International

Journalof
International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853
Fatigue
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

A stress approach model for predictions of fatigue life

by shot peening of EN45A spring steel
a,*
M.L. Aggarwal , V.P. Agrawal b, R.A. Khan c

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, YMCA Institute of Engineering, Faridabad 121006, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus, Goa, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110016, India

Received 2 September 2004; received in revised form 19 September 2005; accepted 8 December 2005
Available online 7 March 2006

Abstract

A lot of research has been done to improve fatigue strength of materials by creating compressive residual stress field in their surface
layers through shot peening. In this paper, fatigue strength of shot peened leaf springs has been calculated from laboratory samples. The
axial fatigue strength of EN45A spring steel specimen is evaluated experimentally as a function of shot peening in the conditions used for
full-scale leaf springs testing in industries. Optimum shot peening condition for specimen is found and S/N curves of the specimens are
correlated with leaf springs curve. A mathematical model has been developed which predicts the fatigue life of leaf springs for a given
stress at varying shot peening conditions. Predictions from this model are compared with experimental data. The estimation of fatigue
life and relaxation of compressive residual stress field are discussed.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Fatigue life; Shot peening; Full-scale testing

1. Introduction shot peening intensity which is neither expensive nor time

consuming proposition.
Shot peening is a process in which the surface of a com- Most of researchers focused on improving fatigue
ponent is bombarded with small spherical media called resistance by shot peening process, making the nucleation
shot. Each piece of shot, on striking the surface, imparts and propagation of fatigue cracks difficult. Few publica-
a small indentation or dimple, all of which, jointly deform tions, which are listed in references [2,4,6–9] attempted
the surface in tension. The surrounding elastic material, on predictions of fatigue life from stress approach model.
attempting to return the yield surface to its initial shape, Aggarwal [2] worked with 65Si7 spring steel and found
creates a residual compressive stress field within the cold that shot peening increases fatigue limit increases from
work-hardened surface layer. While many fatigue strength Se to Se 0 and hence there is increase in alternating stress
data are available from test specimens, and the engineer amplitude (Sa 0 ) for a given mean stress Sm. Therefore,
can use these data as a starting point, the best data are equivalent life equations for a shot peened component
obtained by full-scale testing of actual components under are as follows:
realistic conditions. The full-scale testing in usually expen-
Modified-Goodman equation:
sive, time consuming and gives very specific results. The  
test specimens may be used experimentally to find optimum 0 0 Sm
Sa ¼ Se 1  ð1Þ
Sut
Gerber equation:
 
0 0 Sm2
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 129 2211654; fax: +91 129 5063869. Sa ¼ Se 1  ð2Þ
E-mail address: aggarwalmlal@rediffmail.com (M.L. Aggarwal). Sut2

0142-1123/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2005.12.004
1846 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853
Nomenclature
CRSF compressive residual stress field
RCRSF relaxed compressive residual stress field
A Almen ‘A’ scale
Ra average value of surface roughness
Sut ultimate tensile strength
Sa alternating stress
Soderberg equation:
 
