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Fatigue Resistance of Steels
Fatigue Resistance of Steels
ASM Handbook, Volume 1: Properties and Selection: Irons, Steels, and High-Performance Alloys All rights reserved.
ASM Handbook Committee, p 673-688 www.asminternational.org
F A T I G U E is the progressive, localized, generalization is not true, however, for high was commonly assumed that total fatigue
and permanent structural change that oc- tensile strength values where toughness and life consisted mainly of crack initiation
curs in a material subjected to repeated or critical flaw size may govern ultimate load (stage I of fatigue crack development) and
fluctuating strains at nominal stresses that carrying ability. Processing, fabrication, that the time required for a minute fatigue
have maximum values less than (and often heat treatment, surface treatments, finish- crack to grow and produce failure was a
much less than) the tensile strength of the ing, and service environments significantly minor portion of the total life. However, as
material. Fatigue may culminate into cracks influence the ultimate behavior of a metal better methods of crack detection became
and cause fracture after a sufficient number subjected to cyclic stressing. available, it was discovered that cracks
of fluctuations. The process of fatigue con- Predicting the fatigue life of a metal part often develop early in the fatigue life of the
sists of three stages: is complicated because materials are sensi- material (after as little as 10% of total life-
tive to small changes in loading conditions time) and grow continuously until cata-
• Initial fatigue damage leading to crack
and stress concentrations and to other fac- strophic failure occurs. This discovery has
initiation
tors. The resistance of a metal structural led to the use of crack growth rate, critical
• Crack propagation to some critical size (a
member to fatigue is also affected by man- crack size, and fracture mechanics for the
size at which the remaining uncracked
ufacturing procedures such as cold forming, prediction of total life in some applica-
cross section of the part becomes too
welding, brazing, and plating and by surface tions. Hertzberg's text (Ref 1) is a useful
weak to carry the imposed loads)
conditions such as surface roughness and primer for the use of fracture mechanics
• Final, sudden fracture of the remaining
residual stresses. Fatigue tests performed methods.
cross section
on small specimens are not sufficient for
Fatigue damage is caused by the simulta- precisely establishing the fatigue life of a Prevention of Fatigue Failure
neous action of cyclic stress, tensile stress, part. These tests are useful for rating the
and plastic strain. If any one of these three is relative resistance of a material and the A thorough understanding of the factors
not present, a fatigue crack will not initiate baseline properties of the material to cyclic that can cause a component to fail is essen-
and propagate. The plastic strain resulting stressing. The baseline properties must be tial before designing a part. Reference 2
from cyclic stress initiates the crack; the combined with the load history of the part in provides numerous examples of these fac-
tensile stress promotes crack growth (propa- a design analysis before a component life tors that cause fracture (including fatigue)
gation). Careful measurement of strain shows prediction can be made. and includes high-quality optical and elec-
that microscopic plastic strains can be present In addition to material properties and tron micrographs to help explain factors.
at low levels of stress where the strain might loads, the design analysis must take into con- The incidence of fatigue failure can be
otherwise appear to be totally elastic. Al- sideration the type of applied loading (uniax- considerably reduced by careful attention to
though compressive stresses will not cause ial, bending, or torsional), loading pattern design details and manufacturing processes.
fatigue, compressive loads may result in local (either periodic loading at a constant or vari- As long as the metal is sound and free from
tensile stresses. able amplitude or random loading), magni- major flaws, a change in material composi-
In the early literature, fatigue fractures tude of peak stresses, overall size of the part, tion is not as effective for achieving satis-
were often attributed to crystallization be- fabrication method, surface roughness, pres- factory fatigue life as is care taken in design,
cause of their crystalline appearance. Be- ence of fretting or corroded surface, operating fabrication, and maintenance during ser-
cause metals are crystalline solids, the use temperature and environment, and occur- vice. The most effective and economical
of the term crystallization in connection rence of service-induced imperfections. method of improving fatigue performance is
with fatigue is incorrect and should be Traditionally, fatigue life has been ex- improvement in design to:
avoided. pressed as the total number of stress cycles
required for a fatigue crack to initiate and • Eliminate or reduce stress raisers by
Fatigue Resistance grow large enough to produce catastrophic streamlining the part
failure, that is, separation into two pieces. • Avoid sharp surface tears resulting from
Variations in mechanical properties, In this article, fatigue data are expressed in punching, stamping, shearing, and so on
composition, microstructure, and macro- terms of total life. For the small samples • Prevent the development of surface dis-
structure, along with their subsequent ef- that are used in the laboratory to determine continuities or decarburizing during pro-
fects on fatigue life, have been studied fatigue properties, this is generally the case; cessing or heat treatment
extensively to aid in the appropriate selec- but, for real components, crack initiation • Reduce or eliminate tensile residual
tion of steel to meet specific end-use re- may be as little as a few percent or the stresses caused by manufacturing, heat
quirements. Studies have shown that the majority of the total component life. treating, and welding
fatigue strength of steels is usually propor- Fatigue data can also be expressed in • Improve the details of fabrication and
tional to hardness and tensile strength; this terms of crack growth rate. In the past, it fastening procedures
674 / Service Characteristics of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels
g
?-
a)
t---
22,0
2070 ~ s s r a t i o , T -
R ~ 300
325
I F I I P I I I I ] P I • - 1.00
0)
._g 0
L/L/L/
1900 ~ 0.05
P'~i,I I ~ .... I I I I o 0.20 ~ 2 ~ 0
E
8
Time 1725 i
1550
(a)
1380
CD
:~ 1035 ~ 150
~s. 860 ~ 125
Time
(b)
520
103 104 105 10s 107 108
Fatigue life (transverse direction), cycles
I : | , 2 Best-fit S-A/curves for unnotched 300M alloy forging with an ultimate tensile strength of 1930 MPa (280
"'b ° ksi). Stresses are based on net section. Testing was performed in the transverse direction with a
theoretical stress concentration factor, Kt, of 1.0. Source: Ref 4
(I)
sm
either between a maximum and a minimum other combination is known as an alternat-
tensile stress or between a maximum tensile ing stress, which may be an alternating
Time stress and a specified level of compressive tensile stress (Fig. lc), an alternating com-
stress. The latter of the two, considered a pressive stress, or a stress that alternates
(c) negative tensile stress, is given an algebraic between a tensile and a compressive value
minus sign and called the minimum stress. (Fig. ld).
