Fatigue Test Análisis

Juan Fernando Arias

Code: 1430758

Cristian Cervera
Code: 1424943

Fabian Alvarado
Code:1231777

Natalia Lopez
Códe 1423418

Introduction.

In materials science, fatigue is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is
subjected to cyclic loading. The maximum stress values are less than the ultimate tensile stress limit, and may
be below the yield stress limit of the material. Fatigue life is influenced by a variety of factors, such as
temperature, surface finish, presences of oxidizing or inert chemicals, residual stresses; also geometry can
generate stress concentrators which could lead to an early fracture of the material.
A fatigue failure has a similar appearance to the brittle fracture, since the surfaces of the fracture are flat and
perpendicular to the axis of the effort with the absence of slimming However; the fracture characteristics of a
fatigue failure are very different to the fragile static fracture and arise from three stages of development. Stage
1 is the beginning of one or more micro cracks due to the cyclic plastic deformation followed by propagation
crystallographic that extends from two to five grains around the origin. Usually, the cracks of stage I cannot be
seen with the naked eye. In stage II the micro cracks they become macro cracks and form parallel surfaces in
the form of separate plateaus by longitudinal crests. In general, plateaus are smooth and normal to the direction
of the maximum effort in tension. These surfaces may have known dark and light marks as beach brands, or
shell brands. During the cyclical loads, these surfaces with cracks open and close, rubbing each other, and the
appearance of beach marks depend on changes in the level of the load frequency and the corrosive nature of the
environment. Stage III occurs during the final effort cycle when the remaining material cannot resist the loads,
resulting in a sudden and rapid fracture. A fracture in stage III can be fragile, ductile or a combination of both.

Theoretical Framework

In the need to confirm that all the results we got in the fatigue test is necessary to calculate in a theoretical way the result
we expected in real life. To calculate the experimental resistance to fatigue 𝑆𝑓′ we use equation (1)
𝑆𝑓′ = 𝑛𝑆𝑢𝑡 (1)
 Figure 1 source [1]

During the test the material suffers, different kinds of load it means it also suffer different kind of stress a maximum and
a minimum one in this case both stress values are the same magnitude but different direction Figure 1. According to
equation (2), the mean stress is 0. Therefore, with help from the equation (3), we can conclude that 𝑆𝑓 with this we are
able to calculate the Weight that we will need to put in the machine to proceed with the test with equation (4)
𝜎 +𝜎
𝜎𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 0 (2)
2
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = −𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝑆′𝑓 (3)
𝑆𝑓′ ∗I 𝑛𝑆𝑢𝑡 ∗𝜋∗𝑑3
𝑊= = (4)
𝑐 16𝑒
Theoretical Analysis
The theoretical fatigue resistance 𝑆𝑓 can be determined with the number of cicles and constant a and b from equation 5
which depends of 𝑆𝑢𝑡 and the correction factors that we want to use
𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 (5)
Where
1 𝑆
𝑏 = − 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔 ( 𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) (6)
𝑒
0,8𝑆𝑢𝑡
𝑎= (7)
103𝑏
We know there are a series of factors that affects the performance of the materials, so with the equation 8 we can take
account these factors in the equation 5

𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 ̃
𝑆𝑒 (8)

̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,5𝑆𝑢𝑡 (9)

Where 𝑘𝑎 is a surface factor that can be calculated with equation 10 and figure 2, it’s important to know that the coefficients
a and b from this equations had nothing to do with the ones from previous equations
𝑏
𝑘𝑎 = 𝑎𝑆𝑢𝑡 (10)

Figura 2 [2]

𝑘𝑏 Is a size factor, it is determined by the equations showed in figure 3

Figura 3

𝑘𝑐 Is a load factor and it is defined by the load acting over the test subject equation 11

1 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑘𝑐 = { 0,85 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 (11)
0,59 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙

𝑘𝑑 Is a temperature factor, and between 20 and 50 degrees Celsius its value is one

𝑘𝑒 is a reliability factor and is the designer the one who sets it according to the application figure 4

Figura 4 [3]