Sm
Sa0 ¼ Se0 1  ð3Þ
Sy
Aggarwal et al. [4] worked with 65Si7 spring steel and
studied experimentally the effects of shot peening condi-
tions and damping for minimizing fretting fatigue failure
in leaf springs used in automotive vehicles. A correlation
between damping factor and compressive residual stress
field was established. Faraahi and Lebrun [6] worked with
AFNOR 60SC7 spring steel and showed that fatigue life
improvement, resulting from shot peening, can be attrib-
uted to the maximum residual stress and also to the depth
of the plastically deformed layer. A correlation was found
between the fatigue life and the area under the residual
stress curve. Hu Quao and Xu Hao [7] presented a two-
parameters nominal stress approach, which used an Sa–
Sm–N curved surface equation to calculate the fatigue
damage of each load cycle considering the effect of stress
amplitude and mean simultaneously. The Sa–Sm–N curved
equation was obtained directly from material fatigue per-
formance tests, therefore, the life prediction accuracy of
specimen was improved by using the two-parameter nomi-
nal stress approach.
The fatigue data obtained from specimens must be mod-
ified to account for physical differences between the speci-
men and actual component. The strength-reduction
factors are multiplied for a particular application [11].
Accurate fatigue predictions for actual component which
designers prefer, are still subjected to uncertainties [15].
As a consequence, safety factors on predictions are
required, and these factors have to be judiciously chosen,
based on information on data and spectra, knowledge of
governing conditions, statistical variations, and conse-
quences of fatigue failures. The limited accuracy of predic-
tions also emphasizes the significance of realistic simulation
tests. With the present knowledge, the relevance of realistic
testing can be well judged. In the previous studies, the pos-
sibility of mathematical model for fatigue life estimation of
shot peened component from its specimen was not consid-
ered. In this paper, a correlation for fatigue life estimation
between shot peened full-scale testing of components and
specimens during the laboratory tests is studied.
The present paper is in two parts: First, we illustrate
the effects of shot peening on full-scale testing of leaf
springs at one shot peening condition and specimens at
Sm mean stress
Se endurance limit
Sa 0 alternating stress of shot peened component
Sm 0 mean stress of shot peened component
Se 0 endurance limit of shot peened component
FSCF full-scale correlation factor
four shot peening conditions of EN45A spring steel.
The prediction model for the estimation of fatigue life
of the leaf springs at various shot peening conditions is
obtained by correlating S/N curves of the specimens.
Second, the paper demonstrates the verification of the
model. Variation of compressive residual stress field and
relaxed compressive residual stress field with the depth
of deformed layer has been discussed.
2. Experimental work
The chemical composition of EN45A spring steel used
was 0.61 C–1.8 Si–0.79 Mn–0.02 S–0.024 P, weight%.
The mechanical properties are: yield strength of 1147 MPa,
ultimate tensile strength of 1256 MPa and fatigue limit of
582 MPa. The test material was first heat-treated at
1191 K, and oil-quench hardened. It was tempered at
793 K, for 2 h. This gave a Rockwell hardness of HRC of
42. For the purpose of comparing the peening effect on
shot peened specimens, an A-type Almen strip, 76 · 19 ·
1.3 mm thick was used. The arc height was measured using
an Almen gauge. The shot peening material was cast steel
of ball diameter 1.0 mm. Shot peening was done using a
centrifugal wheel system. The shots were gravity fed to
wheel of diameter 495 mm, operating speed 2250 rpm and
having flat blades on its periphery. Shot flow rate was
changed to get various shot peening conditions. The mate-
rial was treated with four shot peening intensities: 6A, 12A,
17A and 22A, conveyor speed 3 m/min and from a distance
of 200 mm. Specimens were prepared according to ASTM
E 466 and the S/N curves were determined according to
ASTM E 468. The specimens were tested in an axial fati-
gue-testing machine MTS Model 810, at a frequency of
30 Hz and at room temperature. A stress ratio of R =
0.5, was used in all tests.
For the determination of compressive residual stress
changing with depth, a blind slot of 3 · 6 mm on test spec-
imen was removed by electrochemical polishing. The resid-
ual stress induced by shot peening was determined by X-ray
diffraction method, using the Raystress equipment. A Cr
tube operated at 30 KV and 8 mA was used for producing
Ka1 X-rays. The accuracy of stress measurement was
Dr = ±20 MPa.
Full-scale testing of leaf springs was carried out in an
electro-hydraulic fatigue component testing system. The
laminated leaf springs were placed in a fixture simulating
 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853 1847