g Applied Stresses. The mean stress, Sin, is Nominal axial stresses can be calculated
the algebraic average of the maximum on the net section of a part (S = force per
0) stress and the minimum stress in one cycle: unit area) without consideration of varia-
I-
tions in stress conditions caused by holes,
g (Sma x + Stain)
grooves, fillets, and so on. Nominal stresses
Sm- (Eq I)
o~ 2 are frequently used in these calculations,
E The range of stress, St, is the algebraic although a closer estimate of actual stresses
8 difference between the maximum stress and through the use of a stress concentration
the minimum stress in one cycle: factor might be preferred.
Time Stress ratio is the algebraic ratio of two
Sr = Sma x - Smin ( E q 2) specified stress values in a stress cycle.
(d)
Two commonly used stress ratios are A, the
The stress amplitude, S,, is one-half the
""~1:|° 1 Types of fatigue test stress. (a) Alternating ratio of the alternating stress amplitude to
range of stress:
stress in which S~ = 0 and /? = -1. (b) the mean stress (A = S,/Sm) and R, the ratio
Pulsating tensile stress in which S~ = S,, the minimum
stress is zero, and/? = 0. (c) Fluctuating tensile stress Sr (Smax -- Smin) of the minimum stress to the maximum
Sa- - (Eq 3) stress (R = Smin/Smax).The five conditions
in which both the minimum and maximum stresses 2 2
are tensile stresses and R = a/3. (d) Fluctuating tensile- that R can take range from +I to - 1 :
to-compressive stress in which the minimum stress is During a fatigue test, the stress cycle is
a compressive stress, the maximum stress is a tensile usually maintained constant so that the ap- • Stresses are fully reversed: R = - 1
stress, and R = -~/g
plied stress conditions can be written Sm -+ • Stresses are partially reversed: R is be-
tween - I and zero
Sa, where Sm is the static or mean stress and
Control of or protection against corrosion, Sa is the alternating stress equal to one-half • Stress is cycled between a maximum
erosion, chemical attack, or service- the stress range. The positive sign is used to stress and no load: The stress ratio R
induced nicks and other gouges is an impor- denote a tensile stress, and the negative sign becomes zero
tant part of proper maintenance of fatigue denotes a compressive stress. Some of the • Stress is cycled between two tensile
life during active service life. Reference 3 possible combinations of Sm and S, are stresses: The stress ratio R becomes a
contains numerous papers pertaining to shown in Fig. 1. When Sm = 0 (Fig. la), the positive number less than 1
these subjects. maximum tensile stress is equal to the max- • An R stress ratio of 1 indicates no varia-
imum compressive stress; this is called an tion in stress, and the test becomes a
alternating stress, or a completely reversed sustained-load creep test rather than a
Symbols and Definitions fatigue test
stress. When S m = Sa (Fig. lb), the mini-
In most laboratory fatigue testing, the mum stress of the cycle is zero; this is called $-NCurves. The results of fatigue tests are
specimen is loaded so that stress is cycled a pulsating, or repeated, tensile stress. Any usually plotted as the maximum stress or
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 675
~ 830 o
oo
o~ I 120
where
(0.4
d -< 10 m m
in.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 1.0 1.0
where 10 m m (0.4 in.)
< d ~ 50 m m (2 i n . ) . . . 0.9 0.9 1.0
~60oE . ~ OC,.~ 100 E See
3
C E K~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fig. 8.
