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Fatigue

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Ametalsubjectedtoarepetitiveorfluctuatingstresswillfailatastressmuchlowerthanthatrequiredtocausefractureon
a single application of load. Failures occurring under conditions of dynamic loading are called fatigue failures,
presumablybecauseitisgenerallyobservedthatthesefailuresoccuronlyafteraconsiderableperiodofservice.Fatigue
accountsforatleast90percentofallservicefailuresduetomechanicalcauses.

Fatigueoccurswhenamaterialissubjecttoalternatingorcyclicstresses,overalongperiodoftime.Examplesofwhere
fatiguemayoccurinamarinedieselengineare:crankshafts,valvesprings,turbochargerblades,pistoncrowns,bottom
endbolts,pistonskirtsatthegudgeonpinbossandtiebolts.

Stressescanbeappliedinthreeways,torsionally,axiallyandbybending.

ThesymbolforstressistheGreeklettersigmaandtheunitsareforce/unitareai.eN/m2orpsi(imperial)

TORSIONAL

This is where the material is twisted and untwisted along its axis. Any rotating shaft
drivingaloadwillbesubjecttotorsionalvibration at the natural frequency of the shaft.
However torsional vibration is most easily visualised in an engine crankshaft where the
compressionandfiringforcesareappliedtothecrankpinthroughthepistonandconrod.
Theseforcesvaryaccordingtoangleofthrustappliedbytheconrodandthecylinderfiring
pressurebutaregreatestatabout10eithersideofTDC.

The crank also has to absorb the inertia loading due to the conrods and pistons, which
easilyamountstoseveraltonsoneachcylinder.

AXIAL

Thisiswherethematerialissubjecttotensionorcompressionalongitsaxis.Anexample
ofthisarethebottomendboltsonafourstrokeengine.

Theboltsandtheirnutsaresubjecttotensilestresswhentightenedandadditionalvarying
tensilestressduring operation. Thetotal stress level is high and varies with time, giving
rise to the risk of fatigue. The connecting rod is in compression during the compression
and power strokes, but due to the inertia forces in the running gear when the piston
changes direction between the exhaust and inlet strokes, the connecting rod is put into
tension.Thisincreasesthetensioninthebottomendbolts,leadingtocyclicstressing.

BENDING

Whenmaterialisbent,theinsideofthebendwillbeincompressionandtheoutsideofthe
bendwillbeintension.Thistypeofstresscanbeeasilyvisualisedinapistoncrownunder
thegasloadandiscompoundedbythestressesinducedbythedifferenceintemperature
onthetopsurfaceandtheundersideofthecrown(thermalstressing).
Italsooccursincrankshaftswherethegasloadonthepistonisbendingthecrankshaft.If
themainbearingsareofdifferentheights(i.eoutofverticalalignment),thenthebending
isincreased.

STRESSCYCLES

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Fatigue

Reversed

Repeated

Random

Therearethreestresscycleswithwhichloadsmaybeappliedtothecomponentunderconsideration.Thesimplestbeing
thereversedstresscycle.Thisismerelyasinewavewherethemaximumstressandminimumstressdifferbyanegative
sign.Anexampleofthistypeofstresscyclewouldbeinanaxle,whereeveryhalfturnorhalfperiodasinthecaseofthe
sinewave,thestressonapointwouldbereversed.Themostcommontypeofcyclefoundinengineeringapplicationsis
where the maximum stress (max)andminimumstress(min) are asymmetric (the curve is a sine wave) not equal and
opposite.Thistypeofstresscycleiscalledrepeatedstresscycle.Afinaltypeofcyclemodeiswherestressandfrequency
vary randomly. An example of this would be hull shocks, where the frequency magnitude of the waves will produce
varyingminimumandmaximumstresses.

THESNCURVE

The SN curve is just a graph plotted of stress, S against the number of

cyclesN.
Nisalogarithmicscalei.e105cycles,106cycles107cyclesetc.

The line plotted for the particular material will indicate how many stress
reversalsitcangothroughbeforeitfails.

If the material is loaded below the fatigue limit, which in the example
shownis14103psi(95103kN/m2)thenitwillnotfailregardlessofthe
numberofstresscycles.

Materialsuchasaluminum,copperandmagnesiumdonotshowa fatigue
limit, therefore they will fail at any stress and number of cycles. Other
important terms are fatigue strength and fatigue life. The stress at which
failure occurs for a given number of cycles is the fatigue strength. The
number of cycles required for a material to fail at a certain stress is the
fatiguelife.

CRACKINITIATION,PROPAGATIONANDFAILURE

Failureofamaterialduetofatiguemaybeviewedonamicroscopiclevelinthreesteps:
1. CrackInitiation:The initial crack occurs in this stage. The crack may be caused by surface scratches caused by
handling,ortoolingofthematerialthreads(asinascreworbolt),flawsinthematerial,slipbandsordislocations
intersectingthesurfaceasaresultofpreviouscyclicloadingorworkhardening.
2. CrackPropagation:Thecrackcontinuestogrowduringthisstageasaresultofcontinuouslyappliedstresses
3. Failure: Failure occurs when the material that has not been affected by the crack cannot withstand the applied
stress.Thisstagehappensveryquickly.

Fatigue failure can be identified by examining the fracture. A fatigue

fracture will have two distinct regions One is smooth or burnished as a
resultoftherubbingofthebottomandtopofthecrackasitisgrowing.
Thesecondisgranular,duetotherapidfailureofthematerial.

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Other features of a fatigue fracture are Beachmarks and Striations.

Beachmarks, or clamshell marks, may be seen in fatigue failures of
materials that are used for a period of time, allowed to rest for an
equivalenttimeperiodandtheloadedagainasinfactoryusage.Striations
whichcanbeseenthroughamicroscope,arethoughttobestepsincrack
propagation, were the distance depends on the stress range. Beachmarks
maycontainthousandsofstriations

Visiblebeachmarksonatieboltfailure

Magnificationoffatiguefailureshowingstriations

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