S-N Diagram
Is a plot of the magnitude of an alternating stress versus the number of cycles to failure for a given material. Typically,
both the stress and number of cycles are displayed on logarithmic scales.
Given a load time history and a SN-Curve, one can determine the accumulated damage or fatigue life of a mechanical
part. We can modify equation 6 and 7 to get this information. In figure 4 we can see how a typical S-N diagram is
organized
Figure 5 typical structure of an S-N curve

Equipment and materials

To carry out the experiment, a series of equipment was use such as:
1020 Steel bar: is a low hardenability and low tensile carbon steel It has high machinability, high strength, high ductility
and good weldability. It is normally used in turned and polished or cold drawn condition. Its the test material that will be
transformed into the test elements (figure 5)
Figura 6 source [3]

Lathe: Is a tool that rotates the workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting,
sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the work piece to create an
object with symmetry about that axis1. in this case it was used to transform a metal bar to a test tube for the fatigue test.

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathe
Figura 7 Lathe from Universidad del Valle shop

Pesas: Para este experimento se utilizaron una serie de pesas de 3028,2 g aproximadamente , se utilizaron 6 de estas.

Vernier Caliper: It’s a measuring tool that allow us to precisely measure the thickness of the test tubes

Figura 8 source [4]

Micrometer: is a device incorporating a calibrated screw widely used for precise measurement of components 2. In this
case, it was used to measure the polished test tube.

Figura 9

Rotating bending testing machine: The rotating bending test machine is used to create an S-N curve by turning the motor
at a constant revolution per minutes, or frequency. To create a failure on the specimen, a constant-stationary force is
applied on the specimen, which creates a constant bending moment. A stationary moment applied to a rotating specimen
causes the stress at any point on the outer surface of the specimen to go from zero to a maximum tension stress, back to
zero and finally to a compressive stress. Thus, the stress state is one that is completely reversed in nature. In figure 8 we
can see the diagram of the working machine and in figure 9 we can see the machine we used to perform the test

Figura 10 source [5]

2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometer
Figura 11

Process

For the development of the practice a 1020 steel bar was used, with the help of the lathe two test pieces were shaped, so
that once the forming process was finished one of them was subjected to a surface finishing process fig 12. Each of the
specimens was mounted on the HT-8120 rotary bending fatigue machine fig 13, following the appropriate instructions so
as not to generate additional stresses on the material. Each specimen was submitted to a percentage of indicated load, 58%
and 82%for the specimen with surface finish, and subject to bending, so that it was possible to determine the number of
cycles corresponding to the fracture of the material.

Figura 12 approximate dimensions of the specimens. The diameter may vary according to indications of surface finish
Figura 13 Fatigue machine HT-8120

Data y Measurements

As we were getting ready for performing the test, it was necessary to do some measurements of the test subjects
so we can calculate the correct load for the application we needed.
We were assigned with 2 tests subjects one with the 52% of the failure load, and with a polish surface, and a
82% for a normal surface.

Normal Surface
We need to calculate the load that will be applied to the machine, so we use equation 4.

𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 700 𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝑑 = 6,35 𝑚𝑚

𝑒 = 200 𝑚𝑚

𝑛 = 0,82

0,82 ∗ 700 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ (6,35)ˆ3

𝑊= = 144,289 𝑁
16 ∗ 200

Knowing the load, we can calculate how much weight we should put in the machine

𝑊 144,289
𝑚= = = 14,7 𝑘𝑔
𝑔 9,8

Polish Surface
Following the same path of the previous element we use equation 4 to calculate the other load

𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 700 𝑀𝑃𝑎

 𝑑 = 6,27 𝑚𝑚

𝑒 = 200 𝑚𝑚

𝑛 = 0,54

0,54 ∗ 700 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ (6,27)ˆ3

𝑊= = 91,473 𝑁
16 ∗ 200
𝑊
𝑚= = 9,33 𝐾𝑔
𝑔

With this data, we proceed to realize the fatigue test

Results
The number of cycles for the first test, with a 82% of the 𝑆𝑢𝑡 we obtain 4914 cycles like we can see in figure 14, for the
test with 54% we obtain 700203 and the test subject didn’t fail, so we can assume it will have infinite life figure 15

