the best choice. If ae is positive, Signed Tresca is the best
choice. These comments apply to the crack initiation approach. If using
stress life it is best to stick with Max. Abs. Principal.
3. If neither ae or φp are constant but vary significantly above the stress gate, a
state of non-proportional loading exists. Compensation must be made by
using the full multiaxial fatigue analyzer, FEMLF to do critical plane
analysis.
Note: Critical plane analyses can be computationally expensive since they requires
multiple calculations at every location.
CHAPTER 10 199
Run FEMLF from a system or

DOS prompt if you wish and
select Crack initiation life
analysis. Accept the jobname,
knuckle_ma as default and
enter 1045 as the node of
interest. Remember this is the
node on the steering arm that
appeared to have some degree
of multiaxiality. Accept all the
defaults and press OK to run
the analysis. A summary form
appears. Accept it by pressing
OK to go to the Display Menu.
From here you can plot
cycle/damage histograms or
damage polar plots to see the
results of the critical plane analysis. Try rerunning the analysis at this node for all the
different methods to see the variability. The table below summarizes the results
Multiaxial Method Life

Uniaxial Solution ~97,300
Normal Strain ~106,000
SWT-Bannantine ~316,500
Shear Stress ~18,500
Fatemi-Socie ~27,000
Wang-Brown ~30,500 A Typical Polar Plot of Damage
From one of the Critical Plane
Wang-Brown + mean ~26,000 Analyses at Node 1045
200
Re-run the analysis using Node

7977. This was the critical node
from our uniaxial analysis. The
biaxiality analysis showed us
that the most popular angle, φp,
at most time points for values
above the stress gate was around
-40 degrees. This means that if
we were to perform a critical
plane analysis we would see the
majority of the damage at -40
degrees in a polar plot. This is
indeed the case as shown to the
right.
MSC.Fatigue QuickStart GuideLK
CHAPTER
Welding
11
■ Introduction
Modeled as Stiff BARS
■ Geometry and FE Results
■ Define a Group of CBARS
■ Spot Weld S-N Analysis
Modeled as CWELDS
Modeled with CHEX/MPC
■ Problem Description for a Seam Weld Analysis
■ Setting up the Seam Weld Analysis
202
11.1 Introduction
The Spot Weld Module supports three commonly used methods for modeling Spot Welds:
1. Spot welds modeled as stiff MSC.Nastran CBARS.
2. Spot welds modeled as MSC.Nastran CWELD elements. The ALIGN, GRIDID and
ELEMID options on the CWELD connectivity are supported.
3. Spot welds modeled with MSC.Nastran CHEX/MPC elements.
Each of these methods are illustrated with examples.
CHAPTER 11 203
Welding
11.2 Problem Description for Spot Weld Analysis with

Spot Welds Modeled as Stiff BARS
A portion of a vehicle body is analyzed to
determine the dependability of the spot
welds that hold the metal sheets together in
various locations. The model is fixed at one
end and at the center hub area and subject
to horizontal and vertical forces and a
torque at the other end as shown in the plot
to the right. Each load varies with time
independently of the other two.
The Spot welds are modeled as stiff
CBARS between the sheets. Only
MSC.Nastran results are presently
supported by this analyzer. The forces and
moments of these CBAR elements are
recovered in the FE analysis and used in a
subsequent spot weld fatigue analysis. The actual fatigue analysis of the spot welds is based on
the Total Life or S-N method.
Objective
• To illustrate spot weld fatigue analysis setup and usage
• To determine the location of the weakest spot welds due to the imposed loading
conditions
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spot.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/horizontal.asc
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/vertical.asc
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/torque.asc
204
11.3 Geometry and FE Results

The geometry and FE results are contained in the file spot.op2. Copy this file over to a clean
directory and open a new database called spotweld. Import both the model and the results in
the typical way for MSC.Nastran as illustrated in most of the previous exercises.
Because the CBAR are very small in
comparison to the overall model
dimensions, they have been plotted to
the left as small spheres to visualize
where on the model they are located.
The spheres have been color coded
according to element force magnitude
for the first load case (horizontal force).
Because the spot welds are modeled as
stiff CBAR elements, only a coarse
mesh is required. The CBAR are used
as force transducers to obtain forces
and moments transmitted through the
spot weld. MSC.Nastran CBAR forces
and moments are used to calculate
structural stresses in the actual fatigue
analysis.
The spot welds are placed between the sheets joining the mid-planes of the two sheets of shell
elements, and perpendicular to both. The length of the spot weld and the sheet separation
should therefore be half the sum of the sheet thicknesses. There is no need for any refinement
of the mesh around the spot-welds. The only requirement for the shell elements used to model
the sheets is that they transmit the correct loads to the bar elements. In fact, the best results are
achieved when the dimensions of the shell elements are quite large - more than twice the
diameter of the weld nuggets.
z
CBAR element
coordinate system
y
q
x
Point 2
Point 3
Sheet 2
Sheet 1
Weld
Point 1
nugget
A typical spot-weld is illustrated above. The shaded part is the spot weld nugget. Again, the
length of the CBAR element must be 0.5(s1+s2) where s1 and s2 are the thicknesses of sheets 1
and 2 respectively. Point 3 is on the axis of the weld nugget and at the interface of the 2 sheets,
CHAPTER 11 205
Welding
i.e., 0.5s1 from Point 1. All forces and moments are taken to be in the MSC.Fatigue CBAR
element coordinate system illustrated below. This is taken to be a Cartesian system with the Z
axis going from Point 1 to Point 2.
Plane 2
y
y z
Plane 1
x MSC.Nastran element coordinate system
z x
MSC.Fatigue spot-weld coordinate system
The translator extracts forces and moments Fx,y,z and Mx,y,z in the MSC.Fatigue coordinate
system, and in the conventional right-handed sense, from the results in the database, for each
of the three specified points. These forces and moments (except Mz) are used to calculate
nominal stresses (structural stresses) on the inner surface of sheet 1 and sheet 2, and in the weld
nugget at the interface of the two sheets, at intervals around the circumference of the spot weld
(θ=0 degrees to 360 degrees by increments of 10 degrees). The forces and moments at points
1 and 2 are those applied by the spot welds on the sheets, and the forces and moments at point
3 will be those applied by the upper section (between point 3 and point 2) on the lower section
(between point 1 and point 3).
Fy My
My
Sheet 1
Fy
My
Nugget Fx Mx
Fy Fz
Fx Mx
Fz
Fz Fx Mx
Sheet 2
206
11.4 Define a Group of CBARS

Before we commence on the exercise, create a group of CBARS that represent the Spot welds.
In this example we are going to keep things simple by defining a single group of bar elements.
This means that all spot welds in this model have the exact same nugget radii and flange sheet
thicknesses.
Note: d ifferent groups may be created for spot welds that connect across different flange
D
pair thicknesses. However, care must be exercised to ensure that duplicate elements
(CBARS) do not exist in different groups. Overlaps are not permitted. If this does
occur, the characteristics of the CBAR from the last group will be adopted.
Automatic group creation, meaning grouping CBARS that connect across the same
flange thickness pairs, is feasible when the Material form is filled out (see next
section) if the bulk data file for a model is read into the Patran database.
Open the Group form from Group | Create on

the main form of Pre&Post or MSC.Patran.
Call the new group beams. Set the focus in
the Entity Selection databox. The Select
Mechanism should appear. Set the selection
to pick only CBAR elements from the
graphics screen. With the mouse and the
cursor, surround the entire model by clicking
and dragging from one corner to the opposite.
All the CBAR elements will be selected. Press the Apply button to create the group. Close the
Group form when you are done.
CHAPTER 11 207
Welding
11.5 Spot Weld S-N Analysis

To set up the Spot Weld fatigue analysis follow the instructions in this section. Start by opening
the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and set the General Setup Parameters as follows:
1. Analysis: Spot Weld
2. Results Loc.: Both
This is automatically set to Both. Since we are working
with CBAR elements, both the element number and the
node IDs associated with the elements are necessary.
Fatigue calculations will occur at the two end nodes and the
element centroid (or weld nugget).
This setting does not have any bearing on a Spot Weld
analysis. The default is set.
4. F.E. Results: Force
This setting is also automatically set for you to Force.
Forces and moments will be extracted from the database as
opposed to stresses as with all other fatigue analyses. The
stresses will be determined from the forces and moments.
5. Res. Units: N, mm
Units are now in forces and moments and not stresses. The
default is N, mm (Newtons and millimeters).
6. Jobname: spotweld
7. Title: Spot Weld Fatigue Analysis Example
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. There is only one
setting on this form for a Spot Weld analysis, namely the
design criterion, or Certainty of Survival. By default it is
set at 50%. This parameter has been discussed in detail in
previous exercises. It is the association with the scatter of
the S-N curve. To be 90% confident of reaching the
design life, set this value to 90. For our example problem
simply accept the default of 50%.
Setting up the material information for a Spot Weld analysis is similar to other fatigue analyses
with a few differences. The major difference is that you must define groups with CBAR
elements only. The spot weld nuggets themselves can differ in radius, and the sheets to which
208
they attach can differ in thickness. For each combination of spot weld nugget radius and sheet
thicknesses you must define a group. Also each location on the spot weld (sheet1, sheet2,
nugget) can be associated with a different S-N curve.
Spot Weld S-N Curves

S-N curves for Spot Weld analysis are determined by
testing specimens similar to that shown. The system
requires an S-N curve for each metal sheet and for the
weld nugget at load ratio R=0, plus a mean stress
sensitivity factor and a standard error parameter (used
when setting the Certainty of Survival on the Solution
Params... form). The formulation of the S-N curve is as
follows:
b1
∆ S = SRI1 ( N f )
for Nf < Nc1, the transition life. For Nf > Nc1 a second slope b2 is used. It is possible to correct
each cycle with amplitude S and mean stress Sm to calculate an equivalent stress amplitude S0
at R=0:
S + MS m
S 0 = -----------------------
M+1
The MSC.Fatigue materials database

contains around ten S-N curves for specific
spot weld types. In this example we will use
the generic spot weld S-N curves for the
nugget and the sheets. You can view these S-
N curves by pressing the Material
Database Manager button. When PFMAT
starts Load | data set 1 with
spot_nugget_generic and Load | data set 2
with spot_sheet_generic. Then do a
Graphical display to view the
S-N curves. Exit from PFMAT when you are
done.
CHAPTER 11 209
Welding
Fill Out the Material Spreadsheet

Now on the Material Info... form, fill out the spreadsheet as follows:
1. Number of Groups: 1
Up to 165 different combinations of spot weld nugget diameters, sheet thicknesses,
and corresponding S-N curves can be created. If you change this setting, be sure to
press the carriage return to affect the change. The spreadsheet rows will update to the
number you specify here.
2. Group: beams
Click on Group and pick BAR as the element type. Pick the group beams that you
created in the previous step and click on Fill Cell. We will not use the create Sub
Group option as we are assuming that all welds have the same properties, and default
values will be filled in the cells. You may want to experiment with this using your
own model by reading in a model that has element properties and experiment with
the Sub Group option. This option splits a selected group into a series of groups
based on the thickness pairs found at the end of the bar elements and load up the cells
automatically. The next cell will become active.
3. Diam: 4.8
This is the spot weld nugget diameter for the specified group of spot welds. If the
properties for this model were in the database this would have been calculated
automatically from a look up table (see MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide). Note that the
units must be consistent with that specified in the General Setup Parameters. The
diameter is specified in millimeters (and the sheet thicknesses). Enter the value and
press the carriage return. The next cell will become active.
210
4. S-N(nug): spot_nugget_generic
This is the S-N curve for the spot weld nugget.
5. S-N(sh1): spot_sheet_generic
This is the S-N curve for the top sheet of the spot weld.
6. T(sh1): 1.8
This is the thickness of the top sheet. Enter the value and press the carriage return to
accept the number. The next cell will become active.
7. S-N(sh2): spot_sheet_generic
This is the S-N curve for the bottom sheet of the spot weld.
8. T(sh2): 1.8
This is the thickness of the bottom sheet. Enter the value and press the carriage
return. The last cell will become active.
9. SF: 1.0
This is an additional scale factor you may apply in the form of a Kf if desired. Accept
the default of unity by pressing the carriage return.
If more groups of spot welds had been defined, the next row would become active for data entry
just as we have filled out the first row. Close the form by pressing the OK button when finished.
CHAPTER 11 211
Welding
Loading Information
This is identical to all other fatigue analyses using the pseudo-static method. Transient FE
results are also supported. Open the Loading Info... form. You will notice that it appears
identical to all other analyses discussed thus far.
Define the Load Service

In our analysis we have three FE loads, thus the need to associate three time variations of the
loading. Press the Time History Manager button to invoke PTIME.
When PTIME appears, use Add an entry... | ASCII convert + Load to load the following time
histories: HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, TORQUE. You will need the three files
horizontal.asc, vertical.asc, and torque.asc which are available from the usual location.
One at a time, load these ASCII files into the load history database and set the details as shown
below. The first two (HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL) represent transmission (horizontal)
and suspension (vertical) loading and are forces in Newtons. The third is a moment due to a
bracket loading (TORQUE) in Nmm. To set the details of one of these do the following on the
details page:
1. Select Add an entry... | ASCII convert +
load.
2. Select horizontal.asc as the ASCII
filename. Accept all other defaults and press
OK.
3. Add at least something to Description 1,
such as Horizontal Load.
4. Change the Load type to Force.
5. Change the Units to Newtons.
6. Accept all other defaults and press OK.
212
Repeat this operation for the other

two ASCII files. Remember the
torque time history is a moment and
the moment units are Nmm. If these
units are not available, see A
Multiaxial Assessment (Ch. 10)
for a discussion on customizing
loads and units. You may have
already customized the units to
include Nmm if you followed this
previous exercise fully.
Use the Multi-channel... | Display
Histories to invoke MMFD to view
all three histories at once if you wish.
Quit from PTIME when you are
done.
Fill Out the Loading

Spreadsheet
Fill out the form and spreadsheet on the Loading Info... form as follows:
1. Number of Static Load Cases: 3
There are three static load cases representing the horizontal, vertical, and torque load
cases.
2. Fill Down ON: ON
Turn this toggle on to make it easier and more efficient to fill out the spreadsheet.
CHAPTER 11 213
Welding
3. Load Case ID: 2.1-2.1-2-

Activate the first cell by
clicking in it. Press the
Get/Filter Results... button
and on this form press the
Select All Results Cases
toggle and then the Apply
button. All the available
results cases will appear in
the left most listbox under
the spreadsheet. Select the
first load case from this
listbox and in the right most
listbox, select either Bar
Forces, Rotational or Bar
Forces, Translational. Both
must exist but only one needs
to be selected. Finally press
the Fill Cell button. Note that
all three cells fill out with the
three load cases because you had the Fill Down toggle turned ON. The next cell in
the first row becomes active.
4. Time History: HORIZONTAL
The time history database is queried and all available time histories are displayed in
a spreadsheet below the main spreadsheet. Select the row containing
HORIZONTAL. Again all rows are filled in because the Fill Down toggle is ON.
Make sure HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, and TORQUE are associated with Load
Cases 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
5. Load Magnitude: 1000
These are the load magnitudes as applied in the FE analysis. Enter 1000 as the load
magnitude in Newtons. Press the carriage return. Again all cells fill with this value.
This is appropriate for load cases 1 and 2 but load case 3 needs to be set at 100,000
Nmm. Activate the bottom cell in the Load Magnitude column and change the value
to 100000 and press the carriage return to accept the value. The Loading Info... form
is now complete. Press the OK button to accept the form.
Job Control
Open the Job Control... form and set the Action to Full Analysis and
press the Apply button to run the job. Monitor the job from time to
time until the job is complete. The job, because of the complexity of
the loading, and the number of spot welds takes a few minutes to run.
214
Stress and fatigue damage are calculated at 10 degree intervals around the spot weld for the two
sheets. This also increases the calculation times.
Note: By default, calculations at the nugget are not done. You must run the Spot Weld
analyzer, SPOTW, interactively to do nugget calculation or to reduce the number of
angle calculations around the spot weld.
As already mentioned, this method requires spot welds to be modeled as stiff CBAR elements
in MSC.Nastran. The forces transmitted through these CBAR elements are used to calculate
the structural (nominal) stresses in the weld nugget and the adjoining sheet metal at intervals
around the perimeter of the nugget. These stresses can then be used to make fatigue life
predictions on the spot weld using a S-N (Total Life) method. Life is calculated using Linear
Damage Summation (Miner’s rule).
Results Evaluation
Open the Results... form and Read Results into the database. Two
results files are created by a Spot Weld analysis:
The jobname.fef (spotweld.fef) file is the normal result file that is
similar to other result files and is the result file read into the database.
It contains ten columns corresponding to worst damage, life, and log
of life for each spot weld including the angle of failure, the node ID
(sheet 1, 2 or the nugget - ID=0), and the maximum force encountered. The other results file is
called jobname.spt (spotweld.spt). It is an ASCII file that is queried by the actual spot weld
analyzer, SPOTW, with result reported at all angles and locations.
CHAPTER 11 215
Welding
Identify Critical Spot Weld

Open the Results application from the main form. You will see a new
result case called SPOT WELD ANALYSIS, spotweld. If you
select this you will see all the result values that you can plot.
However because the spot welds are very small in comparison to the
rest of the model dimensions and because the results are stored as
elemental results, the Results application is not practical to use. (You
will not be able to see a contour plot.) It is better to graphically view
the results at these CBAR by making element marker plots. This is
done in the Insight application.
Before invoking the Insight application make sure that the group
beams is posted (Group | Post) along with the default_group. Then
press the Insight switch on the main form of Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran.
A new graphical window will open and the Insight application will
appear. Set the Action to Create and the Tool to Marker as shown
to the side. Then follow these instructions:
1. Press the Results Selection... button.
2. From the form that appears, select the SPOT WELD
ANALYSIS as the Current Load Case. Press the Update
Results button and select the Marker Result, Log of Life
(Repeats). Accept all the defaults on the Result Options
form if it appears. Close the form with the OK button.
3. Press the Marker Attributes... button.
4. Change the Type to Sphere and the Scale to Screen. Set the Scale Factor to 0.03 and
then close the form with the OK button. All the spheres will appear the same size.
5. Change the Target to Elements.
6. Turn the Use All
Posted toggle OFF so
you can select a
group. Marker
Plot
7. Select the group Here
beams only.
8. Press the Apply
button to produce a
marker plot similar to
that shown to the
side.
Using color mapped markers, you can easily and quickly identify the critical spot welds in the
model. To experiment with the marker plot you can change the Action to Modify and the
Object to Marker. Select the marker plot you just made (the default name is Marker_1) and
216
change any setting you wish such as the marker type, the scale factor, and the color mapping.
Also try plotting some of the other results. When you are finished, press the Insight toggle
switch again to close Insight and return to the standard graphics screen.
Results Listings
Return to the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and on the
Results... form set the Action to List Results. This runs
the Spot Weld analyzer SPOTW in its List global results
mode.
Exit SPOTW and go to the Job Control... form and run
SPOTW from the Interactive... action. You can now see
all the options of SPOTW. The analysis was performed
in batch mode through Pre&Post or MSC.Patran,
however you can also run it interactively using the first selection, Estimate fatigue life. Listing
the results from the Results... form put you directly into the List global results option.
Another result listing option is the lisT.spt file. Press this button to list results. The Results
Filename SPOTWELD.SPT will be read. Keep all defaults and select OK. A Results
summary of the worst damaged element will be displayed.
Polar Plots
From SPOTW’s main menu select Results polar plot. Accept all defaults and press OK. This
will spawn a graphical program called MPOD that displays polar plots of damage. These plots
show life for the nugget and the two sheets around the circumference of the spot weld showing
you at which angle the worst damage occurs. It is very much like a critical plane analysis
display. The plot to the left shows life from the worst case element.
If you run Results polar plot again and this time select Maximum stress rate for the plot
parameters, you will get a different plot.
CHAPTER 11 217
Welding
The plot to the right shows the maximum stress ranges for the sheets and the nugget. Note that
this plots shows three curves, one for the nugget and each sheet. Sheet 2 shows the most stress
range and thus the reason for damage appearing from only sheet 2 in the first polar plot above.
The stress range in the other sheet and the nugget do not cause much, if any, damage.
Note: You may not see a third curve corresponding to the nugget calculations as shown in
the plots above when you do this on your own. This is because by default the nugget
is not calculated. If you want the nugget calculations, you have to turn them on when
running SPOTW interactively.
Return to the SPOTW main menu when you are done.
Sensitivity Analysis
SPOTW also has a Design optimization mode very similar to that of FEFAT. In fact, most of
the same options exist. Only those that are different are discussed here. It can be accessed from
the Results... form directly when the Action is set to Optimize or you can enter it from the Job
Control... form when you run SPOTW in Interactive... mode. You can play “What if games”
on the sheet thicknesses, nugget diameter, loading...etc. To enter Design optimization you must
supply an element number or specify the WORST element. The calculation will proceed with
a summary page and then you are placed in the Design Optimization main menu where you can
do a multitude of things similar to the FEFAT fatigue analyzer optimization mode.
For example, try a Sensitivity analysis | sheet 2 thickness and enter “(1.0,3.0,0.5)” which
indicates sheet thicknesses from 1 mm to 3 mm by increments of 0.5 mm will be analyzed.
Then go to result Display | Sensitivity plot to do a graphical display of the results.
You can experiment with other options as you see fit and when you are done, exit SPOTW and
quit from Pre&Post or MSC.Patran.
Note: Although the sensitivity analysis of differing sheet thicknesses is insightful,

changing the thicknesses of the sheets necessarily changes the moments which are
not taken into account. Therefore this is simply an approximation. A full validation
should be done by changing the thicknesses in the FE model and recalculating the
forces and moments.
218

Spot Welds Modeled as CWELDS
A simple CWELD element model is used to demonstrate the procedure. The model consists of
2 Channels and a middle sheet Spot welded at the location indicated by the arrow. The three
sections are connected by 2 CWELDs using the GRIDID option, with each CWELD
connecting a Channel section and the middle sheet. One channel section is loaded with 25N
loads in the X, Y & Z directions while the legs of the other channel are clamped at the edges.
The 3 sheet connection used in this and the next exercise will be useful in the discussion on
three sheet calculations.
Objective
• To illustrate Spot Weld fatigue analysis with CWELDS
• Reading CWELD results from the MSC.Fatigue or Fatigue Utilities menu
• To illustrate the auto spot weld group creation on the Materials form.
Table 11-2 Necessary Files for Section 11.6
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spot_cweld.bdf
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spot_cweld.op2
Reading in the Model and CWELD Results

Create a new database called cweld and read in the Model input file (the BDF file) to display
the Model above.
CHAPTER 11 219
Welding
For Patran installations, read the .op2 file from Tools| MSC.Fatigue| Read .op2 files for
CWELDs or Tools | Fatigue Utilities| Read .op2 files for CWELDs for the Standalone
version. From the select file form, select spot_cweld.op2 and press OK.
The database will automatically close and then re-open when the results have been read into
the database.
Create CWELD groups

Just like in the previous exercise, we have to create a group that represents the Spot welds.
From the Group menu, create a group by selecting the 1-D elements and dragging the mouse
over the entire screen. Name the group cweld_elem. The cweld_elem group can be displayed
from Group | Post for verification.
Set Up the Spot Weld Analysis

Set up the main form just like in the previous example but this time give it a new Jobname.
Accept the defaults on the Solution parameters form.
Material form
The third objective of the exercise will be illustrated here. Open the Material form and do the
following:
1. For the Element Type select
CWELD.
2. Select the cweld_elem group
created above.
3. Turn Create Sub-groups on.
4. Click on the Fill Cell button.
The Material form cells will load up
automatically with 2 groups, with each
group of spot welds connecting a
different pair of flange thicknesses,
determined from the properties in Model
input file.
220
From the form on the right it can be

seen that 2 CWELDS groups are
created connecting a thickness pair of
(1.2,0.6) and (0.6,1.2) mm respectively.
These are based on the orientation of
the CWELD defined in the input deck.
The diameters are also filled in
automatically and are calculated values
based on the flange thicknesses.
Note: The diameters are calculated from the flange sheet thicknesses from an internal table
in the software and are based on mm units. Users may define their look up table in a
Spotweld.sys ascii file and place the file in the run directory
For this exercise, change the diameters of both groups to 5.4839 mm. The reason for this will
be evident in the next exercise. Press OK to accept the inputs.
Loading Form
As per the previous exercise, select the Loading Info… button on the main MSC.Fatigue form
and fill it out as follows:
1. Select the available Static
Loadcase (this time there will
only be one)
2. Pick the Weld Forces
(translational or rotational) for
the Load Case
3. Pick HORIZONTAL for the
time history
4. Normalize the loading history
by specifying the maximum
value of 999 in the load
magnitude cell.
5. Press OK to accept the inputs.
CHAPTER 11 221
Welding
Run the Spot Weld Analysis

From the Job Control form, set the Action to Full Analysis and press Apply to run the job.
Once the job has completed read the results into the database. From the MSC.Fatigue Results
form, set the Action to List Results and press Apply. Enter the name of the job you just ran
and click on OK. Spot Weld will then display the results form. The minimum life of 6149
repeats is reported in the middle sheet (0.6 mm thickness), as expected.
For more complex models, Users may want to read the results into the Patran database and
display results using marker plots as per the previous exercise.
222

Spot Welds Modeled with CHEX/MPC
This modeling technique utilizes HEX elements to model the spot weld where the weld is
connected to the flanges by MPCs. MSC.Nastran Grid Point Force (GPFORCE) results must
be recovered on the HEX8 nodes for MSC.Fatigue to extract Spotweld forces and moments for
analysis.
The same model from the previous exercise is used with the CWELD connections replaced by
CHEX/MPC connections. The model plot is shown below:
Objective
• To illustrate Spot Weld fatigue analysis with CHEX/MPC
• Converting CHEX/MPC results to equivalent BAR results
• To illustrate the auto spot weld group creation on the Materials form.
• Displaying Analysis results on the CHEX Spotwelds.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spot_chex.bdf
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/spot_chex.op2
Reading in the Model and CHEX/MPC Results

Create a new database called chex and read in the Model input file (the BDF file) and results
(the OP2 file). The model is shown below.
CHAPTER 11 223
Welding
Convert CHEX/MPC to Equivalent BARs

The next step is to convert the CHEX/MPC results to equivalent
BAR results. For Patran installations, invoke Tools|
MSC.Fatigue| HEX to BAR Results or Tools | Fatigue Utilities
| HEX to BAR Results for the standalone version. The form
shown below will be displayed.
The select pulldown has two options. If “All HEX8 SW” is
selected, then all HEX8 elements that are attached to MPCs will
be grouped and processed. The second option, “Hex8”, allows the
User to specify the HEX elements that are to be processed as
Spotwelds. A warning message is issued if the HEX elements
selected do not have any MPCs associated with them.
For this exercise, select All Hex8 SW and select the single
Results case.
Note: Only the element GPFORCE results belonging to the selected results case will be
used.
The Options button activates another form, as shown below, for

accessing additional utilities.
A new primary results name can be specified to distinguish the
extracted Spotweld forces and is useful for assigning names for
results from multiple loadcases. Since we only have a single
loadcase, we will accept the assigned name.
The Create Moments for Check toggle when selected generates
nodal moments that can be used for visualization and checking
purposes. The Spot weld elements are placed in List A, that can
be viewed and processed from Tools | List | Create.
For this exercise, we will not create moments for check but the User may exercise this option
independently.
The tolerance is used to check equilibrium of the forces in the Spot Weld.
Close the form and hit Apply button on the HEX to BAR Results form.
224
Element forces and moments of the selected spot weld elements are calculated. The results for
the selected result case will be named
'Spot Weld Forces, Rotational'
'Spot Weld Forces, Translational'
Set Up the Spot Weld Analysis

Set up the main form just like in the previous example but this time give it a new Jobname.
Accept the defaults on the Solution parameters form.
Material form
Open the Material form, select CHEX as the modeling method and press Fill Cell. The
Material form is filled automatically with the Spot Weld Groups.
Note: The same number of Spot Weld groups are created as per the previous exercise. The
flange thickness associations are also the same. The only difference is that the
diameters of the Spot weld nuggets are calculated from the volumes of the HEXA
elements instead of through derivation from the flange sheet thicknesses. We will
use this diameter for results comparison with the previous exercise.
Press OK to accept the inputs.

At this point it is worth examining the Groups that have been created. From Group | Post notice
that there are 2 groups – SPOTWELDS and Groups labeled SW_PSXX_PSYY. The
SPOTWELDS contains all the extracted Spot Weld CHEX elements. The SW_PSXX_PSYY
are the equivalent CBARS that and are located between the first and fifth node of each CHEX
element, where PSXX and PSYY are the PSHELL identifiers for the flanges the Spot Weld
connects to.
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Welding
Loading Form
As per the previous exercise, the steps for filling out the loading form are exactly the same.
1. Select the Static Loadcase
2. Pick the Spot Weld Forces
(translational or rotational) for the
Load Case
3. Pick HORIZONTAL for the time
history
4. Normalize the loading history by
specifying the maximum value of 999
in the load magnitude cell.
5. Press OK to accept the inputs.
Run the Spot Weld Analysis

From the Job Control form, set the Action to Full
Analysis and press Apply to run the job. Read the
results into the database and list the results as per the previous exercise.
Note: Apart from the damage angle, the results are identical to the previous exercise. The
damage angle, is correct in both cases as it is relative to the definition of the
orientation of the weld.
226
Additional Postprocessing for CHEX/MPC Spot Welds

An additional postprocessing menu, apart from the regular post
processing tools used in the previous exercises, is available that
allows display of results on the faces on the Spot Weld Hex8
elements. Users are encouraged to exercise this menu on their own
by reading the results into the database and posting the Spotweld
group to the display.
For Patran invoke the postprocessing menu from Tools |
MSC.Fatigue | Post Processing Hex8 Spotwelds or Tools |
Fatigue Utilities | Post Processing Hex8 Spotwelds for the
standalone version.
From the form shown at the right, select the Result Case and the
Result Type in order to display the results on the posted group.
Three Sheet Calculations

As is the case above, you may find the necessity of analyzing spot
welds that connect three sheets. In general, joints with three or more
sheets spot welded together are more difficult to make efficiently
and undesirable from a durability point. They should be avoided as
much as possible in design. Sometimes they may be unavoidable,
or alternative designs may be uneconomic.
As demonstrated in this Chapter, there is no reason why one should not analyze cases where
three sheets are spot welded together by treating them as two separate welds, as demonstrated
above, but the analysis methods currently used are not validated for these cases. This problem
is the subject of current research and until a validated solution has been found, a temporary fix,
called a 3 sheet correction has been provided.
In the example problems used above, the lowest life is on the middle sheet (in this case it is
logical since the loads are the same on all sheets and the middle sheet has the lower thickness)
but generally for 3 sheet connections with all parameters being equal (sheet thicknesses and
loads) failures are predicted in the middle sheet, which rarely occur in practice. For this reason,
a simple fix has been implemented. We will use the results from our last exercise to
demonstrate this fix as the results from a 3 sheet connection are always required before this can
be used.
Go to the Job Control form and set the Action to Interactive and press the Apply button. Select
the 3 sheet correction option on the SPOTW form. The jobname.spt result file just created
will detect three sheet spot welds in the .spt file and will create a new jobname.fef results file
CHAPTER 11 227
Welding
in which failure at the middle sheet (the common node between the two spot welds) is ignored.
The worst result for the remaining calculation points is written to both spot weld elements in
the resulting .fef file. The figures below show the results of the 3 sheet connection correction.
This option makes postprocessing the results easier by eliminating spurious predicted failures
at the middle sheet. Note however, that if the middle sheet really would fail (as we have noted
above that the life predicted on the middle sheet is indeed correct as it has the lowest thickness),
this will not be predicted either! However this does not appear to happen much in practice.
228

The Spot Weld analysis module is robust, easy to use, and is an integrated part of MSC.Fatigue.
It finds all the spot welds that cause problems. The method is generally applicable and handles
multiaxial loadings. Using the generic material properties, predictions can be somewhat
conservative however. Some of the other spot weld S-N curves may be more appropriate or you
may need to derive or create your own.
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Welding
11.9 Problem Description for a Seam Weld Analysis

This simple example is used to demonstrate the use of Seam Weld Analysis in MSC.Fatigue.
The tubes are welded as shown and a point load of 394N is to the top of the upper tube.
Objective
• To illustrate seam weld analysis setup and usage
• To demonstrate the unique capability of automatically extracting the seam weld
analysis group
• To determine the most damaged nodes on a seam weld
The .op2 files necessary for the example problem are included in the installation as indicated
in the following table.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/seamw.op2 (Windows)
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/seamw_unix.op2 (UNIX)
230

Copy the file seamw.op2 to a clean directory and open a new database called seamw1. Import
both the model and results in the typical way for MSC.Nastran as illustrated in most of the
previous exercises.
Note: This .op2 file contains the results from a MSC.Nastran run using the STRESS(cubic)
case control command that extrapolates element centroidal results to the nodes using
a cubic extrapolation function and PARAM,SNORM,22.5 which generates shell
normals to improve the accuracy of results in curved shells. Users should refer to the
MSC.Nastran User’s Guides for more information on these commands.
Creating a Weld Group

In order to carry out the fatigue analysis of the weld we need to create two groups, one
containing the weld elements and the other containing the plate elements. To demonstrate the
unique group extraction capability of this module, we will only create the weld group and use
the default group for the plate group.
First, let’s create a group containing the weld elements. From the main menu select Group |
Create. Enter the name weld for the group and then enter Elm 1422:1477 for the entity
selection.
Click on Apply to define the group, the group should be highlighted in the plot.
CHAPTER 11 231
Welding
Viewing the Stress Results

Select Results from the toolbar. Choose the first loadcase, select the quantity (max principal)
and click Apply to see the results. The Maximum Principal stresses for the first loadcase are
shown in the following figure. The second loadcase is identical to the first case except that the
load is applied in the opposite direction.
232
11.11 Setting up the Seam Weld Analysis

To set up a fatigue run, open the main MSC.Fatigue setup
form and set the General Setup Parameters as follows:
1. Analysis = SEAM_Weld
2. Results Loc.: Both
This value is automatically set for you.
3. Nodal Ave.: Group
5. Res. Units = MPa
6. Jobname = demo_qsg
7. Title = Seam Weld Example
The result locations are at nodes, averaging is performed
using the elements, except the weld elements connected to
an analysis node and only FE nodal stress results are
permitted.
Solution Parameters
Click on the Solution Parameters... button. The Mean Stress
correction, that is based on the Haigh Diagram, can be set
ON or OFF. For this example we will set it to OFF. The
certainty of survival can be adjusted but we will accept the
default 50%. Select OK to continue.
CHAPTER 11 233
Welding
This form is used to create the seam weld analysis groups and select the fatigue properties of
the weld material. Fatigue analysis is carried out at the toe of the weld using the nodal stresses.
To make life easier for the user, the software will automatically create a group for these nodes.
The user needs to enter the weld group and the plate group (or the default group) and the
software creates a group of the shared nodes between these. Open the Materials Info... form,
click on the group entry. The Create Weld Group form should now appear as shown in the
following form.
Select the appropriate weld and plate groups and create a new group titled weld_toe.
Note: Internally, MSC.Fatigue appends “MW_” to the beginning of this name. If you wish
to create a node list for plotting results, this must be selected before creating the MW
group. We will not do this for this example. Click on Apply - a warning message
about the contribution from triangular elements that end up in the created group
(MX_toe.weld) is displayed. This message can be ignored. A new group containing
the nodes and elements along the weld_toe is now posted in the display window as
shown below. Note that only the toe elements are extracted which is the unique
feature of this module.
234
Note: The new group should be automatically posted to the viewport and look like the
diagram below. If not, you can post it by going to Group | Post on the main
MSC.Patran form an selecting the group MW_weld.toe.
The new group is stored in the database with a MW_groupname. Note that groupname cannot
have any spaces, either leading, trailing or anywhere in between. There is no limit on the
number of MW_groupname groups that may be created and analysis is performed and results
are reported on the MW_groupname groups. If a MW_groupname group exists in the database
the group cell in the main form get populated automatically.
Note: If the Create node list was turned on, the user can now create a node list for plotting
various results by clicking in the Node list text box and selecting nodes from the
display of the MW_group (e.g., 1025, 139, 1040, 135, 1041, 142, 1038, 132, 1039,
148, 1042, 144, 999, 151, 995). The result plotted is in the order in which the nodes
are selected, i.e. the x-axis is the node list. Selecting Create node list creates a node
list file and the list may be reversed by clicking on the reverse node list button. Use
the Cancel button to return to the main form.
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Welding
Complete the Materials Information form by assigning the following values to the various cells
of the spreadsheet:
SN Flexible = SEAM_STEEL_FLEX
SN Stiff = SEAM_STEEL_STIFF
Flex Ratio = 0.5 - bending/total stress ratio. This controls the cut-off for which S-N curve to use
M1/M2 Ratio value = 2.5 – M1/M2 is a fatigue material property used in mean stress correction
based on the Haigh Diagram.
Multiplier = 1.0
Offset = 0.0
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form.
In this example we have carried out a quasi-static FE analysis on a single load case with a point
load of 394N. We now need to determine how long the weld will last when subjected to a time
varying load with a maximum of 394N.
Pick the Load Case ID cell. This will update the form. Now select the Get/Filter results button
and pick the Select All Results Cases toggle. Press Apply and the 2 FE load cases appear in
the form.
Select the first load case (in fact either load case can be picked and the final results should be
the same) and the stress tensor and click on Fill Cell, the load case is now entered into the table.
Complete the rest of the spreadsheet as follows:
• Time History = SINE01
• Load Magnitude = 1.0
• Scale Factor = 0.5
• Offset = 0
Click OK to submit the loading information.
Fatigue Analysis and Results

Click on the Job Control button and set Action to Full Analysis.
Press Apply to submit the fatigue analysis. The job can be monitored by setting Action to
Monitor Job. When the job has completed click Cancel to return to the main Fatigue form.
236
Plotting Fatigue Results

The Insight application will be used to plot the results of the seam weld model. Go to the main
form of Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and press the Insight button. The Insight application will
appear. Set the Action to Create and the Tool to Marker. Fill out the rest of the form as
follows:
1. Press the Results Selection... button.
2. From the form that appears, select the Seam Weld Analysis, demo_qsgfef as the
Current Load Case. Press the Update Results button on select Log of Life (Cycles)
as the Marker Result. Close the form with the OK button.
3. Press the Marker Attributes... button.
4. Change the Type to Sphere and set the Scale Factor to 0.05. Close the form with the
OK button.
5. Accept all other values as is and press the Apply button to produce a marker plot
similar to the one shown below.
Exit Insight by selecting the button on the main form.
Listing the Fatigue Results

Press the Results button on the main MSC.Fatigue form and set Action to List results.
Press Apply and select the jobname.demo_qsg.
Click on OK. This brings up the PFPOST form that allows the User to filter the results listing.
In this example, nodes with Damage>0 have been requested. Set the Filter to damage and
Notebook Output to On and Click OK. Select the most damaged nodes (or the desired option)
in the PFPOST menu and Click OK.
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Welding
The worst damage occurs at node 87 with 5.856E6 repeats to failure. Press OK to exit from
the results listing program and then exit PFPOST.
The listed results can also be plotted from the Interactive menu of the solver (SEAMW) by
selecting the Job Control button from the main MSC.Fatigue form and setting Action to
Interactive. Press Apply.
The SEAMW menu is displayed.
Selection of the Plot Damage Distribution produces the GUI shown in the figure below.
Nodes can be listed using standard input. Enter the Nodes 995 and 1025 as shown on the form.
It is important to note that the nodes must exist in the database for the plot to be created.
Accept all other default values and press OK.

