CH 6: Fatigue Failure Resulting from Variable Loading

Some machine elements are subjected to static loads and for such elements static
failure theories are used to predict failure (yielding or fracture). However, most
machine elements are subjected to varying or fluctuating stresses (due to the
movement) such as shafts, gears, bearings, cams & followers,etc.
Fluctuating stresses (repeated over long period of time) will cause a part to fail
(fracture) at a stress level much smaller than the ultimate strength (or even the yield
strength in some casses).
Unlike static loading where failure usualy can be detected before it happens (due to
the large deflections associated with plastic deformation), fatigue failures are usualy
sudden and therefore dangerous.
Fatigue failure is somehow similar to brittle fracture where the fracture surfaces are
prependicular to the load axis.
 According to Linear-Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM),
fatigue failure develops in three stages:
- Stage1: development of one or more micro cracks
(the size of two to five grains) due to the cyclic local
plastic deformation.
- Stage2: the cracks progress from micro cracks to
larger cracks (macro cracks) and keep growing
making a smooth plateau-like fracture surfaces with
beach marks.
- Stage3: occurs during the final stress cycle where the
remaining material cannot support the load, thus
resulting in a sudden fracture (can be brittle or ductile
fracture).

 Fatigue failure is due to crack

formation and propagation.
Fatigue cracks usually initiate
at locations with high stresses
such as discontinuities (hole,
notch, scratch, sharp corner,
crack, inclusions, etc.).

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 1 of 20
  Fatigue cracks can also initiate at surfaces having rough surface finish or due to
the presence of tensile residual stresses. Thus all parts subjected to fatigue
loading are heat treated and polished in order to increase the fatigue life.

Fatigue Life Methods

Fatigue failure is a much more complicated phenomenon than static failure where
much complicating factors are involved. Also, testing materials for fatigue properties is
more complicated and much more time consuming than static testing.
Fatigue life methods are aimed to determine the life (number of loading cycles) of an
element until failure.
 There are three major fatigue life methods where each is more accurate for some
types of loading or for some materials. The three methods are: the stress-life
method, the strain-life method, the linear-elastic fracture mechanics method.

 The fatigue life is usually classified according to the number of loading cycles into:
 Low cycle fatigue (1≤N≤1000) and for this low number of cycles, designers
sometimes ignore fatigue effects and just use static failure analysis.
 High cycle fatigue (N>103):
 Finite life: from 103 →106 cycles
 Infinite life: more than 106 cycles

The Strain-Life Method

This method relates the fatigue life to the amount of

plastic strain suffered by the part during the repeated
loading cycles.

 When the stress in the material exceeds the yield

strength and the material is plastically deformed, the
material will be strain hardened and the yield strength
will increase if the part is reloaded again. However, if
the stress direction is reversed (from tension to
compression), the yield strength in the reversed
direction will be smaller than its initial value which

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 2 of 20
 means that the material has been softened in the reverse loading direction (this is
referred to as Bauschinger Effect). Each time the stress is reversed, the yield
strength in the other direction is decreased and the material gets softer and
undergoes more plastic deformation until fracture occurs.
 The strain-life method is applicable to Low-cycle fatigue.

The Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics Method

This method assumes that a crack initiates in the material and it keeps growing until
failure occurs (the three stages described above).

 The LEFM approach assumes that a small crack already exists in the material, and it
calculates the number of loading cycles required for the crack to grow to be large
enough to cause the remaining material to fracture completely.
 This method is more applicable to High-cycle fatigue.

The Stress-Life Method

This method relates the fatigue life to the alternating stress level causing failure but it
does not give any explanation to why fatigue failure happens.