Figura 14

Figura 15

Data analysis

First we calculate the theoretical number of cycles where the test element is going to fail , so we can compare
with the value we got in the experiment.
For the 82%:
first, we calculate the value of 𝑆𝑚 that is the value at 103 cycles

𝑆𝑚 = 0,9𝑆𝑢𝑡

Then we take account the factors mentioned earlier like the surface factor, according to equation 10 and figure
2
𝑏
𝑘𝑎 = 𝑎𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 2,7 ∗ 700−0,265 = 0,476

Then we calculate the size factor 𝑘𝑏 with the information from figure 3

𝑘𝑏 = 1,24 ∗ 𝑑−0,107 = 1,24 ∗ 6,35−0,107 = 0,8

Load factor𝑘𝑐 , equation 11

𝑘𝑐 = 0,59
We assume the other factors as 1, so we use equation 8 and 9

̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,5𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 0,5 ∗ 700 = 350

𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 ̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,476 ∗ 0,8 ∗ 0,59 ∗ 1 ∗ 1 ∗ 350 = 119,952𝑀𝑃𝑎

With this, we can calculate the constants from equations 6 and 7

1 𝑆 1 700
𝑏 = − 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔 ( 𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) = − 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔 (119,952) = −0,2554
𝑒

0,8𝑆𝑢𝑡 0,8 ∗ 700

𝑎= 3𝑏
= 3∗−0,2554 = 3268,79
10 10

With equation 5 we can estimate the expected number of cycles where the test tube is going to fail

𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏

𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 = 3268,79 ∗ 4914−0,2554 = 372,9𝑀𝑃𝑎

Now we calculate the experimental fatigue limit for the unpolished piece calculating the last effort when the elements fail
at 106 cycles. As we are calculating the same test subject we use the same constants 𝑎 and 𝑏.

𝑆𝑒′ 𝑛𝑝 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 = 3268,79(106 )−0,2554 = 95,93 𝑀𝑃𝑎

The experimental surface factor 𝑘𝑎′ can be calculated with equation 12
′
𝑆𝑒𝑛 𝑝
𝑘𝑎′ = ′
𝑆𝑒𝑝

95,93
𝑘𝑎′ = = 0,8
119,9
For this piece, the 𝑆𝑒 𝑛𝑝

𝑆𝑒 𝑛𝑝 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 ̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,8 ∗ 0,8 ∗ 0,59 ∗ 1 ∗ 1 ∗ 350 = 132,16
Calculating the error for the 𝑆𝑒 𝑛𝑝

|𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 | |119,95 − 132,16|

∗ 100 = ∗ 100 = 10,2%
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 119,95
And the error for 𝑘𝑎′
|𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 | |0,476 − 0,8|
∗ 100 = ∗ 100 = 68 %
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 0,476
S-N Diagram
We can calculate the S-N diagram just like que calculate any other equation of a line
𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏 (13)
𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑆𝑚 ) = 𝑚 𝐿𝑜𝑔(103 ) + 𝑏 (14)
𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑆𝑒 ) = 𝑚 𝐿𝑜𝑔 (106 ) + 𝑏 (15)
Where
1 𝑆
𝑚 = 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑆 𝑒 ) (16)
𝑚

And
𝑆
𝐿𝑜𝑔(𝑆𝑚 ) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔 (𝑆 𝑒 ) = 𝑏 (17)
𝑚
With these equations, we can find the theoretical S-N diagram using equations 16 and 17

1 119,952
𝑚 = 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = −0,2401

119,952
𝑏 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔(630) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = 3,52

Now we proceed to find the practical S-N diagram

1 132,16
𝑚 = 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = −0,2261
132,16
𝑏 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔(630) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = 3,4776

In the figure 16 we can see the comparison of both diagrams where we can see how little the error is
 S-N Diagram
Theoretical Data Practical Data

700.0

600.0

500.0

400.0
MPa

300.0

200.0

100.0

0.0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
Number of cycles

Figura 16

Now we proceed to calculate the tube test with the 54% failure load and the polished finished:
We take the surface factor
𝑏
𝑘𝑎 = 𝑎𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 1,58 ∗ 700−0,085 = 0,905