0
"~ 550 ~. 80 "'~ (a) A lower value (0.06 to 0.85) may be used to take into account
known or suspected undetermined bending because of load ec-
centricity. Source: Ref 6
415 " ' ~ . ~'~
I
e~ = ~f = 0.58
I fatigue life, regardless of their strength lev-
els. Heat treating a steel to different hard-
~= 0.1 ~ c o e f f i c i e n t ness levels does not appreciably change the
fatigue life for this strain amplitude (Fig.
14).
Fuchs and Stephens's text (Ref 9), Pro-
E ceedings of the SAE Fatigue Conference
(Ref 10), and the recently published update
.E A%_ ei(2N0~ = 0.58(2Nf) o.~7 to the SAE Fatigue Design Handbook (Ref
0.01 / 2 11) provide much additional detail on the
.o_~ ~ /
use of state-of-the-art fatigue analysis meth-
~- Fatigue ductility ods. In fact, the chapter outline for the
exponent = slope = c = 0.57 latter work, shown in Fig. 15, provides an
"all0 3 excellent checklist of factors to include in a
fatigue analysis.
Metallurgical Variables
10-4
of Fatigue Behavior
107
I0 I00 103 I04 I0 s I0e
The metallurgical variables having the
Reversals to failure, 2Nf most pronounced effects on the fatigue be-
havior of carbon and low-alloy steels are
Fig. 1 0 Ductility versus fatigue life for annealed AISI-SAE 4340 steel. Source: Ref 8
strength level, ductility, cleanliness of the
69 000 104
steel, residual stresses, surface conditions,
and aggressive environments. At least part-
ly because of the characteristic scatter of
g_ fatigue testing data, it is difficult to distin-
guish the direct effects of other variables
" 6900 [ 103 ~..1 such as composition on fatigue from their
~r~ = = 1200 MPa
~rf effects on the strength level of steel. Refer-
~ Fatigue strength coefficient
ence 3 addresses some excellent research in
( ~ ,.o.._.,_,.~
~ ~'-'"~] / ~{r a = (r~(2Nf) b = 174(2Nf) 009 the area of microstructure and its effect on
: 690 100 .~ fatigue.
Strength Level. For most steels with hard-
E Fatigue strength / ~ ~ ~E
exponent = slope = b = 0.09
nesses below 400 HB (not including precip-
itation hardening steels), the fatigue limit is
69 10 --~
about half the ultimate tensile strength.
Thus, any heat treatment or alloying addi-
< < tion that increases the strength (or hard-
ness) of a steel can be expected to increase
its fatigue limit as shown in Fig. 5 for a
6.9
10 100 103 104 I0 S I0~ 107
1 low-alloy steel (AISI 4340) and in Fig. 16 for
Reversals to failure, 2Nf various other low-alloy steels as a function
of hardness. However, as shown in Fig. 14
Strength versus fatigue life for annealed AISI-SAE 4340 steel. The equation for the actual stress for medium-carbon steel, a higher hardness
Fig. 11 amplitude, %, is shown in ksi units. Source: Ref 8
(or strength) may not be associated with
improved fatigue behavior in a low-cycle
The total strain range is the sum of the ksi); the other steel is a proprietary grade regime (<10 3 cycles) because ductility may
elastic and plastic components, obtained by hardened and tempered to a yield strength be a more important factor.
adding Eq 6 and 8 (see Fig. 12):
of about 750 MPa (110 ksi). Under long-life Ductility is generally important to fatigue
Ae ~ri fatigue conditions, the higher-strength steel life only under low-cycle fatigue conditions.
-~ = ~'r(2Nf)"+ ~-(2Nt-)t' (Eq 9) can accommodate higher strain amplitudes Exceptions to this include spectrum loading
for any specified number of cycles; such where there is an occasional overload with
For low-cycle fatigue conditions (frequently strains are elastic. Thus, stress and strain millions of smaller cycles, or extremely
fewer than about 1000 cycles to failure), the are proportional, and it is apparent that the brittle materials where crack propagation
first term of Eq 9 is much larger than the higher-strength steel has a higher fatigue dominates. The fatigue-ductility coefficient,
second; thus, analysis and design under limit. With low-cycle fatigue conditions, ~;., can be estimated from the reduction in
such conditions must use the strain-based however, the more ductile lower-strength area occurring in a tension test.
approach. For long-life fatigue conditions steel can accommodate higher strain ampli- Cleanliness of a steel refers to its relative
(frequently more than about 10 000 cycles tudes. For low-cycle fatigue conditions (in freedom from nonmetallic inclusions. These
to failure), the second term dominates, and which the yield strength of the material is inclusions generally have a deleterious ef-
the fatigue behavior is adequately described exceeded on every cycle), the lower- fect on the fatigue behavior of steels, par-
by Eq 7. Thus, it becomes possible to use strength steel can accommodate more strain ticularly for long-life applications. The type,
Eq 7 in stress-based analysis and design. reversals before failure for a specified strain number, size, and distribution of nonmetal-
Figure 13 shows the fatigue life behavior amplitude. For strain amplitudes of 0.003 to lic inclusions may have a greater effect on
of two high-strength plate steels for which 0.01, the two steels have the same fatigue the fatigue life of carbon and alloy steel than
extensive fatigue data exist. ASTM A 440 life, 104 to 10s cycles. For this particular will differences in composition, microstruc-
has a yield strength of about 345 MPa (50 strain amplitude, most steels have the same ture, or stress gradients. Nonmetallic inclu-
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 679
0.03
- + = .... + ....