238
The software then reads the list and extracts the required values from the FEF file and creates
a DAC file for plotting in MQLD.
Note that the x-axis increment is unity and the increments correspond to the node list in the Plot
Damage Distribution form.
If you created a node list file earlier, then go ahead and select the Plot Damage Distribution
option again. This time set the Method of Node Selection switch to ASCII File and select your
node list. The filename will be demo_qsg_MW_xxxxx.ent where xxxxx is the group name
you gave it when you created it. Accept all other defaults and press OK. The following MQLD
form will be displayed.
CHAPTER 11 239
Welding
240

The seam weld module is a powerful tool for the fatigue analysis of continuously welded thin
sheet structure. The analysis group extraction functionality is extremely useful as it removes
the burden on the analyst on having to create weld groups on the toe side of the weld.
Predictions using the generic material properties will in general be conservative but users may
modify the properties or create their own.
CHAPTER
Wheels Module - Analysis of
12 Rotating Structures
■ Setting Up the Wheels Analysis
■ Fatigue Analysis and Results
242

This simple example is used to demonstrate the Wheels module in MSC.Fatigue. To
aid in quick familiarity with this module .op2 files for Windows and Unix platforms
are included for the model shown below.
The model is an 80 in (L) by 20in (R) hollow cylindrical modeled with cquad4 elements
(t=0.01in.) meshed using a 10 in. by 10 degree increment mesh. The tube is clamped at
each end and point loads of 0.5 lb. have been applied at 10-degree increments in
separate subcases on the peripheral nodes. The reason for the application of the load
of this magnitude is due to the fact that the wheels module, treats the output stresses
in KSI units and any significant stresses in the plates will lead to erroneous
interpretation of reported lives.
CHAPTER 12 243
Wheels Module - Analysis of Rotating Structures

Start MSC.Patran or the stand-alone version of MSC.Fatigue and select File | New.
Enter a new database name as qsg_demo.db as shown in the New Database form.
On the Model Preferences form, select a default Nastran | Structural run. This time
you will also need to set the Model Dimension to 80 before you press OK.
Now load the data file by selecting the Analysis option from the menu bar or use the
Analysis button in prepost standalone. When the form appears, set Action to Access
Results, the Object to Read Output2, and Method to Both (model and results); then,
press the Select Results File button, select the file cylinder_model.op2, and press
Apply. The model will then appear on the screen.
244
Viewing the Stress Results

Select the Results option from the menu bar.
Action = Create
Object = Quick Plot
Select Result case = Default, Static Subcase
Select Finge Result = Stress Tensor
Quantity = Max. Principal 2D
Click Apply and the following results will be displayed.
CHAPTER 12 245
Note: The figure above shows the results for the first Result case. If you were to
select the first nine subcases using the same Fringe Result and Quantity
value, you would see an 80-degree “Rotation” of the load in 10-degree
increments.
246
12.3 Setting Up the Wheels Analysis

To set up a fatigue run select Tools|MSC.Fatigue, from the main menu. Select Wheels
and specify a Jobname:
• Analysis = Wheels
• Jobname = qsg_demo
Element or nodal results may be processed and results averaged globally or on the
selected group. For this example, we will set the Results Loc. to Node, the Nodal Ave.
to Global, and the Res. Units to PSI.
Solution Parameters
Click on the Solution Parameters button. The
form shown is shown below. Set the Mean Stress
Correction to Goodman.
Biaxiality analysis or the stress combination
methods are not available, since the Wheels
module performs a critical plane S-N analysis
using surface resolved stresses at every surface
node. Although this is not necessary for this
model, other models, in particular solid element
models, will require stresses to be surface
resolved. The option to generate surface normals
is available from the job control menu.
The surface angle selects the increment at which
the analysis will be performed. In this case surface
stresses will be resolved in 10-degree increments
as well as the analysis. Make sure that the Surface
Angle in Degrees databox is set to 10.
The certainty of survival is not selectable in this module – the S-N curve is used
without any modifications. Press OK and close the form.
The materials form is shown below. Select:
Material - 7075_HV_T6
Finish – No Finish
Treatment – No Treatment
Region – default_group
CHAPTER 12 247
Select the default values for the remaining fields and press OK to close the form.
248
Loading Info
Click the Loading Info Button and the following form will appear.
This form allows us to specify the loading environment. The default number of load
conditions is 5 and for this module it is important to understand the concept of a load
condition. The load condition represents a particular type of loading. The first load
condition could be the set of subcases for one revolution that define a straight roll, the
second could be a set of subcases for one revolution that define a turning condition,
and similarly for the third, fourth and fifth load conditions. A typical usage profile
for a wheel is shown in the table below.
Vertical Lateral Required

Loading Condition
Load [lb.] Load [lb.] Mileage
Straight Roll 11,300 0 42,500
15% Inboard Turn 11,300 1,700 3,250
15% Outboard Turn 11,300 -1,700 3,250
30% Inboard Turn 11,300 3,400 250
30% Outboard Turn 11,300 -3,400 250
CHAPTER 12 249
In our example, 36 subcases (loads at 10 degree increments – 360/10=36 subcases)

constitute the first and only load condition. This means that only one loading
condition will need to be entered. Change the Number of Loading Conditions to 1.
The .op2 file contains the results for the 36 subcases that will be used as the load
condition.
The table below illustrates how the stress at every surface angle and rotational angle
(this is merely the same load applied in the next subcase at the node corresponding to
a 10-degree rotation) is extracted and damage computed for the load condition. The
stress time history at an analysis node is a sequence of stresses extracted from each
subcase for every surface angle for each rotational increment (subcase). In the table
below the stress time history for the analysis node for a surface angle θ is the column
associated with the surface angle. It is also worth noting that since the stress time
histories are created from the subcases there are no .DAC files required for analysis.
Rotational Surface angle θ

Angle Φ
= subcase # 10° 20° … 350° 360°
0° (subcase 1) σ1,10 σ1,20 … σ1,350 σ1,360
10° (subcase 2) σ2,10 σ2,2 … σ2,350 σ2,360
20° (subcase 3) σ3,10 σ3,2 … σ3,350 σ3,360
… … … … … …
350°(subcase 36) σ36,1 σ36,2 … σ36,350 σ36,360
Damage DθL D1,L D2,L … D36,L D36,L
The loading form allows user selectable units for reporting life. Here, approximately
500 repeats of the loading is equivalent to 1 mile. Enter the respective quantities in the
cells as shown in the Loading Information form.
250
Click on the loading conditions cell. The form is updated. Now select the Get/Filter
Results... button and a new form is displayed. See below.
Select the item Default, 36 subcases and click on the Filter button to populate the
bottom list box. Here all the subcases are lumped into one but it is possible to remove
subcases, that appear in the lower window, by picking the subcase and clicking on the
remove button. The Clear button clears the entire selection while the remove button
allows the analyst to pick and remove the selected subcases.
Since, we are using all subcases we will accept them by clicking on the Add button.
The overwrite button allows the analyst to change the selection in case a mistake is
made. Click on the Close button to accept and load the Select Loading Condition
Results listbox loading information form with the line “Default 1. (1.36)” or
something similar. Now select this value and the Stress Tensor value and press the
Fill Cell button. The Loading Condition ID cell will now be filled in.
Since we previously set the life reporting units to miles, we will set the design life to
1000 miles. The design life is the target distance and allows reporting a factor of safety
on the calculated life.
Set the loading factor to 1.0 and press OK.
CHAPTER 12 251
12.4 Fatigue Analysis and Results

Click on the Job Control button and select Full Analysis form the form. Click on
Apply to submit the fatigue analysis. The job can be monitored by setting Action to
Monitor Job. When the job has completed click Cancel to return to the main Fatigue
form.
Note: The Calculate Normals option is available. This would be used to generate
surface normal files for solid element models.
The qsg_demo.fef file contains the following items:

1. Node
2. LC1 Angle – angle of lowest life at the node for load condition 1
3. LC1 Damage – worst damage at the node for load condition 1
4. LC1 Life – life in equivalent units at the node for load condition 1
5. LC1 Log of Damage – log of damage at the node for load condition 1
6. LC1 Log of Life – log of life at the node for load condition 1
7. Log of Worst Damage – For a single load condition, this is identical to (5). For
multiple conditions this is the log of the sum of damage from all load
conditions.
8. Log of Worst Life – Log of (11).
9. Worst Angle -- For a single load condition, this is identical to (2). For multiple
conditions this is the surface angle which has the highest accumulated
damage from all load conditions.
10. Worst Damage – For a single load condition, this is identical to (3). For
multiple conditions this is the sum of damage from all load conditions.
11. Worst Life – For a single load condition, this is factor of safety. For multiple
conditions this is sum of the factors of safety of each load condition.
Plotting the Fatigue Results

From the Results menu change the Action to Read Results. Click on Apply, then on
Cancel to return to the main Fatigue form. The results are now loaded into the
MSC.Fatigue database. The qsg_demo.fef file contains the results that may be plotted.
Select Results from the main Toolbar and fill in the form as follows:
Action = Create
Object = Fringe
Select Result Cases = qsg_demofef
Select Results = LCI Log of Life
Click Apply
252
The log of life fatigue fringe plot is shown in the figure below.
The fringe plots show the expected results – since the boundary conditions do not
change and the loading is identical for every subcase, the maximum and minimum
principal stresses for every subcase are identical. Consequently, we see progressive
concentric circles of increasing life from the lowest in the middle of the cylinder (area
of maximum stress under the applied load) to highest in between the constrained ends
and the middle.
Note: Plots of the other items (from the Select Results listbox) are not shown here.
The user may want to exercise these other options and review their plots.
Wheels Interactive Menu

On the Job Control form, select the option
Interactive to display the Wheels Interactive
menu. The FEROT main form appears.
We are now going to analyze the FES file and
create a ROT file.
Select Analyse and the following menu is
displayed.
CHAPTER 12 253
Select a .fes file that

has been previously
created. The output
filename defaults to
Jobname.fef (which
for our example is
qsg_demo.fef) but an
alternative name may
be supplied.
Click on Yes to create
the ROT file. This file provides the user with useful information on the stress
contribution and damage for each load condition at the analysis nodes for each
rotational increment of the wheel (remember this is dependant on the number of
subcases that were specified to define a revolution) and each surface angle increment.
For large models, this listing can be quite extensive and the option is provided to turn
this OFF.
A sample output of the .rot file is shown below
254
Each cell represents a stress from the surface angle and the subcase (rotational angle).
Each row is a stress time history for the node at the particular surface angle and may
be plotted by using the extract time histories from the interactive menu. The lower
figure shows the damage values for each surface angle increment for load condition 1
and the maximum damage. The row labeled D0 shows the damage sum from all load
conditions for each surface angle increment.
When the option Results postprocess is selected on the main FEROT form and the OK
button is pressed, the following form is displayed.
This menu allows further postprocessing of the results that requires the .ROT file for
input to generate a new output results file (username.fef file). This file can either be
listed or read back into the MSC.Fatigue database by specifying the same Jobname in
the main form as the output filename. The extraction options are:
• Specific Angle – Extract results at a specific angle at all analysis nodes. Since
the surface angle selected for our example case was 10 degrees, results may
only be extracted for angles in ten-degree increments up to 360 degrees.
CHAPTER 12 255
• Worst Case – Extract the worst (lowest life, maximum damage) results for all
conditions including the worst case (accumulated damage from all
conditions) results.
When the option Extract Time Histories is selected on the main FEROT form and the
OK button is pressed, the following is displayed.
Click on the Input FES filename browse button and pick the FES file
QSG_DEMO.FES. Press OK.
Click on the Calculation points browse button to display the calculation nodes. Enter
the node number 501.
Click on the load conditions browse button to display the available load conditions.
Enter the load condition number 1.
Enter the surface angle at which the stress time history is desired. For this example,
we will use 0.
256
Enter the output filename (e.g., QSG_DEMO). An extension will be added to the
filename that identifies the node number, load condition and the surface angle. A plot
of the stress time history will be automatically generated as shown below.
CHAPTER 12 257

The wheels capability allows fatigue analyses on wheels for a variety of loading
conditions and can also be applied to any rotating body. This tool is particularly
powerful as it performs a critical plane analysis at the analysis surface nodes for
multiaxial loading.
Another feature which is unique to this module is the loading concept (load
condition/subcases) that provides the analyst the capability to define duty cycles
(sometimes referred to as an event spectrum) and making damage assessments due to
particular events.
258
CHAPTER
A Software Strain Gauge
13
■ Time History Extraction
■ Correlation Techniques
260

A physical prototype of the engine mounting lug that was
studied earlier is placed in a test laboratory and subject to an
external service loading environment. A hardware strain
gauge rosette is placed on the prototype in a strategic location
near a suspected failure location and the strain time history is
captured.
The prototype is also created as a finite element model. A
software strain gauge is created in the same location as that of
the physical prototype. FE results are extracted and converted
to the same coordinate system as the rosette. A subsequent
fatigue analysis is done on both the physically measured strain Strain
time history and that simulated by the finite element model for Gauge
comparison and correlation purposes. Rosette
Placement
Objective
• To create a software strain gauge on the FE model in the same location and
orientation as the physical strain gauge
• To extract FE results in the same coordinate system as the gauge
• To synthesize the measured strain history from the FE model
• To run fatigue analyses on both measured and simulated strain histories for
comparison purposes
• To assess the stress state in the prototype at the measurement location
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/mounting_lug.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/soft_sg.fin
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/soft_sg_m1.dac
CHAPTER 13 261

To begin the exercise, copy the Output2 file, mounting_lug.op2, to a clean working
directory. Like the previous exercise using spot welds, this specialty tool requires (and
only works with) MSC.Nastran stress/strain results. Open a new database called
softsg and import both the model and FE results from the Output2 file in the usual
way as explained in previous exercises.
The Gauge Tool

The Software Strain Gauge (Soft S/G) application in MSC.Fatigue is a special tool,
mainly for use with measured strain results, to do test-analysis correlations,
comparisons and validations. Soft S/G allows a direct correlation to be made between
measured strain histories obtained using resistance strain gauges and predicted strain
histories from the surface of finite element models. This is achieved by applying
simulated strain gauges to the surface of the FE model in the same positions as real
strain gauges on the corresponding component.
The simulated gauges consist of one or more thin shell
elements which are fitted to the surface of the FE model. The
gauges can then be used to extract the results of previously
carried out FE stress/strain analyses at the locations and in
the orientations defined. Then, using MSC.Fatigue and one
of its modules, called SSG, it is possible to synthesize the
stress or strain histories from the gauges in a way which is
directly comparable with direct strain measurements.
Hint: Users may also find the Soft S/G useful simply for obtaining static stress
and strain results from particular locations within elements, or in
particular directions.
Open the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and set the Analysis to Soft S/G. You will
notice that the form changes appearance from the normal setup form and only
displays three main buttons. Each of these buttons will be invoked in turn starting
with Gauge Tool....
The first button will invoke the Gauge Tool application for placement, creation and
modification of the software gauges. Open this form now.
262
Create a Soft S/G

Creating a Soft S/G is a two step process:
1. Select a point on the surface of your model to place
the gauge and define the gauge orientation.
2. Define a surface area on which to place the gauge.
These are all done conveniently from the Gauge Tool. Once the
gauge is created you can always modify its location and
orientation or delete it if necessary.
On the Gauge Tool form, set the Action to Create and fill out
the form as follows:
1. Object: MM-120WR
This is the gauge name. The names that appear in this
pulldown are fully customizable with a gauge
definition file. See below for more details.
2. Gauge Number: 1
Give the gauge a number. It should be set to 1 and will
increment automatically. The gauge number will be
padded with zeros so as to always be three digits.
3. Elastic - Plastic: Plastic
Turn the Plastic toggle ON. When the time comes this
will be a flag used to indicate that elastic-plastic correction is requested and
the resulting output time histories will have had the correction applied to
them. If Elastic is selected the resulting time histories will remain purely
elastic.
4. Select a Point: Node 1175
Activate this databox by clicking in it
with the mouse. The Select Mechanism
will appear. You can use any of the
standard mechanisms to graphically select or define a valid point. The point
however, must exist on the surface of the model for proper creation. For the
purposes of this exercise, type Node 1175 in the databox.
5. Select Gauge X Axis: Coord 0.1
Set the focus into this databox and
select the orientation of the x-axis for
the gauge. Again the Select
Mechanism appears and you can use
any of the standard graphical selection methods. For this exercise type Coord
0.1. This specifies to use the global x-axis as the gauge x-axis. You can achieve
the same by selecting the 1-direction in the Select Mechanism and then
selecting the global axis from the viewport.
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6. Press Apply
When you press Apply, a yellow marker will appear
on the location that you selected to create the gauge.
The form will update for the second step which is to
define the area for the gauge. You may wish to zoom
in on the area of interest for a better view. Use the
View corners icon on the top form.
7. Element Type: 2D: Shell elements
You can either select shell elements or the free faces
of solid elements. Set this to 2D: Shell elements.
8. Select Shell Elements: Elem 166 167 178 179
Set the focus in this databox. The Select
Mechanism changes to allow selection of either
shell elements or faces of solid elements
depending on the Element Type setting. Type
Elem 166 167 178 179 in the databox or graphically
select the four elements around the point of interest.
.
Note: The only requirement for
selecting an area of
elements around the point
is that the area be large
enough to contain the
gauge. If the area is not
large enough an error will
occur. Note that the relative
angles, gauge length, and
gauge width are displayed
on the form for
informational purposes.
Also, if there is too much
curvature, the gauge
creation may fail. You
should choose relatively flat
areas for gauge placement.
9. Press Apply
Pressing the Apply button a
second time will create the
gauge.
264
The Gauge Definition File

All gauges that appear as selections under the Object pulldown are defined in a file
called gauges.def that exists in the main MSC.Fatigue installation area for UNIX in
<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/gauges.def
or for Windows in
x:<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\gauges.def
where x: is the drive on which MSC.Fatigue was installed.

This file is fully customizable to allow
additions or changes to gauge types. You
simply need to define the gauge type (single,
tee, rosette), whether it is stacked or planar, the
configuration (rectangular, delta, other), the
units, and the coordinates, besides giving it a
name. See the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for
details or use the file contents as a guide to
customization.
The file can exist in the local work directory,
your home directory or in the installation area
and will be recognized in this order also. A variety of gauge types is shown above.
The Gauge Group

When a Soft S/G is created it appears graphically on the screen as one, two, or three
quadrilateral elements. Additionally a special group is created for each strain gauge.
The name of these groups take on the form:
dms_n_m_oo_ppp
where
dms is the German abbreviation for strain gauge
n is “t” or “b” indicating whether the results set is extracted from
the top or bottom of underlying shell elements making up the Soft S/G
m is the gauge type number (its unique type identifier)
oo is either “el” or “ep” indicating elastic or elastic-plastic
ppp is the number of the gauge applied to the model, e.g., 001, 002,
etc.
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Go to Group | Post if you wish, and you will see any Soft
S/Gs that have been created. The element and node numbers
are contained in the groups. The rest of the necessary
information resides in the name of the group and in the
subsequent results extraction.
Modify the Soft S/G

Our gauge that we have created thus far is not quite what we
want. Change the Action to Modify in the Gauge Tool. The
gauge needs to be translated and rotated since the node where
we placed it and the orientation do not match the exact spot
that it exists on the prototype.
On the prototype, the gauge was placed two millimeters to the
left from the current location and the gauge needs to be
rotated 30 degrees counterclockwise.
1. Select Gauge to Modify: 001
Select 001 as the gauge to modify. We are not
changing the type of the gauge but simply the
location and orientation.
2. Delta X: -2.0
This is the displacement to move the gauge in the x-axis direction of the
existing gauge.
3. Delta Y: 0.0
This is the displacement to move the gauge in the y-axis direction of the
existing gauge.
4. Delta Theta: 30
This is the rotation in degrees that the gauge is to be rotated relative to the
current orientation.
5. Element type: 2D: Shell elements
Again select 2D: Shell elements as the means to define the surface.
6. Select Shell Elements: Elem 166 167 178 179
266
Select the same elements as

before to define the surface
where the modified gauge will
be placed. To properly modify
the location and orientation, you
must select a surface area that
will contain the new location and
orientation of the modified
gauge or an error will occur, e.g.,
if you translate the gauge off of
the defined area.
7. Reverse normal: OFF
If necessary you can reverse the normals of the gauges. The gauge outward
normals are calculated as the average of the outward normals of the selected
elements or faces.
8. Press Apply
Now that the gauge has been created and modified to the proper location and
orientation, close the Gauge Tool form by pressing the Cancel button.
FE Results Extraction
The next step is to extract the results from the FE result sets
and create new result types in the location and orientation of
the Soft S/G. Press the Results Extraction... button on the
main MSC.Fatigue setup form with the Analysis still set to
Soft S/G.
Another form will appear listing all available result cases that
contain MSC.Nastran stress results and all available Soft
S/Gs that have been created. The process is simple:
CHAPTER 13 267
1. Select the necessary Available Loadcases. Press the

Select All button to select all of them. Make sure you
extract results from all the necessary result cases if
you have multiple load inputs. If the results are from
a transient analysis, make sure you select all time
steps. For this exercise, we will Select All.
2. Select the required Strain Gauges. In our case there
should only be one, 001.
3. Press the Apply button.
A message window will pop-up reminding the user that “The
current group should contain all nodes and elements with
valid model results.” It will ask you if you want to proceed. Just
select the Yes button on the form.
Two new result types are created after the results extraction is
complete for each stress analysis load case selected. Under each
selected set of load case results, the two new subcases are:
Gauge Stress, Average
and
Gauge Stress, Centroidal
The results in the Gauge Stress, Average subcase are, for each element, the average of
the results from the four corners of the element and the element centroid. For Gauge
Stress, Centroidal, they are the results from the origin of the gauge coordinate system.
For a rosette or tee gauge, the average results will, in general, be a little different for
each element, depending on the stress field in which the gauge is placed.
For Centroidal results, the same results should be written to all the gauge elements.
Select Cancel to close the form.
268
13.3 Time History Extraction

In order to proceed we must create an MSC.Fatigue input file
and then use this file as input to the Soft S/G (SSG)
application module that will produce our synthesized
stress/strain time histories. The goal at this point, is not to do
a fatigue analysis but to create the combined time history at
the gauge location and in the gauge orientation.
Fatigue Analysis Setup

To create the MSC.Fatigue input file, change the Analysis to
Initiation and set the General Setup Parameters as described
below or the user can expedite things by copying the
MSC.Fatigue setup file soft_sg.fin and reading it in using the
Job Control, Read Saved Job option:
2. Results Loc.: Element
You must set this to Element. Results exist at the
element centroids.
Only stresses are extracted into the gauge
coordinates.
5. Res. Units: MPa.
6. Jobname: soft_sg
7. Title: Soft S/G Analysis Example -- Elastic/Plastic
Note: If you read the soft_sg.fin file in, then you can skip ahead to page 273 and
run the translation.
CHAPTER 13 269
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. Set the
parameters as follows:
1. Analysis Method: S-W-T
This parameter is ignored in the analysis.
You can use either Neuber, Mertens-
Dittmann, or Seeger-Beste methods
according to which elastic-plastic
correction method you wish to use in the
Soft S/G. If you select Mertens-Dittmann
or Seeger-Beste you will be required to
enter shape factors on the material
information form. Analysis for any gauges
which are elastic will ignore this selection.
If you want to estimate elastic-plastic
strains, you should ensure that the gauges
have ep included in the group name.
We will use Neuber for our example.
3. Run Biaxiality Analysis: ON
This should be set to ON. There will be no need to execute the Calculate
Normals option because the stress analysis results written to the gauges are
already in a surface resolved coordinate system.
4. Biaxiality Correction: Hoffmann-Seeger
Select Hoffmann-Seeger. The option Material Parameter is not allowed for
Soft S/G. Analysis for any gauges which are elastic will ignore this selection
(the same as setting it to None).
The rest of the information on the Solution Params... form is ignored, so it is OK to
accept the defaults.
Open the Material Info... form. This form is used to assign material and other
information to the individual gauges. The strain gauge software requires that each
gauge be a group, consisting of one shell element for each leg. Valid group names take
the form dms_m_n_oo_pp as described previously.
270
The strain gauge software will assume for a tee gauge or a rosette that gauges 1-3 are
in numerical order of elements. Gauges are numbered in an counterclockwise
direction.
The Material Info... form and
spreadsheet should then be
filled in as follows:
1. Number of
Materials: 1
This should be set to
the number of strain
gauges that are to be
processed. For our
example, it will be set
to 1.
Note: There is a limit of 20. If
more that 20 are to be
processed you will
have to break the
analysis up into
multiple analyses.
Therefore, on the spreadsheet, there will be one row for each gauge or
rosette.
2. Material: RQC100
This is the material on which the gauge is positioned.
This is not used, so any setting is OK.
This is not used, so any setting is OK.
5. Region: dms_t_4_ep_001
Select the name of the group defining the gauge.
6. Kf: 1
This is a surface finish correction factor and is not used by the strain gauge
software. Leave blank or set it to 1.
7. Shape factor: 0.0
This is the shape factor (Formzahl) or plastic strain concentration factor
required for the Mertens-Dittmann and Seeger-Beste methods. Valid values
are greater than 1. Typical values are around 1.5 to 3.0. Zero (0) can also be
used and is interpreted as infinity. In this case both methods reduce to the
Neuber method. Leave this blank or set it to 0.0.
CHAPTER 13 271
8. Multiplier: 1.0
This should not be used. Leave it blank or set it to 1.0.
9. Offset: 0.0
This should not be used. Leave it blank or set it to 0.0.
Close the form by pressing the OK button when finished.
Loading Information
The Loading Info... form should be used in the same way as for any other MSC.Fatigue
job. The results can be from a transient analysis (time step analysis) or from a set of
static load cases which will be associated to time variations in the normal way (which
are defined using PTIME).
When selecting actual results, the user should choose one of the following result types
for the extracted strain gauge results:
Gauge Stress, Average
for the stresses averaged from the four corners and the centroid of each strain gauge
element, or
Gauge Stress, Centroidal
for the stresses at the centroid of each gauge element.

If neither of these exist, it means you have not
extracted results to the software strain gauges from the
FE model results as done in the previous section.
Use the exact same time histories as in a previous
example of the engine mounting lug. See Multiple
Loads (Ch. 9) for a review. The basics are repeated
here for convenience sake:
Open the Loading Info... form and press the Time
History Manager button. These four histories have
been provided in the examples directory. Copy from Remote the four histories called
XPOS, YPOS, XNEG, and YNEG. Specify the remote directory
<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/examples/ (UNIX) or
x:\<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\examples\ (Windows). Do not forget the ending
slash (\ or /). Change the units to kNewtons to be consistent with the “Multiple
Loads,” Chapter 10 example. However, these are simply labels and will not affect the
analysis.
272
To view all four histories at once, use the

Multi-channel... | Display Histories
option. This will run the multi-file display
module, MMFD. When MMFD appears,
use the List facility to select the four files
above (use the Shift key to make multiple
selection from the file browser). Note that
the files will not appear in the databox but
the number of files selected will appear
below it. Accept all the other defaults on the
form and press OK. The files will be
displayed.
Close the graphics by selecting File | Exit
and then quit from PTIME.
On the Loading Info... form, set the Number
of Static Load Case to 4 and press Return or Enter, then fill out the spreadsheet as
shown below. The load cases selected correspond to Load_Case.1, Load_Case.3,
Load_Case.5, and Load_Case.7. Remember that you must use the Get/Filter Results...
button to display the FE load cases before you can select them.

Row 1: 2.1-4.1-2- (Load_Case.1) XPOS 0.25
Row 2: 4.3-4.1-2- (Load_Case.3) YPOS 0.25
Row 3: 6.5-4.1-2- (Load_Case.5) XNEG 0.25
Row 4: 8.7-4.1-2- (Load_Case.7) YNEG 0.25
CHAPTER 13 273
Note: For this example you must select the Gauge Stress, Average stress tensor in
order to fill the Load Case ID cells out correctly in the spreadsheet. Also note
that the actual load case IDs may differ from those shown here.
The Loading Info... form is now complete. Press the OK button to accept the form.
Job Control
Open the Job Control... form and set the Action to Translate Only. This will save or
create the MSC.Fatigue job (soft_sg.fin) file and run the PAT3FAT translator to
produce the intermediate (soft_sg.fes) input file required by SSG when the Apply
button is pressed. Answer Yes to any questions.
When the translation is complete you are now ready to run SSG.
274
Run Soft S/G (SSG)

Set the Action to Soft S/G again on the main MSC.Fatigue setup form. Press the SSG
Analysis... button to launch the software strain gauge analysis.
When SSG appears, you will be asked for the MSC.Fatigue input file you created in
the previous section. Select soft_sg.fes and accept all other defaults on the SSG input
screen and press OK a few times to start the software strain gauge extraction process.
The process will take place quickly.
Note: The extracted strain time history can now be used to correlate with the direct
test signal.
CHAPTER 13 275
13.4 Correlation Techniques

Once the strain histories have been extracted in the gauge coordinates, there are a
number of things that may be done to compare the software strain gauge results
directly with the measured strains. The most obvious is direct signal comparisons
using the multi-file display module (MMFD).
Before embarking on the mini-exercises in this section, copy to your working directory
three signals that represent the actual measured time histories. These files are
soft_sg_m1.dac, soft_sg_m2.dac, and soft_sg_m3.dac, one for each leg of the rosette.
The Soft S/G analysis, using SSG, also created a simulated strain signal for each leg. If
you look in your working directory you should also see three files called
soft_sg00101.dac, soft_sg00102.dac, and soft_sg00103.dac.
Overlays and Cross Plots

Either invoke MMFD from a system
prompt by typing mmfd, or from
PTIME using the Multi-channel... |
Display Histories option. When
MMFD appears, use the List
mechanism to select all six time
histories of interest mentioned
above. Three are from the Soft S/G
analysis and the other three
represent measured strains that you just copied to your directory. Select Overlay as
the Display Type and set Alter Setup to Yes before pressing the OK button.
When you request to alter the setup, an
additional screen appears. On this
screen we want to request that only two
plots per page be displayed. Set Plots
Per Page to 2 and press the OK button.
A final setup page will be displayed
that specifies which signals are
displayed on which page. We want to
overlay gauge leg one of the measured signal with gauge leg one of the synthesized
signal, and two with two and three with three respectively. So set the leg one signals
to display on page one, leg two files to display on page 2 and leg three files to display
on page 3. This done by clicking in the cell under the Page (C) column and a pulldown
menu appears allowing you to set the page number. Select File | OK when done.
Press OK to accept the defaults on the Overlay Setup form. Press OK to accept the
defaults of the Y-axis Alignment form. The first overlay plot for leg one will be
displayed.
276
To display the next plot use the View | Scrn_Options | Next Scrn pulldown
selection. You will need to press OK several times (accepting the defaults) before the
next plot screen is displayed. In cases where there appears to be an almost one-to-one
correspondence, it might be better to show a cross-plot instead. You can change any
of the overlay plots to cross-plots using Plot_Type | Crossplot. You will need to press
OK several times (accepting the defaults) before the cross-plot is displayed. You can
go back to overlay by using Plot_Type | Overlay. The overlay and cross-plots for the
three gauge legs are shown below comparing the measured to the synthesized signals.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Leg 3
Select File | eXit to close the overlay plots or cross plots.
Signal Statistics
Another means of comparison is to look at the signal statistics that are displayed by
MQLD. This plot shows the maximum, minimum, mean, standard deviation, and
RMS values for the displayed plot.
CHAPTER 13 277
Note: Only one of the dac files can be selected at a time using this method.
The MQLD for can be brought up in three ways:

1. Run MQLD from the system prompt by typing mqld.
2. Select MQLD (Quick Look Display) from the Tools | MSC.Fatigue |
Graphical Display Utilities menu (installation with Patran) or Tools |
Fatigue Utilities|Graphical Display Utilities menu (standalone).
3. Open the Loading Info form, select the Time History Manager button, and
then select the Plot an entry option.
Rosette Analysis
Now perform a rosette analysis. You can
do this by invoking MSSA from the system
prompt (mssa). When MSSA appears,
select the first option: 1 - Strain Gauge
Rosette Analysis | Analyze.
A rosette analysis requires the strain
signals from the different legs of the gauge
as input. Run two rosette analyses, one with the three synthesized signals and the
other with the three signals representing the measured strains.
On the first form that appears, accept all the defaults by pressing the OK button. Our
strain gauge rosette is Rectangular and Stacked and the Output Type requested is
strain.
The next screen requests
the three signals
representing each leg of
the rosette. Select the first
three measured signals,
soft_sg_m*.dac, using the
List button and also set
the Biaxiality Ratio
calculation to Yes. Accept
all other default values
and press OK. The rosette
analysis will commence.
After the analysis, you are
placed into a
postprocessing menu
where you can plot the
outputs of the rosette analysis. The outputs are maximum, minimum, absolute
maximum, signed shear strains, and the angle, f, and biaxiality ratio, ae, as a function
278
of time. All of these outputs can be plotted. Use Plot all outputs to see all these signals.
Not all of the plot will appear on the same screen; use View | Scrn_Options | Next
Scrn to view the next page of plots. Select File | Exit when you are done viewing all
the plots. Successively plot Biaxiality vs. Principal, Angle vs. Principal, and angle
Distribution. Note the general uniaxial nature of this particular problem.
Repeat this operation for the other three synthesized signals, soft_sg0010*.dac and
compare the outputs from the first run with the measured signals as shown below.
Note: The output that you get out of a rosette analysis is dependent on the type of
gauge and how many legs it has.
Select eXit to leave close the MSSA form.
Measured Rosette Analysis Output
Angle Distribution Cross Plot, f vs. Abs Max. Prin. Cross Plot, ae vs. Max. Abs. Prin. All Outputs vs. Time