 The stress-life relation is obtained experimentally using

Moore high-speed rotating beam test.
- The test is conducted by subjecting the rotating beam
to a pure bending moment (of a fixed known magnitude) until failure occurs.
(Due to rotation, the specimen is subjected to an alternating bending stress)
- The data obtained from the tests is used to generate the fatigue strength vs.
fatigue life diagram which is known as the S-N diagram.
- The first point is the ultimate strength which corresponds to failure in half a
cycle.
- The alternating stress amplitude is reduced below the ultimate strength and the
test is run until failure. The stress level and the number of cycles until failure
give a data point on the chart.
- The testing continues and each time the stress amplitude is reduced (such that
the specimen will live longer) and new point is obtained.

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 3 of 20
 - For steel alloys the low-cycle
fatigue and the high-cycle
fatigue (finite and infinite)
can be recognized as having
different slopes. (they are
straight lines but keep in mind
it is a log-log curve)
- For steels if we keep reducing
the stress amplitude (for each
test) we will reach to a stress
level for which the specimen
will never fail, and this value
of stress is known as the Endurance Limit (Se).
- The number of stress cycles associated with the Endurance Limit defines the
boundary between Finite-life and Infinite-life, and it is usually between 106 to 107
cycles.

 Steel and Titanium alloys have a clear endurance limit, but this is not true for all
materials.
 For instance, Aluminum alloys do not have an endurance limit and for such
materials the fatigue strength is reported at 5(108) cycles.
 Also, most polymers do not have an endurance limit.

The Endurance Limit

The determination of the endurance limit is important for designing machine elements
that are subjected to High-cycle fatigue. The common practice when designing such
elements is to make sure that the fatigue stress level in the element is below the
endurance limit of the material being used.

 Finding the Endurance Limit using the rotating beam experiment is time consuming
where it requires testing many samples and the time for each test is relatively long.
Therefore they try to relate the endurance limit to other mechanical properties
which are easier to find (such as the ultimate tensile strength).

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 4 of 20
 The figure shows a plot of the
Endurance Limits versus Tensile
Strengths for a large number of
steel and iron specimens.
- The graph shows a correlation
between the ultimate strength
and endurance limit for
ultimate strengths up to 1400
𝑀𝑃𝑎 then the endurance limit
seems to have a constant value.
- The relationship between the endurance limit and ultimate strength for steels is
given as:

0.5 𝑆𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝑢𝑡 ≤ 1400 𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝑆𝑒 ′ = {
700 𝑀𝑃𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝑢𝑡 > 1400 𝑀𝑃𝑎

 The prime (‘) is used to denote that this is the endurance limit value
obtained for the test specimen (modifications are still needed).

Endurance Limit Modifications Factors

Endurance limit is obtained from the rotating beam test. The test is conducted under
closely controlled conditions (polished specimen of small size at a constant known
temperature, etc.). It is not realistic to expect a machine element to have the exact
same endurance limit value as that obtained from the rotating beam test because it
has different conditions (size, surface finish, manufacturing process, environment, etc.)

 Thus some modification factors are used to correlate the endurance limit for a
given mechanical element to the value obtained from tests:
Size Temp. Misc.

𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑏 𝑘𝑐 𝑘𝑑 𝑘𝑒 𝑘𝑓 𝑆𝑒 ′

Finish Load Reliability

Where,

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 5 of 20
 𝑆𝑒 : The endurance limit at the critical location of a machine element with the
geometry and conditions of use.

𝑆𝑒 ′ : The endurance limit obtained from the rotating beam test.

𝑘𝑎 … 𝑘𝑓 : Modification factors (obtained experimentally).

Surface Condition Factor (𝑘𝑎 )

The rotating-beam test specimens are highly polished. A rough surface finish will
reduce the endurance limit because there will be a higher potential for crack initiation.

 The surface condition modification factor depends on the surface finish of the part
(ground, machined, as forged, etc.) and on the tensile strength of the material. It is
given as:

𝑘𝑎 = 𝑎 𝑆𝑢𝑡 𝑏

 Constants 𝑎 & 𝑏 depend on surface condition and are given in Table 6-2.

