Cumulative Damage in Low-cycle Fatigue
An a n a l y s i s is p r e s e n t e d f o r c u m u l a t i v e d a m a g e
on t h e b a s i s of a b s o r b e d p l a s t i c e n e r g y
by V.M. Radhakrishnan
ABSTRACT--Cyclic-deformation behavior of low-carbon steel
and copper under constant-stress amplitude and in a two-step
stress change has been studied in the intermediate life range.
Under constant-stress amplitude, there is initial softening
followed by a hardening process in low-carbon steel. In the
case of copper, hardening sets in from the initial stages of
stress application. The total hysteresis energy absorbed is
not a material constant, but depends on the applied stress.
The strain-hardening/strain-softening behavior under the
second stress level is different from the standard fatigue
tests and is dependent on the first stress level. An energy-
based analysis has been found to predict fairly well the
cumulative damage life in low-cycle fatigue,
Introduction
When a metallic material is subjected to cyclic loading,
the mechanical properties change with stress cycling and,
in most cases, a saturated value is reached after an initial
transitory period. The fatigue process is mainly controlled
by the plastic strain amplitude ~, and can be analyzed
through the cyclic stress-strain curve given in the form
o'. = O'o (ep)"'
where a, is the alternating stress, ao a constant and n ' the
cyclic strain-hardening exponent. In low-cycle fatigue,
considerable amount of plastic strain is experienced by the
material and the hysteresis energy absorbed during the
fatigue cycling has been postulated as a basis for the
failure analysis. ',2 Morrow in his analysis3 of cyclic-plastic-
strain energy has shown the relation between the alternating
stress oo and the total energy to fracture Ws as
a~ a W 7 ''4
Recent investigations' have shown that the exponent in
V.M. Radhakrishnan is associated with the Mechanical Testing Laboratory,
Indian Institute o f Technology, Madras--600036, India.
Original manuscript submitted: February 8, 197Z Final version
received : December 15, 1977.
292 9 August 1978
the above relation is not a universal constant, but depends
on the material.
Reports on the change in mechanical properties due to
change in stress sequence are very much limited. Thang
Bui-Quoc 5'6 and Dubuc e t al. 7 have carried out investi-
gations with five different stress-level variations and
analyzed the data for both stress and strain-controlled
conditions. The strain-hardening or strain-softening behavior
at each step has been reported to be similar to the
standard fatigue tests. The number of strain levels in
cumulative fatigue damage has been found to have no
influence on the cyclic strain-hardening exponent.
Cumulative-fatigue-damage studies were, in general,
primarily concerned with the prediction of life. It is of
interest, however, to evaluate the variation of parameters
such as cyclic strain and cyclic stress during tests. Such
parameters will be necessary to compute the energy
absorbed during the fatigue process.
The present investigation was undertaken to study the
strain variation in a two-step stress-level change in the
intermediate-life range and to analyze the possibility of an
energy-based approach to predict the fatigue life in
(l)
cumulative damage.
Experimental
The materials investigated were
(a) Low-carbon steel (C: 0.16070, Si: 0.25070, M n :
0.45070, P, S less than 0.035%) heat treated at 680~ for
3 h. The ultimate strength was 447 M N / m ~ with a fracture
strain of 38070 and
(b) Polycrystalline copper of 99.99 + purity, annealed
at 600~ for 3 h. The ultimate strength was 211 M N / m 2,
(2) with a fracture strain of 52070.
The experiments were carried out under stress-controlled
conditions, in a vertical pulsator with a maximum capacity
of 0.5 tons. The frequency of stress cycling was 100
cycles/min. Alternating stress with constant amplitude
was applied on the specimen and the change in the plastic-
strain range was measured. A strain-gage load cell was
used to measure the load and an inductive pickup
measured the total deformation of the specimen over a
gage length of 10 ram. Both signals were fed to an X-Y
recorder, which enabled one to obtain the hysteresis loop. 0.8
r 1 ~ r 1 ~'l
The stress amplitude ranged from 230 to 300 M N / m 2 in
the case of low-carbon steel, and from 100 to 150 N M / m 2
in the case of copper. The total failure cycles N s were in
0.7 LCS /
the range of 104 cycles to around 2 x 105 cycles. 0.6
For the analysis of cumulative damage, high-low and 29
low-high stress sequences were employed with the initial 0.5
cycle ratio /~ = (N1/Njl) of 0.3, 0.5, 0.6 in the case
of low-carbon steel and /3, = 0.3 and 0.5 in the case of
copper. The variation of plastic strain with cycles at the 0.~
first applied stress o~ was noted. After the predetermined
(a)
value of/3,, the stress level was changed to 0,2 and the 0-3 261
variation of the plastic strain with cycles under the second
stress level o~ was measured by obtaining the hysteresis 0,2
%=
loops at different intervals of time.
0-1
Results and Discussion
Figures l(a) and l(b) show the variation of the plastic- 0
101 102 103 104 10 5
strain range 2e, with number of cycles. In the case of
low-carbon steel, the plastic strain increases steeply after CYCLES N
a certain number of cycles. After attaining a maximum, it 0'6
reduces, showing thereby that the material softens initially
and, after a certain number of cycles, hardening sets in. Cu
In the case of copper, continuous hardening has been
observed, as one would expect in annealed materials.
0"4. - Ca:
The relation between the alternating stress and the
saturated value of the plastic strain (or the average value 13'7 MN/m2
where continuous hardening is experienced) is shown in o_
u~
c~
Fig. 2. The value of the cyclic-strain-hardening exponent (b)
n ' comes around 0.35 and 0.24 for low-carbon steel and 0.2i
copper, respectively.
The area of the hysteresis loop which represents the
energy absorbed can be given by the product of the
alternating stress and the corresponding plastic-strain
0 I I I I , I ,
range. A typical relation between the area of the hysteresis 101 102 103 104 105
loop and the product o, ep is shown in Fig. 3 for copper.
Assuming that oo e, represents the energy absorbed, the CYCLES N