Synthesized Rosette Analysis Output
CHAPTER 13
279
280
Single Location Uniaxial Life Analyzer

MSC.Fatigue also provides a single location analyzer for use directly with measured
strains called MCLF (for crack initiation analysis - critical life fatigue). It is based on
uniaxial assumptions. MSLF is the equivalent stress based single location analyzer
(stress-life fatigue).
You can feed any of the strain signals
into MCLF or any of the outputs from
the rosette analysis to calculate a
fatigue life. Invoke MCLF by typing
mclf at the system prompt. When
MCLF first appears you must give it a job name or select an existing job. Since none
exist yet, type in soft_sg_uniaxial as the jobname. You will be asked whether you
would like to create this new job. Answer Yes. A number of input screens will be
presented to you. The input for each of these screens is mentioned below.
Service Loading Environment Form

Filename: soft_sg.abs
Use the List button to select the maximum absolute principal strain output
signal from the rosette analysis using the synthesized strain gauge results.
We could use any one of the output signals from the Soft S/G analysis or the
rosette analysis. To see the file with the file browser you will have to change
the filter to view files with extensions .abs.
Note: MCLF assumes elastic-plastic correction has taken place already by default,
otherwise you must set the Strain Type to Fully Elastic to invoke a notch
correction procedure.
Accept all other defaults and press OK.
Model Parameters Form

Mean Stress Correction: All
Set the mean stress correction to All. The strain signal we are using has a very
tensile mean (positive). Since it is easy enough to analyze all mean stress
corrections, let us do so. We should notice the S-W-T method giving the most
conservative answers.
Material Data Input Form

Material Name: RQC100
Use the List button to choose the material RQC100 or simply type in the
name.
CHAPTER 13 281
Geometry Definition Form

Accept all defaults for this page and press OK. The analysis will commence and a
summary page of results will be displayed. Note that S-W-T (Smith-Watson-Topper)
gives a bit over 400 Repeats of the signal as the life.
Post Processing Options

Now run the analysis again with the
maximum absolute principal signal from
the rosette analysis using the measured
signals. From the Post Processing Options
form, select Loading environment.
Change the Filename to soft_sg_m.abs
and press the OK button.Then double-
click or press the Recalculate switch. A
summary page of results will be displayed.
The table below compares the life values
from the measured signals to the
synthesized signals:
Mean Stress Method Measured Simulated

None ~1120 ~750
Smith-Watson-Topper ~565 ~435
Morrow ~715 ~535
Single Location Multiaxial Life Analyzer

MSC.Fatigue also provides a single location multiaxial analyzer for use directly with
measured strains called MMLF (for crack initiation analysis - multiaxial life fatigue).
You can feed the three strain signals
from the Soft S/G analysis directly into
MMLF to calculate a fatigue life based
on multiaxial techniques. Invoke
MMLF by typing mmlf at the system
prompt. When MMLF first appears you must give it a job name or select an existing
job. Since none exist yet, type in soft_sg_multi as the jobname. You will be asked
whether you would like to create this new job. Answer Yes. A number of input screens
will be presented to you. The input for each of these screens is mentioned below.
282
Rosette Input Options Form

Accept all the defaults on this page and press OK. The rosette of interest to us is
Rectangular and Stacked.
Service Loading Environment Form

Gauge 1: soft_sg00101.dac
Gauge2: soft_sg00102.dac
Gauge3: soft_sg00103.dac
Use the List buttons to select the three signals generated by the Soft S/G
analysis. Each one of these represents one of the three legs of the software
strain gauge. These files are soft_sg0010*.dac.
Note: MMLF assumes elastic-plastic correction has taken place already. It has no
notch correction procedures built into it as does FEMLF or MCLF.
Calculation Parameters Form

Damage Accumulation Method: 7. All (1-6)
Set the calculation method to All (1-6) so we can see the difference between
the various analysis types and see which gives the most conservative
answers.
Material Data Input Form

Material Name: RQC100
Use the List button to choose the material RQC100 or simply type in the
name.
The analysis will commence and a summary page of results will be displayed after a
some what lengthy calculation. Note the lives given.
CHAPTER 13 283
Post Processing Options Form

Now run the analysis again with the measured
signals. From the Post Processing Options select
Loading environment. Change the Gauge file
names to soft_sg_m*.dac.
Gauge 1: soft_sg_m1.dac
Gauge2: soft_sg_m2.dac
Gauge3: soft_sg_m3.dac
Use the List buttons to select the three measured
signals or type them in by hand. Accept all other
defaults and press the OK button.
Press the Recalculate button. The table below lists the life values from the measured
vs. the synthesized signals:
Mean Stress Method Measured Simulated

Normal Strain ~1120 ~755
SWT/Bannantine ~270 ~230
Shear Strain ~960 ~655
Fatemi-Socie ~1070 ~695
Wang-Brown ~650 ~435
Wang-Brown + Mean ~265 ~210
284

Once the strain histories have been generated from the FE model, they may readily be
compared with the corresponding measured strains from the real component. The
possible methods for comparing them shown in this exercise are:
• Multi-File Display (MMFD) to overlay or cross-plot the data
• Comparison of signal statistics (max, min, RMS, etc.)
• Strain gauge rosette analysis option (MSSA)
• Single location uniaxial fatigue analysis (MCLF)
• Single location multiaxial fatigue analysis (MMLF)
Correlation is a very important aspect of reliable durability calculations. If a
correlation exercise indicates that there is poor qualitative and quantitative correlation
between predicted and measured strain histories, any fatigue calculations are also
likely to give poor results. Likely causes of poor correlation are:
• Errors in setting up the MSC.Fatigue job, particularly in matching the correct
channels to the correct load cases with the correct scaling factors
• Errors in calculating the loading histories
• Poor definition of the loads and boundary conditions, or missing loads
• Inadequate meshing
• Inaccurate strain gauge placement
• Inappropriate analysis (e.g. quasi-static when the problem is dynamic)
• Poor materials
• Non-proportional loadings together with high levels of plasticity
CHAPTER
Vibration Fatigue
14
■ Background
■ Pseudo-Static vs. PSD Approach
■ Dynamic Transient vs. PSD Approach
■ Random Vibration FE Results
286

A simple bracket, shown to the left, is
subject to random vibration excitations
defined by loading power spectral density
(PSD) functions, which induce serious
fatigue damage around the attachment
location (the circular hole). The bracket is
subject to three input loads, a vertical and
horizontal force and a twisting moment, at
the far end of the slot. The model is
constrained around the circular hole. A
random vibration analysis is performed
by combining FE frequency response
analysis results using three unit loads
combined with the loading input PSDs.
Fatigue damage is calculated due to each
independently and all three
simultaneously.
Objective
• To introduce the random vibration technique of determining fatigue
damage
• To compare the frequency domain method to the time domain technique
File File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/ P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/
bs_modal.op2 bd_modal.op2
bs_static.op2 bd_fresp_v.op2
bs_fresp_v.op2 bd_fresp_h.op2
bs_fresp_h.op2 bd_fresp_t.op2
bs_fresp_t.op2 bd_trans_v.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/
7d_44-50.dac
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Vibration Fatigue
File File
8d_44-50.dac bd_trans_h.op2
9d_44-50.dac bd_trans_t.op2
abarun.fil bd_trans_vth.op2
288
14.2 Background
All fatigue is dynamically induced. That is, there must be some level of dynamic
loading in order for fatigue damage to occur. It is probably a true statement to say that
nothing in real life is actually static, or not moving at all. Even slight changes in
temperature will cause stress fluctuations in an otherwise apparently static structure.
Some dynamic loading is hardly detectable, changes very slowly, and is quite
repeatable while other types are quite noticeable and very random in nature such as
engine noise from an automobile. Techniques for these former types of loading lend
themselves well to the techniques discussed thus far in this manual. The later types of
loading are characterized as random in nature since they do not repeat themselves.
Every measurement of load will result in a different time signal.
The techniques described in this chapter deal with random vibration induced fatigue,
which is calculated from random vibration and/or frequency response FE analysis
results. A Power Spectral Density Function (PSDF or PSD) is the most common way
of representing the loadings or responses in the frequency domain. The
transformation between time domain, i.e., the time history of the loading, and the
frequency domain, i.e., a PSD, should not trouble the reader. The PSD simply shows
the frequency content of the time signal and is an alternative way of specifying the
time signal. It is obtained by utilizing the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Figure 14-1
shows this equivalence for a typical structural response signal.
Transforming from the frequency domain to the time domain is also a relatively easy
task which can be done using the Inverse Fourier Transform (IFT). However, when
transforming in this direction the random phase angles attributable to each frequency
component (which have not been kept when converting to the frequency domain)
have to be generated or re-generated. This can be done such that a statistically
equivalent signal can be reproduced.
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Vibration Fatigue
DISPLAY OF SIGNAL: SAESUS.DAC DISPLAY OF SAESUS.PSD
25061 points.
400 2E6
9 pts/sec
Displayed:
25060 points.
from pt 1
RMS Power (uE^2. Hz^-1)

Full file data:
Strain (uE)
Max = 345
at 2270 sec
Min = -999
at 0 sec
Mean = -206.6
S.D. = 134.6
-1000 RMS = 246.6 0
0 1
0
Time (sec) 2784 Frequency (Hz.)
Original Title : Strain

nCode nSoft nCode nSoft
Figure 14-1 PSDs and the Transformation Between Time and

Frequency Domains
It is not the intention of this manual to teach the user all there is to know about random
vibration. For those unfamiliar with random vibration techniques, refer to Vibration
Fatigue Theory (p. 621) in the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide.
Definitions
These are some of the terms you might come across when going through the Vibration
Fatigue example:
• Power Spectral Density (PSD)
• Transfer function
• Irregularity factor
• Narrow band
• Wide band
• White noise
• Probability Density Function (PDF)
• Expected mean crossing
• Expected number of peaks
• Spectral movement
All of these terms are defined in Appendix A, Glossary Terms (p. 422).
290
Frequency Domain Life Estimation - General Procedure

This section provides a brief summary of techniques for computing fatigue life, or
damage, from a PSD of stress or strain. These fall into two broad categories: those that
estimate fatigue life directly and those that compute rainflow cycle PDFs as an
intermediate stage. All of the approaches have now been brought together in
MSC.Fatigue.
General Fatigue Damage Equation

The general Fatigue Damage equation for the Frequency Domain is shown below. P(S)
is obtained with the appropriate vibration fatigue modeler instead of with rainflow
cycle counting used in the time-based approach. Refer to the MSC.Fatigue User’s
Guide.
E [ P ]T m
Fatigue Damage = ---------------- ⋅ ∫ S P ( S ) dS
K
Comparison of Time Domain with the Frequency Domain Model
To obtain a time history of stress or strain response, either a steady state or transient
analysis would be required. For the random response history indicated this would
obviously be a transient analysis. In the frequency domain a transfer function would
first be computed for the structural model. This is completely independent of the
input loading and is a fundamental characteristic of the system, or model. The PSD
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Vibration Fatigue
response caused by any PSD of input loading is then obtained by multiplying the
transfer function by the input loading PSD. Further response PSDs caused by
additional PSDs of input loading can then be calculated with a trivial amount of
computing time. An essential requirement of a structural analysis in the frequency
domain is that it results in a PSD which is equivalent to the time history obtained
using the transient approach. The rest of the design process is then concerned with
using the vibration fatigue tools to compute fatigue life directly from these PSDs of
stress. These tools either estimate rainflow histograms (or PDFs), or fatigue life
directly. These are shown schematically in the dashed box in the figure above under
the heading fatigue modeler. This is intended to show that the time and frequency
domain processes are actually very similar. The only differences being the structural
analysis approach used (time or frequency domain) and the fact that a fatigue modeler
is required to transform from a PSD of stress to the rainflow cycle histogram. In this
context the vibration fatigue modeler can be envisaged as just another form of
rainflow cycle counting.
292
14.3 Pseudo-Static vs. PSD Approach

Now that a general background to the frequency domain approach has been given, we
can begin to illustrate the concepts introduced with our bracket model.
Copy the following files over to a clean working directory from the examples
directory of your installation and then start MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post or MSC.Patran:
bs_modal.op2, bs_static.op2, bs_fresp_v.op2, bs_fresp_h.op2,
bs_fresp_t.op2,
7d_44-50.dac, 8d_44-50.dac, 9d_44-50.dac
Open a new database and call it bracket_s.db.
FE Model and Analysis

In this exercise we will be investigating two versions of the same model. The first
model (called bs_*) has had the mass density modified such that no modes under 50
Hz are present. This has been done so that virtually no dynamic effects will influence
the fatigue life because the loading input does contain frequency content below 50 Hz.
In this manner we can directly compare a pseudo-static, time domain fatigue analysis
approach with the frequency domain technique. To see this, input the modal analysis
of the bracket model:
Press the Import toggle switch (Analysis
in MSC.Patran) on the main form. When
the form appears, set the Action to Access
Results, the Object to Read Output2, and
the Method to Both (model and results);
then, press the Select Results File button
and select the file bs_modal.op2. Press the
Apply button to read in the file.
While you have this form open, read in
the results from the other result files: bs_static.op2, bs_fresp_v.op2, bs_fresp_h.op2
and bs_fresp_t.op2. Set the Method to Result Entities and then select each of these
files one by one and press the Apply button each time. Read the files in the order listed
here.
Now you can view the results. Press the Results toggle on the main form.
Note: The first result case shown is a single mode with frequency greater than
50 Hz, which confirms that the bracket model has no modes under 50 Hz.
Why this is important will become clear momentarily. If you plot the
displacement vector of this mode, you will see that it represents the first
bending mode of the bracket.
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Vibration Fatigue
Set the Object to Fringe. Besides the single mode shape, you will notice that there are
three static result cases and three kinds of frequency response result cases. The three
static results were obtained by applying a vertical unit force (_v), a horizontal unit
force (_h) and a unit twisting moment (_t) at the end of the slot. The three frequency
response results were obtained with the same unit forces and moment but applied
across the frequency range of zero to 50 Hz. These analyses were done in
MSC.Nastran. The frequency response analyses used a damping ratio of 5% of critical.
This is inconsequential however, since no dynamic modes will be excited. The
frequency response results are the transfer functions for the three load cases. In order
to obtain transfer functions from MSC.Nastran, the load magnitudes must be unity in
the analysis.
Because no modes exist in the frequency range of interest (0-50 Hz), the stress results
from the frequency response analyses should be very close to those of the static
analyses for the lower frequencies. This is easily confirmed by plotting the stresses
from these. For example do the following:
1. Select Result Case: BS_STATIC_V, Static Subcase
Select this result case. Press this icon to view all subcases
from every Result Case.
2. Select Fringe Result: Stress Tensor
3. Quantity: Max Principal
4. Target Entities:
Change the mode to select target entities.
5. Target Entity: Elements
Change the target entity to Elements. Place the cursor in the
databox called Select Elements and click the mouse to gain focus in the
databox. Then go to the graphics screen and box select all the elements below
the slot. See the pictures below.
6. Press Apply
7. Select Result Case: BS_FRESP_V, Freq.=0.
Go back to the Select Results mode of the form and select the
first subcase of the vertical frequency response analysis.
And press Apply again.
294
You should see almost identical plots. The reason for only plotting the area around the
hole is for better comparison purposes due to spurious results around the loading
area. Repeat this for the horizontal and the twist load cases if you wish.
Vertical Load
Static Analysis Frequency Response
If you plot higher frequencies you will begin to see a small divergence from the static
cases. This is due to the dynamic influences of the first mode shape. In fact if you make
an XY plot of the transfer function at the high stress area of interest (Node 72) you can
see this divergence.
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Vibration Fatigue
Horizontal Load
Twist Load
To make the XY plot of the transfer function at the high stress area of interest, set the
Action to Create and the Object to Graph. Select all the Result Cases for one of the
frequency responses (e.g., BS_FRESP_V, Freq=*) and make sure the Y axis is set to
Result, Quantity is set to Max Principal, the X axis is set to Global Variable, and set
Variable to Frequency.
296
Two more steps are necessary. Under Target Entities, the Target Entity must be set to
Vertical Load
Plotted as a
Function of
Frequency for
Node 72
Path with Node 72 specified and under Plot Options, you must change the Complex
No. as: optionmenu to Magnitude. Then you can press the Apply button.
Note: The transfer function contains frequencies from zero to 50 Hz by increments

of two, or in other words, 26 evenly spaced frequencies. The frequency
resolution of the transfer function is very important in order to obtain
accurate fatigue results. This will be illustrated later in this exercise.
Pseudo-static Fatigue Analysis Setup

Before proceeding on to the vibration fatigue analyses, we wish to run the equivalent
pseudo-static fatigue analyses for comparison purposes later on. Four pseudo-static
jobs need to be run, one for each of the load cases and a fourth with all three loads
applied simultaneously.
Before doing this however, you will need to run PTIME and load the three loading
time histories, 7d_44-50.dac, 8d_44-50.dac and 9d_44-50.dac. In PTIME use the Load
files option for each file.
Note: If you have been running through this document sequentially, then you will
need to first select Add an entry... and then you can select the Load files
option.
These files represent a six second slice (44 sec. to 50 sec.) of very large measured
random input loadings. A six second slice was removed out of convenience for
making the jobs manageable in a tutorial guide. In order to compare against the
vibration fatigue results, give each time history set the Fatigue equivalent units to
Seconds, set the Number of fatigue equivalent units to 6, enter a description, set the
Load type to Force, and the Units to Newtons. Press OK. You need to do this for each
of the three files listed above.
Now we can set up the Pseudo-static jobs. The job set up is briefly described here in
order for you to recreate the results. No details are given since pseudo-static analysis
has been thoroughly covered in previous chapters. Open the main MSC.Fatigue form
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Vibration Fatigue
from the Analysis switch in Pre&Post or select MSC.Fatigue from the Tools pulldown
menu in MSC.Patran and fill out the form according to the table below for the four jobs
of interest. Accept all defaults if not otherwise specified. The Analysis type should be
set to S-N.
Horizontal Twist Combined

Vertical Load
Load Moment Run
General Setup Parameters: Analysis = S-N
Jobname: bs_static_v bs_static_h bs_static_t bs_static_vth
Title: Vertical Load Horizontal Twist Moment Combined
Load Run
Solution Parameters Form: Mean Stress Correction: None
Materials Info Form:Material: MANTEN
Finish: Polished
Treatment: No Treatment
Region: default_group
Loading Info Form:
Number of 1 1 1 3
Static Load
Cases:
Load Case ID: 5.4-2.1-2- 3.2-2.1-2- 4.3-2.1-2- 5.4-2.1-2-
(BS_STATIC_V) (BS_STATIC_H) (BS_STATIC_T) 3.2-2.1-2-
(Stress Tensor, At Z1) (Stress Tensor, At Z1) (Stress Tensor, At Z1)
4.3-2.1-2-
Time History: 7D_44-50 8D_44-50 9D_44-50 7D_44-50
8D_44-50
9D_44-50
Load Magnitude: 1.0
Note: The Load Case IDs correspond to the various load cases (vertical, horizontal,
and twist). The actual Load Case IDs are dependent on the order in which
they were read into the database. If you read them in the order in which they
have been listed in this exercise then they should be as indicated. In any case
you must select the indicated result for the proper IDs to be selected
regardless of what is listed in the above table.
298
Once a job is set up, go to the Job Control... form and do a Full Analysis. After the
analysis is completed, go to the Results... form and set the Action to Read Results.
Repeat these steps for each job. The results of these analyses will be investigated later.
For now go on to set up the vibration fatigue runs.
PSD Fatigue Analysis Setup

Now a detailed explanation of the vibration fatigue analysis
setup is in order. First set the General Setup Parameters as
follows:
1. Analysis: Vibration
The fatigue lives will be determined at the nodes of
the model as with any other fatigue analysis.
Accept the default which means element
contribution will be averaged as with any other
fatigue analysis.
Vibration fatigue uses S-N curves which require
stresses; you do not have a choice.
5. Res. Units: MPa
Model dimensions are millimeters and forces are in Newtons, therefore
stress units are MPa.
6. Jobname: bs_fresp_v
7. Title: Fatigue due to Vertical Force PSD
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Vibration Fatigue
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. Set the
parameters as follows:
1. Analysis Method: Dirlik
The default is Dirlik which is the
recommended method. If you select All,
all the analysis methods mentioned in the
theoretical background section will be
used.
This is set to None in order to compare to
the pseudo-static analyses which were
also set to None. The mean stress
correction is based on the same principles
as that done for pseudo-static S-N fatigue
analysis.
This is the default. In general this is the combination method that makes
most sense. In actually, the ability to determine the principal stresses and
their directions from the transfer function of stress components is a very
unique feature of the vibration fatigue capability. Most FEA codes do not
have this ability.
4. Certainty of Survival: 50%
This parameter is identical to that used in regular time based S-N analysis
using the scatter in the S-N data to adjust the life prediction based on a
probability of survival.
Press OK to proceed and close the form.
300
Open the Material Info... form. This
form is used to assign material and
other information to regions of the
model. In fact it is identical to the
time domain S-N material set up
form which you should be familiar
with from previous exercises.
The Material Info... form and
spreadsheet should then be filled in
as follows:
1. Number of Materials: 1
2. Material: MANTEN
3. Finish: Polished
Accept the defaults for anything else on the form and close the form by pressing the
OK button when finished.
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form. Before completing this form we need loading input
PSDs. These PSDs will be created from the time signals we used in the pseudo-static
runs. On the Loading Info... form press the PSD Manager button. This will spawn
PTIME, the loading database manager.
When PTIME appears, select Add an entry... |
creaTe psd from time. This will spawn a utility
module called MASD for creating auto spectral
density functions. This module has multiple
functions which are beyond the scope of this text. We
wish only to create a Power Spectral Density function
from a time series using MASD. A number of screens
will be presented to you. Accept the defaults for all
items except those indicated below:
1. Input Filename: 7d_44-50.dac
Press the OK button to accept this file and
continue filling out the screen.
2. Output Type: Power Spectral Density
Press the OK button to proceed to the next screen.
3. FFT Buffer Size: 1024 : 0.9766 Hz width
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Vibration Fatigue
This setting determines the number of points to define the PSD over the full
frequency range. The full frequency range is from zero to 500 Hz which will
give 1.024 pts/Hz or 512 points. Press the OK button to proceed to the next
screen.
4. Output Filename: 7d_44-50
A file called 7d_44-50.psd will be created.
5. Plot Output: Yes
Press the OK button. The PSD will be created and a summary page will be
shown. When this is closed the PSD will be plotted using the graphic module
MQLD (quick look display).
6. View | Window X: Min=0, Max=50
To get a better look at
the PSD, select the
View | Window X
menu pick and set the
minimum frequency
to 0 and the maximum
frequency to 50. Use
File | Exit to quit. This
will return you to
PTIME. Note the
frequency content of
this signal tapers off
and is almost zero by
50 Hz.
7. Description1: Vertical
Load
8. Number of fatigue
equivalent units: 1
9. Fatigue equivalent
units: Repeats
These last two inputs are ignored for a vibration fatigue analysis. But
something must be supplied. All fatigue lives are reported back in seconds,
hours or years.
Repeat these steps for the other two time histories creating 8d_44-50.psd and 9d_44-
50.psd for the horizontal and twist loads respectively. Then quit from PTIME. The
original signals and their corresponding PSDs are shown below.
Hint: PSDs can be created in a number of ways. They can be created as shown
here from existing time signals. They can also be imported as ASCII text
files (Add an entry... | ASCII convert + load) or they can be created
manually by supplying xy points (Add an entry... | x-Y psd entry).
302
Once the PSDs are created you can

proceed to fill out the appropriate
information on the Loading Info...
form:
1. Results Type: Transfer
Function
The choice here is either
Transfer Function or Power
Spectrum. We are using
transfer functions from FE
analysis. It is also possible
to calculate response PSDs
directly in the FE analysis.
In that case we would
specify Power Spectrum.
This will be covered later.
2. Results Transformation:
Transform to Basic
This is the default setting. FE tensor results are transformed to the basic
coordinate system to sum and average nodal contributions from adjacent
elements. This must be done in a consistent coordinate frame. Unless you
have a specific need we suggest you leave the default.
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Vibration Fatigue
3. Load Input: Single

For this first example using
the vertical loading PSD,
we only have a single
input. Multiple inputs will
be covered later.
4. Frequency Resp: 6.(5-30)-
2.1-2-
Clicking on the cell just
below this title will activate
a number of widgets on the
bottom of the screen. This
is where the Transfer
Function from the FE
analysis is selected. This is
a multi-step operation so continue reading.
5. Get/Filter Results...
Open this form to select the Transfer Function of interest. You will see all
Result Cases in the upper listbox. Select the BS_FRESP_V vertical Transfer
Function Result Case. Press the Filter button. This will display all subcases
(frequencies) associated with this Transfer Function in the lower listbox. If
you press the Add button, the Result Case IDs will be transferred to the
Loading Info... form listbox.
This form is quite versatile. You can remove various frequencies if you wish.
You can filter based on various criteria. You can do multiple selections and
fill the Loading Info... form listbox with multiple transfer function results
(which will be necessary for a multiple input load analysis). It is suggested
that you play with this form a bit to understand its usage. Press the Close
button when you have successfully filled the listbox on the Loading Info...
form with BS_FRESP_V,6.(5:30)- representing all the frequencies in the
Transfer Function Result Case.
6. Select a Results Load Case: BS_FRESP_V,6.(5:30)-
Back on the Loading Info... form select this Result Case that you just filled in
using the Get/Filter Results... mechanism. Once this is selected you will see
the tensor results associated with this transfer function in the adjacent
listbox.
7. Select a Stress Tensor: 2.1-Stress Tensor,
Select the only available tensor from this listbox. The layer information will
update.
8. Select a layer: 2-At Z1,
This is displayed by default. Accept the default which is the top layer of
stress of the shell elements.
304
9. Fill Cell
Press the Fill Cell button. This will fill the Frequency Resp. cell with the
appropriate IDs in the spreadsheet above. The Input PSD cell then becomes
active.
10. Select a PSD File Name: 7D_44-50.PSD
Select the PSD representing the vertical force which we created earlier.
The Loading Info... form is now complete. Press the OK button to accept the form.
Before going on, however, a word or two on loading input PSDs is appropriate.
Vibration fatigue analysis makes certain assumptions of loading input. Those
assumptions are that the signal is random, stationary and gaussian in nature. Random
means that the signal contains no deterministically dominant event such as a spike
occurring occasionally or a superimposed dominating sine wave. Truly random
signals can only be characterized by their statistics such as root mean square (rms) and
mean levels.
Stationary means that those statistics are not changing significantly with time. Any
section of the signal should show very close statistical agreement.
Gaussian means that the peak and amplitude probability density function are
gaussian in nature or follow a bell shaped curve as shown here. If you draw tram lines
through a signal and count the number of times the signal passes through it and plot
that as a density function it is gaussian if it follows a bell shape. An example of a non-
gaussian signal is a pure sine wave. However adding multiple sine wave together
quickly becomes gaussian.
Gaussian
non-Gaussian
Hint: If you ever have the need to check the stationarity of a time signal, use
the MSTATS utility module. MSTATS will give you running statistics of a
signal and plot them for you. The increment of time history and overlaps
can be specified. This is a very useful mechanism to determine
stationarity.
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Vibration Fatigue
Job Control
button to submit the job. Change the Action to Monitor Job and press the Apply
button occasionally to monitor the job. This analysis will create the usual files: the job
parameter file, bs_fresp_v.fin, the fatigue input file, bs_fresp_v.fes, and the fatigue
results file, bs_fresp_v.fef. Also a message and status file are created
(bs_fresp_v.msg, bs_fresp_v.sta). Unlike a standard time domain solution there is no
intermediate rainflow count file, bs_fresp_v.fpp.
When the job is complete open the Results... form and with the Action set to Read
Results, press the Apply button. This will read the results into the database for later
viewing.
Additional Job Setups - Multiple Load Inputs

Now that you have seen how to set up the vertical load vibration analysis job you can
repeat the setup procedures for the other two single input load (horizontal and twist
loads). For the three single load input jobs you can follow the table below for Vibration
analysis. Use default values if parameters are not specified.
Vertical Load Horizontal Load Twist Moment

General Setup Parameters:
Jobname: bs_fresp_v bs_fresp_h bs_fresp_t
Title: Vertical Load Horizontal Load Twist Moment
Solution Params Form: Analysis Method: Dirlik
Mean Stress Correction: None
Stress Combination: Max. Abs. Principal
Design Criterion: 50%
Materials Info Form: Material: MANTEN
Finish: Polished
Treatment: No Treatment
Region: default_group
Loading Info Form: Result Type: Transfer Function
Load Input: Single
Frequency Resp: 6.(5.30)-2.1-2- 7.(31-56)-2.1-2- 8.(57-82)-2.1-2-
(BS_FRESP_V) (BS_FRESP_H) (BS_FRESP_T)
Input PSD: 7D_44-50.PSD 8D_44-50.PSD 9D_44-50.PSD

306
Again, after each fatigue analysis is finished, read the results into the database under
the Results form in the main MSC.Fatigue form with the Action set to Read Results.
Correlated and Uncorrelated Loading

When each of these jobs is done we can now set up a multiple load input job with all
three loads acting simultaneously. It is at this point however, that we have to decide
whether the individual load inputs are correlated or uncorrelated. Simultaneously
acting loads are said to be fully correlated if, in the time domain, the peaks and valleys
from each signal occur simultaneously. This is normally the case for random load
signals. Fully uncorrelated signals have the opposite true. Peaks and valleys do not
occur at the same time and may cause a cancelling effect. Thus you would expect
correlated loads to be more damaging than uncorrelated loads.
Since we are dealing with correlated loads, we need some way of
determining the cross-correlation PSDs that will relate one input load
PSD to another. If you have the original time series, this can be done
with a MSC.Fatigue module called MFRA (frequency response
analysis). Start MFRA from a system prompt by typing mfra, or by selecting it from
the Tools | Fatigue Utilities | Advanced Loading Utilities pulldown menu in
Pre&Post or the Tools |MSC.Fatigue | Advanced Loading Utilities pulldown menu
in MSC.Patran.
To get cross PSDs from MFRA follow these instructions after selecting Transfer
Function Analysis from the main menu (use the defaults if not specified):
1. Input File: 7d_44-50.dac
Select the vertical load time history.
2. Response Filename: 8d_44-50.dac
Select the horizontal load time history. Press the OK button to accept these
two file names.
3. Output Type: Power Spectral Density
Press the OK button to accept this screen and move to the next.
4. FFT Buffer Size: 1024 : 0.9766 Hz width
Select this buffer size so that there are the same number of points in the
resulting cross-PSDs as in the PSDs created thus far. Press the OK button to
accept this screen and go to the next.
5. Generic Output Filename: 7-8d_44-50
Give this cross term the name 7-8d_44_50 to indicate that the vertical load
(7d) had been correlated with the horizontal load (8d).
6. Zero/Zero in Gain File: Zero
Press the OK button to proceed with the analysis.
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Vibration Fatigue
Repeat this process to correlate 7d_44-50.dac with 9d_44-50.dac and 8d_44-50.dac

with 9d_44-50.dac and use the output file names of 7-9d_44-50 and 8-9d_44-50 for the
two respectively. Exit from MFRA when you are finished or you may plot the results
using Results Display on the main menu of MFRA.
You will have in your directory three files called 7-8d_44-50.sxy, 7-9d_44-50.sxy and
8-9d_44-50.sxy. These are the cross PSD terms. Next, invoke PTIME and load these
three new PSD files in using the Add an entry | Load file option so that they exist and
are known in the PTIME database. Use a wild card to specify all three at the same time,
i.e., *.sxy. Accept all defaults and press OK. Exit from PTIME when you are finished.
PSD Matrix File

One last step must be performed before the Loading Info... form can be properly filled
for a multiple input load job. We must create a matrix file that relates the cross PSD
terms with the input load PSDs. There are two ways to do this. Since we want to look
at the effect of both uncorrelated loads and correlated loads we will introduce you to
both methods by creating two matrix files.
Perhaps the easiest method is to manually create the file and then load it into PTIME.
Create a file using any editor that looks like this in your working directory and call it
cor789.pmx:
3
7d_44-50.psd 7-8d_44-50.sxy 7-9d_44-50.sxy
7-8d_44-50.sxy 8d_44-50.psd 8-9d_44-50.sxy
7-9d_44-50.sxy 8-9d_44-50.sxy 9d_44-50.psd
Note that the contents of this file are the names of the input load PSD files on the
diagonal terms and the names of the cross PSD files on the off-diagonal terms. The first
line indicates that there are three input loads and therefore the matrix is to be 3x3.
This file can be loaded into PTIME by using the option Add an entry
| ASCII convert + load. Once in this option do the following:
1. ASCII Filename: cor789.pmx
2. Data Type: psd Matrix
3. PSD Matrix: cor789
Press the OK button to accept this screen and move to the
next.
4. Description 1: correlated loads
Press the OK button to accept this screen and load the file.
308
The second method is a direct method within PTIME. Use the

option Add an entry | Psd matrix. Follow these instructions:
1. Filename: uncor789.pmx
2. Description 1: uncorrelated loads
Press the OK button to accept this screen.
3. Enter Matrix Size: 3
Press the OK button to accept this screen. A spreadsheet will appear. In the
diagonal cells of the spreadsheet type the names of the load input PSD files:
7d_44-50.psd, 8d_44-50.psd, and 9d_44-50.psd. Leave the other cells blank
since this is meant to be uncorrelated. You must press the return or enter key
for the file name to be accepted. Also the file must have been loaded into the
PTIME database and physically exist. When you have filled out the
spreadsheet select File | OK. This will load the new matrix file
uncor789.pmx.
If you look at the contents of the second file it should look like this:
3
7d_44-50.psd NONE NONE
NONE 8d_44-50.psd NONE
NONE NONE 9d_44-50.psd
Loading Information - Multiple Load Inputs

Finally you can return to the Loading Info... form and set the job up for a multiple
input load analysis.
1. Results Type: Transfer Function
2. Results Transformation: Transform to Basic
3. Load Input: Multiple
This will cause a listbox to appear with the PSD matrix files listed.
4. Select a PSD file: COR789.PMX
When you select the matrix file it will automatically update the spreadsheet
on the form to indicate the number of input loads (number of rows). You
must then supply a transfer function for each input load.
CHAPTER 14 309
Vibration Fatigue
5. Frequency Resp:
6.(5-30)-2.1-2-
Clicking on the first cell
just below this title will
activate a number of
widgets on the bottom of
the screen. This is where
the Transfer Functions
from the FE analysis are
selected. This is a multi-
step operation.
6. Get/Filter Results...
Open this form to select the
Transfer Functions of
interest. This operation is
identical to what you did
for a single load input
except this time you need
to fill the listbox with all three Transfer Functions. Select the BS_FRESP_V
vertical Transfer Function Result Case. Press the Filter button. This will
display all subcases (frequencies) associated with this transfer function in the
lower listbox. Press the Add button, the Result Case IDs will be transferred
to the Loading Info... form listbox. Do the same for BS_FRESP_H, and
BS_FRESP_T Transfer Function Result Cases pressing the Add button to
add them to the listbox. Press the Close button when you have successfully
filled the listbox on the Loading Info... form with BS_FRESP_V,6.(5:30)-,
BS_FRESP_H,7.(31:56)-, and BS_FRESP_T,8.(57:82)-.
7. Select a Results Load Cases: BS_FRESP_V,6.(5:30)-
Back on the Loading Info... form select this Result Case that you just filled in
using Get/Filter Results... mechanism. Once this is selected you will see the
tensor results associated with this transfer function in the adjacent listbox.
8. Select a Stress Tensor: 2.1-Stress Tensor,
Select the only available tensor from this listbox. The layer information will
update.
9. Select a layer: 2-At Z1,
This is displayed by default. Accept the default which is top layer of stress of
the shell elements.
310
10. Fill Cell