Size Factor (𝑘𝑏 )

The rotating-beam specimens have a specific (small) diameter (7.6mm). Parts of larger
size are more likely to contain flaws and to have more non-homogeneities.
 The size factor is given as:

For bending 1.24 𝑑−0.107 2.79 ≤ 𝑑 ≤ 51 𝑚𝑚

𝑘𝑏 = {
and torsion 1.51 𝑑 −0.157 51 < 𝑑 ≤ 254 𝑚𝑚

where 𝑑 is the diameter,

and:
𝑘𝑏 = 1 for axial loading

 When a member with circular cross-section is not rotating, we use an effective

diameter value instead of the actual diameter, where:
𝑑𝑒 = 0.37 𝑑

 For other cross-sections, 𝑑𝑒 is found using Table 6-3 (obtain 𝐴0.95𝜎 from table
then solve eqn. 6-23 for the “equivalent diameter” 𝑑 and finally find 𝑑𝑒 using
the equation above “eqn. 6-24” ).

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 6 of 20
Loading Factor (𝑘𝑐 )
The rotating-beam specimen is loaded in bending. Other types of loading will have a
different effect.

 The load factor for the different types of loading is:

1 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑘𝑐 = { 0.85 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙
0.59 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

Temperature Factor (𝑘𝑑 )

When the operating temperature is below room temperature, the material becomes
more brittle. When the temperature is high the yield strength decreases and the
material becomes more ductile (and creep may occur).
 For steels, the tensile strength , and thus the endurance limit, slightly increases as
temperature rises, then it starts to drop. Thus, the temperature factor is given as:
𝑘𝑑 = 0.9877 + 0.6507(10−3 )𝑇𝑐 − 0.3414(10−5 )𝑇𝑐2 + 0.5621(10−8 )𝑇𝑐3
− 0.6246(10−11 )𝑇𝑐4

For 40 ≤ 𝑇𝑐 ≤ 540 °𝐶
 The same values calculated by the equation are also given in Table 6-4 where:
𝑆𝑇
𝑘𝑑 = ( )
𝑆𝑅𝑇

Reliability Factor (𝑘𝑒 )

The endurance limit obtained from testing is usually reported at mean value (it has a
normal distribution with 𝜎̂ = 8% ).

 For other values of reliability, 𝑘𝑒 is found from Table 6-5.

Miscellaneous-Effects Factor (𝑘𝑓 )

It is used to account for the reduction of endurance limit due to all other effects (such
as residual stress, corrosion, cyclic frequency, metal spraying, etc.).

However, those effects are not fully characterized and usually not accounted for. Thus
we use (𝑘𝑓 = 1).

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 7 of 20
Stress Concentration and Notch Sensitivity

Under fatigue loading conditions, crack initiation and growth usually starts in locations
having high stress concentrations (such as grooves, holes, etc.). The presence of stress
concentration reduces the fatigue life of an element (and the endurance limit) and it
must be considered in fatigue failure analysis.

However, due to the difference in ductility, the effect of stress concentration on

fatigue properties is not the same for different materials.

 For materials under fatigue loading, the maximum stress near a notch (hole, fillet,
etc.) is:

𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑜 or 𝜏𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐾𝑓𝑠 𝜏𝑜

Where,
𝜎𝑜 : is the nominal stress
𝐾𝑓 : is the fatigue stress concentration factor which is a reduced value of the
stress concentration factor (𝐾𝑡 ) because of the difference in material
sensitivity to the presence of notches.
and 𝐾𝑓 is defined as:
𝑚𝑎𝑥. 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛
𝐾𝑓 =
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑐ℎ − 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛

 Notch sensitivity (𝑞) is defined as:

𝐾𝑓 −1 𝐾𝑓𝑠 −1
𝑞= or 𝑞𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 =
𝐾𝑡 −1 𝐾𝑡𝑠 −1

The value of 𝑞 ranges from 0 to 1

𝑞 = 0  𝐾𝑓 = 1 (material is not sensitive)
𝑞 = 1  𝐾𝑓 = 𝐾𝑡 (material is fully sensitive)
 Thus,
𝐾𝑓 = 1 + 𝑞(𝐾𝑡 − 1) or 𝐾𝑓𝑠 = 1 + 𝑞𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 (𝐾𝑡𝑠 − 1)
 For Steels and Aluminum (2024) the notch sensitivity for Bending and Axial
loading can be found from Figure 6-20 and for Torsion is found from Figure 6-21.