0.01
0.1
E /~.'p c
2" (from Fig. 10) " / "~
.= Proprietary H S L A ~
0.01 690 MPa (100 ksi) rain UTS
0.001
Fig. 12 Total strain versus fatigue life for annealed AISI-SAE 4340 steel. Data are same as in Fig. 10 and 11.
Source: Ref 8
(0.005 in.) in diameter, were observed in the
fracture surfaces of these specimens. The
sions, however, are rarely the prime cause graphic examination to ensure that the lim- inclusions were identified as silicate parti-
of the fatigue failure of production parts; if ited sample size (volume rated) is repre- cles. No spherical inclusions larger than
the design fatigue properties were deter- sentative of the critical area in the final 0.02 mm (0.00075 in.) were detected in the
mined using specimens containing inclu- component. other specimens.
sions representative of those in the parts, Points on the lower curve in Fig. 17 Large nonmetallic inclusions can often be
any effects of these inclusions would al- represent the cycles to failure for a few detected by nondestructive inspection;
ready be incorporated in the test results. specimens from one bar selected from a lot steels can be selected on the basis of such
Great care must be used when rating the consisting of several bars of 4340H steel. inspection. Vacuum melting, which reduces
cleanliness of a steel based on metallo- Large spherical inclusions, about 0.13 mm the number and size of nonmetallic inclu-
sions, increases the fatigue limit of 4340
steel, as can be seen in Table 2. Improve-
ment in fatigue limit is especially evident in
the transverse direction.
Surface conditions of a metal part, partic-
ularly surface imperfections and roughness,
& °1~e00~
' \ limit is shown in Fig. 8, in which the ordi-
nate represents the fraction of fatigue limit
relative to a polished test specimen that
could be anticipated for the combination of
i oo\ \ 200 strength level and surface finish.
--"6 ~ N ~ Hardness' HB Fretting is a wear phenomenon that oc-
curs between two mating surfaces. It is
adhesive in nature, and vibration is its es-
sential causative factor. Usually, fretting is
O 0.01
accompanied by oxidation. Fretting usually
occurs between two tight-fitting surfaces
that are subjected to a cyclic, relative mo-
tion of extremely small amplitude. Fretted
regions are highly sensitive to fatigue crack-
ing. Under fretting conditions, fatigue
~ ~ 200 cracks are initiated at very low stresses,
well below the fatigue limit of nonfretted
10 3 specimens.
1 10 100 103 104 105 106 107 Decarburization is the depletion of car-
Stress reversals to failure bon from the surface of a steel part. As
indicated in Fig. 18, it significantly reduces
r;n Effect of hardness level on plot of total strain versus fatigue life. These are predicted plots for typical
H ~ , 1 4 medium-carbon steel at the indicated hardness levels. The prediction methodology is described the fatigue limits of steel. Decarburization
under the heading "Notches" in this article. of from 0.08 to 0.75 mm (0.003 to 0.030 in.)
680 / Service Characteristics of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels
I
prediction or occurrence of fatigue and consideration part is quenched either by externally ap-
failures. If so, consider alternatives of further actions plied quenchant or by internal mass effect.
I This treatment forms a surface layer of
martensite that is bulkier than the steel
beneath it. Further information on these
Examine documented case histories for Failure I Case I processes may be found in Volume 2 of the
suggestions of possible course of action analysis histories 8th Edition and Volume 4 of the 9th Edition
I of Metals Handbook. Induction, flame, la-
Do failure analysis to help clarify
the source(s) of the problem
ser, and electron beam hardening can pro-
duce beneficial surface residual stresses
Evaluate the need to make changes I If fatigue design problems that are compressive; by comparison, sur-
in the design and/or analysis are evident, reexamine
all pertinent elements face residual stresses resulting from through
of the design and analysis hardening are often tensile. Figure 20 com-
pares the fatigue life of through-hardened,
carburized, and induction-hardened trans-
Fig. 15 Checklist of factors in fatigue analysis. Source: Ref 11 mission shafts.