Press the Fill Cell button. This will fill the Frequency Resp. cell with the
appropriate IDs in the spreadsheet above. The next cell then becomes active
so you can associate the next transfer function to its corresponding input
load PSD. Repeat steps 7 through 10 for the horizontal and twist loads
selecting the appropriate Transfer Function respectively.
Close down the Loading Info... form. Go to the General Setup Parameters and give the
job the name bs_fresp_vth_c and the title correlated loads. Submit the job as you did
for the single load input jobs and when the job is complete read the result into the
database as done before.
Run one last job before investigating the results. Go into the Loading Info... form and
change the matrix PSD file to UNCOR789.PMX. Give it the jobname bs_fresp_vth_u
with the title uncorrelated loads and submit the job and read the result when finished.
Do not forget to read the results in from these two jobs.
Results
Perhaps the most obvious thing to do first is to make contour plots of fatigue life from
the various jobs run so far. All of the fatigue analyses should have been run and the
results imported into the database, so open the Results application switch on the main
menu bar (remember not to confuse this with the Results... button on the main
MSC.Fatigue form).
When the Results application appears, make sure the Object is set to Quick Plot. You
will see many Result Cases in the top listbox. Scroll all the way down to the bottom
and select the Result Case corresponding to the first pseudo-static job we ran called
Total Life, bs_static_vfef for the vertical load case. Select Log of Life (Seconds) and
press the Apply button to produce the contours. Make note of the plot.
Next select the corresponding vibration fatigue analysis called Vibration Analysis,
bs_fresp_vfef. Select Log of Life (Seconds) and press the Apply button again to
produce a plot. The two plots are shown below. Notice the disparaging difference
between them.
Fatigue Life due to Vertical Load
pseudo- vibration
static
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Vibration Fatigue
This difference is due to the endurance limit imposed on the material MANTEN that
we used in the analysis. With an S-N analysis, any locations with stress ranges below
this endurance limit will be reported as infinite life. The vibration analysis, because of
its statistical nature, has many more stress range bins, tending to spread the life
contours out and appear not to be as sensitive to the endurance limit. The plots are, in
actuality, very similar. This can be seen by removing the endurance limit for
MANTEN and rerunning the pseudo-static analyses. If you feel so inclined you may
do this. The corresponding plots then look much more similar as shown below.
Fatigue Life due to Vertical Load
Endurance Limit Removed
pseudo- vibration
static
Hint: To remove the endurance limit run PFMAT and Load the material
MANTEN into data set 1. Turn off the Material checking under
Preferences and then Edit data set 1 which contains MANTEN. Do not
supply a password to modify the central database. Simply press the
return key and a local copy of the database will be created. Proceed to the
screen with E-N Data and change the Cut-off to 2E12. This will remove
any fatigue limit from the S-N curve. (Do not be confused that strain-life
data is being used here. Only the S-N (elastic) portion of the strain-life
curve is used.)
The rest of the plots are shown below comparing horizontal, twist and combined
loading pseudo-static versus vibration fatigue analyses. These plots are left for you to
create at your leisure. Note that all the pseudo-static plots were created after removing
312
the endurance limit. Also note that the area at the end of the slot contains spurious
results due to the singularities caused by the loading and should be ignored. We are
really only interested in the critical location around the circular hole (Node 72).
Fatigue Life due to Horizontal Load
pseudo- vibration
static
Fatigue Life due to Twist Load
pseudo- vibration
static
Fatigue Life due to Combined Loads
pseudo- vibration
static
PFPOST Listings
The table below shows the results from all the jobs run
thus far (calculated using the smallest bin size of 32) at
Node 72. You can view a listing of damage and fatigue life
by running PFPOST. You can either invoke this utility
from the system prompt by typing pfpost or set the Action
to List Results in the Results... form on the main
MSC.Fatigue setup form. Once PFPOST has appeared do
the following:
1. Jobname: bs_static_v
Start with the vertical pseudo-static analysis.
Press the OK button twice to proceed until the
form appears as to the right.
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Vibration Fatigue
2. User specified nodes: 72

Select the option User Specified nodes. Enter 72 as the node of interest to
view and press OK. Press OK to close the table after you have viewed the
results.
Hint: To view the results at Node 72 for the other analyses press the Cancel
button when you return to the form at the right. This will allow you to
enter another jobname and repeat the steps above.
Pseudo-Static Vibration Factor

Vertical Load 6.5E5 Seconds 2.1E6 Seconds 3.2
Horizontal Load 9.8E8 Seconds 3.2E9 Seconds 3.3
Twist Load 9.1E8 Seconds 9.4E7 Seconds 9.6
Combined Load 3.7E4 Seconds 4100 Seconds 9.0
Uncorrelated N/A 1.2E5 Seconds
The results are with the endurance limit removed as explained earlier. As you can see
the results are fairly good with a couple of the cases being out by a factor of ten or so
on life. The shorter the life, the more discrepancy there can be because of sensitivity
due to the logarithmic nature of the problem. Small differences in stress can mean
large differences in life. Note also that the uncorrelated run is much less damaging as
we expected.
There are many factors that can influence this accuracy some of which may be:
1. The coarseness of the FE model and accuracy of the stresses.
2. Some possible cancelling effects due to the combined loading which would
be evident in the pseudo-static case because of only partial correlation of the
input loads.
3. Shortness of the signal; perhaps not long enough to fully characterize as fully
stationary and gaussian.
4. Influence of the first mode shape as evident in the earlier plot of the Transfer
Function at Node 72.
5. Frequency resolution of the Transfer Function to fully capture the influence
of the input PSD.
314
Frequency Resolution
To illustrate the importance of the last
point above, do the following:
1. Run PTIME again and convert
the original time signal
7d_44_50.dac to a PSD again.
Select Add an entry... | creaTe
psd from time option. Give the
new output the name test.psd.
This time however, use an FFT
Buffer Size of 2048 : 0.4883 Hz
width. This will essentially
create twice as many points in
the resulting PSD.
2. Plot the PSD to see that it looks
much more jagged than when the buffer size was set to 1024. Zoom in from
zero to 25 Hz for a good view.
3. Give it a description, set the Number of fatigue equivalent units to 1, set the
Fatigue equivalent units to Repeats, and press the OK button.
4. Re-run the vibration fatigue analysis (bs_fresp_v) of a single load input
using the new PSD.
5. List the results at Node 72. Note how different they are than the original
analysis as reported in the table above (1.8E6 vs. 2.1E6 Seconds).
Even though the total areas under each input PSD curve is identical between the two
(the difference being that one has twice as many points), the underlying dominant
factor is the frequency resolution of the Transfer Function in the important areas of the
input PSD. Because our Transfer Function has evenly incremented frequency steps of
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Vibration Fatigue
two Hz, we may skip over certain peaks or valleys in the input PSD. Interpolation only
occurs within the input PSD at frequency points found in the Transfer Function and
not those found in the input PSD. This is illustrated below for two different cases:
Input
PSD
Transfer
Function
Response
PSD
Potentially Less Damaging More Damaging
So for our case, with more and more points defining the input PSD and no greater
resolution of the Transfer Function, the damage calculated becomes greater because
the analysis is calculating more area under the curve than there really is. The opposite
could also be true if a large spike occurred between two frequencies in the Transfer
Function, and was missed entirely.
Design Optimization
Let us now investigate the design optimization
(sensitivity) capabilities of the vibration fatigue
analysis. This is analogous to those capabilities in the
S-N and strain-life analyzer FEFAT. The design
optimization feature can be invoked directly from
the Results... form with the Action set to Optimize or
from FEVIB started at the system prompt by typing
fevib and then entering the Design optimization
menu pick. Do this with any of the vibration fatigue
jobs completed thus far.
After specifying a jobname, if necessary, and
selecting a node of interest and supplying a design
life, the program will proceed to a summary report
screen reporting the same life as the global analysis.
When the summary report is closed you are placed
in the main menu of the design optimization mode.
The operation is identical to that of FEFAT’s design
optimization mode and is therefore left to you to investigate its many options.
316
The only unique option to FEVIB’s design optimization mode is its ability to calculate
life due to all the analysis methods (Dirlik, Narrow Band, etc.). This is done under
Sensitivity analysis | Analysis methods (all).
To see the statistical nature of the vibration analysis, you may want to plot the
rainflow cycle count histogram, which is really a probability density function of
rainflow ranges. In order to plot the histogram you will need to do the following from
the Design Optimization main menu:
1. Select Original Parameters:
This will reset everything to the original parameters in case you have
changed anything while investigating this tool.
2. Select Change Parameters:
Enter the Change Parameters screen and change the next two items below.
3. Mean Stress Correction: Goodman
4. Global Offset Stress: 0
Keep this set to zero. We must run a Dirlik plus mean stress correction in
order to obtain a histogram plot. Press the OK button to return to the main
menu.
5. Select Recalculate
6. Select results Display |plot Cycles histogram
This will plot the histogram. Change the view to 2D viewed from the left so
you can see the stress ranges. This is done by selecting Plot-type | View Left.
Also do the same thing in FEFAT with the time domain solution for the same load case
and node location (although you will not need to change the mean stress correction).
Below are histogram plots (viewed in 2D mode) from the pseudo-static and vibration
fatigue analyses for the vertical load case. Note how the time domain solution has
discrete finite sequence whereas the frequency domain solution has values in all bins
based on the probability of cycles occurring at that stress range. It is a statistical
representation of an infinitely long sequence.
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Vibration Fatigue
Stationarity Checks
As a last exercise before we go on to the second
model of the bracket, let us look at another feature
of the vibration fatigue analysis module FEVIB.
Again invoke FEVIB from the system prompt and
this time select the Output power spectrum option.
Or on the Results... form set the Action to Extract
PSD and press Apply.
Supply a jobname if necessary. The job we want to
extract a PSD from is the multi-input correlated load
case, bs_fresp_vth_c at Node 72. Do the following
after supplying the proper jobname:
1. Generic Output Filename:
You can accept the default here. However,
be aware that all file names created from
this option will have the node number
appended to the output filename.
2. Nodes/Elements to Select: 72
3. Combination Method: Abs Max principal
4. Interpolation Method: Linear
5. Stationarity Check Output: Yes
Be sure to turn this on. Press the
OK button to continue. A result
summary screen will be presented.
Press the End button to continue.
6. plot Power v. Frequency
At this point you are presented with three
options for displaying different types of
plots. Plot each one of them separately. The
first is the stress response PSD as calculated
by FEVIB at Node 72. This is, of course,
calculated by multiplying the input PSD by
the Transfer Function. For multiple inputs
this becomes a matrix operation.
318
The second plot (angular deviation v. Load

case) shows the total angular spread of the
principal stress axes for each load case. The
solid red line is plotted through the median
value at each load case. The yellow error
bars indicates the total deviation for each vertical
load case; the first load case being the first horizontal
yellow error bar, the second, the second load twist
case, and the third, the third load case, from
left to right.
The third plot (angular deviation v Load Frequency) shows how the principal stress
axes change with respect to frequency for each load case - actually three different
plots.
vertical twist
horizontal
The angle vs. frequency plot for the vertical load case shows a total angular deviation
of the principal stress axes of only about two degrees according to the y-axis labels.
The horizontal load case is very small, almost zero, and the twist shows a total of about
20 degrees. These corresponds to the single yellow error bars on the angle vs. load
case plot for each load case. The yellow error bars on the angle vs. frequency plots
indicate how the stress axes change due to differential damping at each frequency. In
other words, it represents how the principal stress axes change subject to a sine wave
load input at that frequency.
CHAPTER 14 319
Vibration Fatigue
All angle spreads reported on these plots are

relative to an arbitrarily selected angle. The angle
vs. load case plot shows the angles relative to each
other. You can see that there is about a 45 degree
difference between the vertical load case and the
horizontal and twist load cases, these two being
very similar. This is as expected also in that the
horizontal and twist loads are inducing a shear
state at Node 72 whereas the vertical load case is
not. This is confirmed by plotting the principal
stress at Node 72 using the Results application.
Hint: To make these plots in Pre&Post or MSC.Patran using the Results

application, set the Object to Marker, the Method to Tensor, and select
the appropriate Result Case. Show the tensor as 2D Principal and turn off
the Min principal. It also may be desirable to only show the arrows and
not the tensor box (under Display Attributes). The principals can also be
animated to see the change in angle over frequency when all frequencies
have been selected from a particular Transfer Function. The above plots
were made from the static load cases.
These angular spread plots are characteristics of the model. To see whether or not
there may be a problem with stationarity of the principal stress axes, you must look at
the regions of interest on the response PSD (between zero and 25 Hz) and the
corresponding frequency locations on the stationarity plots. For all three load cases,
there is little movement of the stress axes in this region.
320
14.4 Dynamic Transient vs. PSD Approach

Now we will investigate the bracket model where the density has been adjusted to
lower the natural frequencies. It is assumed that you now have a good handle on using
all aspects of MSC.Fatigue. No new functionality will be introduced in this section, so
step by step instructions will be minimal.
The loading information for this model is identical, however we can no longer use the
pseudo-static method as any means of comparison because we have introduced
dynamic effects. The only means of comparison must be done against an actual time
domain, transient FE analysis.
First a modal analysis was performed to ensure that the modal frequencies fell within
the input loading PSD range. For each of the three load cases, an FE transient analysis
was performed with 5% critical damping. A fourth transient analysis was done for the
combined loading where all three act simultaneously on the structure. The time
variation for these analyses was taken directly from the input loading (7d_44-50.dac,
8d_44-50.dac, and 9d_44-50.dac).
Hint: The load step information for the transient FE analyses was captured, for
practical purposes of this exercise, from the XY contents of these time
history files which were dumped to ASCII files using the MSC.Fatigue
utility module MCOE (channel editor) and then converted into TABLED1
cards for MSC.Nastran. Before doing this however, the signals were filter
to remove any frequency content above 50 Hz (using MBFL) and then
decimated to reduce the number of points in the signal from 6001 to 601
(using PTIME, Sample Rate Adjust).
Frequency response analyses were also performed for the three load cases and the
fully correlated combined loading case. If you wish to reproduce the results of this
exercise you will need the following results files (bd_ = bracket dynamic model):
bd_modal.op2, bd_fresp_v.op2, bd_fresp_h.op2, bd_fresp_t.op2,
bd_trans_v.op2, bd_trans_h.op2, bd_trans_t.op2, bd_trans_vth.op2
Close the old database and open a new database and call it bracket_d.db. Read in the
Output2 files in the order listed above. Make sure that you read Both model data and
results from the first file and Result Entities only from the rest.
It is suggested that you do the following:
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Vibration Fatigue
Plot Mode Shapes

Plot the mode shapes of the bracket. Note that the lowest mode is around 6 Hz and
that there are six modes between zero and 50 Hz consisting of first bending, first twist,
first lateral, and three second order modes. All major modes will be excited by the
input PSD. Plotting modes is done from the Results application with the Object set to
either Quick Plot or Deformation.
Mode 1, 6.06 Hz Mode 4, 22.89 Hz
Mode 2, 12.68 Hz Mode 5, 27.24 Hz
Mode 6, 46.45 Hz
Mode 3, 20.32 Hz
Run Vibration Analyses

Run the vertical load case vibration fatigue analysis using the new Transfer Function.
The easiest way to do this is to read in the old job (bs_fresp_v) and then change the
jobname and other appropriate parameters (Job Control...| Read Saved Job). After
reading in the old job called bs_fresp_v, change only the following:
1. Jobname: bd_fresp_v
2. Frequency Resp: 3.(11-51)-2.1-2-(vertical load)
Here you are assigning the proper Transfer Function for this new model,
BD_FRESP_V, corresponding to the vertical load on the Loading Info...
form.
3. Input PSD: 7D_44-50.PSD
When you re-run the job you will see that the predicted life at Node 72 is very small
(2 seconds). This shows you that the dynamic effects are quite significant. Because of
this, change the material from MANTEN to the higher strength steel, RQC100 and
modify it to also have no endurance limit (Cut-off =2E12) as you did with MANTEN.
322
Note: In order to be able to compare these results with the Transient Analysis, you
must create a group called hole with only the elements (one layer deep)
around the hole AND their nodes (Node 65:72 129:135 202:214 221 222 237
263 and Element 29:34 108:117). Then you must select this group as the
Region of interest on the Material Info... form.
Rerun all four vibration jobs with new job names (bd_fresp_v, bd_fresp_h,
bd_fresp_t, and bd_fresp_vth_c) and the appropriate Transfer Function Result Case
IDs. Make sure you change the material to RQC100 from MANTEN.
Note: The frequency resolution of the Transfer Functions is much higher (26
frequencies vs. 41 frequencies) to better capture the dynamic effects around
each natural frequency.
Run Transient Analyses

Now run the transient analysis jobs. The best way to do this is to read in the
corresponding pseudo-static job, change the Jobname, set the material to RQC100, set
the Region to the group you created earlier (hole), and then change the Result Type
from Static to Transient on the Loading Info... form, selecting all the time steps for the
corresponding load case of course. The four Jobnames should be bd_trans_v,
bd_trans_h, bd_trans_t, and bd_trans_vth for the vertical, horizontal, twist and
combined loading cases respectively. For the combined loading, turn on Biaxiality
Analysis for later comparisons to the angle spread of the principal stress axes from the
vibration analysis (on the Solution Params... form).
CHAPTER 14 323
Vibration Fatigue
View and Transient Analysis Vibration Analysis

Compare
Results
Vertical Load
Shown here are the
fringe plots of the log of
fatigue life comparing
the transient (Total Life,
bd_trans*) and the
vibration fatigue
Horizontal Load
analyses as was done for
the pseudo-static
(Vibration Analysis,
bd_freq*) comparisons
earlier. Only the region
around the hole is
shown since only fatigue
life was calculated in the
this region due to the
Twist Load
enormity of the transient
analysis FE results.
The table below shows
the results from all the
jobs run from this
second model
Combined Loading
(calculated using the

smallest bin size of 32).
Use PFPOST to list
results at Node 72.
Transient* / rms Vibration / rms Factor

Vertical Load 131 Seconds / 235 40 Seconds / 288 ~2.2
Horizontal 1.5E9 Seconds / 58 1E9 Seconds / 75 ~1.5
Load
Twist Load 3.4E7 Seconds / 113 3.9E5 Seconds / 142 ~88
324
Transient* / rms Vibration / rms Factor

Combined 0.45 Seconds / 328 0.39 Seconds / 406 ~1.15
Load
* Transient analysis results from MSC.Fatigue are initially reported in Repeats of
the Analysis or time history. The numbers reported here for the transient analysis
have been multiplied by 6 to reflect the fact that the time history is 6 seconds of
data.
The following notes are made:

1. Shown in the table above are also the rms values of the stress response time
histories or PSDs. They are included in the table to illustrate that you can
gauge the relative magnitude of damage that a load input may cause in
relation to another by the rms value of the signals.
The rms values of a time signal are reported in the stress response plot when
you Output time histories using the FEFAT module. When there is a non-
zero mean of a signal look at the standard deviation instead of the rms which
is done in this case. The rms value of a response PSD is reported in the
tabular listing using PFPOST.
You can also estimate the relative magnitude of damage due to the combined
loads by taking the root mean square of the rms values for the individual
load cases ([2352+582+1132]1/2)=267 and ([2882+752+1422]1/2)=339.
Although not 100% accurate, if the rms for one signal is less compared to
another, the damage will also be less.
2. The twist load which appears to be out by a larger than acceptable factor is a
special case which needs to be illustrated.
When performing a transient dynamic analysis, or a pseudo-static analysis,
the principal stresses are computed at every time step increment. At each
increment the time history contains, in general, more than one frequency
component. However, only one principal direction can exist at each time
step. In contrast, for a vibration fatigue run there can, in general, be a
different principal stress direction for each frequency and each load
application point. The Transfer Functions in MSC.Fatigue compute principal
stress PSDs where each component is a principal. The vibration fatigue
approach, therefore, has the potential to give an upper bound on fatigue
damage for FEA models where there is a large variation in principal stress
direction. As an analogy to this, consider the outcome from tossing dice.
Make set 1 the mean value of the three dice and set 2 the highest value from
the three dice. Set 2 will consistently give higher values than set 1. This will
only be significant where there is a large variation in principal stress
direction. This is probably the case for this model and the twist loading as the
results appear to indicate.
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Vibration Fatigue
In all cases where there appears to be a large amount of mobility, the

vibration fatigue calculations are conservative.
3. Care must be taken when comparing transient analysis fatigue results to PSD
fatigue analysis results when the loading is correlated. The time domain
analysis could impose cancelling effects if the sign of the loads are not
applied correctly, which would cause the comparison to be unfavorable.
4. The lives are very low for the vertical and combined runs which means the
region of the S-N curve that is being used is not really valid. Random
vibration fatigue using the S-N method is valid only for high cycle fatigue
problems (>1e4 cycles). However, since the curve is linear, it is still valid for
comparison purposes.
5. As a continuation of the previous comment, the time domain transient
analysis does not report back the exact life if less than one repeat of the
signal. If you run the combined transient case, it will report 1 repeat or 6
seconds as the life. But in actuality it lasted less than one repeat. A fatigue life
can be determined from a single shot analysis by placing a scale factor of 0.8
on the loading. This gives a life of around 55 seconds. In order to estimate the
fatigue life equivalent to the actual stress level, we worked out the slope of
the S-N curve at around 1e0 cycles to be:
-b = 1 / 21.5.
We know that the number of cycles to failure N, is
N = S-b
Therefore the fatigue life goes down by:
(0.8)21.5 = 0.0083
55 x 0.0083 = 0.45 Seconds
Recreate the Transfer Function

For a single load case you should be able to recreate the Transfer Function from the
response PSD and the input PSD by dividing one by the other (for a multiple input
analysis, this becomes a matrix operation). Use the vertical load case analysis,
bd_fresp_v, to illustrate this. This is a multi-step operation and uses a number of
MSC.Fatigue utilities that are explained in more details in the next chapter.
326
1. In Pre&Post or
MSC.Patran, use the
Results application to
make the plot shown here.
This is the Transfer
Function of Max. Principal
stress for Node 72 and is
created by setting the
Object to Graph, selecting
all the frequencies
associated with the
BD_FRESP_V Result Case
for Node 72 (Target
Entities) and plotting the
Magnitude of the complex
number (Plot Options).
2. Run FEVIB and use the option Output power spectrum to create the
response PSD at Node 72. Give it the output name: resp_psd.psd. The final
name will be resp_psd.psd72, as it appends the node number.
3. Create an ASCII dump file of the response PSD (resp_psd.psd72) using the
utility module MDTA (Convert Binary .dac to ASCII). It can be invoked from
the Tools + | File Conversion Utilities pulldown in Pre&Post or from the
system prompt by typing mdta. This module is straight forward to use. Do
not write any header information or any multi-channels. A file called
resp_psd72.asc will be created containing the xy data points.
4. Read the ASCII file into PTIME using Add an entry | ASCII convert + load.
Set Data y type to Power spectrum; set the Frequency Rate (sample rate) to
1.024; select X-y pairs as the Equally Spaced Data and set Take All Numbers
to Yes. Call the new Power Spectrum, resp_psd. Enter a description when
asked. Do not worry about the Load Type or Units. They will be wrong. Just
remember that the units are MPa2/Hz. This will create the response PSD
with the exact same sample rate as the input PSD.
CHAPTER 14 327
Vibration Fatigue
5. Use another utility to cut down the

size of the input PSD to the same
number of points as the response
PSD. Use the program MLEN (File
Cut and Paste) which can be
accessed from the Tools | Fatigue
Utilities | Advanced Loading
Utilities pulldown in Pre&Post or
from the Tools | MSC.Fatigue |
Advanced Loading Utilities
pulldown in MSC.Patran. It can also
be accessed from the system
prompt by typing mlen. Use the
Extract Section - Single File option
and select the input PSD, 7d_44-
50.psd. Give the output file name of input_psd.psd. Change the End Time to
50, indicating 50 Hz. The start time should be either START or 0. Now both
the input PSD (input_psd.psd) and the response PSD (resp_psd.psd) are
identical in length with the same sample rate. They are plotted here using
MMFD.
6. Now divide the response PSD by the input PSD to recreate the Transfer
Function using another utility module called MMFM (Multi-File
Manipulation). The module is also invoked in the usual way. Select the
Division option. Select the resp_psd.psd and input_psd.psd as the two
input files.
Note: Files must be selected exactly in this order.
Select them both from the file browser at the same time by clicking on
input_psd.psd and then holding down the Control key and selecting
resp_psd.psd. The Output filename should be something like trans_func.frf.
The Divide by Zero Value should be zero (0) and the Special case of 0/0
should be Zero.
7. The last thing that must be done is to take the square root to convert to
stresses. Use the utility module called MART (Arithmetic Manipulation)
which has an option to Raise to a power. The power to raise the entire
function to should be 0.5 (square root). Change the YLabel + Units to Max.
Principal and MPa. Overwrite the existing file.
328
8. Use MQLD (Quick Look

Display) to plot the Transfer
Function which is shown here. It
is almost identical to that shown
in Pre&Post or MSC.Patran as
we would expect.
Plot the Stationarity

The stationarity plots are shown below for
Node 72. Compared to the previous
model, the dynamic effects of this model
are much more
Transient Analysis
Principal vs. Angle
vertical horizontal twist

CHAPTER 14 329
Vibration Fatigue
apparent. Note that the plot of Maximum Abs. Principal vs. Angle from the transient
analysis shows about an 85 degree spread and the vibration analysis shows around
108 degrees total, which compares favorably.
Hint: The biaxiality plot from the time domain analysis was produced in
FEFAT under the Assess multiaxiality option.
As further explanation, the error bars are showing the degree of angular spread due
to class II principal stress variation (due to differential damping at each frequency)
while the solid red line is showing the maximum angular variation due to class III
stress variation (how the stress tensor changes with frequency). It is quite possible that
the vector having the maximum departure from an arbitrary base vector (class III) is
different from the one exhibiting maximum spread through class II. The plots are
essentially saying then, that load case one and three, in particular, are giving us a class
II and class III non-stationarity. Compare this plot with load case 2, here we see a
stationary tensor. For a more in-depth discussion on multiaxiality and biaxial
indicators, see the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide on Vibration Fatigue analysis.
330
14.5 Random Vibration FE Results

As a final exercise in this chapter, set up a vibration fatigue analysis where the
response PSD has already been calculated and supplied by the FE solver. The same
model was run through ABAQUS using the vertical load input PSD. The results can
be found in the file abarun.fil. Either open a new database and import Both the model
and results with the Analysis Preference set to ABAQUS, or read the Result Entities
only into the existing database you have been using with the second dynamic model
after changing the Analysis Preference to ABAQUS.
The drawback to this method is that MSC.Fatigue cannot resolve the tensor to obtain
principal stresses or directions. Only the real stress tensor of response PSD
components is supplied from the FE analysis. Only when Transfer Functions are
supplied in the form of complex stress tensors of components is this possible. Because
of this, one of the components must be selected for the analysis.
To set up a vibration fatigue analysis using FE response PSDs is straight forward and
almost identical to that of a Transfer Function analysis.
1. Jobname: abapsdrun_y
Give it a new jobname and a title if desired.
2. Solution Param... form:
Use Dirlik and no mean stress correction (None). Select the Y Normal
component of stress.
3. Material Info... form:
The set up on this form is identical. Use RQC100 with a polished finish and
no treatment. However, use the previous group, hole, as the region since
response PSD results exist in the database for only the elements and nodes
around the hole.
4. Loading Info... form:
Change the Results Type to Power Spectrum. Select all the frequencies from
the new Result Case, RandomResponse. Select the Stresses, Components at
SECTION_POINT_1. Note that you do not have to associate and input
loading PSD to your Result Case as with the Transfer Function approach.
This is analogous to the pseudo-static versus transient approaches where the
transient does not need any external load variations defined because the
transient analysis already defines them. Thus, similarly we are using a
response PSD directly from the analysis code, ABAQUS, in this case.
CHAPTER 14 331
Vibration Fatigue
5. Job Control: Full Analysis

Results are shown below (with the transient analysis) for the Y-component
direction at Node 72.
Transient
PSD Approach
Approach
Y-component Vertical ~300 Seconds ~2150 Seconds
Load
The FE response PSD from the Results application for the Y-component is
shown next to that extracted from FEVIBs Output a power spectrum option
at Node 72.
332
CHAPTER
Temperature Corrected Fatigue
15 Analysis
■ Temperature Corrected MSC.Fatigue Analysis

■ Multiple Mean Stress Curve Support
334
15.1 Temperature Corrected MSC.Fatigue Analysis

This section describes the temperature corrected fatigue analysis MSC.Fatigue. A
simple example is used to highlight the features.
Temperature corrected fatigue analysis allows the calculation of uniaxial E-N or S-N
fatigue through utilization of temperature corrected materials data at non-ambient
temperatures. Temperatures may be assigned to the analysis group globally, by group
(region) or extracted from a Thermal case in the Patran database
The temperatures are steady state (i.e. constant with time) and do not include time
varying or creep effects but may vary across the FE model.
Note: Temperature corrected fatigue analysis may only be performed with S-N
and E-N analysis only. Optimization and Fast Analysis options are not
available.
Objective
• To introduce temperature corrected fatigue analysis.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/plate_thermal.op2
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/plate_structural.op2
CHAPTER 15 335
Temperature Corrected Fatigue Analysis
Import the Model

In a clean working directory, create a new database called Thermal. In the first
exercise, we will assign the temperatures to the analysis group from an MSC.Nastran
Thermal case. Set the Analysis Code to MSC.Nastran and the Analysis Type to
Thermal. Click OK.
Press the Import toggle switch in Pre&Post (Analysis in MSC.Patran) on the main
form. When the form appears, set the Action to Access Results, the Object to Read
Output 2, and the Method to Both (model and results); then press the Select Results
File button, select the file plate_thermal.op2, and press the Apply button. View the
temperature results from the results menu. A fringe plot of the temperature profile is
shown below:
336
Click on Preferences and set the Analysis Code to MSC.Nastran and the Analysis
Type to Structural. Import the results for the mechanical case by setting the Action to
Access Results, the Object to Read Output2, and the Method to Results Entities.
Select the plate_structural.op2 file and press the Apply button.
View the results from the results menu. A fringe plot of the Von Mises stress is shown
below.
Note: The stress units are in Pascals since the model dimensions are in meters and
the applied force is in Newtons
Set Up the Fatigue Analysis

Temperature corrected Fatigue is available for S-N or E-N analysis only. Set the
General Setup form as follows:
1. Analysis: S-N
2. Results Loc: Nodal
3. Nodal Ave: Global
5. Res Units: Pascals
6. Jobname: Thermal_test
7. Title: Temperature test case
CHAPTER 15 337
Solution Parameters
Accept all the defaults on this form.
Temperature assignments to the analysis entities are made on this form. There are 4
methods, Global, Region, Temp. Case, or ASCII Temp to assign temperatures to the
analysis group(s) from the Temp Type pull down menu. Global assigns the same
temperature to all the analysis groups, Region allows the user to specify temperatures
on the analysis groups on the material form (an extra cell has been added to the
material form to specify temperatures), Temp. Case extracts the temperatures from a
Thermal analysis case from the Patran database, and ASCII Temp requests that the
user assign a default global temperature and then specify the name of the TDS file to
use in overwriting the temperature for certain nodes. For Global, Region, Temp. Case,
or ASCII Temp, an ASCII materials database is used (nmats.htd) that is copied form
the installation directory to the users run directory to facilitate editing and addition of
material data. Click on the Materials Database Manger button to view the .htd file with
a text editor. Just like other analysis types, the list of available materials will be
displayed in the list box on the material form. The regular Material database is
displayed via PFMAT if the default Temp. Type of None is selected.
338
In this exercise, we will set the Temp. Type to Temp. Case. As suggested at the end of
this Chapter, users may want to exercise this form by using the Global, Region, and
ASCII Temp definitions.
From the Temp. Type optionmenu, select Temp. Case. A button called “Get
Temperature Case” appears on the Materials Information form. Click on the Get
Temperature Case button and select the temperature case as shown below:
Click on the Fill Databox button and press the OK button to accept the temperature
case. Temperatures from this case will be assigned to the analysis group selected on
the material form.
CHAPTER 15 339
Set the remaining widget values as follows:

1. Temp. Units: Celsius
2. Number of Materials: 1
3. Material: AL_PISTON
Your form should look like the one below. Ignore any warning messages that come up
and press OK to accept the inputs.
340
Loading Information
There is no change to the loading form. Set the Load Case ID to the only available
value. Set the Time History to SINE01. Accept all other default values and click OK to
accept the inputs. The completed from is shown with all the inputs.
Note: If SINE01 does not exist in your list of available Time Histories, then use the
Time History Manager button to “Copy from Centeral” the needed DAC file.