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 8 of 20
  Alternatively, instead of using the figures, the fatigue stress concentration factor
𝐾𝑓 , can be found as:

𝐾𝑡 −1
𝐾𝑓 = 1 + √𝑎 The Neuber equation
1+
√𝑟

where, 𝑟 : radius
√𝑎 : is a material constant known as the Neuber constant.

 For steels, √𝑎 can be found using Eqns. 6-35a & 6-35b given in the text
(note that 𝑆𝑢𝑡 needs to be in “𝑘𝑝𝑠𝑖” and √𝑎 will be given in “√𝑖𝑛” )

 For cast iron, the notch sensitivity is very low from 0 to 0.2, but to be conservative
it is recommended to use 𝑞 = 0.2

 For simple loading, 𝐾𝑓 can be multiplied by the stress value, or the endurance limit
can be reduced by dividing it by 𝐾𝑓 . However, for combined loading each type of
stress has to be multiplied by its corresponding 𝐾𝑓 value.

Fatigue Strength

In some design applications the number of load cycles the element is subjected to, is
limited (less than 106) and therefore there is no need to design for infinite life using the
endurance limit.

 In such cases we need to find the Fatigue

Strength associated with the desired life.

 For the High-cycle fatigue (103→106), the line

equation is 𝑆𝑓 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏 where the constants “𝑎”
(y intercept) and “𝑏” (slope) are determined
from the end points (𝑆𝑓 )103 and (𝑆𝑓 )106 as:

(𝑆𝑓 )2103 𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝜎𝑓′ ⁄𝑆𝑒 )

𝑎= 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏=− 𝑆𝑒 is the modified
𝑆𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑔(2𝑁𝑒 )
Endurance Limit

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 9 of 20
 Where 𝜎𝑓′ is the True Stress at Fracture and for steels with HB ≤ 500, it is
approximated as:

𝜎𝑓′ = 𝑆𝑢𝑡 + 345 𝑀𝑝𝑎

fraction of
- (𝑆𝑓 )103 can be related to 𝑆𝑢𝑡 as:
(𝑆𝑓 )103 = 𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡
where 𝑓 is found as:

𝜎𝑓′
𝑓= (2 × 103 )𝑏
𝑆𝑢𝑡

 Using the above equations, the value of 𝑓 is found as a For 𝑆𝑢𝑡 values less than
function of 𝑆𝑢𝑡 (using 𝑁𝑒 = 106 ) and it is presented in 490 MPa, use 𝑓 = 0.9
graphical form in Figure 6-18. to be conservative

 If the value of (𝑓) is known, the constant 𝑏 can be directly found as:
1 𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡
𝑏 = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( )
3 𝑆𝑒
and 𝑎 can be rewritten as:
(𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 )2
𝑎=
𝑆𝑒
- Thus for 103≤ 𝑁 ≤106 , the fatigue strength associated with a given life (𝑁) is:
(𝑆𝑓 )𝑁 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏

and the fatigue life (𝑁) at a given fatigue stress (𝜎) is found as:
1
𝜎 𝑏
𝑁=( )
𝑎

 Studies show that for ductile materials, the Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor (𝐾𝑓 )
reduces for 𝑁 < 106 , however the conservative approach is to use 𝐾𝑓 as is.