L using an axial fatigue-testing machine (see Fig. 2). The five

R R
W average points were presented for each level (see Fig. 3).
T = 5mm W = 2.6T L = 3.23W
Fig. 1. ASTM specimen for S/N curves.
the conditions of vehicle. The system consists of a hydrau-
lic power pack to give a hydraulic pressure of 20.6 MPa
with a flow rate of 210 lpm, which is sent to a hydraulic
actuator to operate at a frequency of 0.3 Hz with the dis-
placement specified by the alternating load. The chemical
composition, properties of material and shot peening
parameters of leaf springs were similar to the specimens
(see Fig. 1).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. S/N curves for specimens
Cyclic-stress curves for the base material and for the
four peening conditions of specimens were determined
stress levels are not all of the levels tested; more tests were
conducted near the endurance limit. Twenty-two specimens
[14] were tested in order to plot an S/N curve. Only the
Shot peening influence in high stress (level 1: 1033 MPa)
T was slight. For intermediate conditions (105 cycles, level
R= 117mm 2: 900 MPa, level 3: 845.6 MPa and level 4: 750 MPa),
the fatigue gain in relation to base material was much more
expressive. The test stress levels were reviewed for base
material and peened specimens, and increase in fatigue life
was observed from the shot peening treatment (see Table
1). The best fatigue life was observed when the Almen
intensity is 17A. It was noted that the fatigue life decreases
at higher shot peening condition 22A. Reduction in fatigue
life at higher shot peening condition may be due to crack
initiation on the surface/early relaxation of compressive
residual stress during the fatigue process [3,18].
3.2. Full-scale testing
Fatigue life determination of vehicle parts require load
spectra defined from experimental data. A correlation
between real loading of vehicle parts in service and labo-
ratory test has already been established [10,12]. Full-scale
leaf springs testing was done for assessing the fatigue per-
formance of automotive leaf springs. Almen and Boerge-
hold [5] concluded that most fatigue test should
concentrate – about 1,00,000 cycles in a particular case
– rather the endurance limit. The simplification of the
loading for laboratory test is to apply maximum load
and minimum load at a given operating frequency to
ascertain whether the component will sustain finite fatigue
life cycles usually vary from 105 to 2.0 · 105 cycles. Min-
imum load corresponds to the load on leaf springs when
vehicle is loaded. Maximum load corresponds the load

Material EN45A Spring Steel

1200 Heat treated and tempered
HRC42
Ra 3.78 – 4.26 μ m
1100

Level 1
1000 Base material
6A
Stress (MPa)

12A
900 Level 2
17A
Level 3 22A
800
Level 4
700

Level 5
600

500
3 4 5 6 7
10 10 10 10 10
Cycles

Fig. 2. Photograph of axial fatigue testing machine for specimen. Fig. 3. S/N comparative curves.
1848 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853

Table 1
Summary of specimen results
Level 1: 1033 MPa Level 2: 900 MPa Level 3: 845.6 MPa Level 4: 750 MPa
2 2 2
S NF · 10 S NF · 10 S NF · 10 S NF · 102
Base
1A 56 5A 425 9A 720 13A 2029
2A 54 6A 414 10A 690 14A 2005
3A 59 7A 503 11A 654 15A 2114
4A 47 8A 499 12A 839 16A 2266
Average 54 Average 473 Average 726 Average 2101
SD 5 SD 22 SD 70 SD 126
6A
1B 74 5B 720 9B 1155 13B 4050
2B 70 6B 696 10B 1266 14B 3501
3B 75 7B 821 11B 1285 15B 4287
4B 66 8B 561 12B 1053 16B 2720
Average 71 Average 700 Average 1190 Average 3640
SD 4 SD 93 SD 94 SD 595
12A
1C 119 5C 801 9C 2800 13C 4702
2C 101 6C 907 10C 1198 14C 5011
3C 89 7C 843 11C 1887 15C 6002
4C 105 8C 883 12C 2472 16C 4072
Average 101 Average 859 Average 2039 Average 4946
SD 11 SD 41 SD 612 SD 694
17A
1D 91 5D 870 9D 2150 13D 7952
2D 92 6D 976 10D 2774 14D 6207
3D 102 7D 896 11D 3389 15D 7109
4D 95 8D 950 12D 3020 16D 8278
Average 95 Average 923 Average 2833 Average 7386
SD 9 SD 40 SD 453 SD 1607
22A
1E 87 5E 957 9E 2448 13E 5483
2E 79 6E 882 10E 2614 14E 6001
3E 98 7E 833 11E 2876 15E 7988
4E 91 8E 812 12E 3223 16E 5520
Average 88 Average 896 Average 2790 Average 6243
SD 14 SD 62 SD 293 SD 1026
S, specimen; NF, number of cycles until failure; SD, standard deviation of fatigue data life.