Open the Job Control form. Set the Action to Full Analysis and press the Apply
button. On job completion, open the Results form and set the Action to Read Results
and press the Apply button. This will read the results into Patran.
CHAPTER 15 341
The log of damage result is shown below. As expected, the highest damage is at the
fixed end where the maximum stresses and temperatures occur.
Verification: Run the same example with a global temperature of 20°C. Damage at the
same location should be approximately three times lower.
342
15.2 Multiple Mean Stress Curve Support

This section describes the multiple mean stress curve support in MSC.Fatigue.
Multiple mean stress curve analysis uses empirical data to account for mean stress
effects rather than analytical methods such as Gerber and Goodman.
Multiple mean stress curve analysis is for S-N analysis only. Temperature corrections,
certainty of survival, Optimization and Fast Analysis are not available for Multiple
Mean Stress Curve S-N analysis.
Objective
• To introduce Multi Mean Stress Curve Fatigue analysis.
• We will use the same database created from the exercise in Section 15.1 to
demonstrate the concepts.
Set Up the Fatigue Analysis

Multiple Mean Stress Curve is available for S-N analysis only. Set the General Setup
forms as follows:
1. Analysis: S-N
2. Results Loc: Nodal
3. Nodal Ave: Global
5. Res. Units: Pascals
6. Jobname: Multi_mean
7. Title: Multiple Menu Stress Curve
CHAPTER 15 343
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params form. Set the Mean
Stress Correction optionmenu to Multiple
Mean Curves. Use the default values for all
the other widgets. Press OK to close the form.
Open the Material information form. It is
identical to the standard S-N analysis, except:
• An ASCII materials database is used
(extension .mnd) instead of the
standard Materials database (.mdb).
• Selecting the Materials Database
Manager button brings up a text
editor instead of PFMAT.
• Even though the Surface Finish,
Treatment and Kf cells are visible
they are not available for input.
Click on the Materials Database Manager button to view the file containing the
Multiple Mean Stress Curve data.
344
Select the Material 7075-T6510-MEAN from the listbox and pick the default_group for
analysis. Click OK.
CHAPTER 15 345
Loading Information
Open the Loading information form. This form should be still filled out from the
previous example. Compare it with the form shown below and press OK to accept the
inputs.
346

Open the Job Control form. Set the Action to Full Analysis and press the Apply
button. On job completion, close the form and click on Results. From this form, set the
Action to List Results and press Apply. A life of 4.3E5 repeats, read off the zero mean
7075-T6510-MEAN curve, is reported at Node 93. The stress time history at Node 93
is shown below.
Make a note of this life as we will compare this life with an offset time history to
demonstrate the Multi Mean Stress Curve concept.
Verification: On the General Setup form, change the Jobname to multi_mean_offset.
Offset the Time History on the loading form by applying an offset of 0.625 that will
yield an offset range mean of 125 Mpa. A 125 Mpa mean stress S-N curve exists in the
database for 7075-T6510-MEAN, the material used in the analysis above.
Run the Job and list the results. The life at the same location (Node 93) drops to 1.38E5
repeats. The offset stress time history at Node 93 is shown below.
For a stress range of 398 Mpa, the 125 Mpa mean stress curve yields the life calculated.
MSC.Fatigue QuickStart GuideLK
CHAPTER
Aerospace Spectrum File Support
16
■ Aerospace Spectrum File Support
■ File Definitions
■ Example Problem
■ Conclusion
348
16.1 Aerospace Spectrum File Support

This section describes the aerospace spectrum file support in MSC.Fatigue. It extends
the previously cumbersome methods for generating stress spectra for the aerospace
sector by making use of a spectrum file consisting of load events that reference static
stress cases in a load control file. Load time histories are not required as stress spectra
are generated entirely from the information in ASCII editable Spectrum (extension
.spe) and Load Control files (extension .lcs). In essence, the stress spectrum at each
analysis location (nodes or elements) is generated by stepping through a sequence of
static load cases that are defined in the Load Control file.
Objective
• To illustrate the concept of generating a stress spectrum using the Spectrum and
Load Control files to create a fully reversed stress cycle.
• To show the results obtained here are identical to those obtained in the first exercise
in Chapter 2 of the Quick Start Guide.
Aerospace spectra are not supported for the following analysis types:
• Strain data in FES file
• Seam weld
• Spot weld
• Vibration fatigue
• Multi-analysis (duty cycle analysis)
• Fast Analysis
• Critical Plane & Multiaxial Analysis
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/example.spe
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/example.lcs
CHAPTER 16 349
16.2 File Definitions

Spectrum file
Spectrum files are ASCII and must have a .spe extension. Format, explanation of each
input, and a typical file are shown below.
<MD Spectrum file V2>
<Description>
<Scatter Factor>
<Number of cycles>
<Number of flights>
<Stress Factor>
Flight, <Flight number>, <Number of sequences>, <Number of repeats>

<Sequence name>, <Repeats>, <Case 1>,...,<Case J>
<Sequence name>, <Repeats>, <Case 1>,...,<Case K>
.
.
The header "MD Spectrum File V2" must be the first line in the .spe file. Scatter factor
accounts for scatter in materials and loads data. The calculated life will be divided by
this factor.
The Number of Cycles and Stress Factor parameters have not been implemented.
Therefore, these values should be set to 1.
The "#" character is used to denote comments. All text appearing after the "#" are
ignored.
Example Spectrum File

MD Spectrum file V2
Example
1
1
2
1
Flight, 1, 3, 15 # 'Flight', Flight Number, No.
of repeats
Push Back, 7, 1, 2, 0, 3, 1, 2, 1 # Sequence name, repeats, cases,...
Engine Run-up, 9, 0, 5, 0, 1, 5, 1
Taxi, 20, 0, 2, 0, 1, 4
Flight, 2, 2, 10
Take-off, 1, 10, 11, 0, 10, 50
Gear retract, 5, 0, 25, 0
350
Load Control file

Load Control files are ASCII and must have a .lcs extension. Format, explanation of
each input, and a typical file are shown below.
<Description>
<Units>
<Number of load cases>
<Number of FE cases>
<Divisor 1>,...,<Divisor m>
<ID1>, <Desc1>, < scale 1>,..., <scale m>
...
<IDn>, <Descn>, <scale 1>,..., <scale m>
The number of FE cases has to be greater than or equal to 2. Blank lines after the 5
header lines are ignored, as is anything after the # character. The ID must be a positive
integer. The divisor values are the loads applied to the model for each of the FE cases
and must not be zero.
Example Load Control File

Title
Units
10 # Number of load cases
5 # Number of FE cases
1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0 # Divisor Values - magnitude of the unit loads
for each FE Case
0,Load 0,0,0,0,0,0
1,Load 1,-1.000,.5125, 0.2,0.4,-1.8
2,Load 2,.55,-.76, 0.3,0,1.1
3,Load 3,0.5,-0.4,1.8,3.3,1.0
4,Load 4,-2.000,.5, 0.6,0.7,1.9
5,Load 5,.65,-.77,3.4,9.1,2.5
10,Load 10,1.1,2.5,6.8,9.0,-2.0
11,Load 11, 4.1,1.4,-4.3,-2.4,-1.0
25,Load 12, 4.2,2.4,-3.4,-2.4,-1.0
50,Load 50, 4.4,-0.4,-6.5,-2.4,-1.0
In the example files above, the spectrum file is made up of 2 flights that references one
or more of the 10 load cases. Each load case is comprised of 5 static FE Cases that are
factored to compute the stress for the given load case.
CHAPTER 16 351
16.3 Example Problem

In a clean working directory, start Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and import the model and
results using the MSC.Nastran results file simpleSN.op2 into a new database called
load_spec.
Open the Main MSC.Fatigue form and set Analysis to S-N, Results Loc. to Node, Node
Ave. to Global, F.E. Results to Stress, Res. Units to MPa, Jobname to load_spec, and
Title to Load Spectrum Analysis.
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params form and verify that the Mean Stress Correction is set to None and
that the Stress Combination is set to Max. Abs. Principal. Press OK to accept the inputs.
Open the Material Info form and set Material to MANTEN_MSN, set Finish to No Finish, set
Treatment to No Treatment, and set Region to default_group. Press OK to accept the inputs.
352
Loading Information
The Aerospace Loading capability is invoked by checking the toggle labeled "Use
Load Spectrum." Note the absence of the reference to the load time history database
as this is not required for handling aerospace spectrum files. Instead there are two
navigation bars pointing to the location of the Spectrum and Load Case files. See the
form below:
Users can browse to the directories containing these files and edit the files to create
their own Spectrum and Load Control files. The example Load Control and Spectrum
files are shown below. Stresses for the 2 FE- Cases are read from the Patran database.
CHAPTER 16 353
Note that in the given example, the same FE case is selected twice. This is because at
least two FE cases must be used for the Aerospace Loading capability. Since the stress
due to a fully reversed load is to be modeled, the FE case is scaled first by +1.0, and
then by -1.0.
QSG Sample Load File
N
3
2
1.0,1.0
0,Load 0, 0.0,0.0
1,load +1, 1.0, 0.0
2,load -1, 0.0, -1.0
MD SPECTRUM FILE V2
QSG Sample Spectrum File
1
1
1
1
Flight, 1,1,1
Block1,1, 0,1,2,0
Run Fatigue Analysis

Open the Job Control form. Set the Action to Full Analysis and press Apply. When
the job is completed open the Results form on the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and
set the Action to Read Results. Press Apply. This will read the results into the
database. The Log of damage, together with the stress time history at node 1 is
identical to the example in Chapter 2 of the Quick Start Guide.
Exercise: Change the number of repeats for the flight in the spectrum file to 2 and
compare the results with the above. Damage at Node 1 should double. The individual
event (Block 1) may also be repeated to obtain the same result.
354
16.4 Conclusion
Spectrum and Load Control files may be constructed to produce realistic loading
spectra for aerospace applications. Although the example used for demonstration
purposes is simple, the versatility of the tool is evident as complex spectra can be
constructed by utilizing the two input files and the FE Cases.
CHAPTER
Fatigue Utilities
17
■ Fatigue Preprocessing
■ Advanced Loading Utilities
■ Advanced Fatigue Utilities
■ Graphical Display Utilities
■ File Conversion Utilities
■ Other Utilities
356

A number of utility modules exist in MSC.Fatigue to help in the proper set up and
interpretation of fatigue analysis. These utilities are a subset of the test-based fatigue
software, nSoft, (created by nCode International, MSC’s fatigue technology partner)
packaged for the FE-fatigue analyst. They are broken into six main categories:
• Fatigue Preprocessing
• Material Management
• Advanced Loading Utilities
• Advanced Fatigue Utilities
• Graphical Display Utilities
• File Conversion Utilities
A brief description is given of each of these categories in this chapter with examples
where appropriate. For full details of a module’s operation, see the MSC.Fatigue
User’s Guide. Most of the modules described here can be accessed by typing their
program name at the system prompt. For example, to invoke MASD, type masd. They
can also be accessed from Pre&Post under one of the five pulldown menus found in
the Tools |Fatigue Utilities pulldown menu. Or from MSC.Patran, under one of the
five pulldown menus found in the Tools | MSC.Fatigue pulldown menu.
File
P3_HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/1pk.asc
CHAPTER 17 357
Fatigue Utilities
17.2 Fatigue Preprocessing

This is the first of the planned preprocessing utilities for MSC.Fatigue. Other utilities
will be added under the Preprocessing option.
Low Damage Removal

The Low Damage Removal utility is designed to
extract areas of the model that are likely to sustain
high damage. These areas are then grouped based
on User selection of existing User created groups or
automatically extracted material groups resident in
the Patran database. In the example shown on the
right the User may select all or pick one or more of
the automatically extracted material groups. The
Von mises stress or strain results from all selected
loadcases are scanned and for each material group,
a group is created that contains the top User
selectable percentage of loaded entities in that
group. The solution sequences that utilize stress or
strain results can benefit from this extraction. The
only exception to this is Seam weld and although
this utility can be used to identify the critical areas,
Users will have to exercise caution in using the
extracted groups as the Seam weld module
performs an extraction of the seam off the weld
group and it is possible that the weld may not be a
part of the extracted group.
For the force based Spotweld solution sequence
critical Spot weld elements are extracted based on
the magnitudes of the translational and rotational components. Either the material
group associated with the Spot weld elements or a group containing only the Spot
weld elements (recommended) is used for the extraction.
The groups extracted by this utility may then be used in a subsequent fatigue analysis
for a quick assessment of the high damage areas of the model.
Note: This extraction performed by this Utility does not take into account the
phasing from Superpositioning of the results for multiple channel loading.
FASTAN should be used in this case as proper account of the phasing is
taken into account to extract high damage areas.
This Low Damage Removal utility can be accessed by selecting the option from the
Fatigue Preprocessing pulldown menu under Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or
under Tools | Fatigue Utilities (for Pre&Post).
358
From the low damage removal form:

1. Select the Type (either Group or Material).
2. Select either the material names or group names that are of interest.
3. Select the loadcases.
4. Select the percentage of loaded entities desired. The default value is 10 but
you can select a value anywhere from 1 to 20. (i.e., If you select 15 then the
top 15 percent of damaged entities will be added to the new group)
5. Hit Apply. The results data for each selected material name or group name
is processed and the top requested percent of elements with the worst
damage are put into a group using the following naming convention:
HD_material name or HD_group name. (ie. If you selected mat1.1 and
mat1.2 then two new groups would be created. One called HD_mat1.1 and
the other called HD_mat1.2)
6. These new groups can then be used in the Materials Information form to
quickly identify the “Fatigue hot-spots” in the Model.
CHAPTER 17 359
Fatigue Utilities
17.3 Material Management

This module makes use of the PFMAT utility by either calling it directly or by
processing a predefined file.
Materials Database Manager - PFMAT

PFMAT allows the user to access the materials database to add, edit, or view the data.
The data stored in the database define the monotonic and cyclic properties for
materials. The cyclic properties include stress-life, strain-life, cyclic stress-strain and
crack growth rate curves.
ASCII Materials File Reader

This selection brings up a form that allows the user to create and edit MAT files
directly from the GUI. Selecting the Apply button on the form reads the specified
MAT file into the materials database creating the material defined in the file.
360
17.4 Advanced Loading Utilities

The main module delivered with any basic MSC.Fatigue system is PTIME. This basic
module has been used extensively throughout these example problems and allows for
the following:
• ASCII file load
• xy point entry
• graphical edit
• waveform creation (including white noise)
• block definition
• matrix creation
• polynomial and lookup table transformation
• unit and sample rate conversion
From PTIME it is possible to access certain display and manipulation modules that
have already been described in the various exercise problems in this manual such as:
• Multi-File Display (MMFD)
• Quick Look Display (MQLD)
• Three Dimensional Display (MP3D)
• Two Parameter Display (MTPD)
In addition to PTIME, the following utility modules exist to help in the definition of
loading information:
Arithmetic Manipulation - MART

MART allows you to take any time signal or
even a histogram and apply arithmetic
operations such as adding, subtracting,
multiplying, or dividing by a constant. You
can normalize a signal to a new mean, raise it
to a power, apply trigonometric or
logarithmic functions, take the absolute value
or use the linear equation Y=mX+c. You can
apply these arithmetic operations to the entire
signal or only a portion thereof.
For example, use PTIME to Copy to central the
signal SAETRN. Use MART to raise the signal
from 1000 seconds to the end of the signal by
the power 1.1.
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1. Invoke MART by typing mart from the system prompt or by selecting the
Arithmetic Manipulation option from the Advanced Loading Utilities
pulldown menu under Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools |
Fatigue Utilities (for Pre&Post).
2. Select the Raise to a power option.
3. Select saetrn.dac as the Input Filename and press OK.
4. Set the Output Filename to saetrn2.dac.
5. Change the Raise to Power databox to 1.1.
6. Change the From databox to 1000 and press OK. This will raise all Y values
to the power 1.1 starting at 1000 seconds to the end of the signal.
Above are the results, before and after as displayed by MMFD.
Multi-Channel Editor - MCOE

MCOE allows you to tabularly view, edit, or create multiple
time signals (files/channels) simultaneously. As an example:
1. Invoke MCOE by typing mcoe at the system prompt
or select the Multi-Channel Editor option from the
Advanced Loading Utilities pulldown menu under
Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools | Fatigue Utilities (for
Pre&Post).
362
2. Select Edit as the mode of operation. You will be presented with a screen to
select files. The operation of selecting files is identical whether you are
browsing, editing, or creating. When creating you simply enter a file name
and press OK for each column of data.
3. Using the List button select the two
files from the previous exercise,
saetrn.dac and saetrn2.dac. Use the
Shift key to select both files. Press
the OK button two times. A
spreadsheet with four columns will
appear. The first two columns are
fixed data corresponding to the
point number and the time. Only
the right two columns of data are
editable.
4. Edit any cell in these two right columns by selecting it with the cursor or
using the arrow keys and typing the new value.
There are a number commands at the top of the spreadsheet that are useful for editing
and viewing data. These are:
File: This has only two options, Back or OK. Both will end the editing session and quit
from MCOE. Only OK will actually save any changes.
View: These commands under this pulldown are simple. They allow you to scroll up
or down, right or left, or to the beginning or end of the spreadsheet.
Goto: This allows you to specify which row to go to based on the X value (time).
finD: This will find the next row in the current column with the value specified based
on the criteria of greater than, less than, between, or closest to.
Opts: This is perhaps the most useful of the commands for editing the tabular data.
These options are discussed below.
Pref: This sets preferences such as how you would like to select cells, or view number
formats in the columns. You can even scale the X-axis (time) and define the format of
exported files.
Next: This finds the next number based on the previously set finD command.
Editing Options Under Opts

The following options are available for editing the spreadsheet (see the MSC.Fatigue
User’s Guide for options not mentioned here). Experiment with any of these as you
see fit.
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Gap: This command appends the specified duration of time onto the end of a signal.
You type a number into the automatically selected cell and a linear interpolation
occurs filling the cells in-between. The next time duration gap is determined from you
entering another data value in the selected cell with interpolation occurring again.
This cycle continues until you select another cell or invoke some other command.
Delete: This deletes all cells within the specified time duration. Cells below the
deleted cells move up closing the gap.
Copy: Copies the data values in the specified time duration.
paSte: Pastes values that have been copied into the specified time duration
overwriting any existing values.
cYcle: Appends a saw tooth type signal to the end of a column by specifying the
maximum/minimum, range, number of cycles and mean.
Insert: Inserts the number of points or the time duration specified at the current row
for the specified columns. A start and end data value are requested and intermediate
values are linearly interpolated.
Append: Appends to the end of the signal the length of time or the number of points
specified. It also requests a beginning and ending value and all other values in-
between are linearly interpolated.
Join: This command asks for a start time and an end time and changes all values in-
between based on a linear interpolation for the specified data columns.
Export: Creates a file with default extension .txt of the columns of data in the
spreadsheet.
Plot: Plots the specified columns using the MMFD multi-file display program.
Rescale and offset: Specifies a start time and an end time, the column(s) to apply the
scaling and offset, and the scale factor and the offset values.
Format columns: This allows you to hide or unhide columns from the spreadsheet, fix
(or unfix) them to protect columns from data entry if desired, and to group columns
for multiple column operations in other options.
eXit: This is the same as OK from the File pulldown to save and exit.
Quit: This is the same as Back from the File pulldown exit without saving.
Note: A back up file of each file specified is created with extension .bak. So you can
always retrieve the original data if you make a mistake.
Rainflow Cycle Counter - MCYC

The rainflow cycle counter, mCYC, processes a time series signal, by extracting fatigue
cycles according to the rainflow cycle counting algorithm. The utility is useful as it
allows the user to count cycles using the same parameters (gate, range, bin width) for
364
comparing and assessing various time signals. The results are presented in the form
of a range-mean or a max-min matrix which can be displayed or used as input to
mCLF or MSLF. In addition, a file containing a description of each cycle can be
generated. If the time of each cycle can be stored, this file may also be used in crack
growth analysis.
For example, use PTIME to Copy from central the time history, SAETRN.
1. Invoke MCYC by typing mcyc from the system prompt or select the
Rainflow Cycle Counter option from the Advanced Loading Utilities
2. Select input file. By default, mCYC expects the input data to be a standard
.dac file but files with the correct internal format but different file extensions
must have their names entered in full e.g. filename.pvx
3. Select Output Type - Histogram, Cycles Files, or Both. The layout of the
lower part of the above screen and next screen (shown here) will depend on
the selection made here. If Histogram or Both is selected the Gate, Histogram
Filename, Range Parameters and Mean Parameters are prompted for in the
screen as shown on page 416.
4. Enter Gate to filter cycles (e.g. 75 which is approximately 10% of the max
indicated value 747). The value entered here must be in physical units
(usually microstrain) and greater than zero. If the gate value is more than
half the size of the largest cycle in the input file, an error message will be
issued. All cycles bigger than the gate will be counted.
5. Enter Window Type - Time or Points. Selecting one or the other changes the
next input to time or points
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6. Specify Start Time and End Time or Start Points and End Points. (e.g. start+6
-start 6 seconds or points from start and end-100 - end 100 seconds or points
from end). Default is start and end
7. Specify histogram filename if the Output Type selected is Histogram or Both.
8. Store Cycle Time and Cycles Filename are only activated if Cycles File or
Both are selected above. If yes is selected, a time based cycles file (.tcy) is
generated that can be used in crack growth analysis. If no is selected, a .cyc
file is generated that stores the ranges and means from the largest cycle
onwards.
9. Specify Cycles Filename if the Output Type selected is Cycles File or Both.
The .tcy file can be re-ordered if desired using the Sort Cycles. If no is
selected the cycles are sorted in order of size. Note that if sorting is not
carried out, it is possible that a crack growth analysis will be wrong since the
order of the cycles is important in crack growth analysis. If yes is selected the
cycles are sorted in order of time. Slow selects an old method for sorting
which requires less disk space than the current faster method. If disk space
is not a concern, do not use this option.
10. The WSR component field is for the exponent on which to base the weighted
stress range (range 2-10). The value of 2 would give a rms of stress ranges,
the default of 3 gives a root mean cube used typically with welded joint S-N
curves. For crack growth, the Paris Law exponent, m, should be used.
11. Pressing OK takes you to the next screen or if only Cycles files was selected
a results summary is displayed as shown below.
366
Histogram Limits
The following form is displayed if both or Histogram is selected above.
The fields that are activated depend upon whether the environment keyword
HISTFORM is set to MINMAX (use the full range from minimum to maximum values)
or BINSIZ (specify on the minimum and the bin width).
1. Min (Range) - For the purposes of scaling the histogram, the range of the
smallest cycle to be represented in the histogram must be entered in physical
units. If there are any cycles smaller than the minimum range specified, then
those cycles will be excluded from the histogram.
2. Max (Range) - For the purposes of scaling the histogram, the range of the
largest cycle to be represented in the histogram must be entered in physical
units. If there are any cycles larger than the maximum range specified, then
those cycles will be excluded from the histogram.
3. No. of Bins - To scale the histogram, specify the number of bins into which to
classify the cycle ranges. Any integer up to a maximum of 128 may be
entered.
4. Min (mean) - For the purposes of scaling the histogram, the smallest mean
value to be represented must be entered in physical units. If there are any
cycles whose mean values are smaller than the value specified, then those
cycles will be excluded from the histogram.
5. Max (mean) - For the purposes of scaling the histogram, the largest mean
value to be represented must be entered in physical units. If there are any
cycles whose mean values are greater than the value specified, then those
cycles will be excluded from the histogram.
6. No. of Bins - To scale the histogram, specify the number of bins into which to
classify the cycle means. Any integer up to a maximum of 128 may be
entered.
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7. If the environment variable HISTFORM=BINSIZ (set in mENM) then this

field is displayed. The format (size and shape) of the histogram can be set by
specifying the bin width. By default the program calculates the bin width
needed to include the maximum values in the input file but the user can enter
a smaller or larger width.
8. The max-min toggle will plot a histogram based on a count of cycles between
the between the maximum and minimum cycle. To scale the histogram,
specify the number of bins into which to classify these cycles. Any integer up
to a maximum of 128 may be entered.
The output histogram using the range-mean option is shown below.
Formula Processor - MFRM

MFRM is a formula processor for time series data or
histogram files. It is a very powerful tool that includes
its own programming language. Virtually any formula
can be applied to any number of time history or
histogram files. The formulas are defined via an ASCII
template file that is created manually using a text
editor. MFRM then reads the template file and executes
the commands. After execution the resultant files can be graphically displayed.
368
As a quick example, define a file called example.frm using any text editor with the
following content:
; --- Define all the files ---
%QYFIL /FILE=F1 /PROMPT="Enter filename" /TYPE=INPUT
%DFFIL /FILE=F2 /NAME=positive /TYPE=OUTPUT /OV=y
%DFFIL /FILE=F3 /NAME=negative /TYPE=OUTPUT /OV=y
%DFFIL /FILE=F4 /NAME=positive2 /TYPE=OUTPUT /OV=y
%DFFIL /FILE=F5 /NAME=negative2 /TYPE=OUTPUT /OV=y
;
; --- Carry out the calculations ---
;
%BEGIN
;
%IF(F1 > 0)
F2=F1
%ELSE
F2=0
%ENDIF
%IF(F1 < 0)
F3=F1
%ELSE
F3=0
%ENDIF
F4=MAX(F1,0)
F5=MIN(F1,0)
;
%END
Next invoke MFRM from the system prompt or by selecting the Formula Processor
option from the Advanced Loading Utilities pulldown menu under Tools |
MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools | Fatigue Utilities (for Pre&Post).
1. Select Run the formula template.
2. Enter example.frm as the template file that you just created. Press OK.
3. You will be prompted for an input file. This can be any .dac formatted type
of time series file. Select saetrn.dac as the input file from the previous
exercises in this section.
The processing will begin once this input file has been selected. If you look carefully
at the template file you can see what operations are being executed. The first line
prompts for the input file to process. Internally the input file will be known as a
variable called F1. The next four lines define output files that will be internally knows
as variables F2, F3, F4, and F5 respectively. They are given the names positive,
negative, positive2, and negative2. The default file extension is .dac.
The next section of the template file contains the operations to be performed. These
operations take F1 and break it up into its positive component and its negative
component. This can be accomplished in two ways. The first way is done in the first
IF-ELSE-ENDIF command by setting any points greater than zero in file F1 to file F2
and anything less than zero to zero. The second IF-ELSE-ENDIF command then does
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the negative side. The final two lines accomplish the exact same task by using the
intrinsic math function MAX and MIN by taking the maximum or minimum of each
point in the signal by comparing to zero.
4. Plot the results by selecting Plot
results files. A plot of the resulting F2,
F3, F4, and F5 files is shown to the
right.
MFRM has the ability to perform very complex
operations using IF statements, LOOPs,
arithmetic, logarithmic and trigonometric
functions as well as addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, and raising to a power.
See the MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for a full
description of the MFRM commands and
language syntax.
File Cut and Paste - MLEN

MLEN allows you to adjust the length of time signals
by extracting or deleting sections, and concatenating
files. Signals can be reversed and the starting and
ending points of each signal can be smoothed. These
operations can be on a single file or multiple files
simultaneously.
For example, use PTIME to Copy from central the
three SAE histories, SAETRN, SAESUS, and SAEBRAKT. Then use MLEN to extract
a section from each simultaneously such that each signal is the same length.
1. Invoke MLEN by typing mlen from the system prompt or select the File Cut
and Paste option from the Advanced Loading Utilities pulldown menu
under Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools | Fatigue Utilities
(for Pre&Post).
2. Select option 2. Extract Section - Multiple File.
3. Select Separate filenames as the Entry Method.
4. Use the file List mechanism/browser to select the three signals, saetrn.dac,
saesus.dac, and saebrakt.dac and press the OK button.
5. Select Modify extension and input a new extension such as mod.
6. We want to extract a portion of each signal such that all three become the
same length. So set the Window Selection to Time[X-axis] and leave the Start
Time at START and change the End Time to 1898 seconds, corresponding to
the maximum time of the shortest signal. Press the OK button.
370
The first 1898 seconds of each signal is extracted and new files called saetrn.mod,
saesus.mod, and saebrakt.mod are created. The before and after displays using
MMFD are shown below.
Multi-File Manipulation - MMFM

MMFM is a module that allows for addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division and vector addition of multiple time
signals.
Addition of individual files is as such: file1 + file2 + ... +
fileN.
Subtraction of individual files is as such: file1 - (file2 + file3 + ... + fineN).
Multiplication is as such: file1 * file2 * ... * fileN.
Division is as such: file1 / (file2 * file3 * ... *
fileN).
Vector addition is performed as follows:
(file12 + file22)1/2 or
(file12 + file22 + file32)1/2.
Experiment by taking the three signals from
the previous exercise and performing the
various arithmetic operations. For example,
here is a plot where the three signals were
added together. Note that the original
signals were of varying length.
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Peak-Valley Extraction - MPVXMUL

MPVXMUL extracts turning points (maxima and minima or “peaks” and “valleys”)
from single parameter files such as .dac and RPC multiple data - channel files. The
peak valley extraction process maintains synchronous phase by writing
corresponding data values to all the output files whenever a turning point is found in
any channel. Facilities for gating out small peak valley pairs by absolute value or by
percentage of range, on each channel, are available.
1. Invoke MPVXMUL by typing mpvxmul at the system prompt or select the
Peak-Valley Extraction option from the Advanced Loading Utilities
2. Select the Input File type of DAC or RPC. Press OK.
3. Select the generic Input Filename, the Channels, the Output Filename, and
whether or not to write a time file. Press OK. See the MSC.Fatigue User’s
Guide for file naming conventions and other information.
4. Either the range of cycles from
rainflow analysis can be used as the
gate in the completion of your analysis.
This information along with other
relative data is entered on the analysis
setup form that is displayed. See the
MSC.Fatigue User’s Guide for more
information.
Note: In
Input .dac files exist as families of files with a common generic name but with
different numbers appended to the name which denotes the channel number (i.e.,
test01.dac, test02.dac, etc., where test is the generic name).
Amplitude Distribution - MADA

MADA, amplitude distribution analysis, calculates the probability density
distribution (which defines the probability of finding a value of a particular
magnitude within the population of measured values) and other function of a time
signal.
372
For example if you use saetrn.dac as input to MADA and set the Analysis Type to
Prob. Distribution, it will output a file saetrn.ada shown here which is the probability
density function of Y-values.
Auto Spectral Density - MASD

MASD performs a frequency analysis of a time signal to determine frequency content.
Various output types are available which are beyond the scope of this text. Perhaps
the best use of this module comes in vibration fatigue problems for converting time
signals into power spectral density functions (PSDFs).
As an example, let us convert the time signal SAETRN, used in many of the previous
sections in this chapter into a PSDF, which will quickly show us the frequency content
of the signal.
1. Invoke MASD by typing masd at the system prompt. It can also be invoked
directly from PTIME under Add an entry | creaTe psd from time or select
the Auto Spectral Density option from the Advanced Loading Utilities
2. Select the file saetrn.dac as the Input Filename.
3. Make sure the Output Type is Power Spectral Density and accept the
defaults for all other inputs.
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Fatigue Utilities
4. Press the OK button until the conversion takes place.
A display of the resulting PSDF is shown above. Note that only one predominate
frequency is present in the signal at around 1/2 Hz plus a DC component at zero Hz.
This PSDF could be used as input to a vibration fatigue analysis.
Fast Fourier Filtering - MFFF

MFFF uses filtering techniques to remove frequency content from a signal. As an
example, invoke PTIME and create a white noise signal:
1. Invoke PTIME and select Add an entry... | white Noise.
2. Call the file noise, enter a
description, and press OK. Set
the Total Time of Signal to 100
and press OK.
This will create a signal with
frequency content at all
frequencies. To see this:
3. Invoke MASD (Add an entry... |
Time Domain
creaTe psd from time from
within PTIME).
4. Accept NOISE.DAC as the file
name and all other defaults. Frequency Domain
The time signal will be converted
to a PSDF and displayed (if Plot
Output was turned ON). Since it has frequency content across all frequencies
it appears very random looking in the frequency domain just as it does in the
time domain.
374
5. Now invoke MFFF and accept NOISE.DAC as input.

6. Type NOISE2 as the Output
Filename.
7. Change the Filter Type to 3 band
pass.
Before Filtering
8. Set the Lower Edge Cutoff Freq.
to 20 and the Upper Edge Cutoff
Freq. to 30 and press OK.
9. Again invoke MASD to convert
the new signal, noise2.dac to a
PSDF and plot it noticing that all
frequency content has above 30 After Filtering
Hz and below 20 Hz was
removed from the signal.
Butterworth Filtration - MBFL

MBFL also uses filtering techniques to remove
frequency content from a signal. If you
perform the same steps as the previous section
on the MFFF module and perform a Band pass
filter between 20 and 30 Hz on the
NOISE.DAC file with the new Output
Filename set to NOISE3 you will get the top
plot to the right. Notice the difference in the MBFL Filtering
filtering between MBFL and MFFF. MBFL
allows for some leakage and gives a smoother
transition instead of completely eliminating MFFF Filtering
frequency content.
Frequency Response Analysis - MFRA

MFRA performs frequency response analysis and calculates
the transfer function of a single input, single response
system. Perhaps the most useful application of this module
is to compute the cross correlation function between the two
supplied response signals. These correlation terms can then
be used as input to a vibration fatigue analysis. As an
example:
1. Copy over the three files 1pk.asc, 2pk.asc, 3pk.asc.
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Fatigue Utilities
Using PTIME, select Add an entry... | ASCII convert+load to load these

three signals which can be thought of as three input of a multiple load case
problem acting simultaneously but in separate locations of an FE model. The
Sample Rate must be 50 and X-y pairs must be specified as the Equally
Spaced Data option. Quit from PTIME when you are done converting the
files. These are large ASCII files and take some time to load.
2. Invoke MFRA from the system prompt by typing mfra or select the
Frequency Response Analysis option from the Advanced Loading Utilities
3. Choose Transfer Function Analysis.
4. Set the Input Filename to 1pk.dac and the Response Filename to 2pk.dac.
Press OK and continue to press OK accepting the defaults for all other
screens except change the Generic Output Filename to pk1_2.
5. When the analysis is
done select Results
Display and plot All
result files.
6. Repeat this for
1pk.dac vs. 3pk.dac
and 2pk.dac vs.
3pk.dac using the
Generic Output
Filename, pk1_3 and
pk2_3 respectively.
When the analysis is done you
can then use these PSDF and
their cross correlation terms as
loading input to a vibration
fatigue analysis. By using
PTIME you can set up the PSD matrix information for these three input loadings from
Add an entry... | Psd matrix, the size of the matrix being 3x3. All the files from the
transfer function analysis (*.sxx, *.syy, *.sxy) must be loaded into PTIME first. The
matrix of PSDF and cross correlation files would look like this:
pk1_2.sxx or pk1_2.sxy pk1_3.sxy

pk1_3.sxx
pk1_2.sxy pk1_2.syy or pk2_3.sxy
pk2_3.sxx
pk1_3.sxy pk2_3.sxy pk2_3.syy or
pk1_3.syy
376
Note: The diagonal terms in the PSD matrix of PSD and cross term files could also
be created using MASD directly.
Statistical Analysis - MRSTATS

MRSTATS analyzes a time
signal and produces a number of
running statistics about the
signal, each of which can be
plotted by the standard plotting
routines such as MQLD (quick
look display), MTPD (two
parameter display), or MMFD
(multi-file display).
The statistics that are determined are

running: RMS (.rms), Standard Deviation
(.rsd), Mean (.mea), Maximum Value
(.max), Minimum Value (.min), Absolute
Maximum Value (.abs), Area Under Data
(.are). Each new signal is defined by its
extension. The statistics are determined by
breaking the signal into segments and
calculating the statistics on each segment.
The length of a segment and the overlap of
each adjacent segment is user definable.
Try running saetrn.dac through
MRSTATS. Shown here are the statistical
signals produced from running MRSTATS
against the SAE signal saetrn.dac.
Header/Footer Manipulation - MFILMNP

MFILMNP allows you to view and
manipulate/change header and extra
detail information in any signal. It
also can be used to validate the
integrity of a file. Use this module if
you wish to quickly and easily
change axis labels or units and title
information or you wish to validate
the signal which will try and correct or flag any problems with the file.
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17.5 Advanced Fatigue Utilities

Aside from the FE based fatigue analyzers described in detail in these exercises, the
following fatigue analysis utilities are also available, some of which have been
described in earlier exercises. Most accept stress or strain response data as input.
These response signals can be measured or simulated from FE analysis. For instance,
FEFAT has the ability to output the stress or strain response time signal at any desired
location on the FE model. FEVIB also has the same ability to output a response PSDF
at any location. These can be used as input to the single location fatigue analyzers
described below.
Single Location S-N Analysis - MSLF

MSLF is a Total Life or S-N analyzer. It accepts a stress response time signal as input
in the form of a .dac file. It also can accept rainflow histograms or simple constant
amplitude or maximum/minimum input. Operation is simple and very similar to that
of the FE equivalent fatigue analyzer FEFAT.
When invoked the first time, you are lead through a series
of setup screens to define the job. Once the job is defined
you are then placed in a Post Processing Options menu
where you can modify any aspect of the job setup and
recalculate the results.
As an example, use PTIME to copy from central the three
SAE time histories SAETRN, SAESUS, SAEBRAKT, if
they have not already been copied over from an earlier
exercise. We will assume they are stress responses this time.
1. Invoke MSLF from the system prompt by typing
mslf or choose the Single Location S-N Analysis
option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities
2. Enter a new job name such as “slf_example.” It is new, so answer Yes to the
ensuing question.
3. Accept all defaults except for these on the setup screens as you are presented
with each one: Filename: saetrn.dac; Scale Factor: 0.5; Material Name:
MANTEN; Cycles File:Yes
The analysis will proceed, the results will be presented and eventually you
will be placed in the Post Processing Options. Answer Yes to any overwrite
permission questions.
4. Select multiple File from the Post Processing Options screen.
5. Use the List/File Browser button to select the three Input Filename(s)
saetrn.dac, saesus.dac, and saebrakt.dac. Use the Shift key to select all three.
378
6. Press the OK button and the analysis will take place again except this time
all three time signals (which are being treated as stress time histories) will be
processed and the fatigue lives reported for each. Answer Yes to any
overwrite permission questions.
Exit from MSLF when you are finished.
Single Location e-N Analysis - MCLF

MCLF is a single location Crack Initiation fatigue
analyzer. It accepts a strain response time signal as input
in the form of a .dac file. It also can accept rainflow
histograms or simple constant amplitude or
maximum/minimum strain input. Operation is simple
and very similar to that of the FE equivalent fatigue
analyzer FEFAT.
When invoked the first time, you are lead through a series
of setup screens to define the job. Once the job is defined
you are then placed in a Post Processing Options menu
where you can modify any aspect of the job setup and
recalculate the results.
As an exercise, use PTIME to Copy from central the three SAE time histories SAETRN,
SAESUS, SAEBRAKT, if they have not been copied already from an earlier exercise.
1. Invoke MCLF from the system prompt by typing mclf or choose the Single
Location e-N Analysis option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities
2. Enter a new job name such as “clf_example.” It is new, so answer Yes to the
ensuing question.
3. Accept all defaults except for these on the setup screens as you are presented
with each one: Filename: saetrn.dac; Scale Factor: 2; Material Name:
MANTEN
4. Select multiple File from the Post Processing Options screen.
5. Use the List/File Browser button to select the three Input Filename(s)
saetrn.dac, saesus.dac, and saebrakt.dac. Use the Shift key to select all three.
6. Press the OK button and the analysis will take place again except this time
all three time signals (which are being treated as strain time histories) will be
processed and the fatigue lives reported for each. Answer Yes to any
overwrite permission questions.
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7. Close the form with the multiple file

results and then press Recalculate on
the main form.
Now under the Display results pick,
you can display cycle and damage
histogram plots or you can go back
and change any of the inputs.
8. As one last exercise, select Output
definition.
9. Set Hysteresis loops to Yes and press
OK.
10. Press Recalculate and then close the
summary page.
11. Go to Display results | Hysteresis loops. The five largest hysteresis loops
will be displayed.
Exit from MCLF when you are finished.
Note: MCLF can accept either measured or purely elastic signals such as those
from FE. If purely elastic signals are fed to MCLF, it will perform elastic-
plastic correction. Measured data is assumed to be the true strains and
therefore undergoes no correction. You must specify this on the Service
Loading Environment form.
Cycle and Damage Analysis -

MCDA
MCDA is a 2D cycle and damage histogram
display program. It allows you to look at cycles
vs. range or cycles vs. mean of cycle or damage
data or both simultaneously. You may specify up
to two different cycle histograms with default
extensions of .cyo for comparison purposes. It
automatically looks for a corresponding .dhh,
damage histograms, if they exist.
As an example, in the last exercise using MCLF you analyzed three different time
signals, saetrn.dac, saesus.dac, and saebrakt.dac. Corresponding .cyo and .dhh files
should exist in your directory.
1. Invoke MCDA by typing mcda at the system prompt or select the Cycle and
Damage Analysis option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities pulldown
menu under Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools | Fatigue
Utilities (for Pre&Post.)
380
2. Specify saetrn.cyo and saesus.cyo as the Name of Cycles Histogram and

Second Cycles Histogram respectively.
3. From the Plot Options Menu, select any option. Use the File | Return
command to return to the Plot Options Menu. Specifically look at the Plot
Damage/Cycles - File 1/2 options to see both damage and cycles
superimposed on each other which clearly shows the cycles that cause the
most damage.
Note: MCDA can be spawned directly from MCLF (and MSLF) from the Display
results | damage Analysis menu pick if you request a Cycles file as output.
Cycles File Lister - MCYL