e~ - N curve at each stress level is divided into suitable Fig. 1--Variation of plastic-strain range with cycles.
intervals and the energy density absorbed is calculated by (a) Low-carbon steel and (b) copper

350 ' I ' I ' I , I ,

300
Z
~E

b~ 250
LCS
CO

200
j-.
u3
Fig. 2 - - R e l a t i o n between alternating-stress
and plastic-strain range L.9
Z
150
Z
rr
W

100'
...~J i I ' l ' I i I i
0-1 0"2 0.3 0"4 0"5 0.6

PLASTIC STRAIN 2 Ep~%

Experimental Mechanics 9 293

 0.7 i i . i , f , r i 9
1300"

mE
E

iE
0'6

0.5'

0.4.
I Z
1000 /•p 231 MN/m2

237

245
25O
261
267
o. 0"3, 273
w
290 (a)
~~176
0-2. 500

0.i. Cu

0 I I I I I I I I I
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
AREA OF HYSTERESIS LOOP mm2 0
0"5 1.0
Fig. 3 - - R e l a t i o n b e t w e e n the area of the hysteresis loop
N/Nf
and the c o r r e s p o n d i n g oo~,
700
o'o
/107 MNlm2
600
using the relation /
//,,9
~ w = AIa. epN
500 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o 125133
= A2 ep'+"' N (3) z 400. 135
X
where A2 is a constant. The cumulative energy absorbed ~= ~ u 137 (b)
9~ 300
at different intervals of N was numerically computed and W
the variation of the cumulative hysteresis energy as a
function of cycles N , expressed as N / N s is shown in 200
Figs. 4(a) and 4(b) for low-carbon steel and copper,
respectively. At low-stress levels the variation is almost 100
linear, whereas at high-stress levels, where the hardening
effect is very much pronounced, the variation is nonlinear.
0 ' ' t I
The relation between o, and the total hysteresis-energy o 0-5 1"0
density up to fracture W/is shown in Fig. 5, on a log-log N/Nf
plot, according to the relation
Fig. 4 - - V a r i a t i o n of c u m u l a t i v e - h y s t e r e s i s
ao = A3 ( W/)-" (4) energy with stress cycles. (a) Low-carbon
steel and (b) c o p p e r
where the value of the exponent m = 0.27 for low-carbon
steel and 0.38 for copper. The exponent m depends on the
material.
Typical hysteresis loops at different stress cycles in a be different from the normal cyclic-strain-hardening
two-step cumulative test are shown in Fig. 6 for low-carbon exponent.
steel. The stress sequence is L-H and the initial cycle ratio
/3, = 0.5. It can be seen that with a constant-stress
amplitude of 267 MN/m 2, the plastic-strain range 2ep is 30O r'l ,~.e ' I
around 0.1~ up to 103 cycles. However, when an initial
stress of 250 MN/m 2 is applied first and the stress is z 250,
then switched over to 267 MN/m z, it has been observed
that the plastic flow continues and, even in the initial m: 0-27
stage of around 10 cycles, the plastic strain is around 200 LCS
0.42%.
Figures 7(a) and 7(b) show the variation of plastic- U3
strain range with number of cycles N2 under the second
150
stress, oo2. In the case of low-carbon steel, slight-softening
z
effects followed by small-scale hardening are observed
under the H-L sequence, but, in general, the effects are
not very pronounced. In the case of copper, a similar ~ 8 Cu
trend is also observed. The larger the stress difference 100 , , , ~* ",t ~ I
(oo, - o~) in the H-L sequence, the greater is the softening 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 ~5oo
process. In the L-H sequence, hardening continues at the
second stress level also. Since two different strain ampli- TOTAL- ENERGY DENSITY MNm-2
tudes are obtained for a given a,5, the cyclic-strain- Fig. 5 - - R e l a t i o n b e t w e e n alternating stress and the
hardening exponent in cumulative-damage conditions will total-hysteresis.energy density up to fracture