Figure 21 shows the importance of the
on A I S I - S A E 4340 notched specimens that residual stresses at the surface of a part can proper case depth on fatigue life; the hard-
have been heat treated to a strength level of improve its fatigue life; tensile residual ened case must be deep enough to prevent
1860 MPa (270 ksi) reduces the fatigue limit stresses at the surface reduce fatigue life. operating stresses from affecting the steel
almost as much as a notch with K t = 3. Beneficial compressive residual stresses beneath the case. However, it should be
When subjected to the same heat treat- may be produced by surface alloying, sur- thin enough to maximize the effectiveness
ment as the core of the part, the decarbur- face hardening, mechanical (cold) working of the residual stresses. Three advantages
ized surface layer is weaker and therefore of the surface, or by a combination of these of induction, flame, laser, or electron beam
less resistant to fatigue than the core. Hard- processes. In addition to introducing com- hardening in the resistance of fatigue are:
ening a part with a decarburized surface can pressive residual stresses, each of these
• The core may be heat treated to any
also introduce residual tensile stresses, processes strengthens the surface layer of
appropriate condition
which reduce the fatigue limit of the mate- the material. Because most real compo-
• The processes produce relatively little
rial. Results of research studies have indi- nents also receive significant bending and/
distortion
cated that fatigue properties lost through or torsional loads, where the stress is high-
• The part may be machined before heat
decarburization can be at least partially est at the surface, compressive surface
treatment
regained by recarburization (carbon resto- stresses can provide significant benefit to
ration in the surfaces). fatigue. Mechanical working of the surface of a
Residual Stresses. The fatigue properties Surface Alloying. Carburizing, carboni- steel part effectively increases the resis-
of a metal are significantly affected by the triding, and nitriding are three processes for tance to fatigue. Shot peening and skin
residual stresses in the metal. Compressive surface alloying. The techniques required to rolling are two methods for developing com-
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 681
!'"°
1800 I I I
900
0 to 2 i~in. finish
....
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o
• Decarburized
20O
1200 De o
800
O 150
W
900 0
o
E
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3oo -~- '
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:i :::i: i.::::.i::.::.::::.:.::: ~ 70 103 104 105 10~ 107 108
Effect of carbon content and hardness on fatigue limit of through-hardened and tempered 4140, 4053,
" ~ " 1 6 and 4063 steels. See the sections " C o m p o s i t i o n " and "Scatter of Data" in this article for additional tensitic, the fatigue limit will be lower (Fig.
discussions. 22). Pearlitic structures, particularly those
with coarse pearlite, have poor resistance to
1100 fatigue. S-N curves for pearlitic and sphe-
roidized structures in a eutectoid steel are
o Small inclusions
• Large inclusions shown in Fig. 23.
1000 Macrostructure differences typical of
140 those seen when comparing ingot cast to
continuously cast steels can have an effect
900 on fatigue performance. While there is no
inherent difference between these two types
120 .~ of steel after rolling to a similar reduction in
E 800 area from the cast ingot, bloom, or billet,
< ingot cast steels will typically receive much
larger reductions in area (with subsequent
700 100 refinement of grain size and inclusions) than
will continuously cast billets when rolled to
a constant size. Therefore, the billet size of
60~03 104 105 106 107 108 continuously cast steels becomes important
Number of cycles to failure to fatigue, at least as it relates to the size of
the material from which the part was fabri-
Effect of nonmetallic inclusion size on fatigue. Steels were two lots of AISI-SAE 4340H; one lot (lower
"b" 17 curve) contained abnormally large inclusions; the other lot (upper curve) contained small inclusions. cated.
A significant amount of research has
shown that for typical structural applica-
pressive residual stresses at the surface of tially reduce the fatigue life of the steel, as tions, strand cast reduction ratios should be
the part. The improvement in fatigue life of shown in Fig. 8. Additional information on above 3:1 or 5:1, although many designers
a crankshaft that results from shot peening corrosion fatigue is contained in Volumes 8 of critical forgings still insist on reduction
is shown in Fig. 19. Shot peening is useful in and 13 of the 9th Edition of Metals Hand- ratios greater than 10:1 or 15:1. These larger
recovering the fatigue resistance lost book. reduction ratio requirements will frequently
through decarburization of the surface. De- Grain size of steel influences fatigue be- preclude the use of continuously cast steels
carburized specimens similar to those de- havior indirectly through its effect on the because the required caster size would be
scribed in Fig. 18 were shot peened, raising strength and fracture toughness of the steel. larger than existing equipment. While this
the fatigue limit from 275 MPa (40 ksi) after Fine-grained steels have greater fatigue may not be a major problem at this time,
decarburizing to 655 MPa (95 ksi) after shot strength than do coarse-grained steels. steel trends suggest that there will be very
peening. Composition. An increase in carbon con- little domestic and almost no off-shore ingot
Tensile residual stresses at the surface of a tent can increase the fatigue limit of steels, cast material available at any cost within the
steel part can severely reduce its fatigue particularly when the steels are hardened to next two decades. The problem will be
limit. Such residual stresses can be pro- 45 HRC or higher (Fig. 16). Other alloying reduced as larger and larger casters, ap-
duced by through hardening, cold drawing, elements may be required to attain the proaching bloom and ingot sizes, are in-
welding, or abusive grinding. For applica- desired hardenability, but they generally stalled.