MCYL is a convenient utility to list a cycles file to the screen
or a file. Cycle files are produced by various MSC.Fatigue
programs and have the extensions .cyc, .clf, .slf, or .tcy. For
example in the previous exercise a cycles file called saetrn.slf
was produced.
Chose list a Cycles file and select saetrn.slf as the Input Filename to list the cycles file.
A cycles and/or damage matrix can also be created from a cycles file or listed to the
screen or a file. A cycles or damage matrix can also be written to a file that is formatted
for import to a spreadsheet program.
Note: You can spawn MCYL from both MCLF and MSLF to list cycle files and
matrices directly from the Display Results | List cycles menu pick if you
request a Cycles file as output.
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Fatigue Utilities
Time Correlated Damage - MTCD

MTCD is a time correlated damage analyzer. It is similar in
nature to MCLF in that it is strain based and calculates
damage based on Crack Initiation, the difference being that
damage is summed over time and in the sequence that the
cycles are seen. To see this do the following:
Use the SAE time histories SAETRN as in the previous MCLF
example. Again we are assuming this signal is a strain
response.
1. Invoke MTCD from the system prompt by typing mtcd or choose the Time
Correlated Damage option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities pulldown
Utilities (for Pre&Post).
2. Enter a new job name such as
“tcd_example.” It is new, so
answer Yes to the ensuing
question.
3. Accept all defaults on each setup
screen as you are presented with
each one except for these:
Filename: saetrn.dac; Scale
Factor: 2; Material Name:
MANTEN
The analysis will proceed, the
results will be presented and
eventually you will be placed in
the Post Processing Options.
Answer Yes to any overwrite
4. Select Display Results | Time-Damage plot. Note that this plots the strain
time signal above a damage file. The damage is shown vs. time and distinctly
shows where in the time signal most of the damaging events are occurring.
382
5. Close the graphical plot and then

select Output Definition.
6. Change the Output Filetype to
Cumulative and press OK.
7. Press Recalculate and then OK on the
summary page.
8. Select Display Results | Time-
Damage plot. Note that this time the
plot of damage is cumulative over
time.
Exit from MTCD when you are finished.
Single Location Vibration

Fatigue - MFLF
MFLF is a single location, stress-based fatigue analysis
module that accepts stress response PSDFs as input. This
module has also been mentioned in an earlier chapter. As an
example of usage copy over the original SAE history
saetrn.dac to your working directory. This signal is assumed
to contain a stress time response.
Use MASD to convert the time signal into the frequency
domain by converting it to a PSDF. See the section on MASD
in this chapter for instruction on how to do this. Use all the
default settings. The output file name should be saetrn.psd.
1. Invoke MFLF from the system prompt by typing mflf or choose the Single
Location Vibration Fatigue option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities
2. Accept all defaults for all setup
screens except for these: Input
Filename: saetrn.psd; Dataset Name:
MANTEN
The analysis will proceed, the results
will be presented and eventually you
will be placed in the Post Processing
Options. Answer Yes to any overwrite
3. Go to Display results... | Cycles
histogram.
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Fatigue Utilities
Exit from MFLF when you are finished.
Note: This example is for illustration purposes only. The signal used in this
example is not actually an appropriate signal to use in that it is not truly
random or gaussian as required by a random vibration fatigue analysis.
Stress-Strain Analysis - mSSA

Stress-Strain Analysis processes rosetta data and finite element data from
MSC.Fatigue, including software strain gauges. It creates outputs suitable for use by
either the stress or strain-life fatigue analyzers. It also provides an indication of the
state of multiaxiality present, suggests possible processing routines through the
fatigue analyzers and has a multiaxial fatigue analyzer that works by using a
MSC.Fatigue .fes file. In addition to this, the module can be used to convert elastic-
plastic strain records, measured on one material, to that of another material. It can also
convert elastic-plastic strain records to equivalent fully elastic ones and visa-versa.
Multi-Axial Life Analysis - MMLF

MMLF is a single location multiaxial fatigue analyzer
based on Crack Initiation and has been briefly referred to
in a previous chapter. It requires three strain input signals
which typically come from strain gauge rosettes. For
rectangular rosettes the signals are separated by 45
degrees. For delta rosettes the signals are separated by 60
degrees.
As an example, take the three SAE histories that we have
been using thus far (saetrn.dac, saesus.dac, saebrakt.dac),
except run them through MLEN and chop them all to 1800
seconds. (See the previous section on MLEN to learn how
to do this.) We will assume that these new signals are from
a rectangular rosette.
384
1. Invoke MMLF from the system prompt by typing mmlf or choose the Multi-
Axial Life Analysis option from the Advanced Fatigue Utilities pulldown
Utilities (for Pre&Post).
2. Enter a new job name such as “mlf_example.” It is new, so answer Yes to the
ensuing question.
3. Accept all defaults for all setup screens except for these: Gauge 1: saetrn.dac;
Gauge 2: saesus.dac; Gauge3:saebrakt.dac;Material Name: MANTEN
4. Go to Display results | Stress and Strain. Plot this result and any of the
others you wish in this menu selection.
Exit from MMLF when you are finished.
Note: Strain signals input to MMLF are assumed to be elastic-plastic. No elastic-

plastic corrections are performed in MMLF. Use MSSA and/or SSG to do
this if necessary from FE data.
Crack Growth Data Analysis -

MFCG
MFCG calculates the Paris Law coefficient,
C, and exponent, m, in the expression
da/dN = C(∆K)m from actual raw test data
obtained under constant amplitude
loading conditions.
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Fatigue Utilities
Kt/Kf Evaluation - MKTAN

MKTAN is the database library for calculating the stress
concentration factors, Kt, of various geometries. In a sense it is
very similar to the PKSOL utility function for calculating
compliance functions for Crack Growth analysis. The value of
Kt calculated can be used as the Kt or Kf input to the single
location analyzers, MSLF and MCLF. Both a secured database
of standard geometries and a user database for user defined geometries is available.
The elastic stress concentration factor, Kt, is the ratio of the maximum stress at a stress
raiser to the nominal stress computed by the ordinary strength- of-material formulae,
using the dimensions of the net section. It can be used to account for the presence of a
notch within a component or structure.
The magnitude of the Kt required depends on the nature of the notch and its geometry.
It is well known that small notches have less effect in fatigue than is indicated by Kt.
This has led to the idea of a fatigue concentration factor, Kf, which is normally less
than Kt, being introduced and being used to replace Kt within Neuber's rule.
Kf is related to Kt according to: Kf = 1 + (Kt - 1) / {1 + ( p' ⁄ r ) }
where:
p' is a material constant dependent on grain
size and strength and r is the notch root
radius.
As an example of calculating a Kt value:
1. Select Calculate | Secure Database
from the MKTAN Main Menu.
2. Select Holes.
3. Select Elliptical hole in an infinite
plate (the first selection) and press
OK.
4. Press Calculate.
5. Enter 2 for b and 1 for a. The Kt calculated will be displayed. Exit from the
program when done.
Note: This utility is mostly useful for measured responses where the measurement
is a nominal value away from the actual failure location or stress
concentration. With FE based fatigue calculation, the stresses and strains are
all local, therefore Kt is always unity. Naturally, additional Kt or Kf values
may be entered in these cases if the FE is not capturing some stress
concentration.
386
17.6 Graphical Display Utilities

Several display routines and three plotting/printing routines exists in MSC.Fatigue.
Before using the plotting/printing modules to plot or display a graphical screen
dump, you must capture the image to a file. This is done from any graphical display
in MSC.Fatigue using the File | Hardcopy command. You will be prompted to supply
a file name and a plot title. The file name can be anything, and you do not need to
supply a file extension. The extension of .plt will automatically be appended to the file
name.
Graphical Editing-mGED
This module is the multi-channel interactive graphical editor for time series data
allowing online manipulation of a signal. Tasks such as cleaning up bad data, creating
data, extending a signal, spike removal, etc., are all easy and quick to carry out. This
module can also operate in batch. For multi-channel edits it creates it’s own NCL
macro so that operations defined for one channel can be applied to all others, without
the need to do them interactively (on DOS platforms a BTP module is created). The
assumption is that the other signals are from the same test or at least exhibit the same
sample rate, etc.
Multi-File Display - mMFD

This module displays single parameter data files. The files may contain any type of
sequential data including time series, power spectra, time at level distributions, etc.
Files may be displayed across four screen pages, with a maximum of eight files per
page. Thus, allowing up to 32 files to be presented. Three modes are offered for
displaying the files on each page. They are: separate plots, overlaid plots, and cross-
plots. Separate plots are those where each file is plotted independently of the others.
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Fatigue Utilities
Overlaid plots are where all of the files are plotted using common axes. Cross-plots
are where one file nominally forms the X-values against which the other files are
plotted on common axes.
Quick Look Display - mQLD

This module displays single channel data file. The file must be in the .dac format,
which includes time histories, ASD results, ADA results, and any other results that
have a constant X-axis increment. Use mTPD for pared (X-Y) data and mP3D for
histogram and waterfall data.
388
Two Parameter Display - mTPD

The two parameter display module displays pared (X-Y) data files. Displays may be
scaled in various ways. Functions for windowing specific fields and picking off
coordinate pairs are also available. After the data has been displayed, a menu will
appear. Select your options and give the name of a data file to display. The file is
assumed to be in the local directory and have an extension .mdf. If you wish to access
another directory or use a file with a different extension, you will need to type in a
fuller file specification.
Polar Display - mPOD

The polar display module displays pared (X-Y) data files. Displays may be scaled in
various ways. Functions for windowing specific fields and picking off coordinate
pairs are also available. After the data has been displayed, a menu will appear. Select
your options and give the name of a data file to display. The file is assumed to be in
the local directory and have an extension .pod. If you wish to access another directory
or use a file with a different extension you will need to type in a fuller file specification.
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Three Dimensional Display - mP3D

This module is the histogram and
waterfall display module. It accesses a
standard nSoft histogram or waterfall file
and provides a 3D graphical
representation in the form of a tower,
surface, or waterfall plot. The display can
then be zoomed into, and positioning
using rotation, tilt, and quadrant
operations may expose hidden areas. For
histogram files originating from fatigue
analysis damage/cycles files may be
plotted directly. In addition, mP3D will
display the sum total occurrences of
values along the X or Y-axis and display
the result as a 2D plot. For waterfall files,
2D plots of X-slice and Y-slice may be
produced.
Plot File (.plt) Display - MQPLOT (for UNIX)

MQPLOT is a UNIX based plotting utility
where once you have created a .plt file
you can load them into MQPLOT for easy
plotting and printing. You can load
multiple files into MQPLOT and use it as
a slide show program also. To print the
currently displayed plot, simply use the
File | Print menu command. For this to
work you must have defined a printer
using the MPLTSYS module explained
next.
390
Plot File (.plt) Display - MWNPLOT (for Windows)

MWNPLOT is a Windows based
plotting utility where once you
have created a .plt file you can load
them into MWNPLOT for easy
plotting and printing. You can load
multiple files into MWNPLOT and
use it as a slide show program also.
To print the currently displayed
plot, simply use the File | Print
menu command. Any compatible
printer on the network can be
accessed if you have added it to
your list of printers using the
standard Windows Add Printer
command.
Printer and Device

Setup - MPLTSYS
MPLTSYS defines and sets up
the plotter or printer definitions.
The best way to describe its
usage is through a couple of
examples.
First let us suppose that we want
to view all of our .plt files in the current directory using MQPLOT and when the Print
command is selected, convert the current plot to a postscript file. Then using a UNIX
command the postscript file can be sent to a color postscript printer.
1. Invoke MPLTSYS by typing mpltsys from the system prompt or choose the
Printer and Device Setup option from the Graphical Display Utilities
Fatigue Utilities (for Pre&Post.)
2. The easiest thing to do is to modify an existing default printer definition.
Select CPOST and press the Modify button.
CPOST is the name of an already defined printer/plotter definition.
3. You are given the opportunity to change the name and description if you
wish. Press OK to continue accepting all the defaults.
4. Next you are asked whether this is to be modified locally (in the local
directory) or whether it should be a central change. Select Local.
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When the modifications are done a new printer definition file will be left in
the local working directory. As long as this file is in this directory, any
printing using MQPLOT will see this definition file (cpost.de1).
5. This then puts you in the Modify
Settings menu where you can
change any necessary items.
Under Size Settings change the
Units of Size to Inches and press
OK.
6. Under Output Settings change
the Output Destination to File.
7. Change the Filename Method to
Plot Filename. This will tack on
the .spl extension for a color postscript file.
8. Now invoke MQPLOT and open one or more or the .plt file that you have
created from any of the MSC.Fatigue graphical modules.
9. You have two Output choices after selecting the files: Device or Screen. If
you select Device and the Device name, CPOST, the color postscript will
automatically be created in your directory and the program will end. If you
select Screen, they will be graphically displayed and you will then have to
use the Print command to create the postscript files.
10. Once the files have been created you can send them to the printer. For
example if your printer name is qmc_1081 and you have the UNIX lpr
command set up properly you should be able to issue the following:
lpr -Pqmc_1081 filename.spl
Next let us set up a printer/plotter name that automatically does the print submission
for us. Follow the previous steps up to the point where you modify the Output
Settings:
11. Under Output Settings change the Output Destination to Queue.
392
12. Change the Queue Text String to Precede Filename to lpr -Pqmc_1081.
Include a space after the printer name.
This essentially defines the command line to use when sending the file to the
printer. The file name will be appended to the command line. You can also
define any other string that needs to be appended after the file name also.
13. Now invoke MQPLOT and open any .plt file. If the Output choice is Device
or if a Print command is chosen, the file will be directly sent to the printer.
The other Output device not mentioned yet is an actual Output Device Name such as
when you have a printer directly connected to your UNIX computer. Since these vary
dramatically from computer to computer it is not convenient to describe this setup
here.
Note: A variety of different printers and plotters are available when you create a
new printer/plotter definition from scratch such as HPGL, Calcomp, Canon,
DEC, Graphtec, Epson, HP, OKI, etc.
Plot/Pen Colors Utility - MNCPENS

MNCPENS is a simple utility to allow you to change graphic colors on any plot. It is
accessible through most all graphic utilities such as MQLD, MMFD, MGED, MPOD,
etc. from the Preference pulldown menu. Select the Pen Setup option from this
pulldown menu or invoke the program from a DOS or UNIX window with the symbol
mncpens.
You can customize colors of any plot attribute such as background, curve data, grid
lines, titles, text annotation, etc. You save the settings to a file in either the local
working directory, your home directory, or the global installation area (if you have
privileges). Once this has been set, you can select whether the local, home, or global
CHAPTER 17 393
Fatigue Utilities
color environment is used, or some other custom color file is selected which remains
in effect until you change it. The best way to learn this program is to experiment and
see what it does.
394
17.7 File Conversion Utilities

Six file translation utilities exist in MSC.Fatigue. These utilities can be invoked from
the system prompt or can be selected from the Tools | MSC.Fatigue | File
Conversion Utilities pulldown menu (for Patran) or from the Tools | Fatigue
Utilities | File Conversion Utilities pulldown menu (for Pre&Post).
Convert Binary .dac to

ASCII - MDTA and
Convert ASCII to Binary
.dac - MATD
MDTA converts standard
MSC.Fatigue .dac files into ASCII
form. This can also be done using
the MCOE. The difference is that
MDTA can be run in batch mode
and MCOE cannot.
MATD converts ASCII files into
standard MSC.Fatigue .dac files.
This can also be done using PTIME. The difference is that MATD can also process
multi-channel ASCII files, thus creating multiple .dac files from a single ASCII input
file. Both run in batch mode for easy processing of multiple ASCII files.
Signal Regeneration - MREGEN

MREGEN will take a three dimensional (three parameter) histogram matrix and will
regenerate the time signal from it. The resulting time signal is statistically equivalent
to the original in that it will give the same cycle count.
As an example of this, take the SAE signal saetrn.dac and
run it through MSLF as in the section on MSLF in this
chapter. This will create a cycles histogram file called
saetrn.cyo. Use the Range-Mean Rainflow Matrix option
to convert it to a time signal. Be sure to give it another
output file name so as not to overwrite the original signal.
Plot the new signal vs. the old signal using MMFD (multi-
file display).
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As a final exercise you might want to run the new signal through MSLF and then
compare the new rainflow cycle count matrix to the old. They should look almost
identical in nature. Use MP3D to plot each .cyo file.
Note: The life estimate may not be the same because the scale factor is not applied
to the cycles file. Scale the time history (using MART or PTIME) in order to
use a scale factor of 1.0 to create the cycles file in MSLF. Then run this
through MREGEN.
Convert RPC File to .dac - MREMDAC and Convert .dac to

RPC file - MDACREM
MREMDAC is used to convert an MTS RPC (remote parameter file - .rsp) into a set of
MSC.Fatigue compatible .dac files. MDACREM is used to take a set of .dac files and
convert them back into an MTS RPC file. These files come from data accumulated in
MTS test simulation machines.

396
Cross Platform Conversion -

MCONFIL
MCONFIL is a utility to convert standard
MSC.Fatigue type binary files for cross-
platform compatibility. For example, if you
created or acquired a number of time
signals as .dac files on a PC and needed to
transfer them to a UNIX workstation you
would need to run all the .dac files through
CONFIL to byte swap them. Other files that
are necessary to convert using MCONFIL are ptime.tdb, the time history database file,
nmats.mdb, the materials database file, and any compliance functions with extension
.ksn as well as any other one, two or three parameter files.
Waterfall File Create -

MWFLCRE
MWFLCRE allows creation of waterfall
plots from multiple single parameter files.
For example, say you had a PSD plot for
each RPM of a motor from 1100 RPM to
4500 RMP in 50 RPM increments. You could
combine all RPM PSD plots into a single
three parameter waterfall plot with this
utility. Conversely you can break waterfall plots up into individual single parameter
history plots. Three parameter plots can be displayed using the MP3D graphic utility.
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17.8 Other Utilities

Environment Settings - MENM
This module allows the user access to the nSoft environment files: the local
environment (ENVI.USR), the global or central environment (ENVI.SYS), and the
home environment (ENVI.HOM). Each of these three environment files is made up of
a keyword/value string pair where the keyword can be up to 8 characters in length
and the value up to 120 characters in length. They are used to define the default
settings (e.g. pen colors) and to pass information from program to program (e.g. last
used file).
Local environment - Only programs running in the directory where the file resides
can access the local environment file.
Global environment - The global environment file resides in the NSSYS directory and
may be accessed by many users.
Home environment - The home environment file resides in the home directory as is
defined in the system registry on Windows or it resides in the same directory as the
normal logon home directory for UNIX. Only the owner of the home directory can
access this file.
This utility can be invoked by selecting the Environment Settings option from under
Tools | MSC.Fatigue (for Patran) or under Tools | Fatigue Utilities (for Pre&Post).
398
For each of the three environment settings the user can do the following:
1. List environment to screen - this option lists all the defined keyword/value
pairs to the screen.
2. Output environment to file - this option outputs all the defined
keyword/value pairs to an ASCII file. It allows the file to be overwritten or
to have the pairs appended to it. The character separating the keyword and
value may be specified, along with a filter to allow a subset of keywords to
be written.
3. Add or alter keyword - this option allows the addition of new
keyword/value pairs to the selected environment, and also allows existing
keyword values to be modified. If altering a keyword, the keyword may be
selected from a list using the F3 key or ‘List’ button.
4. Remove keywords - this option allows keywords to be deleted from the
environment. A single keyword may be typed in, or a ‘wildcard’ may be
used to define a set of keywords to be deleted. Keywords may be selected
from a list using the F3 key or ‘List’ button.
5. Clear environment - this option allows the environment to be deleted. All
keywords will be destroyed. If the environment file is to be deleted, answer
YES.
Environment Copy – Allows the user to specify the source and target environments to
use in the copy process. Individual entries, selected entries or all entries may be copied
from the source environment to the target.
An example of an environment variable that the user might want to create is
PFCONAMP. This environment variable is used for constant amplitude zero mean
time histories. It allows life to be calculated directly from the true max-min cycle,
which is stored along with the matrix. In order to make use of this environment
variable the user would need to invoke MENM and set the environment keyword
PFCONAMP to ON.
CHAPTER
Miscellaneous Features
18
■ Multiple Fatigue Analysis (Duty Cycle Analyzer)
■ Element Centroidal Calculations
■ Group Averaging
■ Extracting Time Histories
■ Identify Critical Location
■ Defining Histogram Matrices
■ Transient FE Results
■ Modal Superposition
■ Constant Amplitude Zero Mean Time Histories
400

This section discusses a few of the other features of MSC.Fatigue not discussed thus far. No
in-depth discussions or exercises are given for them, except for the Multiple Fatigue Analysis.
For the other features you can take any of the models and job setups used in this chapter and
experiment as you see fit.
The following files will be required to demonstrate some of the features:
Table 18-1 Chapter 18
Necessary Files
File
patran_els.fin
key_tran.op2
key_stat.op2
transient.fin
static.fin
key_tran.asc
P3HOME/mscfatigue_files/examples/
simpleSN.op2
CHAPTER 18 401
18.2 Multiple Fatigue Analysis (Duty Cycle Analyzer)

This is a powerful feature that allows the analyst to assess damage from multiple events. The
process of associating unit stresses with time histories is very time consuming especially if
there are many events e.g. in a typical analysis of a suspension system the analyst may be
required to assess damage due to travel over three distinct terrains each requiring association
of say 20 unit cases with 20 load time histories. In this case the normal job set up process would
have required 60 inputs (20 time histories * 3 terrains). Furthermore if a damage assessment
was required on both shell surfaces, 2 jobs with 60 inputs each would have to be run!
In the MSC.Fatigue multiple analysis tool, the relationship between time histories and unit
cases, with reference to the example above, is defined only for the first event (terrain) and the
set up for the other events is automated through utilization of a naming scheme for the time
histories and a simple configuration file. The latter sets up multiple events comprising the duty
cycle. It will be evident, from the example below, that this implementation is very flexible as
multiple events and multiple duty cycles can be analyzed with relative ease.
The following items need to be observed:
A Duty cycle comprises of multiple events. The MSC.Fatigue duty cycle analyzer
enables multiple duty cycles to be analyzed with a simple configuration file. A
naming scheme for the channel load time histories such as
T1_event1_1,T1_event1_2.........T1_event1_n, T1-event2-1,T1-event2-2....T1-
event2-n, implies one test track T1, that has events event1,event2,eventn, with
multiple channels identified in the last field(T1_event1_1).
In this respect, the file names for the time histories must adhere to the following
naming convention – [jobname]_condition_event_channel# (filename must be
less than 32 characters) e.g., myjob_T1_e1_1, myjob_T1_e1_2
……myjob_T1_en_m, where n is number of events and m is the number of channels
in each event.
One can easily analyze multiple test tracks by loading test time histories from track
T2 and naming them T2-event1-n.... etc.
1. Each event is assumed to be comprised of the same loading channels e.g if event 1 is
associated with 20 channels, event 2 has to be loaded by the same channels. This is
logical as data for each event is collected from the same channels.
2. The load time manager in MSC.Fatigue(PTIME) facilitates the loading of all time
histories. You can load in all the time histories if they have been labeled consistently
using jobname_* as the wildcard entry on the file to load in PTIME.
3. Set up only the first event on the loading form. Associate unit stresses with the time
histories for the first event - the configuration file will show all the other events and
generate a run file for you automatically. Remember to use the fill down button on
the loading form as this makes it even easier i.e. all the loadcases and time history
associations are filled in automatically as they have been named accordingly.
402
4. The configuration file allows the user to scale the repeats of the events... Damage
from each event is called according to the input on the scale factor defined on the
configuration form.
The multiple analysis capability is available for S-N, E-N, Spot Weld, Seam Weld, Vibration,
Multiaxial and Crack growth analysis modules. We will demonstrate the Multiple Fatigue
Analysis tool with a simple problem using S-N. In this example, for the sake of simplicity, we
will limit ourselves to 1 duty cycle comprising of 2 events, with each event loaded by 3
channels. The multiple analysis run will be compared to a single analysis where both events
will be set up on the loading form.
Procedure:
1. Create a new database, duty_cycle_test.db and import the SimpleSN.op2 file, using
both on the import option. Create a group, small, that has the following entities
(Node 1:39 41:50 57:58 215:218 226:227 232:234 Element 1:17 61:63 66:67).
This is a small region in the area of the notch to limit the analysis to this region.
2. Invoke MSC.Fatigue and
enter S-N as the Analysis in
General Setup form. Accept
the defaults for the Results
Loc., Nodal Ave. and Res.
Units. Enter SN as the
jobname.
3. Accept defaults on the
Solution Params form.
4. Open materials form and
select MANTEN_MSN as
the material, set the Finish to
No Finish, the Treatment to
No Treatment, and select the
group small for the region.
Accept defaults for the other inputs. Close the materials form.
5. Open the Loading Information form and Click on Time History Manager. We are
going to make a local time history database by adding files from the central database.
Select Add an entry | Load Files and input the data given in step #6 on the form
shown here.
6. Click on the browse button and select Sine01.dac from the Central Fatigue Ptime
database. In the target Filename name, change the target filename to test. Enter a
description and accept the defaults for the other fields.
7. Click OK. This creates a new PTIME database in the run directory that has test.dac
loaded into the database. Close PTIME. We shall now demonstrate loading up the
database using the wildcard option. Remember, we have to name the time histories
to the convention defined above and in order to do that, open another window and
navigate to your run directory. Locate test.dac in the run directory and rename it to
CHAPTER 18 403
sn_t1_e1_01.dac. Since we have two events with three channels each, we require six
time histories and, for this example, we are going to use the same time history for
each channel (normally, these would come from a test track where you will carry out
exactly the same procedure to rename the time histories in the convention required
for the Duty Cycle analyzer). Make five copies of SN_T1_E1_01.dac and rename
them to sn_t1_e1_02.dac, sn_t1_e1_03.dac, sn_t1_e2_01.dac, sn_t1_e2_02.dac,
sn_t1_e2_03.dac respectively. Open the Loading information form and Click on
Time History Manager button and select Add an entry… | LoadFile. In the source
filename, input sn_* and specify any text in the description field. Click OK and all
six time histories should get loaded up into the database. You may delete the original
test.dac that was loaded up. Exit out of PTIME.
8. Set up the first event on the loading form. Since we have
three channels of input for the first event, specify 3 cases in
the Number of Static Load Cases field and click on the Fill
Down toggle. Select the cells in the first row individually
and associate the unit stress with the time history. The
remaining rows will be filled automatically – for
demonstration purposes we are using the single unit case
and associating it with three time histories. Input a scale
factor of 0.33 to scale the stresses and the defaults for the
remaining fields. The scale factor is specified to obtain a
reasonable life and reverts the problem back to the first SN
problem run in the QuickStart Guide. Use default values for
the Load Magnitude and Offset.
9. Open the Job Control form and you will notice a selection
button for Method. There are two options - Single or
Multiple analysis. When the Multiple Analysis option is selected, the user is
presented with options to write a configuration file and batch files. The batch file
option allows the user to run the analysis in batch mode thereby freeing up a
Patran/Fatigue interactive session. Select Multiple Analysis.
404
10. The multiple analysis

configuration form, shown
here, allows the User to specify
repeats of the events for each
duty cycle in the define scaling
factor region of the form. Select
the Write Configuration
File… button to bring this form
up. Here we are only analyzing
one duty cycle and we will
specify 1 repeat of event 1 and 5
for event 2. When shell
elements are selected, the User
may elect to obtain results for
top, bottom or both surfaces. In
this example we will only
obtain results for the top
surface. The condition window
shows all the conditions and
events in the run directory that conform to the naming rules. Since we have only 1
condition, select condition T1 and select all events. Enter a scale factor of 1 for event
1 and a scale factor of 5 for event 2. Set the Surface option to TOP. Click OK to save
the configuration file.
11. Form the Job Control menu, make sure Multiple Analysis is selected and click on
Apply to submit the analysis.
On job completion, the run directory will have the following output files
SN_T1_e1_z1.fef & SN_T1_e2_z1.fef.
For solid element models, you will have output files such as
SN_T1_e1_z0.fef…. etc
Multiple Fatigue Analysis Results

Reading in the results from a multiple fatigue analysis is
exactly the same as for a single analysis. When Multiple
analysis is selected, the configuration file is used to
determine the appropriate results files and scaling factors
that are applied to these files. Select Multiple Analysis
and Click on Apply.
Go to the Main Results form in Pre&Post in MSC.Patran
and select the sn,T1 results case and Damage, Top
Surface. Click on the position window and the results for
each of the events and the duty cycle are presented.
CHAPTER 18 405
Select the first event and the damage from this event is displayed. Maximum damage of
2.47e-6 is reported on Node 1.
Hint: The log of damage result is the same as the first SN problem run in the QuickStart
Guide and hence the comment regarding the scaling in item 8 above.
Pick event 2 and in our simple problem, since we used the same unit stresses and time histories
as event 1, we should see the damage scaled by the factor specified in the configuration file.
The damage for event 2 is 1.24e-5 which is 5*damage for event 1.
The Duty Cycle result is the sum of the damage from all events (2.247e-6+ 1.24e-5 = 1.48e-5)
Conclusion
The Duty Cycle analyzer is a very powerful tool for isolating damage from multiple events in
a duty cycle. The scaling factors in the configuration allow the User to scale events that make
up a Duty cycle. The naming scheme for the time histories allows further dissection and
isolation of damage from individual time histories or the analysis of multiple test tracks. The
User is encouraged to exercise the flexibility of the tool.
406
18.3 Element Centroidal Calculations

In the General Setup Parameters on the main MSC.Fatigue
setup form you can select Element for the Results Loc. This
simply means that calculated fatigue lives will be determined
at the element centroids. The following comments are made
with respect to this feature:
1. It only makes sense to use this with 1D or 2D
elements since fatigue cracks tend to initiate on the Element Fill
surface. Plot
2. FE results in the database that exist at nodes or

integration points will be averaged to the element
centroid.
3. External nodal PATRAN Results files cannot be used if Element is specified. And
the converse is true also.
4. When postprocessing element centroidal results, it is best to color code the
elements as opposed to making a fringe contour plot.
This is done in the Results application. To specify that a fringe plot be element filled,
use the Display Attributes mode after selecting the appropriate result to plot and change the
Style to Element Fill. An example of this type of plot using the results from the patran_els.fin
setup file from one of the earlier mini-exercises is shown here.
CHAPTER 18 407
18.4 Group Averaging

In the General Setup Parameters on the main MSC.Fatigue setup form you can select Group as
the Nodal Averaging method. The default is Global and when set, element nodal results or
results at gauss (integration) points are extrapolated to and averaged at the nodes from all
element contributions. When this feature is set to Group, the averaging is done only for those
elements in the current group. The following comments are made with respect to this feature:
1. This applies to nodal fatigue calculations only.
2. You must make sure you have the proper group set to be the current group. The
current group is always displayed in the title of the graphics window. Use Group |
Set Current... to set the current group.
3. Only one material and surface finish/treatment combination can be set with this
feature.
4. This feature is convenient to use when you want to exclude the contributions of
adjacent elements that may not be appropriate to include in the averaging such as
when different materials or properties butt up against each other or you have some
geometric features or element types.
As a simple explanation of this feature consider the four
nodes to the right. For element nodal results, each of them
has contributions from the surrounding elements shown 5.1 5.5 6.1 6.8
as number in magenta (small font). These stresses are an 5.325 5.3 5.4 5.8 6.3 6.25
5.4 5.8
indication of model quality. If they are all identical the
element quality is perfect. This is rarely the case however. 4.53 3.7
When Global averaging is set, all element contributions 4.475 4.3 4.5 3.2 3.3 3.6
4.3 3.6
are considered in the averaging. Thus the stress values 4.5 4.6
used will be as shown in blue (large font). If only the

center element exists in the current group and Group
averaging is set, the stress values at the nodes used in the
analysis will be the contributions from the center element only. If the center element and the
bottom three elements are in the current group then the averaged stresses will only contain the
contribution from those elements as shown in green.
408
18.5 Extracting Time Histories

This is an extremely useful utility for a number of reasons. First it gives you a sanity check in
case you are having trouble understanding the results. It also gives you access to the single
location analyzers MSLF and MCLF which will be discussed and illustrated later in this guide.
This feature is accessed from the main MSC.Fatigue setup form in the Results... form by setting
the Action to Extract Time History. Simply select the node or element of the model
graphically and press Apply (or you can type the node or element number manually with
“Node” or “Elem” supplied in front of the actual entity ID). This will invoke FEFAT’s Time
History Creation mode.
Note: You do not have to supply a node or element number; but if you do not, you will
have to supply one within FEFAT before a successful operation. When a node or
element is supplied, a file called pfatigue.ent is created from which FEFAT extracts
the ID. This file will be empty if you do not supply a number, in which case, you
have to manually supply the ID in FEFAT.
When FEFAT begins you will be presented with a simple setup screen which contains a few
items that can be modified if so desired. Press the OK button to extract the time history. For
multiple load cases, this will create the actual combined stress or strain time history before (and
used for) rainflow cycle extraction. Simple statistic of the signal are also given, such as
maximum, minimum and mean values.
CHAPTER 18 409
18.6 Identify Critical Location

This is also a useful utility if you wish to
quickly identify on the graphics screen
which node (or element) has the most
damage or the shortest life. This feature
is accessible from the main
MSC.Fatigue setup form in the
Results... form by setting the Action to
Identify Location. There are several
options depending on which type of
analysis you have performed and what
results are available.
For nodal results, the node with the
shortest life is highlighted, circled and pointed to with a vector arrow which also reports the life
value. The life is also reported in the invoking form with the node number indicated in the
databox.
For elemental results, the element is highlighted.
410
18.7 Defining Histogram Matrices

It is possible to start with a rainflow matrix as the load input (for a single load case only) as
opposed to a time history file. There are two ways to do this using PTIME:
1. Convert a load history into a rainflow matrix.
Do this from Add an entry | rainflow Matrix. Select the time history file and press
OK. The file will undergo rainflow cycle counting and a new matrix file will be
created. This matrix file can then be selected in the spreadsheet on the Loading Info...
form instead of a time history. The file will have a .cyh extension instead of a .dac
extension.
Hint: A Fast Analysis (on the Job Control... form) does exactly this. It converts the
load history to a rainflow matrix and then simply scales the histogram according
to the stress or strain instead of doing a rainflow cycle count for each location for
a single load case analysis.
2. Import an ASCII definition of a matrix.
This is also done under Add an entry | rainflow Matrix, in a very similar fashion
as reading an ASCII time history. The format of the ASCII file takes on a specific
form however. It is possible to define the matrices in two forms:
• Range Bin - Mean Bin - Number of Cycles
• Range Value - Mean Value - Number of Cycles
As an example let us say we want to define a load to have the following spectrum:
Number of Cycles Range Mean

5 2.0 0.0
10 1.0 0.5
10 1.0 -0.5
20 0.5 1.0
20 0.5 -1.0
CHAPTER 18 411
Create a file with the following

format and numbers:
#V6.0
# Example using
range_mean_data
BINS=32
MEAN_MIN=-1.1
MEAN_MAX=1.1
RANGE_MIN=0
RANGE_MAX=2.1
RANGE_MEAN_DATA:
2 0 5
1 0.5 10
1 -0.5 10
0.5 1 20
0.5 -1 20
END_DATA
Note that the file defines the number

of bins (32, 64, or 128), the maximum
and minimum values on the x and y
axes (range and mean) and then
specifies the range and mean data that will be placed in the bins. The values in the
RANGE_MEAN_DATA are <range value>, <mean value> and <number of cycles>. The
maximum and minimum values on the x and y axes must be slightly larger than the largest
specified range and/or mean value for any bin. This file results in the matrix shown to the side.
Note: The maximum and minimum values of the range and mean axes will determine the
accuracy of the matrix. Each entry in the ASCII file must be able to fall into a unique
bin or an error will occur on import.
Run PTIME and select Add an entry | rainflow Matrix. Then specify to input the matrix via
an ASCII file and select the file that you created. Give the matrix the name “range” and import
the file as Force in Newtons. Be sure to give it a description also. Then plot the entry.
If you know what bins to place cycles in you can define the ASCII file in terms of
#V6.0
# Example using bin_data
BINS=32
MEAN_MIN=-1.1
MEAN_MAX=1.1
RANGE_MIN=0
RANGE_MAX=2.1
BIN_DATA:
31 15 5
16 9 10
16 23 10
8 2 20
8 32 20
412
where BIN_DATA now replaces RANGE_MEAN_DATA and the data to be entered is

<range bin number>, <mean bin number>, and <number of cycles>. If you import this file it
should give you a matrix that looks equivalent to the one shown for our
RANGE_MEAN_DATA values.
CHAPTER 18 413
18.8 Transient FE Results