294 9 August 1978

 !
_150MN,qn2

=0 . 4 1 0 ~ Fig. 6 - - T y p i c a l h y s t e r e s i s l o o p s at d i f f e r e n t
s t r e s s c y c l e s in a t w o - s t e p c u m u l a t i v e t e s t .
Material : low-carbon steel

N= lo lo3 Io4 lo lo3 io 4 10 103

O'o= 250 MNIm2 267 MN/m2 250~267MNIm 2

The fatigue life can be divided into two parts (a) crack K, = 1 + 2 ~ / 7 0 = 2 a / / 7 -0- for/ > > 0
nucleation and (b)crack propagation up to the critical (5)
stage. The nucleation period is dependent on stress level
and in low-cycle fatigue its contribution to total life may where l is the semi-crack length and ~ is the tip radius.
be negligible. After a crack has formed, the stress and Due to plastic deformation, the severity of the stress at
strain near the crack tip are intensified due to the notch the notch is not so much as given by relation (5), but is
effect. The theoretical stress-concentration factor, K,, for less. If o; and ~;, are the stress and strain near the crack,
a sharp crack, which is very small compared to the width then the stress- and strain-concentration factors, Kp and
of the specimen, can be written as Ko, are related by"

K , ~ = K p K e = o ; ~;, _ (2~)~ (6)

O= 6p

0.5 If one considers a small volume of material just ahead of

the crack, this material undergoes the stress-strain cycle of
231~267 MN/m 2 o,* e~, when the bulk material is subjected to oo and %.
The term or;,e; will be proportional to the energy density
0"4
6 w § at the crack tip, as o, ep is proportional to the bulk
290--267 energy density 6 w.
267~2 so _
Damage accumulated in the form of micro-voids near

o.!
0-3 the crack tip and, after a certain number of cycles, 6 N ,
290---250 these defects join together and the crack propagates
through a small distance, M. The damage per unit volume
of the material near the crack tip will be proportional to
LCS the plastic energy density, tSw§ at the crack tip. If V is
~1:0.5 the highly stressed volume ahead of the crack where the
0. 1 i 1 I 1 i 1 L damage accumulation takes place, then the total damage
102 103 104 105 that joins the main crack will be proportional to V, (5w §
CYCLES N2 The highly stressed volume V in low-cycle fatigue, where
the entire material is in the plastic range, can be assumed
0"4 ' I , I , i to be proportional to the-maximum stress acting on the
material. With this assumption, the crack-propagation
Cu rate can be written as
05
ill: 0-5
%1~&2 61
-
dl
- A4 6 w* (a) ~ (7)
115~125 MN/m2 6N dN
o~
~>=0-2 107~125 where A4 and the exponent c~ are materials constants.
e~
Integrating the above relation from/o, a very small crack
at the time of nucleation, to 1 and the corresponding
0"1 number of cycles N , we get

log(I/lo) = A 5 I 6 w ( o ) ~ d N
0 I I I I I I i
101 lo 2 lo3 10/. 1(:}5 = As (o) = ~ 6wdN (8)
CYCLES N2
At the time of fracture, the crack length 1 reaches the
Fig. 7 - - V a r i a t i o n o f p l a s t i c - s t r a i n r a n g e w i t h n u m b e r critical value /: and the total energy absorbed will be
o f c y c l e s u n d e r the s e c o n d . s t r e s s level 6 w d N = W s. Hence, we have

Experimental Mechanics 9 295

 90O Figures 8(a) and 8(b) show the relation between the
%
Z hysteresis energy absorbed under the second stress level,
o,2, according to the above relation and the experimental
700
9 o values. The agreement appears to support the basis that
~o o energy-based approach can be effectively applied to
cumulative-damage analysis. The above relation can be
9 9 generalized for multi-step stress variation and given in
500 the form
W,, '-' N,~
uJ
Q_
((5w),fl, = -N~,
-- C
/=~ ((5w)~fl~ ( ~ ) (12)
t~ 300 " . *= ~B1=0'3
9 ii
.B1:0'5
In the above analysis for cumulative damage, it has
eft1=0"6
been assumed that the total fracture energy is determined
100 I I only by the final stress applied on the specimen. This
100 300 500 700 900
assumption appears to give good correlation between the
Wf2- ~w~N1 MNm-2 experimental data and the calculated values.

