FATIGUE

INTRODUCTION
Engineering components are normally subjected to loads of varying amplitude e.g shafts gears
piston rods e.t.c. The loads may be sufficiently severe to make fatigue resistance a primary
design criterion. Under fluctuating loads, parts fail at stresses much lower than the normal yield
stress. In effect, fatigue accounts for approximately 90% of all service failures.

σa – Alternating stress σr - Stress range

σmax

0
time
σmin

Idealised sinusoidal variation (completely reversed – as in rotating shafts)

σmax

σmin
time

Step-wise variation

σa – Alternating stress
σmax σmax - Stress range

σmean
time

σmin

Repeated stress cycle

1
 time

Random Variation e.g wing of an aircraft

Fatigue fracture surfaces are usually flat and perpendicular to the principal stress. Fatigue life
consists of both crack initiation and propagation stages though an exact definition of the
transition from initiation to propagation is usually not possible. It can be said however, that
crack initiation and micro-crack growth generally account for most of the life, especially in the
low stress long life regime.

Crack Initiation

No Necking

Final Fracture Crack Growth or

(Rough) propagation
(Smooth)

You may compare this type of failure with that arising from tensile loading:- Failure by tensile
occurs at 45o to the principal stress

2
 45o
Cup

Cone

A fatigue cycle has two components namely:-

An alternating stress σa
A mean stress σmean or σm

σa – Alternating stress
σmax σmax - Stress range

σmean
time
σmin

σ range( r ) = σ max − σ min

σr σ max − σ min
σa = =
2 2

σ max + σ min
σ mean =
2

σ min
R = Stress Ratio =
σ max