Lab8: Fatigue Testing Machine

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Objective

To become
Machine.

Investigate the effect of the radius of the fillet

and surface smoothness.

Draw a simple Whler diagram

familiar

with

Fatigue

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Testing

Equipment
Fatigue tester MT 3012. The motor is connected on one
side to a counter mechanism, which can record 7 figure
numbers. Attached to the shaft at the other end is a fixture.
The loading device consists of a spherical ball bearing and a
micro switch, which automatically switches off the motor
when the fracture occurs.

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Introduction

Fatigue is a process in which damage accumulates

due to the repetitive application of loads that may be
well below the yield point.

The process is dangerous because a single application

of the load would not produce any ill effects, and a
conventional stress analysis might lead to an
assumption of safety that does not exist.

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Introduction

cont.

Fatigue of materials is a well known situation whereby rupture

can be caused by a large number of stress variations at a point
even though the maximum stress is less than the proof or yield
stress.

The fracture is initiated by tensile stress at a macro or

microscopic flaw. Once started the edge of the crack acts as a
stress raiser and thus assists in propagation of the crack until
the reduced section can no longer carry the imposed load.

While it appears that fatigue failure may occur in all materials,

there are marked differences in the incidence of fatigue. For
example, mild steel is known to have an 'endurance limit
stress' below which fatigue fracture does not occur, this is know
as the fatigue limit. This does not occur with non-ferrous
material, such as aluminum alloys, however, there is no such
limit.
5

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Stress-Life Diagram (S-N Diagram)

The S-N diagram plots nominal stress amplitude S versus cycles to
failure N. There are numerous testing procedures to generate the
required data for a proper S-N diagram. S-N test data are usually
displayed on a log-log plot, with the actual S-N line representing
the mean of the data from several tests.

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Endurance Limit

Certain materials have a fatigue limit or endurance limit which

represents a stress level below which the material does not fail
and can be cycled infinitely. If the applied stress level is below
the endurance limit of the material, the structure is said to
have an infinite life. This is the characteristic of steel and
titanium in benign environmental conditions.

The concept of an endurance limit is used in infinite-life or safe

stress designs. It is due to interstitial elements (such as carbon
or nitrogen in iron) that pin dislocations, thus preventing the
slip mechanism that leads to the formation of micro cracks.

The endurance limit is not a true property of a material, since

other significant influences such as surface finish cannot be
entirely eliminated.
7

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Endurance Limit

cont.

The factors that can affect the endurance limit

include:

Surface Finish
Temperature
Stress Concentration
Notch Sensitivity
Size
Environment
Reliability

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Power Relationship

When plotted on a log-log scale, an S-N curve can be approximated

by a straight line as shown below. A power law equation can then
be used to define the S-N relationship.

where b is the Basquin slope

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Power Relationship

cont.

The power relationship is only valid for fatigue

lives that are on the design line.

For ferrous metals this range is from 1x103 to

1x106 cycles. For non-ferrous metals, this range is
from 1x103 to 5x108 cycles.

10

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Effects of Surface Finish, Size, Fillet Radius

Effect of surface finish:

The surface of the standard rotating bending specimen is
carefully finished by grinding and polishing to remove any
circumferential scratches. Most actual parts have a less well
finished surface and have a reduced endurance limit as a result.

Effect of size:
The probability of finding a bigger flaw increases as the size of
components is increased. In part, this leads to a finding that, all
other things being equal, larger components have reduced
fatigue strength.

Effect of fillet radius:

Most components have one or more dimensions which vary
greatly from the main dimensions, for example in bearings. Such
differences in dimensions create concentration of tension. A
material of low fillet radius sensitivity should be selected when
dimensioning a component which will be subjected to fatigue
stresses.
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Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Results

The specimen dimension :

D (diameter) = mm
L (length) = mm

To calculate the stress :

S = MC/ I
= FL C / (D/2)^4
= 32 FL / D

12

M = bending moment
C = radius D/2
I = moment of inertia
D = 8.1 mm
L = 111.3 mm

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15

Results
Test piece No.

13

Force(N)

Stress

Number of revolutions to fracture

Lab7:Fatigue Testing Machine

08/31/15