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 10 of 20
Example: For a rotating-beam specimen made of 1045 CD steel, find:
a) The endurance limit (Ne=106)
b) The fatigue strength corresponding to (5 × 104 ) cycles to failure
c) The expected life under a completely reversed stress of 400 𝑀𝑃𝑎

Solution:
From Table A-20 𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 630 𝑀𝑃𝑎

a) 𝑆𝑒 ′ = 0.5(𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) = 315 𝑀𝑃𝑎 Note that no modifications are needed

since it is a specimen: 𝑆𝑒 = 𝑆𝑒 ′

b) 𝜎𝑓′ = 𝑆𝑢𝑡 + 345 = 975 𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝜎𝑓′ ⁄𝑆𝑒 ) 𝑙𝑜𝑔(975⁄315)
𝑏=− =− = −0.0779
𝑙𝑜𝑔(2𝑁𝑒 ) 𝑙𝑜𝑔(2 × 106 )
𝜎𝑓′ 975
𝑓= (2 × 103 )𝑏 = (2 × 103 )−0.0779 = 0.856
𝑆𝑢𝑡 630
2
(𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) (0.856 × 630)2
𝑎= = = 923.4 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝑆𝑒 315

OR, easier, from Figure 6-18: 𝑓 ≅ 0.857

Then,

(𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 )2 (0.857 ×630)2

𝑎= = = 925.4 MPa
𝑆𝑒 315

1 𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 1 0.857 × 630

𝑏 = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( ) = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( ) = −0.078
3 𝑆𝑒 3 315

(𝑆𝑓 )𝑁 = 𝑎𝑁 𝑏  (𝑆𝑓 )5×104 = 923.4(5 × 104 )−0.0779

 (𝑆𝑓 )5×104 = 397.5 𝑀𝑃𝑎

c)
1 1
𝜎 𝑏 400 −0.0779
𝑁=( ) =( ) = 46.14 × 103 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑎 923.4

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 11 of 20
Example: The two axially loaded bars shown are made
of 1050 HR steel and have machined surfaces. The two
bars are subjected to a completely reversed load 𝑃.
a) Estimate the maximum value of the load 𝑃 for
each of the two bars such that they will have
infinite life (ignore buckling).
b) Find the static and fatigue factors of safety 𝑛𝑠 & 𝑛𝑓
for bar (B) if it is to be subjected to a completely
reversed load of 𝑃 = 50 𝑘𝑁.
c) Estimate the fatigue life of bar (B) under reversed
load of 𝑃 = 150 𝑘𝑁 (use 𝑓 = 0.9)
Solution:
From Table A-20 𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 620 𝑀𝑃𝑎 & 𝑆𝑦 = 340 𝑀𝑃𝑎
a) 𝑆𝑒 ′ = 0.5(𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) = 310 𝑀𝑃𝑎
Modifying factors:
- Surface factor: 𝑘𝑎 = 𝑎 𝑆𝑢𝑡 𝑏 , from Table 6-2: 𝑎 = 4.51, 𝑏 = −0.265
 𝑘𝑎 = 4.51(620)−0.265 = 0.821
- Size factor: 𝑘𝑏 = 1 since the loading is axial
- Loading factor: 𝑘𝑐 = 0.85 (for axial loading)
- Other factors: 𝑘𝑑 = 𝑘𝑒 = 𝑘𝑓 = 1

Stress concentration (for bar B):

From Figure A-15-3 with 𝑤 ⁄𝑑 = 1.2 & 𝑟⁄𝑑 = 0.1  𝐾𝑡 ≈ 2.38

The fatigue stress concentration factor: 𝐾𝑓 = 1 + 𝑞(𝐾𝑡 − 1)
From Figure 6-20 for steel: 𝑞 ≈ 0.81
 𝐾𝑓 = 1 + 0.81(2.38 − 1) = 2.12
Thus the maximum stress for each should not exceed,
Bar (A): 𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑐 𝑆𝑒′ = (0.821)(0.85)(310) = 216.3 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝑆𝑒 216.3
Bar (B): (𝑆𝑒 )𝑚𝑜𝑑 = = = 102.03 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝐾𝑓 2.12
And the maximum load 𝑃 for each is,
Bar (A): 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 216.3 × (25 × 25) = 135187.5 𝑁
Bar (B): 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 102.03 × (25 × 25) = 63767.7 𝑁

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 12 of 20
  Note that the maximum load for bar (B) is smaller than that of bar (A)
because of the notch.

b) Static factor of safety 𝑛𝑠 :

From Table A-20: 𝜖𝑓 = 0.15  Ductile material, thus stress concentration is
not applicable.

