Research into Applicability of Wöhler Curve Method for Low-Cycle Fatigue of Metallic Materials

Recently,a description on a practicability of the Wöhler Curve Method for low-cycle fatigue of metals was given by the author.By the description and the low cycle fatigue test data of 16 MnR steel,it is important to show that,for low cycle fatigue of metals,such a way that a stress-based intensity parameter calculated by the linear-elastic analysis is taken to be a stress intensity parameter,S,to establish a relationship between the stress intensity parameter,S,and the fatigue life,N,is practicable.In this paper,many metallic materials from the literature are given to show that the Wöhler Curve Method is well suitable for low-cycle fatigue analysis of metals.

Analysis Approach to Durability Based on Material Initial Fatigue Quality and S-N Curve

Based on probabilistic fracture mechanics approach, a new concept of material initial fatigue quality （MIFQ） is developed. Then, the relation between S-N curve and crack propagation curve is studied. From the study, a new durability analysis method is presented. In this method, S-N curve is used to determine crack growth rate under constant amplitude loading and evaluate the effects of different factors on durability and then the structural durability is analyzed. The tests and analyses indicate that this method has lower dependence on testing, and higher accuracy, reliability and generality and is convenient for application.

Combine S-N curve and fracture mechanics for fatigue life analysis of welded structures

Based on the evolution of fatigue cracks in welded structures,the fatigue life of welded structures was defined as the sum of the crack initiation life Ni and the crack propagation life Np.Correspondingly,a fatigue-life analysis method combining S-N curves and fracture mechanics theory was proposed.The equivalent structural stress method and the lower 99%boundary of the master S-N curve were used to evaluate Ni,and cracks at the end of the initiation stage were considered as semi-elliptical surface cracks.Moreover,Paris equation and the stress intensity factor range of the cracks were used to evaluate Np.Furthermore,the fatigue test results obtained from the running girder of cranes were used as a reference for comparison and verification of the results.The results revealed that the equivalent structural stress is a good indicator for the crack initiation behavior of complex welded structures.In addition,the predicted fatigue life corresponded closely to the testing life.

Reconstruction of probabilistic S-N curves under fatigue life following lognormal distribution with given confidence

When the historic probabilistic S-N curves are given under special survival probability and confidence levels and there is no possible to re-test, fatigue reliability analysis at other levels can not be done except for the special levels. Therefore, the wide applied curves are expected. Monte Carlo reconstruction methods of the test data and the curves are investigated under fatigue life following lognormal distribution. To overcome the non-conservative assessment of existent man-made enlarging the sample size up to thousands, a simulation policy is employed to address the true production where the sample size is controlled less than 20 for material specimens, 10 for structural component specimens and the errors matching the statistical parameters are less than 5 percent. Availability and feasibility of the present methods have been indicated by the reconstruction practice of the test data and curves for 60Si2Mn high strength spring steel of railway industry.

Hardness-Based Non-destructive Method for Developing Location Specific S-N Curves for Fatigue Life Evaluation

This paper first describes the importance of using location specific S-N curves for fatigue damage assessment of existing steel structures. It discusses the existing concepts and methods for developing S-N curves using empirical formulae and monotonic strength parameters, such as the ultimate tensile strength and hardness. It also discusses relationships among these monotonic parameters. Then it presents formulae for developing hardness-based full range S-N curves for medium strength steels. The formulae are verified using experimental data obtained from both monotonic and cyclic testing. Finally, it describes the advantages of these hardness-based formulae for developing location specific S-N curves as hardness testing is a non-destructive test which can be carried out on specific locations in structures.

Research on Fatigue Curves for Pre-corroded Aircraft Structures

To quantitatively evaluate the effects of corrosion during grounding onfatigue life of aircraft structures, a new power equation is proposed using two-variable linearregression method. That the slope is a constant and the logarithmic intercept is a linear functionof pre-corrosion time makes this equation advantageous: it has a simple form, its parameters haveunambiguous technical and geometrical meanings, and it facilitates engineering applications.Three-parameter equations after pre-corrosion are obtained from back-calculation of fatigue limits,which have been successfully used to predict safe life of aircraft structures in corrosiveenvironment.

Structural Stress-Fatigue Life Curve Improvement of Spot Welding Based on Quasi‑Newton Method

ΔF-N curves are usually used to predict the fatigue life of spot welding in engineering,but they are time-consuming and laborious and not universal.For the purpose of predicting the fatigue life of spot welding accurately and efficiently,tensile-shear fatigue tests were conducted to obtain the fatigue life of spot-welded specimens with different sheet thicknesses combinations.These specimens were simulated by using the finite element method,and the structural stress was theoretically calculated.In the double logarithmic coordinate system,the structural stress-fatigue life(S-N)curve of spot welding was fitted by the least-squares method,based on the quasi-Newton method.The square of the correlation coefficient of the S-N curve was taken as the optimization objective,with the correction coefficients of force,bending moment,spot welding diameter,and sheet thickness as the variables.During the optimization process,three different ways were utilized to get three optimized spot welding S-N curves,which are suitable for different situations.The results show that the fitting effect of the S-N curve is improved,the data points are more compact,and the optimization effect is significant.These S-N curves can be used to predict the fatigue life,which provide the basis for practical engineering application.