Them we calculate the size factor

𝑘𝑏 = 1,24 ∗ 𝑑−0,107 = 1,24 ∗ 6,27−0,107 = 0,802

The other factors are the same so there is no need to calculate them

𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 ̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,905 ∗ 0,802 ∗ 0,59 ∗ 1 ∗ 1 ∗ 350 = 149,88𝑀𝑃𝑎
1 𝑆 1 700
𝑏 = − 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔 ( 𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) = − 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔 (149,88) = −0,22312
𝑒

0,8𝑆𝑢𝑡 0,8 ∗ 700

𝑎= = = 2615,46
103𝑏 103∗−0,22312

𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏

𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 = 2615,46 ∗ 700203−0,22312 = 129,826𝑀𝑃𝑎

′
𝑆𝑒𝑝 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 = 2615,46(106 )−0,22312 = 119,9 𝑀𝑃𝑎
Now we can calculate the 𝑆𝑒 𝑝

𝑆𝑒 𝑝 = 𝑘𝑎′ 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 ̃
𝑆𝑒 = 0,8 ∗ 0,802 ∗ 0,59 ∗ 1 ∗ 1 ∗ 350 = 132,49𝑀𝑃𝑎

Calculating the error for the 𝑆𝑒 𝑝

|𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 | |149,88 − 132,49|

∗ 100 = ∗ 100 = 11,6%
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 149,88

And the error for 𝑘𝑎′

|𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 | |0,905 − 0,8|

∗ 100 = ∗ 100 = 11,602%
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 0,905

S-N diagrams

In the same way, we calculate the S-N diagrams for the previous test subject, Theoretical values

1 149,88
𝑚 = 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = −0,208

149,88
𝑏 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔(630) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = 3,423
Then for the practical values
1 132,49
𝑚 = 3 𝐿𝑜𝑔( 630
) = −0,226

149,88
𝑏 = 𝐿𝑜𝑔(630) − 𝐿𝑜𝑔( ) = 3,476
630

In figure 17 we can see the comparison between the theoretical and the real data
 S-N Diagram
Theoretical Data Practical Data

700.0

600.0

500.0

400.0
MPa

300.0

200.0

100.0

0.0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
Number of cycles

Figura 17

It’s important to clarify that in the failure zone of the test element we can clearly see the beach marks, and the lips (figure
18) also the structure of the fracture surface clearly indicates that the element suffer a fatigue failure

Figura 18

Conclusions
 A good Surface finish can have a big impact in the resistance to fatigue, because it eliminates many
defects that can be encounter in the surface. As we can see, all over the report the fatigue resistance
was bigger when the test subject was polished.
 We can see how the error percentage of the superficial experimental correction factor is bigger when
the test subject has no superficial finish
 According to the failure zone it’s clear that the test subjects failed due to fatigue, so we can conclude
that the work done on the lathe was correct and the dimensions and calculation were correct too
 It is necessary to avoid that elements submitted to fatigue load present abrupt changes of areas, have
large scratches or internal tensions, that can initiate the failure what would lead to an abnormal lecture
of cycles
 The polished test tube didn’t fail this was expected due to de low load it was applied to it and also the
diameter was bigger than the on blueprints , but we calculated the load with this diameter so the
 calculations where correct.
.

Referencies

[1]. http://www.wmtr.com/What_Is_Fatigue_Testing.html?utm_source=read%20more%20links&utm_medium=ban
ner&utm_campaign=links
[2]. Richard G. Budynas. Mechanical engineering design ninth edition
[3]. http://www.vazbros.com/materiales/acero-aisi-sae-1018-cold-rolled/
[4]. https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1n3tPRFXXXXaXXFXXq6xXFXXXP/150mm-Micr-metro-y-Regla-
Calibrador-Vernier-Calipers-de-Metal-Calibre-Pie-De-Rey-de-las.jpg_640x640.jpg
[5]. http://imechanica.org/files/handout6.pdf
[6]. https://www.wmc.eu/public_docs/10353_000.pdf
[7]. http://www.wmtr.com/What_Is_Fatigue_Testing.html?utm_source=read%20more%20links&utm_med
ium=banner&utm_campaign=links
[8]. https://www.upv.es/materiales/Fcm/Fcm02/fcm2_4.html