𝑃 50 × 103
𝜎𝑜 = = = 80 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑡 25 × 25
𝑆𝑦 340
 𝑛𝑠 = = = 4.25
𝜎𝑜 80

Fatigue factor of safety 𝑛𝑓 :

(𝑆𝑒 )𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑆𝑒 216.3

𝑛𝑓 = 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑓 = = = 1.28
𝜎𝑜 (𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑜 ) (2.12)(80)

c) If we calculate the fatigue factor of safety with 𝑃 = 150 𝑘𝑁 we will find it to be

less than one and thus the bar will not have infinite life.
(𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 )2 (0.9 × 620)2
𝑎= = = 1439.5 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝑆𝑒 216.3
1 𝑓𝑆𝑢𝑡 1 0.9 × 620
𝑏 = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( ) = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( ) = −0.137
3 𝑆𝑒 3 216.3
𝑃 150 × 103
𝜎𝑜 = = = 240 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝐴𝑛𝑒𝑡 25 × 25
𝜎 = 𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑜 = 2.12 × 240 = 508.8 𝑀𝑃𝑎
1
𝜎 1⁄𝑏 508.8 ⁄−0.137
 𝑁=( ) =( ) = 1.98 × 103 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑎 1439.5
 This gives more conservative results than dividing (𝑆𝑒 ) by 𝐾𝑓 , and using 𝜎𝑜
as is.

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 13 of 20
Characterizing Fluctuating Stress

In the rotating-beam test, the specimen is subjected to

completely reversed stress cycles (𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = |𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 |)

In the case of the rotating shaft subjected to both radial and axial loads (such as with
helical gears) the fluctuating stress pattern will be different since there will be a
component of stress that is always present (due to the axial load).

 The following stress components can be defined for distinguishing different states
of fluctuating stress:
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝜎𝑚 : Mean or average stress, 𝜎𝑚 =
2

𝜎𝑟 : Stress range, 𝜎𝑟 = |𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 |

𝜎𝑎 : Stress amplitude (half of the stress range),

𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝜎𝑎 = | |
2

 For uniform periodic fluctuating stress, 𝜎𝑚 & 𝜎𝑎 are used to characterize the stress
pattern.

 We also define:
 Stress ratio: 𝑅 = 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 ⁄𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥
 Amplitude ratio: 𝐴 = 𝜎𝑎 ⁄𝜎𝑚

 Some common types of fluctuating stress:

Completely reversed stress:

𝜎𝑚 = 0
𝜎𝑎 = 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = |𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 |

Repeated stress:
Tension 𝜎𝑎 = 𝜎𝑚 = 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 /2
Compression 𝜎𝑚 = 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 /2

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 14 of 20
 General fluctuating stress:
(non-zero mean)
𝜎𝑎 ≠ 𝜎𝑚 ≠ 0

Fatigue Failure Criteria for Fluctuating Stress

When a machine element is subjected to completely reversed stress (zero mean,

𝜎𝑚 = 0) the endurance limit is obtained from the rotating-beam test (after applying
the necessary modifying factors).

However, when the mean (or midrange) is non-zero the situation is different and a
fatigue failure criteria is needed.

 If we plot the alternating stress component (𝜎𝑎 ) vs. the mean stress component
(𝜎𝑚 ), this will help in distinguishing the different fluctuating stress scenarios.

 When 𝜎𝑚 = 0 & 𝜎𝑎 ≠ 0 , this will be a completely reversed fluctuating stress.

 When 𝜎𝑎 = 0 & 𝜎𝑚 ≠ 0 , this will be a static stress.
 Any combination of 𝜎𝑚 & 𝜎𝑎 will fall between the two extremes (completely
reversed & static).