GENERALIZED FATIGUE CONSTANT LIFE CURVE AND TWO-DIMENSIONAL PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION OF FATIGUE LIMIT

According to the traditional fatigue constant life curve, the concept and the universal expression of the generalized fatigue constant life curve were proposed. Then, on the basis of the optimization method of the correlation coefficient, the parameter estimation formulas were induced and the generalized fatigue constant life curve with the reliability level p was given. From P-S-a-S-m curve, the two-dimensional probability distribution of the fatigue limit was derived. After then, three se, of tests of LY11 CZ corresponding to the different average stress were carried out in terms of the two-dimensional up-down method. Finally, the methods are used to analyze the test results, and it is found that the analyzed results with the high precision may be obtained.

WEIGHTED LEAST SQUARE METHOD FOR S-N CURVE FITTING

An S-N curve fitting approach is proposed based on the weighted least square method, and the weights are inversely proportional to the length of mean confidence intervals of experimental data sets. The assumption coincides with the physical characteristics of the fatigue life scatter. Two examples demonstrate the method. It is shown that the method has better accuracy and reasonableness compared with the usual least square method.

Study on Prediction Method of Structural Three-parameter Power Function P-S-N Curve

This paper applies weighted least square method to estimate the three-parameter power function equation of the fatigue life curve, and uses comprehensive fatigue life coefficient to correct the equation, and at the same time combines probability statistics method to bring out the prediction method of structure＇s three- parameter power function P-S-N curve, finally applies the prediction method to a ship＇s frame-type elevate, based on the fatigue test data of it＇s material-SA06 aluminium alloy, to obtain it＇s structure＇s three-parameter power function P-S-N curve. Compared with the conventional least square method, the presented method can give

A Model of the Fatigue Life Distribution of Composite Laminates Based on Their Static Strength Distribution

The reasons of the static strength dispersion and the fatigue life dispersion of composite laminates are analyzed in this article. It is concluded that the inner original defects, which derived from the manufacturing process of composite laminates, are the common and major reason of causing the random distributions of the static strength and the fatigue life. And there is a correlative relation between the two distributions. With the study of statistical relationship between the fatigue loading and the fatigue life in the uniform confidence level and the same survival rate S-N curves of material, the relationship between the static strength distribution and the fatigue life distribution through a material S-N curve model has been obtained. And then the model which is used to describe the distributions of fatigue life of composites, based on their distributions of static strength, is set up. This model reasonably reflects the effects of the inner original defects on the static strength dispersion and on the fatigue life dispersion of composite laminates. The experimental data of three kinds of composite laminates are employed to verify this model, and the results show that this model can predict the random distributions of fatigue life for composites under any fatigue loads fairly well.

基于MSC Fatigue的脉动真空灭菌器疲劳分析

针对某些脉动真空灭菌器在未达到使用寿命时内壁就出现裂纹的问题,应用MSC Patran建立其有限元模型,调用MSC Nastran进行应力分析,然后应用MSC Fatigue软件进行疲劳分析.将所得寿命分析结果与实际工程使用情况比较,发现疲劳不是脉动真空灭菌器内壁产生裂纹的主要原因.

基于MSC.Fatigue的电子设备随机振动疲劳分析

针对机载电子设备随机振动问题,研究利用数字仿真技术预测结构随机振动疲劳寿命的方法。以某机载电子设备结构为研究对象,根据随机振动理论和有限单元法,采用MSC.Fatigue软件进行随机振动疲劳分析,计算疲劳寿命大小及分布。通过把计算结果与试验结果进行对比,证明利用随机振动疲劳分析方法预测此类产品的疲劳寿命是可行的。

Vibration Fatigue Probabilistic Life Prediction Model and Method for Blade

Vibration fatigue is one of the main failure modes of blade.The vibration fatigue life of blade is scattered caused by manufacture error,material property dispersion and external excitation randomness.A new vibration fatigue probabilistic life prediction model(VFPLPM)and a prediction method are proposed in this paper.Firstly,as one-dimensional volumetric method(ODVM)only considers the principle calculation direction,a three-dimensional space vector volumetric method(TSVVM)is proposed to improve fatigue life prediction accuracy for actual threedimensional engineering structure.Secondly,based on the two volumetric methods(ODVM and TSVVM),the material C-P-S-N fatigue curve model(CFCM)and the maximum entropy quantile function model(MEQFM),VFPLPM is established to predict the vibration fatigue probabilistic life of blade.The VFPLPM is combined with maximum stress method(MSM),ODVM and TSVVM to estimate vibration fatigue probabilistic life of blade simulator by finite element simulation,and is verified by vibration fatigue test.The results show that all of the three methods can predict the vibration fatigue probabilistic life of blade simulator well.VFPLPM &TSVVM method has the highest computational accuracy for considering stress gradient effect not only in the principle calculation direction but also in other space vector directions.

