Fatigue Life Estimation for SM400A Steel Plate Welded Joint

In this analysis, I estimated the fatigue life of a welded joint composed of

SM400A steel plates under cyclic loading conditions using the Goodman curve
method. The analysis considers three different cyclic loads at varying numbers
of cycles.

Material Properties:

• Steel Grade: SM400A

• Tensile Strength (S tensile): 250 MPa (typical value for structural
steel)
• Endurance Limit (Se): 125 MPa (approximated as 0.5 times the tensile
strength)
• Fatigue Strength Exponent (m): 4 (typical value for structural steel)
• Fatigue Limits (Nf and Nf′′): 2×106 cycles and 5×105 cycles,
respectively (typical values for structural steel)

I assumed I have acyclic load from the sea at different number of cycles.

Cyclic Loads and Number of Cycles:

Load at n=1000 cycles (Mw1 = 100 MN)
Load at n=100,000 cycles (Mw2 = 60 MN)
Load at n=1,000,000 cycles (Mw3 = 30 MN)
I performed the stress calculations and predict the fatigue life for each
combination of cyclic load and number of cycles using the provided data:

1. Load at n = 1000:
• Mw1 = 100 MN = 100,000,000 N
• Stress induced by Mw1 = Mw1 / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) =
100,000,000,000 N / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) = 277.78 MPa
• Total stress at n = 1000: 277.78 MPa (applied cyclic stress) + 366
MPa (maximum tensile residual stress) = 643.78 MPa
2. Load at n = 100000:
• Mw2 = 60 MN = 60,000,000 N
• Stress induced by Mw2 = Mw2 / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) =
60,000,000,000 N / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) = 166.67 MPa
• Total stress at n = 100000: 166.67 MPa (applied cyclic stress) +
366 MPa (maximum tensile residual stress) = 532.67 MPa
3. Load at n = 1000000:
• Mw3 = 30 MN = 30,000,000 N
• Stress induced by Mw3 = Mw3 / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) =
30,000,000,000 N / (0.6 m x 0.6 m) = 83.33 MPa
• Total stress at n = 1000000: 83.33 MPa (applied cyclic stress) +
366 MPa (maximum tensile residual stress) = 449.33 MPa
 By calculating the stress amplitude (Sa) for each combination of cyclic load
and number of cycles. Then, we'll estimate the fatigue life using the Goodman
curve equation. We'll begin with the load at n=1000 cycles (Mw1 = 277
MPa).

For the load at n=1000 cycles (Mw1 = 277 MPa), we'll calculate the stress amplitude
(Sa) and estimate the fatigue life (N) using the Goodman curve equation:

1. Stress Amplitude (𝑆𝑎 ) :

277MPa + 366MPa 643MPa
𝑆𝑎 = = = 321.5MPa
2 2

2. Fatigue Life (𝑁) :

−1
1 321.5MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 106 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa

N with the effect of the residual stresses

To calculate 𝑁, we'll use the Goodman curve equation:

−1
1 321.5MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 106 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 321.5 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( ×( ) + ×( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 105 125
−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁=( × (2.572) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁 =( × 43.588 + × 0)
2 × 106 5 × 105
−5 −1
𝑁 = (2.1794 × 10 + 0)
𝑁 ≈ (2.1794 × 10−5 )−1
𝑁 ≈ 45,846 cycles
N without the effect of residual stresses:
−1
1 138.5MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 106 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 138.5 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( ×( ) + ×( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 105 125
−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁=( × (1.108) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁=( × 1.5 + × 0)
2 × 106 5 × 105

𝑁 ≈ 1327000 cycles

At N=100000 with the effect of residual stresses

1. Stress Amplitude (𝑆𝑎 ) :

166.6MPa + 366MPa 532.6MPa
𝑆𝑎 = = = 266.3MPa
2 2

2. Fatigue Life (𝑁) :

−1
1 266.3MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 103 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa

Let's calculate 𝑁 :

To calculate 𝑁 for the load at 𝑛 = 100,000 cycles (Mw2 = 166.6MPa ), we'll use the
Goodman curve equation:

−1
1 266.3MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 106 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 266.3 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( ×( ) + ×( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 102 125

−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁 =( × (2.1304) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁 =( × 20.6 + × 0)
2 × 106 5 × 105
𝑁 = (9.1455 × 10 + 0)−1
−5

𝑁 ≈ (9.1455 × 10−5 )−1

𝑁 ≈ 97048 cycles

So, the estimated fatigue life for the load at 𝑛 = 100,000 cycles (Mw2 = 166.6MPa ) is
approximately 97048 cycles.
N without the effect of residual stresses

−1
1 83MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 106 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 83 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( ×( ) + ×( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 102 125

−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁=( × (0.664) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁=( × 0.19 + × 0)
2 × 106 5 × 105

𝑁 ≈ 10288633 cycles

For the load at 𝑛 = 1,000,000 cycles (Mw3 = 83.3MPa), i calculated the stress amplitude
(𝑆𝑎 ) and estimate the fatigue life (𝑁) using the Goodman curve equation:

1. Stress Amplitude (𝑆𝑎 ) :

83.3MPa + 366MPa 449.3MPa
𝑆𝑎 = = = 224.65MPa
2 2

2. Fatigue Life (𝑁) :

−1
1 224.65MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 105 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
N with the effect of residual stresses:

To calculate 𝑁 for the load at 𝑛 = 1,000,000 cycles (Mw3 = 83.3MPa ), used the Goodman
curve equation:

−1
1 224.65MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 100 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 224.65 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( × ( ) + × ( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 105 125
−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁=( × (1.7972) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁=( × 10.43 + × 0)
2 × 100 5 × 105

𝑁 ≈ 191709 cycles

So, the estimated fatigue life for the load at n = 1,000,000 cycles (Mw3 = 83.3MPa) is
approximately 191709 cycles.

N without the effect of residual stresses

−1
1 41.65MPa 4 1 0MPa 4
𝑁=( ( ) + ( ) )
2 × 100 125MPa 5 × 105 125MPa
−1
1 41.65 4 1 0 4
𝑁=( × ( ) + × ( ) )
2 × 106 125 5 × 105 125
−1
1 4
1 4
𝑁=( × (0.3332) + × (0) )
2 × 106 5 × 105
−1
1 1
𝑁=( × 0.012 + × 0)
2 × 100 5 × 105

𝑁 ≈ 162259459 cycles

References

1. "Fatigue of Structures and Materials" by Stephen J. Maddox