tions involving cyclic loading, parts con- have little effect on fatigue behavior. Creep-Fatigue Interaction. At tempera-
taining these residual stresses should be Microstructure. For specimens having tures sufficiently elevated to produce creep,
given a stress relief anneal if feasible. comparable strength levels, resistance to creep-fatigue interaction can be a factor
Aggressive environments can substantially fatigue depends somewhat on microstruc- affecting fatigue resistance. Information on
reduce the fatigue life of steels. In the ture. A tempered martensite structure pro- creep-fatigue interaction is contained in the
absence of the medium causing corrosion, a vides the highest fatigue limit. However, if article "Elevated-Temperature Properties
previously corroded surface can substan- the structure as-quenched is not fully mar- of Ferritic Steels" in this Volume.
682 / Service Characteristics of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels
1200
Application of Fatigue Data
160
,1.o
20 shafts
[
,320
6 shafts
1035
5 shafts Surface hardness,
Steel HRC Hardening process
Effect of carburizing and surface hardening on fatigue life. Comparison of carburized, through-hardened, and induction-hardened transmission shafts tested
Fig. 20 in torsion. Arrow in lower bar on chart indicates that one shaft had not failed after the test was stopped at the number of cycles shown.
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 683
I 700
2.64-3.02 mm ~"~//~ 100
case, 5 axles
I 650
3.20-3.53 m m
case, 5 axles Y/'/,///////////'//~
I I I o 1340 90 .-
\
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 • 4042 .~
~; 600
Millions of cycles to failure • 4340 ._E
_E
"qsrl'" '~1Effect of case depth on fatigue life. Fatigue ~ ~D a0B40
5140 80 ~
specimen, or environmental or residual Number of cycles to failure (a) Lower yield point. (b) 0.1% offset yield strength
stresses. Axial load tests for fatigue proper-
ties are considered more conservative than Effect of m i c r o s t r u c t u r e on fatigue b e h a v i o r of c a r b o n steel (0.78% C, 0.27% M n , 0.22% Si, 0.016% S,
rotating bending tests but have the advan- Fig. 23 a n d 0.011% P)
Table 4 Cyclic and monotonic properties of selected as-received and heat-treated steels
For a m o r e c o m p l e t e , up-to-date listing of cyclic-fatigue properties, see Ref 13.
1 - - SAE steel - - ] Ultima~ Cyclic strain
Brinell tensile strength Reduction Modulus of elasticity Yield strength hardening
Grade hardness, HB Condition(a) MPa ksi in area, % GPa 106 psi MPa ksi exponent
1006 85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As-received 318 46.1 73 206 30 224 32.5 0.21
1018 106 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As-received 354 51.3 200 29 236 34:2 0.27
1020 108 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As-received 392 56.9 64 186 27 233 33.8 0.26
1030- 128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As-received 454 65.8 59 206 30 248 36 0.29
1035 ..-. ............... As-received 476 69.0 56 196 28.4 270 39 0.24
1045 .... ............... As-received 671 97.3 44 216 31.3 353 51.2 0.22
1045 390 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1343 194.8 59 206 30 842 122 0.09
1045 450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1584 229.7 55 206 30 1069 155 0.09
1045 500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1825 265 51 206 30 1259 182.6 0.12
1045 595 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 2240 325 41 206 30 1846 267.7 0.10
4142 380 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1412 205 48 206 30 966 140 0.14
4142 450 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1757 255 42 206 30 1160 168 0.11
4142 670 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 2445 355 6 200 29 2238 324.6 0.07
4340 242 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As-received 825 120 43 192 27.8 467 67.7 0.17
4340 409 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QT 1467 213 38 200 29 876 127 0.13
S A E 950X . • • . ............... As-rolled 438 63.5 64 206 30 339 49.2 0.14
S A E 960X . • . . ............... As-rolled 480 70 • • - 206 30 417 60.5 0.14
S A E 980X • • . . ............... As-rolled 652 94.6 75 206 30 514 74.5 0.13
NN
//
Z
10 The fatigue-ductility coefficient, e~-, should
be estimated from a measured percent of
RA rather than obtained by using these
approximate values, if possible.
50 1O0 150 200 250 The fatigue-ductility exponent, c, has ap-
Service life, 1000 cycles proximately the same value ( - 0 . 6 ) for most
Distribution of fatigue lifetimes from simulated service fatigue tests of front suspension torsion bar
ductile steels. Severe cold working may
""b °
25
springs of 5160H steel. Size of hexagonal bar section was 32 mm (1.25 in.); mean service life, 134 000 raise the value of c to - 0 . 7 ; annealing or
cycles; standard deviation, 37 000 cycles; coefficient of variations, 0.28. tempering at a high temperature may reduce
c to about - 0 . 5 .