when leaf is near flat conditions. Drawing of leaf springs
[12 mm thickness · 70 mm width] is shown in Fig. 4 and
detailed specifications are given in [2]. It is well known
Fig. 4. Leaf springs.
that bending stress in leaf springs (rb) is calculated by
using the relation [1],
6PL
ðrb Þ ¼ . ð4Þ
nbt2
Where P is the force applied at the end of the spring, L is
the half of total length of the span, n is number of leaves, b
is width of each leaf and t is thickness of leaf. Alternating
stress was calculated from alternating load specified for the
laboratory test.
A shot peening condition of 6A was used during fati-
gue testing. Full-scale testing of leaf springs (see Fig. 5)
was done by first applying static load and then alternating
load. The static load was applied by giving deflection to
leaf springs by hydraulic ram. Hydraulic actuators were
set according to alternating load. A graphite coating of
thickness 30–32 lm was applied on leaf springs so as to
reduce fretting fatigue between leaves to a minimum
 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853
Fig. 5. Photograph of full-scale tasting of leaf springs.
value. Shot peening was carried out before coatings to
restore fatigue properties. Temperature during test was
risen to 95 C.The rise in temperature was due to friction
produced by relative motion of mating leaves. Further,
leaf springs were assumed to be a beam of uniform
strength. Although three tests were done for each fatigue
life, only average points are presented for each level (see
Fig. 6). The scatter in fatigue data for full-scale testing
of leaf springs was found to be lesser as compared to
specimens (see Table 2).
4. The model
The fatigue strength obtained from standard fatigue-test
specimens must be modified to account for physical differ-
ences between the test specimen and the actual part being
designed. The strength-reduction factors are then multi-
plied by the endurance limit (Se) to obtain corrected fatigue
endurance limit (Sec) for a particular application [11].
Sec ¼ C load C size C surf C temp C relia Se
Material EN45A Spring Steel
Heat treated and tempered
900 Level 1 HRC42
Surface roughness : 3.86 ο m
Level 2
Level 3 Leaf Spring, 6A
800
Stress (MPa)
Level 4
Specimen, 6A
Level 5
700
600
10 4 10 5
Cycles
Fig. 6. Finite life S/N curves of leaf springs and specimen at 6A.
1849
where Cload is strength reduction load factor, Csize is
strength-reduction size factor, Csurf is strength-reduction
surface factor, Ctemp is strength-reduction temperature fac-
tor, Crelia is strength-reduction reliability factor. The Sec
does not provide realistic data for actual shapes and assem-
blies like leaf springs. Authors have developed a mathemat-
ical model for estimating the fatigue life of leaf springs
based on similarities between specimens and leaf springs.
Material composition, mechanical properties and shot
peening treatments were similar for both the specimens
and leaf springs. A new term full-scale correlation factor
(FSCF) is defined for a stress level as follows:
Fatigue life of the leaf springs
FSCF ¼ ð6Þ
Fatigue life of the specimen
FSCF is calculated at a shot peening condition (see
Table 2) from experimental data. The mathematical model
is based on relationship between FSCF and stress. The
graph between FSCF and stress is linear (see Fig. 7) and
the equation of line is:
Stress ¼ m  FSCF þ c ð7Þ
At a given stress value, the value of FSCF and slope of
the line (m) are substituted, therefore, intercept (c) can be
calculated. FSCF is calculated at a given stress from the
above relation.
N L ¼ Fatigue life of leaf springs at a
shot peening condition
N ¼ Fatigue life of the specimen from S/N ð8Þ
curve at the shot peening condition
N L ¼ N  FSCF
A computer program based on mathematical model has
been developed. The computer program gives fatigue life of
leaf springs at varying shot peening conditions for a stress
range 0.9 yield strength to endurance limit of the speci-
mens. As an illustration, fatigue life of the leaf springs of
ð5Þ the industry in discussion, is predicted as follows:
Equation of line:stress ¼ 370  FSCF þ 566 ð9Þ
At a given stress, FSCF is calculated. FSCF is multi-
plied with fatigue life of specimen at 12A, 17A and 22A
respectively. Predicted fatigue life of leaf springs for vari-
ous stress levels at shot peening conditions of 12A, 17A
and 22A are shown (see Table 3).
The above procedure was generalized for several leaf
spring industries, which had better/worse manufacturing
capabilities and hence varying fatigue life of actual leaf
springs. The correlation between FSCF and stress for
industries other than mentioned in the present paper was
also studied (see Fig. 7). In all cases, a line was faired by
eye through, or fitted by regression analysis to, the fatigue
data. The advantage of the above process was that only
10 6 two levels for fatigue testing at one shot peening condition
were needed for finding FSCF. It was noted that scatter in
fatigue data was lower for the leaf springs. Therefore, the
1850 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853

