Lecture 17 : Fatigue of metals

Fatigue

Fatigue failures are often easy to identify. The fracture surface—particularly near the origin—is typically smooth. The
surface becomes rougher as the original crack increases in size and may be fibrous during final crack propagation.
Cyclic & Fluctuating loading
 Fatigue Stress cycles

σfs = Desired fatigue strength

for a zero mean stress; σa is
the feasible stress amplitude.

As the mean stress increases, the stress amplitude must decrease in order for the
material to withstand the applied stresses (Goodman relationship as above)
 Rotating bending fatigue

Low cycle fatigue involving plastic strains

No. of cycles bet 104 to 105

High Cycle

About half the samples failed at stress levels 25% below those indicated by the
S-N curve. Hence Probability based S-N Curves.
S-N curves reported in literature give average values
Probability of failure S-N Curves

Crack initiation
Crack propagation
Final fracture

Fatigue
striations in Al
Crack nucleation sites include surface scratches,
sharp fillets, keyways, threads, dents etc.

Cyclic loading can produce microscopic surface

discontinuities resulting from dislocation slip
steps that may also act as stress raisers, and
therefore as crack initiation sites.

The region of a fracture surface that formed

during the crack propagation step
may be characterized by two types of markings
termed beachmarks and striations
 Fatigue crack nucleation and propagation
In most situations Maximum stress occurs on
its surface.
Most cracks leading to fatigue failure originate
at surface positions, specifically at stress raisers
Fatigue life is especially sensitive to the condition
and configuration of the component surface.
During machining operations, small scratches and
grooves are invariably introduced into the
workpiece surface by the cutting tool action.

Crack formed at the top edge. The smooth

region also near the top corresponds to the
area over which the crack propagated slowly.
Rapid failure occurred over the area having a
dull and fibrous texture (the largest area).
Magnification = 5X
Factors affecting fatigue life

Imposing residual compressive

stresses within a thin outer Environmental Fatigue
surface layer damage

1. Thermal fatigue
Case Carburising 2. Corrosion fatigue
/Nitriding /surface
hardening resists
crack initiation
Case Study : Fatigue Fracture of the Compressor Blade of an
Aero Engine

Convex surface Concave Surface

High Pressure Compressor Rotor (HPCR) blades

 Conditions of failure

• After 12.2 hrs of running

• RPM 103% of the RPM of high pressure spool
• Material : BT6 Ti based alloy
No mechanical stress raisers
 Fractography of fracture surfaces

Dimpled rupture in the final

Fatigue striations in the progressive crack
fracture zone
propagation zone

Tight shallow crack on convex Magnified view of the crack

surface in the vicinity of the crack
origin
 Cumulative fatigue Damage
ni is the number of cycles accumulated at stress Si.
Miner’s rule C is the fraction of life consumed by exposure to the
cycles at the different stress levels. In general, when the
damage fraction reaches 1, failure occurs.

Assuming Critical damage to be same across all stress levels

C represents the proportion of the

cumulative damage to the critical value.
So when C = 1, failure occurs. Ni
represents the number of cycles to
failure at stress Si
 Cumulative Damage and Residual life

Stress Amplitude Cycles until failure Actual no. of cycles fraction of life consumed
1000 10000 5000 0.5
800 50000 6000 0.12
600 300000 10000 0.033333333
400 10000000 100000 0.01
Total life consumed 0.663333333

Find the residual life at a stress of 900 Mpa

Max no. of cycles at 900 Mpa 40000
No. of cycles possible at 900 MPa 13466.66667

If Critical damage is same across all Stress levels

Ni x Si ni x Si
10000000 5000000
40000000 4800000
180000000 6000000
4000000000 40000000
Total NiXSi 4230000000 55800000 Total nixSi
Total life Consumed 0.013191

Addl NixSi 36000000

Total NixSi 4266000000
Total nixSi 4209725106
Addl nixSi 4153925106
ni at 900 Mpa 4615472.34
Residual life at 900
Mpa 4615472.34 cycles
Importance of fracture toughness
Plane strain fracture toughness
Crack growth rate
For this steel, C = 1.62 x 10-12 and
n = 3.2 for the units shown.
 Homework
• A high-strength steel plate which has a plane strain fracture toughness of 80 MPam0.5, is alternately loaded in
tension to 500 MPa and in compression to 60 MPa. The plate is to survive for 10 years, with the stress being
applied at a frequency of once every 5 minutes. Design a manufacturing and testing procedure that assures
that the component will serve as intended.
 Summary
• Fatigue damage is always cumulative. It cannot
be reversed in any case.
• Fatigue damage can occur despite no obvious
mechanical stress raisers.
• Low cycle fatigue involves plastic deformation
due to higher stress levels while High cycle
fatigue involves elastic deformation only and
therefore operates below the yield strength of
the material fo larger number of cycles (usually
107 ).
Thanks.