Up to this point we have strictly used linear elastic FE results from static load cases where we
have associated the time variation of the loading to externally defined time histories. This is the
most common usage of MSC.Fatigue and perfectly valid for most components and structures
which are fairly stiff in nature. Thus the name quasi-static. The assumption is made that
dynamic effects are third or fourth order contributions to fatigue life and therefore ignored.
There are times, however, where the dynamics of the
structure can significantly effect the fatigue life of the
product especially when the mass of the structure is large
and the operating loads approach or even pass through the
natural frequencies of the structure such as the dynamics of
an entire vehicle body as shown by the bus to the right.
In these cases it is generally better to use a dynamic FE P(t)
analysis to capture all the important dynamic effects. All
time variations of the loading are defined directly in the FE model and a direct or modal
dynamic transient analysis is performed. There is no need for any externally defined and
associated time histories as with the pseudo-static method. The drawback however, is that you
cannot separate the loads. They must all be defined in the same FE analysis. Investigation of
the influence each load may have on fatigue life requires a new FE analysis to be run each time.
To illustrate the use of transient results in MSC.Fatigue, follow this mini-exercise:
Transient Keyhole Job

The geometry is the same keyhole model. Open a new database called keyhole and import the
MSC.Nastran Output2 file call, key_tran.op2. In addition to this transient analysis, we are also
going to compare the answers to an equivalent pseudo static analysis, so also read in the
Output2 file, key_stat.op2. Remember to read the model and results for the first file and only
the results for the second file in the order specified here.
In this version of the keyhole model, the static load case results were determined using a 30
Newton loading at the same point of application as the original keyhole problem, the results
from which, when scaled by the load time history should give roughly equivalent stress time
histories for all nodes as does the modal transient analysis. This of course does not take into
account any dynamic effects that the mass distribution may have on the dynamic behavior and
resulting stress results, however with this simple model and a very evenly distributed mass,
there should not be a large difference.
Open the main MSC.Fatigue setup form and read in the saved job called transient using the
file transient.fin. You will also need static.fin, so copy this file while you are at it.
Systematically open the Solution Params..., the Material Info..., and the Loading Info... forms
and follow the explanations of each to understand the setup. Note that we are running a Crack
Initiation analysis.
414
Solution Parameters
Open the Solution Params... form. All the defaults have been selected for this analysis.
Open the Material Info... form. The material chosen is the MANTEN steel alloy with a
Polished finish and the treatment set to No Treatment. The material already resides in the
materials database.
Loading Information
Open the Loading Info... form. This is
where the analysis setup differs when
using transient FE results. For the
transient analysis the loading time
history is defined by the FE analysis in
the input deck and therefore it is not
necessary to create externally. You will
notice that the Loading Info... form
appears quite a bit different than for a
pseudo-static setup. The following
observations are made:
1. The Results Type is set to
Transient. This is the
controlling setting for the
appearance of this form.
2. Note that no access to the
Time History Manager is
available when set to Transient
since this is unnecessary.
3. Results can be extracted from, this is the results from widget, three different sources:
Database, MSC.Patran FEA, or External, with the Database being the most
common source.
Note: External PATRAN Results files can be accessed in the same manner as for pseudo-
static cases with multiple loading except the # symbol in the file name now refers to
the time step number. They must start at 1 and exist up to the number of time steps
indicated, e.g., filename1.node, filename2.nod, ...
4. A scale factor is allowed to uniformly scale the FE results for all time steps selected.
CHAPTER 18 415
5. For results extracted from the

database, you must filter all
the time steps you wish to
include in the analysis using
the Get/Filter Results...
button. Only the time step you
want must appear in the Result
Time Steps listbox. The
Number of Time Steps
selected is indicated in the
databox below the Scale
Factor and is dimmed and
unchangeable since the
number of items in the listbox
determines the number of time
steps.
For example if you open the Get/Filter Results... form and select LOAD_CASE.1 in
the top list box, and set the Filter Method to Global Variable with the Variable set
to Time and press Filter, you will get all time steps associated with this Result Case.
You can individually remove time steps you do not want by selecting them in the
lower listbox and pressing the Remove button. Press the Add button to place all
selected time steps into the Result Time Steps listbox on the Loading Info... form.
Press the Close button to close down the Select Result Cases form.
6. Finally you must select the stress or strain tensor (and layer if applicable) to use in
the analysis. This is simply done by selecting one of the time steps in the Results
Time Steps listbox. Then you select the stress or strain tensor in the adjacent listbox.
There is no need to fill in any spreadsheet as with the pseudo-static method.
To summarize the Loading Info... form for Database results:
• Supply a Scale Factor if desired
• Get/Filter Results... to include only the time steps of interest
• Select one of the time steps in the Results Time Steps listbox (all will be used in the
analysis)
• Select a stress or strain tensor from the Select a Stress/Strain Tensor listbox
• Select a Layer if necessary
• Check that the No. of Time Steps agrees with your expectation
Job Control
Open the Job Control... form and submit the analysis. Monitor it if desired.
416
Static Keyhole Job

We also wish to run a fatigue analysis from pseudo-static results for comparison purposes. Now
run the equivalent analysis using static FE analysis results.
First a time history must be created by reading in an ASCII version of this time history that is
equivalent to the force time history used in the transient analysis. Copy over the file called
key_tran.asc. The following PTIME keystrokes will accomplish this for you:
1. Invoke PTIME either from the system prompt or from the Loading Info... form by
pressing the Time History Manager button (Results Type = Static).
2. Use Add an entry | ASCII convert + load
3. Select the ASCII file key_tran.asc.
4. Accept this form by pressing OK.
5. Enter at least one descriptive title on the next form. Accept the defaults for the rest
of the fields and press the OK button.
6. Plot the time history if you wish and exit when finished.
Now read in the static fatigue setup from the static.fin file. View the setup if desired and then
open the Job Control... form and submit the job.
Evaluate Results
Finally read or list the results from the two jobs to see that they are approximately the same
(2100-2600 repeats). There is a difference between the two which is due to the fact that the
modal transient takes into account the dynamic effects of the mass distribution whereas the
pseudo-static does not, as mentioned earlier.
The differences would be even greater for models with more mass and for loading services that
approached the natural frequencies of the structure.
CHAPTER 18 417
18.9 Modal Superposition

This technique enables the dynamic response of the structure to be simulated without the
disadvantage of storing the transient response for each node or element of the model. Transient
FE analysis can be very time consuming and require large disk storage. The subsequent fatigue
analysis must then access all this time dependent data for each time step and each location
requested which can be time consuming. By using the modal participation factors (generalized
coordinates) linearly combined with the stresses from each mode the method is exactly
analogous to the quasi-static method in MSC.Fatigue, as shown in the table below, but
requiring much less disk space, memory and computation time.
Static Superpositioning Modal Superpositioning

Static Analysis Transient Analysis
Stress Input Stress for unit load case i Stress for mode shape i
Loading Loading function for channel i Modal Participation factors for Mode i
An advantage of this method is that due to the similarity with the quasi-static method, this
technique can be used in S-N, E-N, Spot weld, Seam Weld, Crack Growth and Multi-axial
analysis.
Here is an example of how to do modal superposition using MSC.Nastran. Analogous methods
exist for other solver codes. Some familiarity with each solver code is required to extract the
correct information.
1. Run MSC.Nastran modal analysis (SOL = 103) and request stress to be written to the
.op2 or .xdb file (STRESS = ALL). Use the EIGRL card to select frequency range
of interest and / or number of modes.
2. Run MSC.Nastran modal transient (SOL = 112) with same EIGRL card. Define the
time history loading in the MSC.Nastran deck using TABLED1 cards in the normal
manner. Request the output to be SDISPLACEMENTS (PUNCH) = ALL. This gives
the modal participation time histories for each mode of interest. If six (6) modes are
solved for, this will give an ASCII punch file with six (6) time histories.
Note: In the latest version of NASTRAN steps 1 and 2 can be combined into a single run
by specifying the first subcase in the SOL 112 run as the normal modes run.
3. Run MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post or MSC.Patran and import the .op2 file from the SOL
103 run (step 1) into the database. Fill the Solution Control and Materials forms as
required.
418
4. Open the Loading information form (shown below), enter the number of modes
recovered in the number of static conditions data box, and turn the fill down option
on. Click on the Load Case ID cell and the Get/Filter Results button to display the
stress results from the SOL 103 run. Select the first mode and the associated stress
tensor and click on Fill Cell. This should load up the cells in the first column of the
spreadsheet with the modal stress IDs corresponding to the number of modes
recovered.
5. The creation of the Time histories off the modal participation factors in the punch
file is achieved by clicking on the Read Punch button. This button will be displayed
on this form when the user clicks on the Time history cell. A local Time history
database that contains the time histories from the participation factors in the punch
file is created in the local run directory. The local database can now be used to load
the cells in the second column by clicking on the first cell in the Time history column
and selecting Fill Cell (MSC.Fatigue accesses the local database automatically).
6. Run fatigue analysis as usual.
CHAPTER 18 419
18.10 Constant Amplitude Zero Mean Time Histories

For constant amplitude zero mean time histories, there is an environment keyword that allows life
to be calculated directly from the true max-min cycle, which is stored along with the matrix. Set the
environment variable PFCONAMP to ON. Use the MENM utility to do this. Refer to
Section 16.7 for details.
420
APPENDIX
Glossary of Terms
A
■ Glossary Terms
422
A.1 Glossary Terms
Note: The terms and definitions in this appendix may have multiple meanings to
different people. The definitions give here are as used in the context of this
guide.
Amplitude
Amplitude is half of the range of a cycle. It is the maximum less the minimum divided
by two.
σ
σa
σm ∆σ
σ ma x – σ m i n
σ a = -------------------------------
2
August Woehler
This German gentleman is probably the most famous
of all fatigue researchers being the “Father of Fatigue”
as many know him. He is responsible for the
invention of the “stress-life” or “S-N” method of
fatigue life prediction. See Stress-Life (S-N) (p. 439).
β-Solution
See Compliance Function (p. 423).
Biaxial - Biaxiality Ratio

For surface resolved stresses the two major principal August Woehler (1819-1914)
stresses lie in the plane of the surface with the third
principal stress being zero (normal to the surface). The principal stresses therefore,
correspond to the X, Y, and Z=0 component stresses. The ratio of the minimum in-
plane stress divided by the maximum in-plane stress defines the biaxiality ratio. This
ratio can take on any number between -1 and 1. Zero indicates a uniaxial state of stress
with only one principal stress being non-zero.
Broad Band
See Wide Band (p. 440).
CHAPTER A 423
Glossary of Terms
Compliance Function
For crack growth analysis, a compliance function needs to be defined. This is also
known as a β-function or a K-solution. It is defined based on the crack geometry and
the dimension of the specimen. In physical terms it is simply a measure of how the
compliance (stiffness or flexibility) of the structure changes as the crack propagates.
These functions take on the form of look up tables in the software and can be defined
in terms of a polynomial equation or selected from a standard library set. They are
then used in the crack growth rate (Paris) equation to determine the stress intensity for
any given stress cycle and, in turn, used to determine a incremental crack size.
da m
------- = C ( ∆K ) Paris Equation
dN
∆K = Yσ πa Stress Intensity
Compliance Function
Component S-N
This is an S-N curve which is tied to a specific component geometry and relates
nominal stress (S) to life. The stress that is looked up on the S-N curve is not the actual
stress at the failure location (in general) but the stress as measured in a location away
from the failure. This is usually because of the impracticality of placing a strain gauge
at the failure location. The S-N curve can only be used for components with the same
geometry (and material) as that used to create the S-N curve. The components
themselves are used as test specimens to create the S-N curves (such as a weld class).
These types of S-N curves are not used to identify the location of a possible fatigue
failure since this location is already identified by the nature of the S-N curve. Instead
they are used to evaluate resistance to variation of the loading. These S-N curves are
generally used when the failure mechanism is not well modeled with material S-N
curves or other methods. They represent a more macro way of characterizing the
failure mechanism by building into the curve all influences on the fatigue life, i.e.,
plasticity, geometry, residual stress, etc. The challenge when using these S-N curves
with FE analysis is to know where the measured or reference location is, which is the
stress that should be used to look up damage using these S-N curves.
Crack Initiation
See Strain-Life (e-N) (p. 438).
Crack Growth (Propagation)

See LEFM (p. 431).
424
Critical Plane Analysis

The principal stress tensor axis can rotate from
time step to time step when subject to multiple
load inputs. A fatigue analysis done at various
angles is said to be a critical plane analysis. The
plane that exhibits the most damage is said to be
the critical plane. These types of analyses are
typically illustrated using a polar plot of damage
versus angle.
Cycles (cycle counting)

A stress or strain cycle is one event that may or
may not cause damage. A single constant A B
amplitude, fully reversed sine or triangle wave C D
E
that passes upwards positively through its mean F
G
will register a stress cycle each time. Many H
methods of counting cycles in a randomly
B D
varying signal have been adopted and
F
abandoned over the years. The rainflow cycle C
counting method is the most widely accepted. H
Another way to understand cycle counting is E
A
illustrated by the diagram where a portion of a G
time signal is stood on end and then each point

is mapped onto stress-strain space. This
simulates loading and unloading where the material may yield producing a hysteresis
loop. Each loop represents one stress cycle. Cycles with noticeable inner area are
damaging and cycles which appear as straight lines are purely elastic and cause no
damage. For any time varying load, all cycles will fall with in one outer, large cycle
representative of the maximum and minimum of the signal. So in short, cycle counting
counts the number of hysteresis loops and keeps track of their range/mean or
maximum/minimum values.
Cyclic Properties
Cyclic material properties are those that are obtained from a material test similar to a
monotonic test with one big difference. The loading is reversed and cycled at various
load levels. From these tests are derived the cyclic stress-strain curve and the strain-
CHAPTER A 425
Glossary of Terms
life curve used in crack initiation analysis. At each load level the stabilized hysteresis
loop is extracted, its maximum stress/strain value extracted and plotted onto a single
plot to create the cyclic stress-strain curve.
σ3
σ2 σ3
σ1 σ2
ε1 ε2 ε3 σ1
Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 ε1 ε2 ε3

Cyclic σ-ε Curve
Cyclic Hardening
This is a behavior Cyclic Hardening
σ
exhibited by σ
materials that, ε
when subject to
cyclic loading,
actually strengthen
with time. This is Constant Amplitude Stress Response Stress-Strain
illustrated by the Strain Signal Mapping
σ
hysteresis loops
becoming taller and skinnier on stress-strain space. The yield strength become greater.
Cyclic Softening
This is a behavior Constant Softening
exhibited by σ
σ
materials that, ε
when subject to
cyclic loading,
weaken with time.
This is illustrated
Constant Amplitude Stress Response Stress-Strain
by the hysteresis Strain Signal Mapping
loops becoming
shorter and fatter on stress-strain space. The yield strength lessens.
426
da/dN Curve
This is the crack growth rate (da/dN). It is a
material characteristic and as such, is treated
as a material data set and is obtained by Region 3
experiments. It relates the growth rate of a

crack to stress intensity (∆K), or in other
words, the driving force of the crack. There da/dN
are three regions on a da/dN curve. Region Region 2
1 is the threshold region where the driving
force is not great enough to grow a crack Region 1
(like a fatigue limit). Region 2 is the linear
region of the curve where behavior is ∆K (stress intensity)
described by the Paris equation. Region 3 is
where static or fast fracture occurs as the driving force reaches or becomes very near
to the fracture toughness of the material.
Damage (Log of Damage)

Damage is the reciprocal of Life. Sometimes it is reported in log base(10) units mainly
for convenient contour plotting.
Damage Summation
This is the mechanism of summing Stress
the damage from the various stress ∆D1 = N1 / Nf1
cycles. All cycles are identified using
∆D2 = N2 / Nf2
rainflow cycle counting. Damage
due to each is determined from the
appropriate damage curve such as Total Damage = Σ Ni / Nfi
an S-N or strain-Life curve. Damage
is then summed using the linear
damage summation law as defined
Cycles to Failure
by Palmgen and Miner which
simply states that each cycle causes a
damage which is equal to
1/(number of cycles to failure at that load level). When you apply a series of cycles,
damage is added up linearly until the total is unity (1) when failure is predicted.
Fatigue damage is a non-linear process, but we find that if we have a fairly random
repeated sequence it works satisfactorily.
Damage Tolerant
This is a fatigue life design philosophy which adopts the crack growth method and is
used in conjunction with the fail safe philosophy. A crack or flaw is assumed to exist
and its growth rate determined to set up specific inspection periods to ensure that the
flaw will not grow to any critical size between these inspections.
CHAPTER A 427
Glossary of Terms
Deterministic
This is a loading event which can be
determined at any point in time,
such as a constant amplitude sine
Response
wave. Repeatable loading falls into
this category. This is in opposition Time
to a random load where no events
can be determined at any given
point in time or more specifically,
where the next sequence of events
cannot be determined from any previous events.
Durability
Durability is the conglomeration of all aspects that effect the life of a product and
usually concerns itself with much more than just fatigue and fracture, but also loading
conditions, environmental concerns, material characterizations, and testing
simulations to name a few. A true product durability program in an organization that
takes all of these aspects and more into consideration.
Elastic
Elastic behavior refers to a component or material, which when subject to loading
conditions that cause structural deformation, if removed, returns to its original state.
No permanent state of deformation is left when the loads are removed. Linear elastic
analysis denotes that as the loads vary, the responses vary in a linear and elastic
manner relative to the loads. For instance if you double or triple the load, the
responses will double or triple respectively. Whether the stresses exceed the yield or
even the ultimate stress is not taken into account.
Elastic-plastic Correction
See Neuber’s Rule (p. 433).
Endurance Limit
This is similar to the fatigue limit and is an imposed limit of reversals on strain-Life
curves above which the component is said to have infinite life. This limit, referred to
as the material cut-off, is set to 2e8 reversals but can be changed by the user.
Failure Criterion
The criterion that defines failure such as catastrophic failure into two or more pieces,
until an engineering crack of 2mm appears, or until a crack reaches a critical size to be
deemed unsafe. Understanding the failure criterion in a fatigue analysis is very
important. The material properties used in any fatigue analysis, be it an S-N curve,
strain-Life curve, or crack propagation da/dN curves, define the failure criterion.
428
Fail Safe
This is a fatigue life design philosophy which adopts the total life (S-N) method
generally where failure cannot be tolerated. Therefore built in redundancy is generally
used such that if a failure were to occur, the structure would fall into a state that it
would survive until repair can be accommodated.
Fatigue
This is a failure under a repeated or otherwise varying load which never reaches a
level sufficient to cause failure in a single application. The initiation and growth of a
crack, or growth from a pre-existing defect, until it reaches a critical size, such as
separation into two or more parts
Fatigue Concentration Factor, Kf

This is similar to the stress concentration, Kt, except it accounts for the fact that small
notches have less effect on fatigue than is indicated by Kt. This has led to the idea of a
fatigue concentration factor, Kf, which is normally less than Kt, being introduced and
being used to replace Kt within Neuber’s rule. Kf is related to Kt according to
Kf = ( 1 + ( Kt – 1 ) ) ⁄ ( 1 + p' ⁄ r )
where p’ is a material constant dependent on grain size and strength and r is the notch
root radius.
Fatigue Limit Log Stress Range
This is a stress level below which no fatigue

failures will occur. See Stress-Life (S-N)
b1
(p. 439). 1 Transition Life
Fourier Analysis b2
1
Fatigue
In simplistic terms, Fourier analysis is the Limit
ability to represent a finite length of time Log Life
signal by the sum of a series of sine waves

with varying amplitudes, frequencies, and phases.
Fracture
A fracture is the growth or propagation of a crack once it has been initiated. Fracture
also denotes sudden breakage of a component or structure in two. However for the
purposes of this manual it refers to the life prediction method of crack growth as
implemented using LEFM. See LEFM (p. 431).
CHAPTER A 429
Glossary of Terms
Fracture Mechanics Triangle crack length
The fracture mechanics triangle states that if any two

of the three variables are known, through fracture
mechanics and their relationships to one another,
the other can be determined.
stress intensity stress
Frequency Domain
The time domain relates a
variable (stress) to time Frequency Domain
and describes how the Time Domain
FFT Force
variable changes with Force
time. Time signals can
also be represented in the
time frequency
frequency domain which
relates the variable to frequency, describing how that variable changes with or is
affected by frequency. The time and frequency domains present the same information
in different ways, helping the engineer understand the effect a signal or response may
have on a structure. Consider, for example, a random signal which when converted to
the frequency domain shows only content at 10 Hz. This signal when applied to a
structure with natural frequencies well above 10 Hz may not be damaging at
sufficiently low enough levels. However if the structure has natural frequencies in the
10 Hz range, the signal would be far more damaging. Being able to view a signal in the
frequency domain can alert an engineer to this potential danger.
Gaussian
For a random signal and for
most engineering purposes
the amplitude Probability
Density Function (PDF)
will be approximately
Gaussian. This means that
the density distribution will take on a bell like curve as shown here where the highest
levels of the signal are the least probable of occurring. See also Power Spectral
Density (PSD) (p. 434).
Gerber Mean Stress

This is a mechanism to correct for a non-zero mean stress range for the S-N method.
See Mean Stress Correction (p. 432).
Goodman Mean Stress

This is a mechanism to correct for a non-zero mean stress for the S-N method. This is
a more conservative method than the Berber one. See Mean Stress Correction
(p. 432).
430
High Cycle Fatigue (HCF)

This is the ability of a component or structure to
withstand or survive many stress cycles. S-N
analysis applications deal completely in the high cycle fatigue
Strain
high cycle regime and are not valid in the low
cycle regime. The technical definition of high
cycle versus low cycle fatigue is where the
low cycle
elastic and plastic strain-Life curves cross each
other on the strain-Life plot. This is known as
the transition life above which is high cycle
Reversals (2N)
fatigue and below which is low cycle fatigue. It
is clear that above the transition life elastic
events dominate and below it, plastic events dominate. S-N analysis does not
compensate for plastic events in an adequate way as the strain-life method does and
for this reason is not a good choice for low cycle fatigue problems. The strain-life
method can handle both high and low cycle fatigue problems. The transition life is
generally around 104 or 105 cycles and is material dependent.
Hysteresis
This is a material behavior that is illustrated by loading a
material beyond its yield point and then unloading it and σ
perhaps reversing the load until it yields in compression
and cycling. When the stress and strain are cross plotted,
they create plots such as the one shown here. Each loop is
a hysteresis loop. This phenomenon is know as the
Baushinger effect after the German engineer that first ε
documented this behavior of most metallic materials.
Inverse Fourier Transform

The ability or methodology of converting a frequency
domain signal back into the time domain by recreating the time signal from a power
spectral density (PSD) function is called the Inverse Fourier Transformation. Because
no phase information is kept with a PSD, random phases are created. The regenerated
time signal will not be exactly the same as the original but will be statistically
equivalent.
CHAPTER A 431
Glossary of Terms
Irregularity Factor
Time History
This is a parameter for describing or
characterizing a process such as a time
Stress (MPa)
signal or a power spectral density function.
For a time signal, it is defined as the ratio of
the number of times a signal passes time
upward in a positive manner through the
mean of a signal divided by the number of 1 second
peaks. In the frequency domain, the
irregularity factor is determined from its
moments. The irregularity factor takes on = upward zero crossing
values between zero and one, one = peak
describing a narrow band process and non-
zero values describing wide or broad band processes. A value of unity describes a
process whose peaks and adjacent valleys are roughly the same order of magnitude
but of opposite sign whereas a value of near zero represents a signal that has an
infinite number of peaks versus upward mean crossings, e.g., a dominate sine wave
with noise superimposed on top of it.
K-Solution
See Compliance Function (p. 423).
LEFM
Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics. This is the art of crack growth prediction as
determined from linear elastic stresses. It assumes only a localized plastic zone around
the crack tip and uses the stress intensity or driving force of the crack to determine
crack growth rates according to the Paris equation.
Life (Log of Life)

The Life (Log of Life) is the result reported as to how long a component or structure
will last. This life can be reported in terms of stress cycles or reversals survived,
however this is usually not a convenient way of reporting it. Time series are generally
given some sort of fatigue equivalent units such as laps, miles, hours, missions, etc.,
which are more descriptive to a user in describing the life. A repeat of a time history
may have many stress cycles but can be described as representative of, say, 30 times
around a cobblestone test track. The life is then reported as laps. Because the
computed life of a component can vary dramatically from location to location on the
component itself, the life is often reported in log (base 10) units. This is convenient
because the spread can be from some small finite number (1000) to infinite life (the
cutoff being around 1018). This helps spread out contour bands on graphical plots for
better visualization and for xy plots.
Local Strain
See Strain-Life (e-N) (p. 438).
432
Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF)

Low cycle fatigue is the inability of a component or structure to withstand or survive
many stress cycles. See High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) (p. 430).
Material Cut-off
See Endurance Limit (p. 427).
Material S-N
This is an S-N curve that relates local stress (σ) to life. These types of curves are
generally obtained through material tests of highly polished test coupons where the
monitored stress is the stress experienced at the failure location. These type of S-N
curves are geometry independent; that is, the S-N curves are valid for any geometry
and are only dependent on the actual material that they represent. All plasticity
modeling is built into the curve.
Mean
Mean is the average value of a cycle or signal. It is the maximum plus the minimum
divided by two for a simple constant amplitude oscillating signal as shown here. Note
that the two small cycles in the stress-strain plot have the same strain range but have
different mean stress.
σ ma x + σ m in
σ m = --------------------------------
2
σa
σm ∆σ
Mean Stress Correction

This is a technique for correcting or compensating for non-zero mean signals when
looking up damage on damage curves that have been created with zero mean (R=0)
signals in a test laboratory. Various methods exist for both the S-N and strain-life
methods. Fracture mechanics uses different da/dN curves for different R-ratios.
Miner’s Constant
Miner’s constant is the damage summation constant that defines failure, usually set to
unity (1). See Damage Summation (p. 426).
CHAPTER A 433
Glossary of Terms
Monotonic Properties
Monotonic material properties are those that are σ−ε Curve
obtained from a material test. Test coupons are σ Elastic Line
placed in servo-hydraulic machines and loaded in a
single application of steady load increase through
Ultimate
the yield point of the material and to ultimate
Stress
Tensile
Strength
fracture of material. From these tests come various
Yield
material parameters such as Young’s Modulus (E),
the yield strength (σy), and the ultimate tensile
ε
(UTS). The load is not reversed, nor is it cycled to Strain
obtain these properties.
Morrow Mean Stress

A mechanism to correct for non-zero mean stress for the strain-life method. See Mean
Stress Correction (p. 432).
Multiaxial
Multiaxial means that the stress state is not uniaxial. More than one principal stress
exists. The biaxiality ratio, ae, defined as the minimum in-plane stress divided by the
maximum in-plane stress (for surface stresses), is non-zero. There are two different
degrees of multiaxial stress states: proportional and non-proportional. Proportional
multi-axial or proportional loading refers to the principal stresses always being in
proportion to one another in magnitude and are stationary. Stationary means that the
principal stress axes do not rotate significantly with time or in other words, the
maximum and minimum principal stresses are always in the same direction. Non-
proportional loading is the opposite of this where the two principal in-plane stresses
are not proportional to each other at any given time, nor is the principal stress axis
always in the same direction.
Narrow Band
Narrow Band
This is a signal which contains frequency
content predominantly at or around one
frequency which when converted to the
PSD
frequency domain appears as single peak
spanning only a portion of the frequencies. Time History frequency Hz
Neuber’s Rule
This is one of a few mechanisms to correct
∆σ ∆ε = σ +
[ ∆σ
1/n’
for plasticity given only elastic stresses ]
Ε∆εe 2 2E 2K’
and strains. The Neuber method enables ∆σ∆ε = E∆ε
∆εe2
us to predict elastic-plastic stress and σ, ε
strain by providing a way of estimating
the amount of stress and strain ∆εe
∆ε
redistribution. You should remember that
434
this is an approximation! Basically the elastic strain excursion is calculated from the
FE model, and the stress is assumed to be ε*E. Then the elastic-plastic stress and strain
excursions is estimated by drawing a rectangular hyperbola through this point and
seeing where it intersects the hysteresis curve.
Non-proportional Loading
See Multiaxial (p. 433).
Notch Correction
This is a term that is adopted in the FE-fatigue world to signify the correction from
purely elastic stresses and strains to elastic-plastic stresses and strains. See Elastic-
plastic Correction (p. 427). Historically the term comes from determination of stress
at a notch while taking measurements away from the notch and using a stress
concentration factor, Kt, knowing that the material has yielded in the notch area and
an additional correction needs to be made to determine the true stress (and/or strain).
Paris Equation
This is the main equation that governs the LEFM (crack
da m
growth) method and relates the crack growth rate (da/dN) ------- = C ( ∆K )
dN
to stress intensity (∆K). C and m are material constants.
Plasticity
Fatigue does not generally involve major changes to the properties of the bulk of the
material in a component. In most components that have failed by fatigue, the
processes that lead to the fatigue failure are confined to the region around the crack
tip. Fatigue is always caused by plastic deformation. Plasticity is an irreversible
process of deforming the material beyond its yield point. Some who have experienced
fatigue failures may say “there is no plastic deformation in my component,” or “the
FEA results showed that all stresses were below yield.” If there is a fatigue failure,
then there must be plastic deformation, even if it is confined to only a few grains, or
to a very small region around the tip of a crack or a notch.
Power Spectral Density (PSD)

value2/Hz
The term originated with electronic engineers in

the 1940’s trying to characterize equipment noise.
The PSD is a way of describing a random time
signal. A random signal is random because there
is no way of predicting a future section of the
signal from previous sections. Therefore some
sort of statistical method of describing these
signals was devised. By taking a time signal,
Frequency (Hz)
squaring it, and taking its average you get what
is called the mean square value. If the squared
signal is passed through a low pass filter at various cut-off frequencies, the mean value
CHAPTER A 435
Glossary of Terms
can be plotted as a function of frequency. The slope of this curve describes the density
of the mean square with respect to frequency and is called a “spectrum.” The term
“spectral density” comes from the fact that it is a property with respect to frequency
such as a rainbow which is the variations of frequency in the colors of visible light. The
term “power” dates back to the electrical engineers who used power as the key
parameter. Dynamicists have simply adopted the term. In simple summary, a PSD is
nothing other than an equivalent representation of a random time signal in a different
domain, which has certain advantages over the time domain. In terms of Fourier
analysis, the area under any infinitesimal strips of the PSD represents the mean square
of the sine wave at that frequency where a time signal is made up of a number of sine
waves summed together.
Probability Density
Function (PDF)
Two important Probability
Density Functions (PDF)
can be computed from a
stress or strain time history.
These are the amplitude
and peak PDFs as shown. The best way to visualize these parameters is to draw tram
lines horizontally through the time history and then count either the number of times
the signal crosses the tram lines or the number of times a peak occurs in-between the
tram lines. The complete PDFs are obtained by repeating this process for all horizontal
levels in the signal. For most engineering purposes the amplitude PDF will be
approximately Gaussian. Furthermore, for a narrow band process the peak PDF will
be approximately equivalent to the Rayleigh PDF. A PDF, therefore, is the probability
of a certain stress or strain level occurring and is represented as a density distribution.
Proportional Loading
See Multiaxial (p. 433).
R-Ratio
This is a measure of the mean stress or the mean of constant amplitude signal or the
mean of a stress cycle. R = -1 is a fully reversed signal or a cycle with zero mean. R =
0 is a signal which goes from zero to a maximum value and returns to zero. R = infinity
is the reverse where the signal goes from zero to a negative maximum value and back
to zero.