The elastic modulus (Young's modulus),
For a fatigue life of more than a million el, which can be calculated from the reduc- E, is the slope of the elastic portion of the
cycles, the use of these parameters in Eq 7 tion in area in a tension test by: uniaxial stress-strain curve. For most
provides a slightly lower estimate of fatigue steels, it has a value of about 200 GPa (29 ×
limit than the frequently used rule of thumb ( ,00 10 6 psi). Further information on estimating
that the fatigue limit is half the ultimate Ef ~" Ef = In \ 1 0 0 - % R A / ( E q 1 I)
these fatigue parameters may be found in
tensile strength. Ref 10. As a check on estimating, the results
The fatigue ductility coefficient, ~ , is If the reduction in area (% RA) can be should be compared with the data for a
approximated by the true fracture ductility, estimated from hardness levels, typical val- similar material in Table 4.
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 685
2000 1500 =
200
250 1250 L~
~o Rotatinq-beam bending -
160
1500
#_ - 200 120
750
a~ 1200
== g Axial 80
500
o No overstrain or single over- 150
I000 strain at beginning of test @f 0 0 250 40
1 100 103 104 105 10s
• Periodic overstrain
ml Cycles to failure
800
Fatigue data under axial loading and rotat-
Fig° 2 9 ing bending loading for 4340 steel. Source:
- 100
Ref 21
600
100 103 104 105 106 107 (2070 "8
a = 0.025 \ Su / (Eq 14a)
Number of cycles to failure
Effect of overstrain on fatigue behavior. Shown here is the effect of periodic large strain cycles on the where a is given in millimeters and the
H ~ . 28 fatigue life of AISI-SAE 4340 steel hardened and tempered to a yield strength of 1100 MPa (160 ksi). ultimate tensile strength, S u , is given in
Source: Ref 7
MPa. F o r steels, values of a range from
0.064 to 0.25 mm. Values of a may also be
estimated by using the equation:
the Brinell hardness number provides more then be repeated until failure, and component
conservative estimates. These results are life can be predicted based on the fraction of
a \Su/ × 10 . 3 (Eq 14b)
only approximations, and the methods may the whole represented by the block. In any
not apply for every material. event, predicting fatigue behavior under these
While the likelihood of an accurate life circumstances is difficult. where a is given in inches and So in ksi.
prediction is relatively low, the use of these Notches. Fatigue failures in service nearly When the required design life is relatively
procedures is still valuable. There are very always start at the roots of notches. Be- short, the effect of the notch will be even
few " n e w " parts designed; most new parts cause notches cannot always be avoided in less than indicated by Eq 13 because of the
are similar to a previously successful de- design (though they should be avoided large amount of inelastic strain at the root of
sign, scaled up or down or operating at a whenever possible), some allowance for the notch.
slightly increased load. These procedures notches must be made in calculating nomi- At low fatigue lives, a notch must be
are very useful in estimating the change in nal stresses during the design process. A regarded as a strain concentration as well as
life due to a change in design, load, pro- fatigue notch factor, Kt-, should be intro- a stress concentration. The product of the
cessing, or material. duced into the fatigue life calculations that strain concentration factor, K~, and the
Cumulative Fatigue Damage. The data use Eq 7: stress concentration factor, K,,, is equal to
presented in this article, and most other the square of the theoretical stress concen-
t tration factor:
published fatigue data, were obtained from °'a o'f
constant-amplitude testing; all the load cy- s. = ~ = ~(2Ne) b (Eq 12) K,K,r = (Kt) 2 (Eq 15)
cles in the test are identical. In actual ser-
vice, however, the loading can vary widely At long lives, the behavior is nominally
where % is the amplitude of the true stress. elastic so that K, equals K,,, and both K,
during the lifetime of a part. There have The appropriate value of Kr depends on
been many approaches to evaluating the and K,, are equal to Kt. At short lives,
the shape of the notch, fatigue strength, where K,, is nominally 1, the strain concen-
cumulative effects of variations in loading ductility of the metal, residual stress, and
on the fatigue behavior of steels. Refer- tration factor is equal t o ( K t ) 2. Usually,
design life of the part. Its value varies however, K t is replaced by an effective
ences 7, 9, 10, 15, 18, and 19 describe between 1 (no notch effect) and the theoret-
methods of analyzing cumulative damage. value of Kr, as in Eq 12. This relation may
ical stress concentration factor, K t. Refer- be rewritten as:
A few overload cycles can reduce the fa- ences 16 and 17 list many useful stress
tigue life of steel, even though the mean concentration factors. (Kf X AS) 2 = cra~.E (Eq 16)
load amplitude lies below the fatigue limit; First estimates of notched fatigue perfor-
this effect is shown in Fig. 28. The counting where AS is the nominal calculated stress
mance may be based on Kr = K t , especially
of each load cycle and the relative damage amplitude remote from the stress raiser, cr~
for moderately notched, heat-treated steel
produced must be done with extreme accu- is the amplitude of the true stress (Eq 12),
parts that are expected to withstand many
racy and care. One method, rain flow count- and % is the amplitude of the true strain.
cycles. A value of Kf < Kt can be used if a
ing (described in Ref 7, 9, 10, 15, 19, and The value of % calculated can be used
more exact value of Kf is available.