Table 2
Full-scale correlation factor
Alternating stress level (MPa) Average specimen fatigue life Average full-scale fatigue life of FSCF (Y/X)
when shot peened at 6A the leaf springs at 6A (cycles) Y
(cycles) X
S X · 102 L Y · 102
432–900 1A 720 1L 603 0.925
2A 696 2L 650
3A 821 3L 688
4A 561 Average 647
Average 700 SD 35
SD 93
432–845.6 1B 1155 1M 871 0.754
2B 1266 2M 885
3B 1285 3M 935
4B 1053 Average 897
Average 1190 SD 28
SD 94
432–825 1C 1500 1N 1210 0.700
2C 1342 2N 975
3C 1754 3N 1015
4C 1483 Average 1067
Average 1520 SD 103
SD 149
432–800 1D 1805 1O 1255 0.625
2D 2152 2O 1306
3D 2145 3O 1219
4D 1965 Average 1260
Average 2016 SD 36
SD 144
432–750 1E 4050 1P 1965 0.500
2E 3501 2P 1802
3E 4287 3P 1692
4E 2720 Average 1820
Average 3640 SD 113
SD 595
S, specimen; L, leaf spring; NF, number of cycles until failure; SD, standard deviation of fatigue data life.

The fatigue life of leaf springs differ from laboratory

1200 + Industry with lower fatigue life
samples in the following aspects:
* Industry in discussion
1100 • Industry with higher fatigue life
(i) Fretting fatigue. It was observed that the wide differ-
1000 ence in the result of S/N curves of samples and leaf
Stress (MPa)

* springs is due to presence of fretting fatigue [4]. Fret-

900 + * ting is caused by small amplitude cyclical movement
+ * •
800 of two solid leaves in close contact under pressure.
+ * •
• • The fretting fatigue increases with decreasing stress
700 + •* level (see Fig. 6). It may be noted that when shot
peening condition is 6A and specimen fatigue life is
600
364,000 cycles, the corresponding fatigue life of leaf
500 springs is 182,000 cycles only (see Table 2). Fretting
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 fatigue can be retarded by improving surface bearing
FSCF
characteristics, introducing, compressive residual
Fig. 7. FSCF and stress. stress, increasing material hardness and reducing
movement amplitude [16]. Controlled shot peening
is widely accepted as a process to increase fatigue
number of levels and observations may be lower. The and fretting fatigue performance of components.
model is reliable in addressing experimental scatter data. Improvement in various surface characteristics of
Fatigue life of leaf springs is predicted at varying shot leaf springs is due to shot peening (see Table 4). Com-
peening conditions for the wide range of stresses. pressive residual stress, surface hardness, depth of
 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853 1851