See Cycles (cycle counting) (p. 424).
436
Random Vibration
This is excitation due to loading which is random
in nature. That is to say that at any particular point
Response
in time it is impossible to determine anything
specific about the loading. It can only be described
by its statistics such a mean level, rms, standard
Time
deviation, etc. This is in opposition to a loading
event which can be determined at any point in
time, such as a constant amplitude sine wave.
Random vibration is usually dealt with in the
frequency domain by converting signals to power spectral density functions (PSDs).
Range
Range is the total absolute magnitude between the
maximum and minimum values of a cycle. Note that ∆σ = σ m ax – σ mi n
the two small cycles in the stress-strain plot have the
same stress and strain range but have different mean stress.
σ
σa
σm ∆σ
Reference Location
When dealing with component S-N curves, this is the location on the test specimens
used to create the S-N curve. The nominal stress axis of the S-N curve relates stress
levels at this location to failure. When using a component S-N curve in conjunction
with finite element models you must know the equivalent location (reference location)
as only stress from this location relates to the S-N curve.
Regression Analysis
Regression analysis is the art of taking measured data such as that for an S-N curve
and determining an equation to describe the curve from the raw data, also called curve
fitting.
Residual Stress
This is a permanent stress that is left behind in a component or structure after
unloading. Residual stress can be caused or induced in a number of ways such as shot
peening, overloads, and manufacturing processes to name a few. Residual stresses can
be tensile (positive) or compressive (negative) in nature and can be beneficial to
bettering fatigue life (compressive) or detrimental (tensile).
CHAPTER A 437
Glossary of Terms
Root Mean Square (rms)

By taking a time signal, squaring it, then taking the average, you get the mean square
of the signal. If you take the square root of the mean square of the signal you get the
root mean square (rms). The rms is a parameter that allows you to gauge the overall
intensity of a signal relative to another random signal.
Safe Life
This is a fatigue design philosophy which adopts the crack initiation method. In
general it is applied to relatively inexpensive components which can easily be thrown
away and replaced. In addition it is applied to structures or parts where the initiation
of a crack takes up the majority of the life relative to the growth of the crack or where
it is intolerable to have a crack in the structure. This philosophy generally produces
fairly optimized structures and is used heavily in the ground vehicle industry. A
failure of a component designed with this philosophy should not have catastrophic
consequences.
Sample Rate
When measuring a signal, the sample rate is the number of times you take a sample in
a given period of time, usually one second. It is the frequency of samples in
number/second. Sampling too slowly can cause important loading events to be
missed.
Spectral Moments
Spectral moments are used to obtain other statistical properties of the PSD. The n-th
spectral moment m n of a PSD is defined by
∞
n
mn ( S ) = ∫ S ( f ) ⋅ f df
–∞
Stress Concentration Factor, Kt

This is a factor which relates
stress at one point in a
structure to stress at another
point. For example, the
stress concentration factor
for a large plate with a hole
is three (3). This relates the
nominal stress (P/A) at an
area away from the hole to
the stress at the radius of the σmax = Ktσ Kt=3 Kt=1 + 2a/b b =0; Kt=infinity
hole. Concentration factors
have come about due to the fact that it is difficult to place a measurement device
438
directly on the highest stressed area. Therefore some factor had to be established to
convert measured response to actual responses at critical locations. In FE fatigue
based analysis, Kt is generally taken as unity (1), since in this case we do know the
stress at the critical area. In fact we know the local stress at all locations.
Stress Intensity
K Controls the
In simplistic terms, this is the stress around the tip
driving force that causes a crack to
propagate forward. It controls the
stress around a crack tip and is Fracture
know as K (not to be confused with Zone
Kt or Kf, the stress and fatigue

concentration factors). When the Plastic
Zone
magnitude of K reaches the fracture
toughness of a material, failure
occurs. K is a function of the crack
length, a, the nominal or far field stress away from the crack, and other geometric
dimensions of the component or structure and has units of stress-length1/2.
Strain Hardening
See Cyclic Hardening (p. 425).
Strain-Life (ε-N)
This is a fatigue life prediction method commonly
Strain (log units)
referred to as “crack initiation,” or “local strain.” It

only concerns itself with the initiation of a crack. A Typical
The method is called “strain-life” because it relates ε-N Curve
local strain to life. It is a fairly recent and well
accepted method of fatigue life prediction brought
about by the work of many but principally the
Americans, Manson and Coffin in the mid 1950s.
This work would not have been possible without Reversals (log units)
the invention of the servo-hydraulic test machine.
These machines allowed strains to be precisely controlled as opposed to stresses
which are near impossible to control. Because of this the scatter in material data for the
strain-life method is much less than that of the S-N method and a more accurate
prediction of fatigue life can be made.
Strain Softening
See Cyclic Softening (p. 425).
CHAPTER A 439
Glossary of Terms
Stress-Life (S-N)
Stress (log units)

This is a fatigue life prediction method commonly
referred to as “total life” because it does not make a A Typical
distinction between initiating or propagating a S-N Curve
crack but instead considers only the total life of the
component until failure into two or more pieces.
The method is called “stress-life” because it relates
nominal or local stress to life. It was the first method Life (log units)
of fatigue life prediction conceived by the German,
August Woehler in the late 1800’s due to his work in the railway industry. His famous
rotating-bending tests gave rise to the concept of the S-N curve. These curves are
generally denoted in log units and some materials exhibit a “fatigue limit,” a stress
level below which no fatigue failures will occur.
Woehler’s Rotating-Bending Test Machine
STW Mean Stress

This is a mechanism to correct for non-zero mean stress for the strain-life method. See
Mean Stress Correction (p. 432).
Surface Resolved Stresses

Surface resolved stresses are the stress on the surface of a structure or component
which is said to be in a state of plane stress. The two principal stresses are in the plane
of the surface while the third principal which is normal to the surface is zero. Finite
element shell element models produce surface resolved stresses by default. However
many solid element models produce stress results in elemental coordinate systems
and need to be transformed into surface resolved stresses. Surface resolved stresses
are needed to correctly calculate biaxiality ratios and perform multiaxial assessments
Total Life
See Stress-Life (S-N) (p. 439).
440
Transfer Function
A Transfer Function is a way of relating one
PSD in p u t × TF = PSD r es po n se
quantity to another. In the frequency domain
the structure is modeled by a linear Transfer
Function relating input loads to output responses. The output from the model is
expressed as a PSD. In frequency response analysis these Transfer Functions are
determined by subjecting the model at the input load point to a series of sine waves
with unit amplitude over the frequency range of interest. Multiplying the input PSD
of load by the Transfer Function then gives the response PSD.
Uniaxial
This is the stress state of a component or location in a component where only one
principal stress exists, all others being zero. The biaxiality ratio, ae, defined as the
minimum in-plane stress divided by the maximum in-plane stress (for surface
stresses), is zero in this case. The principal stress is also stationary; that is, the principal
stress is always in the same direction and not rotating such as a rod in tension.
White Noise
White noise is a signal which contains frequency
White Noise
content from all frequencies and when converted
to the frequency domain, is a constant line. A sharp PSD
sudden impact is also a form of signal which
contains content at all frequencies.
Time History frequency Hz
Wide Band
Wide band is a signal which contains frequency
Wide Band
content at more than one frequency which when
converted to the frequency domain can appear as
multiple spikes or as a broad curve spanning PSD
multiple frequencies.
Time History frequency Hz
APPENDIX
Material Listing
B
■ Material Types
■ Material Listing
■ Alternative Names
442
B.1 Material Types

This table shows PFMAT material classes.
Table B-1 Material Type Numbers and Descriptions
Number Description
0 Type undefined
1 Flake cast iron (FCI)
2 Ferritic cast iron with compacted graphite (FCICG)
3 Pearlitic cast iron with compacted graphite (PCICG)
4 Bainitic cast iron with compacted graphite (BCICG)
5 Ferritic cast iron with spheroidal graphite (FCISG)
6 Ferrite/pearlite cast iron with spheroidal graphite (FPCISG)
7 Pearlitic cast iron with spheroidal graphite (PCISG)
8 Bainitic cast iron with spheroidal graphite (BCISG)
9 Cast steel with less than 0.2% carbon (CSL2C)
10 Normalized cast steel with 0.2-0.4% carbon (NCS24C)
11 Quenched & tempered cast steel with 0.2-0.4% carbon (QTCS24)
12 Normalized cast steel with 0.4-0.7% carbon (NCS47)
13 Plain carbon wrought steel with < 0.2% carbon (PCWS)
14 Hot rolled/normalized plain carbon wrought steel, 0.2-0.4%
carbon (HNPCWS24)
15 Quenched & tempered cast steel with 0.4-0.7% carbon (QTCS47)
16 Quenched & tempered plain carbon wrought steel, 0.2-0.4%
carbon (QTPCWS24)
17 Hot rolled/normalized plain carbon wrought steel, 0.4-0.7%
carbon (HNPCWS47)
18 Quenched & tempered plain carbon wrought steel, 0.4-0.7%
carbon (QTPCWS47)
19 Normalized low alloy wrought steel (NLAWS)
20 Quenched & tempered low alloy wrought steel (QTHSLAWS)
21 Normalized Ni/Cr/Mo wrought steel (NNCMWS)
CHAPTER B 443
Material Listing
Number Description
22 Quenched & tempered Ni/Cr/Mo wrought steel (QTNCMWS)
23 Austenitic stainless steel (ASS)
24 Ferritic stainless steel (FSS)
25 Martensitic stainless steel (MSS)
26 Annealed plain carbon wrought steel, 0.2-0.4% carbon (APCWS24)
27 Annealed plain carbon wrought steel, 0.4-0.7% carbon (APCWS47)
28 Normalized carbon/manganese steel (MCMS)
29 Quenched and tempered carbon/manganese steel (QTCMS)
30 Hardened chromium steel (HCS)
31 Quenched and tempered chromium steel (QTCS)
99 Steel of unknown heat treatment (STEEL)
100 Wrought aluminium (WA)
101 Wrought aluminium-copper alloy (WACA)
102 Wrought aluminium-manganese alloy (WAMNA)
103 Wrought aluminium-magnesium alloy (WAMGA)
104 Wrought aluminium-magnesium-silicon alloy (WAMGSA)
105 Wrought aluminium-zinc alloy (WAZA)
106 Cast aluminium alloy (CAA)
107 Wrought complex special purpose aluminum alloys (WCSPAA)
200 Wrought copper (WCU)
201 Wrought brass (WBR)
202 Wrought aluminium bronze (WABR)
203 Cupronickel (CUPNI)
204 Nickel silver (NIAG)
205 Wrought phosphor bronze (WPHBR)
206 Wrought copper beryllium (WCUBE)
207 Cast copper alloys (CCUA)
444
Number Description
300 Titanium alloy (TA)
400 Wrought magnesium alloys (WMGA)
401 Cast magnesium alloys (CMGA)
500 Fusible alloys, solders (FUSSOL)
600 Cast zinc alloys (CZINCA)
700 Wrought nickel alloys (WNIA)
701 Cast nickel alloys (CNIA)
800 Precious metals (PRECMET)
900 Clad materials (CLADMAT)
1000 Thermoplastics (THERPLAS)
1001 Thermosetting plastics (TSETPLAS)
CHAPTER B 445
Material Listing
B.2 Material Listing

This table lists all materials that are delivered with the MSC.Fatigue system and
available datasets.
Table B-2 MSC.Fatigue Material Listing (MPa)
Name E UTS Data types

150M19 2.07E5 682 E-N
2.25Cr1Mo 2.3E5 603 LEFM
2014-T6_125_HF 7.27E4 483 E-N
2014_HV_0 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
2014_HV_T4 7.17E4 410 M.S-N
2014_HV_T6 7.17E4 470 M.S-N
2017_HV_T31 7.17E4 300 C.S-N
2024-T3 7.25E4 460 LEFM
2024_HV_O 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
2024_HV_T3 7.17E4 450 M.S-N
2024_HV_T4 7.17E4 410 M.S-N
2024_HV_T851 7.17E4 410 M.S-N
2024_HV_T86 7.17E4 410 M.S-N
2219-T851 7E4 448 LEFM
2219_HV_T62 7.17E4 320 M.S-N
2219_HV_T81 7.17E4 410 M.S-N
2219_HV_T87 7.17E4 470 M.S-N
2789_370 1.628E5 436 E-N
2789_420 1.724e% 468 E-N
2789_600 1.737E5 591 E-N
2789_700 1.615E5 885 E-N
2789_800 1.62E5 890 E-N
2TA11 1.171E5 1233 E-N
3.5NCMV 2E5 1320 LEFM
446

3003_HV_H14 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
3003_HV_H16 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
3003_HV_H18 7.17E4 220 M.S-N
3004_HV_H34 7.17E4 215 M.S-N
3004_HV_H38 7.17E4 295 M.S-N
3004_HV_O 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
300M 2.07E5 1900 LEFM
316 1.9E5 590 LEFM
349S52 1.9E5 991 E-N
352S52 1.735E5 1027 E-N
5052-H32 6.96E4 231 E-N
5052_HV_H34 7.17E4 215 M.S-N
5052_HV_H38 7.17E4 295 M.S-N
5052_HV_O 7.17E4 200 M.S-N
5056_HV_CON 7.17E4 260 C.S-N
5083_114_CF 6.9E4 414
5083_87_CF 6.9E4 385 E-N
526M60 2.02E5 939 E-N
5454_NONE_CF 6.9E4 334 E-N
605M30 2E5 705 E-N
605M36 2.07E5 835 E-N
6061-T6 80 HF 7.27E4 340 E-N
6061-T6_NONE_CF 6.9E4 389 E-N
6061-T6_NONE_SHEET 6.96E4 314 E-N
6061_HV_O 7.17E4 150 M.S-N
6061_HV_T4 7.17E4 215 M.S-N
6061_HV_T6 7.17E4 305 M.S-N
CHAPTER B 447
Material Listing

7075-T6 7.09E4 558 LEFM
7075_HV_O 7.17E4 220 M.S-N
7075_HV_T6 7.17E4 570 M.S-N
709M40 2.1E5 781 E-N
7175-T73_NONE_HF 7.13E4 524 E-N
722M24 2.05E5 976 E-N
817M40 2E5 1277 E-N LEFM
826M31 2E5 1209 E-N
835M30 2E5 1550 LEFM
835M30_V 1.943E5 1034 E-N
A533B 2E5 552 LEFM
AISI1012 2E5 333 E-N
AISI1020 2E5 416 E-N
AISI_4340 2E5 1700 LEFM
alphafe 2.1E5 1700 E-N LEFM
ASTMA536 1.447E5 480 E-N
B40PK 2E5 394 E-N
B40PO 2E5 438 E-N
B50XF 2E5 486 E-N
B50XK-CR 2E5 461 E-N
B50XK-HR 2E5 450 E-N
B55XF 2E5 488 E-N
B60RO 2E5 503 E-N
B80RK 2E5 610 E-N
B80XF 2E5 645 E-N
Beryllium 2.894E5 323 E-N
bs1452-260 1.253E5 277 E-N
448

BS376_Nickel 2.068E5 366 E-N
BS4360-43A 2.07E5 486 E-N
BS4360-43C 2.07E5 478 E-N
BS4360-43D 2.07E5 490 E-N
BS4360-50D 1.914E5 480 E-N LEFM
classB 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classC 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classD 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classE 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classF 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classF2 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classG 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
classW 2.07E5 500 C.S-N
Cold_rolled_sheet 2E5 303 E-N
Copper 1.136E5 206 E-N
DP1 2E5 659 E-N
DP2 2E5 753 E-N
EIBSG1400 1.75E5 1407 E-N
EICG315 1.51E5 315 E-N
EICG400 1.5E5 404 E-N
EICG493 1.63E5 493 E-N
EN24V 1.902E5 1047 E-N
EZ33A_HV_T5 4.4E4 140 M.S-N
FeE255TM 2E5 475 E-N
FeE37D 2E5 388 E-N
FeE420TM 2E5 490 E-N
FeE52D 2E5 550 E-N
CHAPTER B 449
Material Listing

HSLA4 2E5 486 E-N
HT-30 7.1E4 355 E-N
HY130 2E5 1010 LEFM
HY80 2E5 735 LEFM
HYBRID_CASTIRON 1.51E5 296 E-N
hypress20 2E5 445 E-N
hypress29-4 2E5 544 E-N
hypress29-8 2E5 539 E-N
IMI685 1.2E5 955 LEFM
INC718 2.041E5 1304 E-N
MANTEN 2.034E5 552 E-N LEFM
MANTEN_MSN 2.034E5 600 M.S-N
MANTEN_SN 2.034E5 600 C.S-N
Mild_Steel 2E5 462 E-N
Nitro 2E5 483 E-N
Nitro-sa 2E5 648 E-N
Rephos 2E5 421 E-N
RQC100 2.034E5 863 E-N LEFM
RQC100_MSN 2.034E5 800 M.S-N
RQC100_SN 2.034E5 800 C.S-N
RQT501 2E5 590 E-N LEFM
RQT701 2E5 825 E-N LEFM
RR58 7.5E4 450 LEFM
SAE1006_85A_HR 2.07E5 318 E-N
SAE1006_85B_HR 2.07E5 318 E-N
450

SAE1006_85_HR 2.07E5 318 E-N
SAE1008_91_HR 2.07E5 363 E-N
SAE1015_80_NORM 2.07E5 415 E-N
SAE1018_106_HR 2.07E5 354 E-N
SAE1018_118_QT 2.07E5 496 E-N
SAE1018_209_QT 2.07E5 696 E-N
SAE1020_107_HR 2.07E5 441 E-N
SAE1020_108_ANLD 2.07E5 392 E-N
SAE1030_128A_HR 2.07E5 454 E-N
SAE1030_128_HR 2.07E5 454 E-N
SAE1035_169_CON 2.1E5 550 M.S-N
SAE1045_225_ANLD 2.07E5 751 E-N
SAE1045_390_QT 2.07E5 1343 E-N
SAE1045_450_QT 2.07E5 1584 E-N
SAE1045_500_QT 2.07E5 1956 E-N
SAE1045_595_QT 2.07E5 2239 E-N
SAE1045_705_QT 2.07E5 2067 E-N
SAE1045_HV_HR 2.07E5 671 E-N
SAE1050_189_CON 2.1E5 637 M.S-N
SAE1055_251_CON 2.1E5 860 M.S-N
SAE1080_371_QT 2.07E5 1298 E-N
SAE1080_410_QT 2.07E5 1432 E-N
SAE1080_421_AUST 2.07E5 1349 E-N
SAE1315_155_CON 2.1E5 530 M.S-N
SAE1522_289_HR 2.07E5 1005 E-N
SAE1522_304_HR 2.07E5 1088 E-N
SAE1541_362_QT 2.07E5 1200 E-N
CHAPTER B 451
Material Listing

SAE1561_234_HR 2.07E5 836 E-N
SAE2310_138_CON 2.1E5 480 M.S-N
SAE2335_217_CON 2.1E5 745 M.S-N
SAE30304 1.87E5 670 LEFM
SAE4130_259_QT 2.07E5 895 E-N
SAE4130_267_CON 2.1E5 912 M.S-N
SAE4130_366_QT 2.07E5 1426 E-N
SAE4142_380_QT 2.07E5 1412 E-N
SAE4142_400_QT 2.07E5 1550 E-N
SAE4142_450A_QT 2.07E5 1929 E-N
SAE4142_450_QT 2.07E5 1757 E-N
SAE4142_475A_QT 2.07E5 2032 E-N
SAE4142_475_QT 2.07E5 1929 E-N
SAE4142_560_QT 2.07E5 2239 E-N
SAE4142_670_QT 2.07E5 2446 E-N
SAE4340_242_HR 2.07E5 826 E-N
SAE4340_350A_QT 2.07E5 1171 E-N
SAE4340_350B_QT 2.07E5 1171 E-N
SAE4340_350C_QT 2.07E5 1240 E-N
SAE4340_409_QT 2.07E5 1467 E-N
SAE5160_434_QT 2.07E5 1584 E-N
SAE52100_517_H 2.07E5 2011 E-N
SAE8630_254_NORM 2.07E5 785 E-N
SAE8640_361_QT 2.07E5 1373 E-N
SAE9262_260_NORM 2.07E5 923 E-N
SAE9262_271_QT 2.07E5 999 E-N
sra_60 2E5 531 E-N
452

sra_70 2E5 570 E-N
st00 2.1E5 347 E-N
Ti-6Al-4V 1.2E5 986 LEFM
unsg10200 2E5 393 E-N
1.400... 2E5 496 Sp.Wld
1.4301_III... 1.875E5 670 Sp.Wld
1.4301_IIIC 2E5 670 Sp.Wld
1.4589 2E5 523 Sp.Wld
AlMg5Mn 7E4 300 Sp.Wld
FePo4 2E5 313 Sp.Wld
spot_nugget_generic 2.1E5 500 Sp.Wld
spot_sheet_generic 2.1E5 500 Sp.Wld
ZSTE380 2E5 484 Sp.Wld.
CHAPTER B 453
Material Listing
B.3 Alternative Names

This table lists all materials delivered with the MSC.Fatigue system and any
alternative names by which they may be known.
Table B-3 MSC.Fatigue Material Alternative Names
SAE (USA) DIN(German) W.Nr.(German) British

Steels
SAE1006_85A_HR D8-2 1.0313 040A04,En2A
SAE1006_85B_HR D8-2 1.0313 040A04,En2A
SAE1006_85_HR D8-2 1.0313 040A04,En2A
SAE1008_91_HR St13 1.0333 050A04
SAE1015_80_NORM C15 1.0401 050A15
SAE1018_106_HR - - 080A17
SAE1018_118_QT - - 080A17
SAE1018_209_QT - - 080A17
SAE1020_107_HR C22 1.0402 070M20,En3
SAE1020_108_ANLD C22 1.0402 070M20,En3
SAE1030_128A_HR - - 080A30,En5B
SAE1030_128_HR - - 080A30,En5B
SAE1035_169_CON Cm35 1.1180 060A35
SAE1045_225_ANLD Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_390_QT Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_450_QT Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_500_QT Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_595_QT Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_705_QT Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1045_HV_HR Ck45 1.1191 060A45
SAE1050_189_CON C53 1.210 060A52
SAE1055_251_CON C55 1.0535 070M55,En9
SAE1080_371_QT - - 060A81
454

SAE1080_410_QT - - 060A81
SAE1080_421_AUST - - 060A81
SAE1315_155_CON - - -
SAE1522_289_HR 20Mn5 1.1133 120M19
SAE1522_304_HR 20Mn5 1.1133 120M19
SAE1541_362_QT 36Mn5 1.1167 150M36,En15B
SAE1561_234_HR - - -
SAE2310_138_CON - - 708A30
SAE2335_217_CON - - -
SAE30304 X5CrNi18_9 1.4301 304S16,En58E
SAE4130_259_QT - - 708A30
SAE4130_366_QT - - 708A30
SAE4130_267_CON - - -
SAE4142_380_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4120_400_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4142_450A_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4142_450_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4142_475A_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4142_475_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4142_560_QT 42CrMo4 1.7225 708A42,En19C
SAE4340_HV_NONE - - -
SAE4340_242_HR 40CrNiMo6 1.6565 817M40,En24
SAE4340_350A_QT 40CrNiMo6 1.6565 817M40,En24
SAE4340_350B_QT 40CrNiMo6 1.6565 817M40,En24
SAE4340_350C_QT 40CrNiMo6 1.6565 817M40,En24
SAE4340_409_QT 40CrNiMo6 1.6565 817M40,En24
AISI4340M_HV-NONE - - -
CHAPTER B 455
Material Listing

SAE5160_434_QT 55Cr3 1.7176 527A60,En48
SAE52100_517_H 100Cr6 1.3505 539A99,En31
SAE8630_254_NORM 30NiCrMo2_2 1.6545 -
SAE8640_361_QT 40NiCrMo2_2 1.6546 -
SAE9262_260_NORM 60SiCr7 1.7108 -
SAE9262_271_QT 60SiCr7 1.7108 -
- - - 835M30,En30B
- St52 - BS4360-50D
ASTM A542 Class 2,3 2.25Cr1Mo - -
- 3.5NiCrMoV - -
316_S/S - - -
A553B - - -
HY80 - - -
HY130 - - -
MANTEN - - -
MANTEN_SN - - -
NAMTEN_MSN - - -
RQC100 - - -
RQC100_SN - - -
RQC100_MSN - - -
RQT501 - - -
RQT701 - - -
Aluminum Alloys and Other Light Alloys

2025_T3 - - -
2219_T851 - - -
5056_HV_CON Al_Mg5 3.3555 -
456

2014-T6_125_HF - - -
6061-T6_80_HF - - -
5052-H32 - - -
6061-T6_NONE_SHEET - - -
6061-T6-NONE_CF - - -
2014_HV_O Al_Cu4_Si_Mg 3.1255 -
2014_HV_T4 Al_Cu4_Si_Mg 3.1255 -
2014_HV_T6 Al_Cu4_Si_Mg 3.1255 -
2017_HV_T31 Al_Cu4_Si_Mg 3.1355 -
2024_HV_O Al_Cu_Mg2 3.1355 -
2024_HV_T3 Al_Cu_Mg2 3.1355 -
2024_HV_T851 Al_Cu_Mg2 3.1355 -
2024_HV_T4 Al_Cu_Mg2 3.1355 -
2024_HV_T86 Al_Cu_Mg2 3.1355 -
2219_HV_T87 - - -
2219_HV_T81 - - -
2219_HV_T62 - - -
3003_HV_H18 - - -
3003_HV_H16 - - -
3003_HV_H14 - - -
3004_HV_H38 - - -
3004_HV_H34 - - -
3004_HV_O - - -
5052_HV_H38 - - -
5052_HV_H34 - - -
5052_HV_O - - -
5083_114_CF - - -
CHAPTER B 457
Material Listing

5083_87_CF - - -
5454_NONE_CF - - -
6061_HV_O - - -
6061_HV_T4 - - -
6061_HV_T6 - - -
7075_HV_O Al_Zn_Mg_Cu - -
1.5
7075_HV_T6 Al_Zn_Mg_Cu - -
1.5
7175-T73_NONE_HF - - -
HT30 - - -
RR58 - - -
EZ33A_HV_T5 - - -
TI-6Al-4V - - -
IMI685 - - -
Weld Geometries
BSB5400:CLASS B
BSB5400:CLASS C
BSB5400:CLASS D
BSB5400:CLASS E
BSB5400:CLASS F
BSB5400:CLASS F2
BSB5400:CLASS G
BSB5400:CLASS W
458
APPENDIX
Support
C
■ Where to Get Help
■ Technical Support Centers
■ MSC Offices
460
C.1 Where to Get Help

If you have a question about MSC.Fatigue, try finding the solution in our online help.
It’s easy to find with our context-sensitive and topical help system. Once in the help
system, you can find any related topic using the hypertext (indicated by red-colored
text); or you can access any document in the system using the Navigation Menu,
which appears at the top of every page.
The on-line help system consists of a large group of view-only documents containing
hypertext commands that link MSC.Fatigue to the help system, and link the
documents to each other to display related information. These hypertext documents
allow you to explore information nonsequentially, using the paths provided via
hypertext. The hypertext is indicated with red-colored text. This system was designed
to make it easy to obtain quick-access to the documentation while using MSC.Fatigue.
Accessing Help from a Form

If you need help interpreting the buttons on a form or figuring out which step to take
first, move the cursor onto the form and press the F1 key. The help system will display
the appropriate page of the on-line help, describing the form and indicating what you
need to do to continue.The F1 key works in MSC.Fatigue Pre&Post. Other
MSC.Fatigue modules also have on-line help which is accessed by pressing the help
button on the form or from a pulldown menu. Some of these use Adobe Acrobat PDF
files.
CHAPTER C 461
Support
C.2 Technical Support Centers

If your questions cannot be answered in the extensive on-line help system, please call
the technical support center nearest you. We are ready to help you. To better answer
your questions, we request that you provide us with the information outlined in
Preparing to Call the Hotline (p. 462).
Contact Support Services using any of the following options.
Telephone and Fax:

United States Surrey, England
Phone: (800) 732-7284 Phone: +44 (1276) 601911
FAX: +44 (1276) 601909
Munich, Germany Tokyo, Japan

Phone: +49 (89) 43 19 87-277 Phone: +81 (3) 3505 02 66
FAX: +420 (5) 4517 6107 FAX: +81 (3) 3505 09 14
Rome, Italy Toulouse, France

Phone: +39 06 52. 79.931 Phone: +33 (5) 34 60 44 80
FAX: +39 06 52. 27.32.32 FAX: +33 (5) 34 60 46 81
Moscow, Russia Gouda, The Netherlands

Phone: +7095 -236 -61 -77 Phone: +31 (18) 2543700
FAX: +7095 -232 -3575 FAX: +31 (18) 2543707
Madrid, Spain
Phone: +34 -915 -560919
FAX: +34 -915 -567280
Email:
mscfatigue.support@mscsoftware.com
World Wide Web:

www.mechsolutions.com, and click on Support
In addition to our technical support centers, MSC has developed a broad network of
local offices, staffed by a knowledgeable team, who can provide product assistance of
any kind. For the location of the office nearest you, call (800) 732-7284 or refer to the
MSC Offices.
462
Preparing to Call the Hotline

When you call the Support Hotline (1-800-732-7284), the phone will be answered by
an auto-attendant.
If you have previously called the Support Hotline, you may have been assigned a PIN
number. Please have it handy. If you have an open log with a support engineer, please
have the Log ID number available also.
If this is your first time contacting Support, you will be assigned a PIN number. Please
be prepared to provide the following information:
Name Category of call

Phone number System information
Fax number Manufacturer (Sun, SGI, IBM, HP, NT,
E-mail address etc.)
Company name and address Model or chip (e.g., r10000 for SGI)
Name of product you are using OS Version (Solaris 2.5, IRIX 6.2, AIX...)
Version number of the product Graphics board (for graphics problems)
RAM (for hardware problems)
Available disk space (for hardware
problems)
Description of the problem
If all engineers are busy, you will have the option of waiting on hold for the next
available engineer, or you may leave a message for a callback from an engineer. We
recommend that you wait on hold whenever possible.
CHAPTER C 463
Support
C.3 MSC Offices

MSC.Software Corporation is the industry leader for engineering analysis solutions.
For more detailed information on any of our advanced analysis programs, contact
your local MSC representative.
MSC.Fatigue Support North America Corporate

2 MacArthur Place MSC.Software Corporation
Santa Ana, CA 92707 2 MacArthur Place
(800) 732-7284 Santa Ana, CA 92707 USA
Telephone: (800) 345-2078
Fax: (714) 784-4056
Email
mscfatigue.support@mscsoftware.com
Europe
MSC.Software GmbH
Am Moosfeld 13
81829 Munich, Germany
Telephone: (49) (89) 43 19 87 0
Fax: (49) (89) 43 61 71 6
Asia Pacific
MSC.Software Japan Ltd.
Shinjuku First West 8F
23-7 Nishi Shinjuku
1-Chome, Shinjuku-Ku
Tokyo 160-0023, JAPAN
Telephone: (81) (3)-6911-1200
Fax: (81) (3)-6911-1201
Worldwide Web
www.mscsoftware.com
464
I N D E X
I N D E X
MSC.Fatigue
QuickStart
A C
Guide ABAQUS results file import, 11 calculate normals, 179
add load signals, 370 changing colors, 392
addition, 360 colors, 392
advanced fatigue analysis and display, 377 compliance, 21, 121, 170, 422, 423
advanced loading manipulation, 360 compliance function library, 122
alternative material names, 453 component S-N, 62
amplitude, 422 component S-N curve, 66, 423
amplitude distribution analysis, 371 correlated loading, 306
analysis modules, 21 correlation techniques, 275
angle distribution, 195 CPU times, 186
angle spread, 193, 318 crack growth, 8, 423
ANSYS results file import, 12 crack growth analysis, 120, 151, 169
arithmetic manipulation, 360 crack growth data analysis, 384
ASCII to binary conversion, 394 crack growth rate, 128, 426
assumptions, 2, 304 crack initiation, 3, 8, 423
August Woehler, 422 crack initiation analysis, 82, 104, 149, 174, 378
auto spectral density, 372 crack lengths, 130
averaging, 407 crack propagation rectangle, 133
critical location analysis, 378
critical location identification, 409
B critical plane analysis, 200, 424
band pass filter, 374 cross correlation terms, 374
batch entry, 69 cross platform file conversion, 396
batch operations, 80 cross plots, 193
Baushinger effect, 430 cross-correlation terms, 306
beta-solution, 121, 422 customer support, 460
biaxiality analysis, 181, 190 cut and paste signals, 369
biaxiality indicators, 192 cycle by cycle growth, 132
biaxiality plots, 194 cycle counting, 32, 46, 85, 96, 424
biaxiality ratio, 191, 192, 422 cycles and damage analysis, 379
broad band, 422 cycles file lister, 380
Butterworth filtration, 374 cyclic hardening, 90, 425
cyclic material properties, 4, 424
cyclic softening, 90, 425
cyclic stress-strain curve, 88
466 INDEX
D filters, 373, 374

finite element methods, 5
da/dN curve, 128, 171, 426 finite element results, 29
DAC to RPC translation, 395 finite element results import, 9
damage, 426 five box trick, 4
damage histograms, 167 formula processor, 367
damage summation, 46, 52, 426 Fourier analysis, 428
damage tolerant, 6, 426 fracture, 3, 120, 151, 169, 428
data management, 21 fracture mechanics triangle, 122, 429
definitions, 3 frequency domain, 286, 429
design optimization, 77, 112, 315 frequency domain life estimation, 290
design philosophies, 6, 142 frequency resolution, 314
deterministic, 427 frequency response analysis, 306, 374
divide load signals, 370 frequency response FE analysis, 288, 292
division, 360
durability, 3, 427
G
E gauge definition file, 264
gauge group, 264
elastic, 427 gauge tool, 261
elastic-plastic correction, 96, 427 Gaussian, 304, 429
element centroidal calculations, 406 geometry information, 4
Endo, 52 Gerber mean stress, 429
endurance limit, 148, 427 glossary, 422
environments, 128 Goodman mean stress, 429
executables, 21 graphic colors, 392
external results files, 18 graphical display, 22, 36
extract response PSD, 317 graphical picking, 161
extract time history, 408 groups, 87, 145, 161, 171, 177
F H
factor-of-safety analysis, 146 header/footer manipulation, 376
fail safe, 6, 428 help, 460
failure criterion, 82, 427 high cycle fatigue, 93, 113, 430
fast analysis, 53, 186 high pass filter, 374
fast Fourier filtering, 373 histogram import, 410
fast fourier transform, 288 histogram matrix, 54
fatigue, 3, 428 histogram plots, 167
fatigue concentration factor, 428 Hoffman-Seeger, 197
fatigue equivalent units, 71, 116, 431 hotline, 462
fatigue limit, 428 hysteresis, 430
file conversion, 23
file import, 29
file translation utilities, 394
files, 43, 139
INDEX 467
I material information, 4
material listing, 445
I-DEAS Master Series universal file import, material names, 453
19 material parameter, 197
import histogram, 410 material scatter, 57
input load PSDs, 300, 306 material S-N curve, 432
interpolate crack sizes, 134 material tests, 91
introduction, 2 material types, 442
inverse Fourier transform, 288, 430 materials database, 35
irregularity factor, 431 Matsuishi, 52
mean stress, 432
mean stress correction, 38, 46, 57, 112, 432
J Miner’s constant, 432
job submittal, 39 Miner’s rule, 426
modal analysis, 321
modal superposition, 417
K modules, 21
k-solution, 121, 422, 431 monotonic material properties, 4, 67, 433
Morrow mean stress, 113, 433
MSC offices, 463
L MSC.Nastran model import, 10
LEFM, 120 MSC.Nastran results import, 9
life, 431 MSC.Patran Advanced FEA file import, 11
life contour plots, 40, 76 MSC.Patran FEA result file access/import,
life estimation process, 7 20
life prediction methods, 5 multiaxial assessment, 174, 190
linear elastic fracture mechanics, 120, 431 multiaxial fatigue analysis, 383
linear superposition, 165 multiaxial fatigue analyzer, 281
load histories, 32 multiaxial loading, 191
load manipulation, 22 multiaxial stress state, 433
loading database, 32, 48 multiaxiality, 196
loading information, 4 multi-channel creator/editor, 361
load-strain relation, 7 multi-file cut and paste, 369
local strain, 3 multi-file display, 163, 184
local strain analysis, 82, 104, 174 multi-file manipulation, 370
local strain method, 431 multiple loads, 158, 174, 305
low cycle fatigue, 93, 113, 432 multiplication, 360
low pass filter, 374 multiply load signals, 370
M N
MARC results file import, 12 narrow band signal, 433
marker plots, 204, 215 Neuber’s rule, 97, 433
Masing’s hypothesis, 97 nitriding, 115
material cut-off, 148, 432 non-linear static FE analysis, 105
468 INDEX
non-proportional loading, 191, 197

notch correction, 7, 97, 100, 434
S
notches, 130 safe life, 6, 437
sample rate, 32, 437
sensitivity analysis, 41, 78, 168, 217
O sequence effects, 132, 381
shot peening, 116
offices, 463
optimization, 41, 136 signal reconstruction, 394
signal statistics, 276
output a response PSD, 317
OUTPUT2 file import, 9 S-N analysis, 28, 46, 62, 144, 160, 377
S-N curve, 439
S-N method, 3
P software strain gauges, 260, 274
spot weld analysis, 203
Palmgren-Miner rule, 52 spot weld definitions, 204
Paris equation, 434
spot weld S-N curves, 208
PATRAN neutral and results file import, 13 static analysis, 30
peak-valley slicing, 187
static FE results, 416
plasticity, 434 stationarity check, 317, 328
plotting signals, 49
stationary, 304
polar plots, 199, 216 statistical analysis of signals, 376
power spectral density (PSD), 434
strain hardening, 90, 438
power spectrum, 288 strain softening, 90, 438
principal stress axis, 193, 318
strain-life, 3
probabilistic nature of fatigue, 57 strain-life analysis, 82, 104, 149, 174
probability density function (PDF), 435
strain-life curve, 92, 438
proportional loading, 191, 197 strain-life relation, 7
PSD matrix file, 307
stress concentration, 428, 437
stress concentration library, 385
R stress intensity, 438
stress range, 436
rainflow cycle counting, 46, 52, 96, 435 stress results, 30
random, 304 stress vs. strain, 100
random vibration, 286, 436 stress-life, 3
random vibration FE analysis, 330 stress-life analysis, 144, 160
range, 436 stress-life curve, 439
reference location, 66, 145, 436 stress-life vs. strain-life, 94
regions, 87 stress-strain curve, 88
regression analysis, 38, 436 stress-strain tracking, 97
residual stress, 104, 110, 117, 436 STW mean stress, 113, 439
response PSDs, 317, 325, 330 subtract load signals, 370
result listings, 41 subtraction, 360
results extraction, 266 superposition of loads, 165
results tabular listing, 77 surface conditions, 88, 115
root mean square (rms), 437 surface nodes, 177
rosette analysis, 277 surface resolved stress, 178, 439
r-ratio, 435
INDEX 469
T
tabular result listing, 216
technical support, 461
time correlated damage analysis, 381
total life, 3, 8, 439
total life analysis, 28, 46, 62, 144, 160
transfer function, 325, 440
transient FE analysis, 320
transient FE results, 413
U
uncorrelated loading, 306
uniaxial fatigue analyzer, 280
uniaxial loading, 191
uniaxial stress, 440
units, 183
universal file import, 19
using strains, 100
utilities, 23, 356
V
vibration fatigue analysis, 292, 320, 382
W
waterfall plots, 396
welds, 144
what if analysis, 41
white noise, 440
wide band, 440
X
XDB file import, 10
Y
Young’s modulus, 100
470 INDEX

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MSC.

MSC.Fatigue QuickStart Guide

■ When to Use Which Method?, 8

■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 31

■ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 39

■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 47

■ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 52

■ Review the Results, 54

■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 65

■ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 75

■ Set Up the Fatigue Analysis, 84

■ Run the Fatigue Analysis, 96

■ Review the Results, 98

■ Concluding Remarks, 100

■ Set Up First Fatigue Analysis, 107

■ Set Up Second Fatigue Analysis, 110

■ Set Up the Fracture Analysis, 125

■ Run the Fracture Analysis, 132

■ Review the Results, 134

■ Concluding Remarks, 138

■ S-N Analysis of Lug Weld, 144

■ e-N Analysis of Lug, 149

■ Concluding Remarks, 155

■ S-N Analysis of Engine Mounting Lug, 160

■ Crack Growth Analysis of Engine Lug, 169

■ Determine the Critical Location, 180

■ Concluding Remarks, 197

■ Geometry and FE Results, 204

■ Problem Description for Spot Weld Analysis with Spot Welds

■ Problem Description for Spot Weld Analysis with Spot Welds

■ Concluding Remarks, 228

■ Geometry and FE Results, 230

■ Concluding Remarks, 240

■ Fatigue Analysis and Results, 251

■ Concluding Remarks, 257

■ Geometry and FE Results, 261

■ Time History Extraction, 268

■ Correlation Techniques, 275

■ Concluding Remarks, 284

■ Pseudo-Static vs. PSD Approach, 292

■ Dynamic Transient vs. PSD Approach, 320

■ Random Vibration FE Results, 330

■ Multiple Mean Stress Curve Support, 342

■ Material Management, 359

■ Advanced Loading Utilities, 360

■ Advanced Fatigue Utilities, 377

■ File Conversion Utilities, 394

■ Other Utilities, 397

■ Modal Superposition, 417

■ Technical Support Centers, 461

■ MSC Offices, 463

1.1 Purpose of Guide

Note: Throughout this manual, when a new term or concept is introduced or

The Fatigue “Five-Box Trick”

Life Prediction Methods

Life Prediction Methods versus FE Analysis Results

Life Estimation Process

The Life Estimation Process

Loading Load-Strain Stresses Strain-Life

Linear Elastic FE Damage

1.3 When to Use Which Method?

1.4 Different Methods of FE Import

MSC.Nastran FE Model and Results