/
600
% Conclusion
z
~E From the investigations carried out on low-carbon steel
and annealed copper, to study the cyclic-deformation
z" behavior and cumulative damage at intermediate life, it

/
400 has been observed that :
(a) There is pronounced initial softening in low-carbon
steel followed by a hardening process. In the case of
z
w
Ig
I 9 copper, hardening sets in right from the initial stages.
(b) The total hysteresis energy absorbed is not a material
E
taJ 200 9$ "~" Cu constant, but depends on the applied stress in the form
(3-
eft1= 0,3

9 O'~ Ot W/-m

l I L I
2O0 400
Wf2- AwIN I
Fig. 8 - - R e l a t i o n between the calculated
and experimental values of the energy
absorbed at the second-stress level
log (to~to) = A s ( o ) ~ W~
where I, is the critical crack length. In the small range of
life investigated, the variation in critical crack length with
the applied stress may be small and, in such a case, the
above equation shows the relation between the total
fracture energy, Wz, and the alternating stress, o,, similar
to what has been obtained from the experimental data
given in Fig. 5 (with m = l/cO.
The critical crack length lc at fracture depends only on
the current stress acting on the material and is independent
of the previous stress levels. So, also, the total energy
absorbed, Wz, can be assumed to be governed by the
current stress acting on the material. The hysteresis
energy absorbed under ca, for N, cycles can be given by
W, = I (sw d N = (5 W ) , N ,
When the stress amplitude is changed to o~ the total
energy that can be absorbed under the second stress level
will be Wa corresponding to the critical crack length lc2.
So, the remaining energy will be Wa - WI and this will
be absorbed in the remaining cycles, N2, under tro2. So,
we have
((Sw)2 N2 = W ~ - ((5 W ) , N ,
I
(c) Under the two-step loading investigated, when the
600 stress level is changed, either in H-L or L-H sequence,
MNm-2 plastic flow continues to occur under the second stress
right from the beginning of application of the second
stress.
(d) The strain-hardening/strain-softening behavior at
the second-stress level is different from the standard
fatigue condition and is dependent on the first-stress level.
(e) The remaining total energy ( ( s w h N 2 under the
second stress tr,2 appears to bear a linear relation with
the calculated values using the total fracture energy Wa
(9) under the second stress and the energy already absorbed
((5 W)I N, during the application of the first stress.
(f) An energy-based approach can be effectively applied
to predict the cumulative damage in low-cycle fatigue.
References
1. Martin, D.E., "'An Energy Criterion for Low Cycle Fatigue, '" Trans.
ASME, J. Basic Engrg., (83), 565-571 (1961).
2. Feltner, C.E. and Morrow, J.D., "'Microplastic Strain Hysteresis
Energy as a Criterion for Fatigue Fracture, "' Trans. ASME, J. Basic
Engrg., (83), 15-22 (1961).
3. Morrow, J.D., "Cyclic Plastic Strain Energy and Fatigue o f
Metals, "" Internal Friction Damping and Cyclic Plasticity, A S T M STP
378 (1965).
4. Lukas, P. and Klesnil, M., "'Cyclic Stress-Strain Response and
Fatigue Life o f MetaLs Low Amplitude Region, "' Mat Sci. Engrg., (I1L
345-356 (1973).
(10) 5. Bui-Quoc, T., "Cyclic Stress, Strain and Energy Variations Under
Cumulative Damage Tests in Low Cycle Fatigue, '" J. Testing and
Evaluation, JTEVA, (1), 58-64 (1973).
6. Bui-Quoc, T., Dubuc, J., BazerguL A. and Biron, A., "Cumulative
Fatigue Damage Under Strain Controlled Conditions, "" J. Mats., (6),
718-737 (1971).
7. Dubuc, J., Bui-Quoc, T., Bazergui, A. and Birch, A., "Unified
Theory of Cumulative Damage in Metal Fatigue, "" Weld. Res. Council
Bull., (162) (1971).
8. Neuber, H., "'Theory of Stress Concentration for Shear-Strained
Prismatical Bodies with Arbitrary Non-linear Stress-Strain Law, '" Trans.
(11) ASME, J. AppL Mech., (28), 544-550 (1961).

296 9 August 1978