Table 3
Predicted fatigue life of leaf springs at shot peening conditions
Alternating stress level (MPa) Average specimen fatigue life (cycles) FSCF (Table 1) Predicted fatigue life of leaf springs (cycles)
12A 17A 22A 12A 17A 22A
432–900 85,900 92,300 89,600 0.925 79,458 85,378 82,880
SD76 SD75 SD65
432–845.6 203,900 283,300 279,000 0.754 153,740 213,608 210,366
SD612 SD453 SD293
432–825 220,240 413,671 356,112 0.700 154,168 289,570 249,279
SD198 SD222 SD203
432–800 341,000 571,400 462,000 0.625 213,125 357,125 288,750
SD825 SD620 SD402
432–750 494,600 738,600 624,300 0.500 247,300 369,300 312,150
SD694 SD1607 SD1026

Table 4
Surface characteristics at various shot peening conditions
S.no. Shot peening CRSF at 0.07 mm Depth of deformed Hardness HRC Damping factor at
conditions depth (MPa) layer (mm) 0.07 mm depth (leaf 1)
1 6A 620 0.19 43 0.0234
2 12A 720 0.20 44 0.0242
3 17A 800 0.21 44.5 0.0251
4 22A 880 0.22 45 0.0261

deformed layer and damping factor are found 1200 Calculated, 12A
to be higher with increasing shot peening intensity. Calculated , 22A
Damping factors for smallest leaf (leaf 1) were 1100
Calculated , 17A
measured by an experimental set-up [4]. Higher val- * Experimental, 12A
1000
ues of compressive residual stress field, structural
Stress (MPa)

+ Experimental, 22A
damping, hardness and depth of deformed layer are 900 • Experimental, 17A
of practical engineering importance in limiting ampli- * + •
* + •
tude of vibration. This will reduce interleaf friction 800 * + •
and stresses in leaf springs. This reduces the fretting •
700 * + •
fatigue and the likelihood of fatigue failure. There
*
is no general relationship between various surface 600
characteristics and fatigue life. This is due to fact that
fatigue life is lesser when shot peening intensity is 22A 500 4 5 6
10 10 10
instead of 17A. Cycles
(ii) Type of loading. Sample has been tested in axial fati-
Fig. 8. Stress–cycles relationship.
gue while leaf springs in bending fatigue. Axial fati-
gue test shows strength that is 0.7 times the bending
fatigue strength [11]. 22A. Average leaf springs like testing was plotted and
(iii) Stress concentration. Sometimes, situation arises in results were compared at various stress levels (see Fig. 8).
leaf springs industries that shot peening do not There was a good estimation of the fatigue life at high
enhance the fatigue life of leaf springs as expected stress levels and low stress levels. The fatigue life predicted
[13]. One manufacturing defect is distortion in leaves. by model correlates well with the experimental observa-
The minor distortion in leaves is due to hardening tions. The model is reliable in addressing experimental data
and shot peening process. Distortion causes stress scatter at various shot peening conditions.
concentration which can reduce the fatigue life bene-
fits of shot peening in leaf spring industries. 6. Compressive residual stress field

Compressive residual stress varies with Almen intensity

5. Validation of the model
The fatigue model presented in this paper was compared
with the fatigue lives of actual leaf springs at various stress
levels when shot peening conditions were 12A, 17A and
and depth of deformed layer (see Fig. 9). The residual stress
on the surface of specimen was almost same for Almen
intensities of 6A, 12A, 17A and 22A. It was noted that
the maximum stress occurred beneath the surface.
Improvement in fatigue life is the result of the compressive
1852 M.L. Aggarwal et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 1845–1853

