Stress Ratios

• Case (e): T-T loading - Both stress components

have same sign => +ve
 min
 min   max  R  1
 max
• Five variables

 max ,  min ,  a ,  m , R

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Out of five variables, only two independent, any two
variables can be selected for fatigue characterization.

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Fatigue Life
• Fatigue life - total number of cycles or time to
– induce fatigue damage and
– fatigue damage propagation - leads to final failure
• Fatigue life depends on
– Stress range/amplitude
– Mean stress Main focus

– Environment

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– Geometry, surface finish, loading type etc…

2
S-N Curve
• Schematic of S-N curve
u R = Const.
Stress amplitude

Low cycle High cycle

Intermediate
cycle

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103 106 N (log)
Typical S-N curves are plotted between stress amplitude on
y-axis and number cycles to failure (in log scale) on x-axis
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S-N Curve
• S-N curve drawn for a fixed stress ratio
– Stress amplitude and R known => complete cycle
of loading known
• In generation of S-N curve - select stresses
(max. and min.) to have fixed R value
– Mean stress and amplitude change accordingly
– Apply loads till it fails - cycles to failure (N)

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• No fatigue load => zero number of cycles,
curve intersects amplitude axis at u

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S-N Curve
• Identification of three different regions in S-N
curve
• Low cycle fatigue - typically up to N < 1103 cycles
• Intermediate cycle fatigue - 103 < N < 106
• High cycle fatigue - N > 106
• HCF consumes more time in testing compared to
other two regions

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• Sometimes, intermediate region discarded, if it
spans small range - only LC and HC regions shown

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S-N Curve
• Endurance strength - characterizes applied
stress amplitude below which material has
infinite fatigue life
• FRPs - LCF and intermediate distinguishable
– Endurance/fatigue limit may not always appear
clearly in FRPs
– Ten million cycles (107) considered as endurance

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strength
• Endurance strength in metals 35%-50% of UTS

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S-N Curve
• Composites - endurance strength 50%-60% of
UTS
• S-N curve - presents fatigue life data - used in
fatigue based design of FRPs
• In S-N curve
– x-axis represents log or ln of N
– y-axis => S => stress amplitude/max. stress/strain

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• S-N generation - multiple stress levels and
multiple specimens at a given stress level to be
tested due to scatter
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Fatigue Life
• There are two approaches in fatigue life
estimation
– Stress-life approach
– Strain-life approach
• Stress-life approach - contribution from
August Wohler

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 S-N CURVE MODELS

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Classification
• Classification of S-N curves
– Empirically fitted S-N curve - describe relation
between experimental data variables - for ex. max.
stress and cycles to failure
• Generated for a particular stress ratio, R
• Several expressions for fitting through experimental
data - regression analysis technique
– Master S-N curves

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• Can be used to extrapolate S-N curve to other stress
ratios
• Constant Life Diagrams (CLD)

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