20), has been shown to be most effective. In directly on a fatigue life diagram, such as
F o r notched parts, the value of Kf may be
this method, the cyclic stress-strain proper- Fig. 14, to estimate the fatigue life of an
estimated from the equation:
ties are applied such that the hysteresis actual part.
behavior of the material (Fig. 9) is taken Kt- 1 Mean stresses may be introduced into the
Kr= l + - - (Eql3) above equations by substituting the quanti-
into account on each load excursion. Obvi- 1 + a/r
ously, when there are millions of individual ty ((re - %) for crr wherever it appears.
loads involved, the task becomes quite large. where r is the notch root radius; a is the Mean stresses affect fatigue behavior by
Frequently, a complex load or strain history material constant depending on strength increasing the amount of plastic strain
will be simplified into a short block represent- and ductility. whenever the algebraic sum of the mean
ing a fraction of the whole, and the damage in F o r heat-treated steel, the following and alternating stresses exceeds the yield
that block will be predicted. The block can equation may be used t o e s t i m a t e a: strength.
Fatigue Resistance of Steels / 687
The last several years have seen a major fense, 1987 Fresh Look at Fatigue, Mach. Des.,
change in the ability to gather customer or 5. Metallic Materials and Elements for Vol 48 (No. 12), 1976, p 120o123
simulated customer load data. Testing Aerospace Vehicle Structures, Vol 1, 15. L.E. Tucker, S.D. Downing, and L.
methods have progressed from bulky, mul- MIL-HDBK-5B, Military Standard&a- Camillo, Accuracy of Simplified Fa-
tichannel analogue tape recorders (where it tion Handbook, U.S. Department of tigue Prediction Methods, in Fatigue
took days or weeks before results were Defense, Sept 1971, p 2-29 Under Complex Loading: Analyses and
available) through portable frequency-mod- 6. R.C. Juvinall, Engineering Consider- Experiments, R.M. Wetzel, Ed., Soci-
ulated telemetry packages (where analysis ations of Stress, Strain and Strength, ety of Automotive Engineers, 1977
could be performed immediately at a remote McGraw-Hill, 1967 16. R.E. Peterson, Stress Concentration
site) to hand-held packages capable of data 7. N.E. Dowling, W.R. Brose, and W.K. Design Factors, John Wiley & Sons,
acquisition and analysis on board the test Wilson, Notched Member Fatigue Life 1974
vehicle in real time. Microelectronics is Predictions by the Local Strain Ap- 17. R.J. Roark, Formulas for Stress and
further reducing size and improving reliabil- proach, in Fatigue Under Complex Strain, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, 1965
ity to the point that data can be gathered Loading: Analyses and Experiments, 18. J.M. Potter, Spectrum Fatigue Life Pre-
from within small, complex, moving, hostile R.M. Wetzel, Ed., Society of Automo- dictions for Typical Automotive Load
assemblies, such as engines. tive Engineers, 1977 Histories and Materials Using the Se-
8. J.A. Graham, Ed., Fatigue Design quence Accountable Fatigue Analysis,
Handbook, Society of Automotive En- in Fatigue Under Complex Loading:
gineers, 1968 Analyses and Experiments, R.M. Wet-
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I.R.W. Hertzberg, Deformation and Fatigue in Engineering, John Wiley & neers, 1977
Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Sons, 1980 19. D.V. Nelson and H.O. Fuchs, Predic-
Materials, John Wiley & Sons, 1976 10. Special Publication P-109, in Proceed- tions of Cumulative Fatigue Damage
2. D.J. Wulpi, Understanding How Com- ings of the SAE Fatigue Conference, Using Condensed Load Histories, in
ponents Fail, American Society for Society of Automotive Engineers, 1982 Fatigue Under Complex Loading:
Metals, 1985 11. R.C. Rice, Ed., Fatigue Design Hand- Analyses and Experiments, R.M. Wet-
3. Fatigue and Microstructure, in Pro- book, 2nd ed., Society of Automotive zel, Ed., Society of Automotive Engi-
ceedings of the ASM Materials Science Engineers, 1988 neers, 1977
Seminar, American Society for Metals, 12. J.T. Ransom, Trans. ASM, Vol 46, 20. S.D. Downing and D.F. Socie, Simple
1979 1954, p 1254-1269 Rainflow Counting Algorithms, Int. J.
4. Metallic Materials and Elements for 13. "Fatigue Properties," Technical Re- Fatigue, Jan 1981
Aerospace Vehicle Structures, MIL- port, SAE Ji099, Society of Automo- 21. D.F. Socie, "Fatigue Life Estimation
HDBK-5B, Military Standardization tive Engineers, 1977 Techniques," Technical Report 145,
Handbook, U.S. Department of De- 14. P.H. Wirsching and J.E. Kempert, A Electro General Corporation