200 failure occurred. The relaxed CRSF (RCRSF) was mea-

sured when alternating stress varied from 432 to
0
845.6 MPa (see Fig. 10) and 432–750 MPa, respectively
0 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.1 0.12 0.15 0.17 0.2 0.22 0.25
CRSF (MPa)

-200 (see Fig. 11). It is important to note that the greater applied
tension, the greater the relaxation stress. Stress relaxation
-400
is more at 22A as compared to 17A.There occurs damage
-600 6A of material in surface region of high shot peening intensity
12A
17A 22A and this damage is responsible for higher relaxation of
-800
22A the CRSF. The damage caused is the main reason of reduc-
-1000 tion of fatigue life at 22A. The greater the stress relaxation,
Depth (mm) the lesser is the fatigue life [18].
Fig. 9. CRSF and depth of deformed layer.
8. Conclusions

residual stress field induced by shot peening. The shot
peening treatment pushes the crack sources in most of med-
ium cycle cases due to the CRSF induced [12,17]. But it was
realized from the S/N comparative curves of the specimens
that the fatigue life is lower at higher shot peening intensity
of 22A as compared to 17A (see Fig. 3). Additional tests
for relaxation of residual stress were conducted to verify
the above situation.
7. Relaxed compressive residual stress field
Relaxation of compressive residual stress depends upon
number of cycles and stress level during the fatigue process.
The shot peened specimens were subjected to cyclic loading
and removed from the axial fatigue testing machine before
0 Fatigue life estimation is good at various stress levels.
-50 0 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.1 0.12 0.15 0.17
-100
RCRSF (MPa)
Fatigue life estimation of full-scale testing of leaf springs
of EN45A spring steel has been studied from its specimen
from the viewpoints of stress approach. The following
points are concluded from this study:
(i) A mathematical model based on stress approach, has
been developed to predict the fatigue life of shot pee-
ned leaf springs of EN45A spring steel. Predictions
from the model agree with experimental results.
(ii) A new term full-scale correlation factor (FSCF) has
been defined as ratio of fatigue life of leaf springs
to the fatigue life of the specimen. A linear relation
was found between the FSCF and stress. Specimen
results are converted by the corresponding FSCF to
predict fatigue life of leaf springs for a given stress
at various shot peening conditions.
(iii) The FSCF decreases with decreasing stress level.
0.2 0.22 (iv) The model is comprehensive in the sense that it is
capable of addressing experimental data scatter at
various shot peening conditions.

-150
-200 (v) Wide differences in fatigue life between specimen and
-250 full-scale leaf springs testing is mainly due to fretting
-300 fatigue between mating leaves.
-350 22A
-400 17A
-450 Acknowledgements
Depth (mm)

Fig. 10. RCRSF and depth of deformed layer at 845.6 MPa.

This work was carried out as part of a research contract
with the Leaf Springs Testing Division of Friends Auto (In-
dia) Ltd. The company is gratefully acknowledged for en-
0 abling the authors to do this work. Authors are thankful
0 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.1 0.12 0.15 0.17 0.2 0.22 to Prof. T.K. Kundra of IIT New Delhi for useful
-100
discussion.
RCRSF (MPa)

-200

-300 References
-400 [1] Aaron D. Machine design. 3rd ed. Macmillan Publishing Co.; 1975. p.
17A 737–40.
-500
22A [2] Aggarwal ML. Impact of shot peening parameters on fatigue life of
-600
leaf springs. M. Tech. Mech. Eng. Dept. IIT New Delhi, December
Depth (mm) 2003. p. 15–25.
[3] Aggarwal ML, Agrawal VP, Maheshwari S. Effect of shot peening on
Fig. 11. RCRSF and depth of deformed layer at 750 MPa. surface characteristics of EN-45A spring steel. In: National confer-
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MIT Manipal, India, March 18–20, 2004. p. 203–7.
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