Fatigue Failures

http://www.materialsengineer.com/CA-fatigue.htm

Metallurgical Consultants

Fatigue Failures
Home Failure Analysis Root Cause Analysis Welding Metallurgy Process Control Expert Witness Experience Customer Cases Fees Links Failure Mechanisms The process of fatigue Fatigue consists of three Creep & stress rupture stages: Corrosion Stress corrosion cracking Initial crack Ductile and brittle fractures Schematic of S-N Curve, showing initiation Wear increase in fatigue life with decreasing Progressive Hydrogen embrittlement stresses. crack growth Liquid metal embrittlement across the part Final sudden fracture of the remaining cross section Metal fatigue is caused by repeated cycling of of the load. It is a progressive localized damage due to fluctuating stresses and strains on the material. Metal fatigue cracks initiate and propagate in regions where the strain is most severe.

Welding
MIG TIG Stick SAW

Stress Ratio
Corrosion
Corrosion failures Stress corrosion cracking Uniform corrosion Galvanic corrosion Pitting corrosion Crevice corrosion Marine corrosion

The most commonly used stress ratio is R, the ratio of the minimum stress to the maximum stress (Smin/Smax). If the stresses are fully reversed, then R = -1. If the stresses are partially reversed, R = a negative number less than 1. If the stress is cycled between a maximum stress and no load, R = zero. If the stress is cycled between two tensile stresses, R = a

Topics

1 of 3

25/11/2011 17:52

Fatigue Failures

http://www.materialsengineer.com/CA-fatigue.htm

Explosions Castings Boilers Heat Exchangers Pressure Vessels Pipelines Lifting Equipment Fasteners Gears Bearings Shafts Residual Stresses Chemical Processing Pulp and Paper Food Processing Automotive Ships

positive number less than 1.

Variations in the stress ratios can significantly affect fatigue life. The presence of a mean stress component has a substantial effect on fatigue failure. When a tensile mean stress is added to the alternating stresses, a component will fail at lower alternating stress than it does under a fully reversed stress.

Alloys
Steel Stainless Steel Aluminum Copper Titanium

Preventing Fatigue Failure

The most effective method of improving fatigue performance is improvements in design: Eliminate or reduce stress raisers by streamlining the part Avoid sharp surface tears resulting from punching, stamping, shearing, or other processes Prevent the development of surface discontinuities during processing. Reduce or eliminate tensile residual stresses caused by manufacturing.

2 of 3

25/11/2011 17:52

Fatigue Failures

http://www.materialsengineer.com/CA-fatigue.htm

Improve the details of fabrication and fastening procedures

Fatigue Failure Analysis

Metal fatigue is a significant problem because it can occur due to repeated loads below the static yield strength. This can result in an unexpected and catastrophic failure in use. Because most engineering materials contain discontinuities most metal fatigue cracks initiate from discontinuities in highly stressed regions of the component. The failure may be due the discontinuity, design, improper maintenance or other causes. A failure analysis can determine the cause of the failure.

Contact Information
Telephone 407-880-4945 ----------- Consulting assistance is only available for customers FAX Postal address AMC 380 S. State Road 434 Suite 1004 - #303 Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 Electronic mail General Information: Consulting@MaterialsEngineer.com Customer Support: Support@MaterialsEngineer.com Webmaster: Help@MaterialsEngineer.com [ Home ] [ Failure Analysis ] [ Root Cause Analysis ] [ Welding ] [ Metallurgy ] [ Process Control ] [ Expert Witness ] [ Experience ] [ Customer Cases ] [ Fees ] [ Links ]
Send mail to Help@MaterialsEngineer.com with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright 1999 Metallurgical Consultants Last modified: September 11, 2007

3 of 3

25/11/2011 17:52