Fatigue and Fracture of Hull Girder

Mechanical behaviour materials -

Norman.E.Dowling

Fatigue Damage – Christian Lalanne

Fatigue and fracture-F.C.Campbell

The phenomenon of fatigue
Formation and growth of cracks in
machine and structural elements
subjected to repeated loads below
ultimate strength.
The phenomenon of fatigue
Formation and growth of cracks in
machine and structural elements
subjected to repeated loads below
ultimate strength.
The phenomenon of fatigue
The cracks grow slowly till the cross
section is reduced to such an extent that
it cannot bear the load any more, the
component then fails by rupture.
(critical crack size)
The phenomenon of fatigue
This phenomenon was noticed in the
19th century, with the arrival of
machines and vehicles functioning
under dynamic loads.
The phenomenon of fatigue
The rail transportation was affected
from the start by a number of serious
accidents.
The phenomenon of fatigue
The rail transportation was affected
from the start by a number of serious
accidents.
Early railways began to suffer failures of
axles, wheels, rails, boilers and other
components.
The phenomenon of fatigue
The rail transportation was affected
from the start by a number of serious
accidents.

One such incidence was in 1842, at

Versailles (France), killing 60 people.
The cause: one axle broke due to fatigue
crack.
The phenomenon of fatigue

In the 19th century, fatigue was

thought to be a mysterious
phenomenon in the material because
fatigue damage could not be seen.
Failure apparently occurred without
any previous warning.
The phenomenon of fatigue

During the next two decades, the

great German railway engineer August
Wöhler, demonstrated that cyclic stress
ranges determined fatigue lives.
 The phenomenon of fatigue

During the next two decades, the

great German railway engineer August
Wöhler, demonstrated that cyclic stress
ranges determined fatigue lives.
He recognised that a single load application, far
below the static strength of a structure, will not
do any damage to the structure. But if the same
load was repeated many times it could induce a
complete failure.
Rotating bending testing setup used by
Wöhler.
S-specimen

[Ref: Mechanical behaviour of materials by Norman.E.Dowling, Pearson]

The phenomenon of fatigue

The mechanism of fatigue has been

unravelled during the 20th century,
particularly in the last fifty years.
The phenomenon of fatigue

The quantification of crack growth has

become possible through the use of
fracture mechanics.
 The phenomenon of fatigue

Fatigue crack initiation usually occurs at a

location on the free surface (hot spots) ,
where some kind of stress concentration
feature exists(eg. Discontinuity, weld
defect, mocrocracks).
 The phenomenon of fatigue

Fatigue crack initiation usually occurs at a

location on the free surface (hot spots) ,
where some kind of stress concentration
feature exists(eg. discontinuity).

Ship structure has large

number of such hot spots.
Fatigue problems in ships

Fatigue cracking in ships has been

a serious problem for many years.
[Fatigue Criteria for Ship Structure Details, SNAME,
1981.]
Fatigue problems in ships

Fatigue cracks were often found in the

forepeak region, bottom amidships, at
the bulwark at both ends of the
bridge, in the hatch corners ,crossings
of frames, longitudinal, and girders ,
and many other locations [Fatigue Criteria
for Ship Structure Details, SNAME, 1981.]
Fatigue problems in ships

The economic impact of fatigue failures

has been tremendous.
Fatigue of structures is now generally
recognized as a significant problem.
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