疲劳分析软件MSC Fatigue的工程应用

为实现交叉杆的疲劳寿命预测,应用实测载荷和材料数据,进行有限元的应力分析,采用名义应力法,基于MSC Fatigue进行交叉杆的疲劳寿命预测,与交叉杆的实际使用寿命较为吻合.表明基于虚拟疲劳设计软件的疲劳设计方法合理可行,为交叉杆的结构优化设计和疲劳寿命预测提供参考.

RELIABILITY OF AEROCRAFT GEAR FATIGUE STRENGTH

With the method of group test, fourty pairs of carburization-quenching gears made from 16NCD13 steel for aerocraft were tested to research the contacting fatigue strength on tooth flank. As a result, the samples of fatigue life at the moments when the pitting appears and reaches failure criterion were obtained at four stressing levels respectively. The distribution rule of fatigue life were distinguished, and the distribution parameters were estimated by statistical analysis. Based on that, the R-S-N curves with confidence 95% of contacting fatigue on gear tooth flank were evaluated. Therefore, the basic data were provided for the reliability design of the gears and prediction of their life.

A GENERAL CONSTITUTIVE RELATION FOR FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH ANALYSIS OF METAL STRUCTURES

Crack growth rate curves are the fundamental material property for metal structures under fatigue loading. Although there are many crack growth rate curves available in the literature, few of them showed the capability to explain various special phenomena observed in tests. A modified constitutive relation recently proposed by McEvily and his co-workers showed very promising capability. This modified constitutive relation is further generalized by (1) introducing an unstable fracture condition; (2) defining a virtual strength to replace the yield stress; and (3) defining an overload and underload parameter. The performances of this general constitutive relation for fatigue crack growth is extensively studied and it is found that this general constitutive relation is able to explain various phenomena observed with particular strong capability on load sequence effect.

Fatigue Analysis of the Taut-Wire Mooring System Applied for Deep Waters

Precisely predicting the fatigue life of taut-wire mooring systems has become an interesting and important problem for scientists and engineers since there are still difficulties in the inspection and maintenance of mooring lines in a rough sea environment especially in deep waters. In this paper, a comprehensive fatigue analysis is performed for a polyester taut-wire mooring system of an FPSO based on the time domain dynamic theory, rainflow cycle counting method and linear damage accumulation rule of Palmgren-Miner. Three influential factors in the fatigue analysis including the pre-tension, dynamic stiffness and T-N curve are investigated in detail. Two polyester T-N curves, one is from the DNV- 0S-E301 and the other is from the API-RP-2SM, are adopted in the calculation. The fatigue analysis of the mooting system after one-line failure is also carried out. The calculation results indicate that the fatigue life is significantly affected by the T-N curve. The fatigue life decreases with increasing pre-tension, and is largely reduced if taking into account the dynamic stiffness caused by cyclic loading. The analysis also proves that one-line failure has remarkable effects on the fatigue lives of other mooting lines. The present parametric and comparative study is believed to be meaningful to further understanding of the taut-wire mooting system for deepwater applications.

Temperature-dependence of acoustic fatigue life for thermal protection structures

Acoustic fatigue life evaluation is essential for thermal protection struc- tures due to the severe thermo-acoustic load in service. A study on temperature- dependence of acoustic fatigue life for a C/SiC panel is presented in this paper. Effects of temperature on both the structural responses and the S-N curves are investigated. The Dirlik method is adopted to predict the fatigue life of a C/SiC panel at three different temperatures respectively. Significant differences are ob- served from the results of numerical simulations between the fatigue lives of the panel in the three cases. The temperature-dependence of acoustic fatigue life of a C/SiC panel is verified, and fatigue test of the material needs to be more atten- tively performed.

High-cycle Fatigue Fracture Behavior of Ultrahigh Strength Steels

The fatigue fracture behavior of four ultrahigh strength steels with different melting processes and therefore different inclusion sizes were studied by using a rotating bar two-point bending fatigue machine in the high-cycle regime up to 107 cycles of loading. The fracture surfaces were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）. It was found that the size of inclusion has significant effect on the fatigue behavior. For AtSI 4340 steel in which the inclusion size is smaller than 5.5 μm, all the fatigue cracks except one did not initiated from inclusion but from specimen surface and conventional S-N curve exists. For 65Si2MnWE and Aermet 100 steels in which the average inclusion sizes are 12.2 and 14.9 μm, respectively, fatigue cracks initiated from inclusions at lower stress amplitudes and stepwise S-N curves were observed. The S-N curve displays a continuous decline and fatigue failures originated from large oxide inclusion for 60Si2CrVA steel in which the average inclusion size is 44.4 pro. In the case of internal inclusion-induced fractures at cycles beyond about 1×10^6 for 65Si2MnWE and 60Si2CrVA steels, inclusion was always found inside the fish-eye and a granular bright facet （GBF） was observed in the vicinity around the inclusion. The GBF sizes increase with increasing the number of cycles to failure Nf in the long-life regime. The values of stress intensity factor range at crack initiation site for the GBF are almost constant with Nf, and are almost equal to that for the surface inclusion and the internal inclusion at cycles lower than about 1×10^6. Neither fish-eye nor GBF was observed for Aermet 100 steel in the present study.