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 15 of 20
 Different theories are proposed to predict failure in such cases:

Yield (Langer) line: It connects 𝑆𝑦 on the 𝜎𝑎 axis with 𝑆𝑦 on 𝜎𝑚 axis. But it is not
realistic because 𝑆𝑦 is usually larger than 𝑆𝑒 .

Soderberg line: The most conservative, it connects 𝑆𝑒 on 𝜎𝑎 axis with 𝑆𝑦 on 𝜎𝑚 axis.

𝜎𝑎 𝜎𝑚 1
+ =
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑦 𝑛 Where ( 𝑛) is the design factor

ASME-elliptic line: Same as Soderberg but it uses an ellipse instead of the straight
line.
2 It fits experimental data better (see fig 6-25)
𝑛𝜎𝑎 2 𝑛𝜎𝑚
( ) +( ) =1
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑦

Goodman line: It considers failure due to static loading to be at 𝑆𝑢𝑡 rather than 𝑆𝑦 ,
thus it connects 𝑆𝑒 on 𝜎𝑎 axis with 𝑆𝑢𝑡 on 𝜎𝑚 axis using a straight line.

𝜎𝑎 𝜎𝑚 1
+ =
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡 𝑛

Gerber line: Same as Goodman but it uses a parabola instead of the straight line.

𝑛𝜎𝑎 𝑛𝜎𝑚 2
+( ) =1
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡

 The factor of safety is found as:

 It should be noted that 𝑆𝑒 is the modified endurance limit.

 The fatigue stress concentration factor (𝐾𝑓 ) should be multiplied with both 𝜎𝑎 & 𝜎𝑚
for conservative results.
 The load line represents any combination of 𝜎𝑎 and 𝜎𝑚 , the intersection of the load
line with any of the failure lines gives the limiting values 𝑆𝑎 and 𝑆𝑚 according to the
line it intercepts.

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 16 of 20
Modified Goodman (Goodman and Langer)

It combines the Goodman and Langer lines.

 The slope of the loading line passing through the

intersection point of the two lines is called the
critical slope and it is found as:
𝑟𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 = 𝑆𝑎 ⁄𝑆𝑚
(𝑆𝑦 − 𝑆𝑒 )𝑆𝑢𝑡
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑆𝑚 = & 𝑆𝑎 = 𝑆𝑦 − 𝑆𝑚
𝑆𝑢𝑡 − 𝑆𝑒
 According to the slope of the load line (𝑟 = 𝜎𝑎 ⁄𝜎𝑚 ), it could intersect any of the
two lines:
𝑟𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡 𝑆𝑎 𝑆𝑎 𝑆𝑚 1
𝑟 > 𝑟𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡  1 𝑆𝑎 = & 𝑆𝑚 = , 𝑛𝑓 = = =𝜎 𝜎
𝑟𝑆𝑢𝑡 + 𝑆𝑒 𝑟 𝜎𝑎 𝜎𝑚 𝑎
+ 𝑚
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡
𝑟𝑆𝑦 𝑆𝑦 𝑆𝑎 𝑆𝑚 𝑆𝑦
𝑟 < 𝑟𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡  2 𝑆𝑎 = & 𝑆𝑚 = , 𝑛𝑠 = = =
1+𝑟 1+𝑟 𝜎𝑎 𝜎𝑚 𝜎𝑎 + 𝜎𝑚
 Where case 2 is considered to be a static yielding failure.

 If we plot the Modified Goodman on stress (𝜎) vs. mean stress (𝜎𝑚 ) axes we obtain
the complete Modified Goodman diagram where it defines a failure envelope such
that any alternating stress that falls inside the diagram will not cause failure.

The “Complete”
Modified Goodman
Diagram

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 17 of 20
 Also, there are other modified criteria:
 Gerber-Langer (see Table 6-7)
 ASME-elliptic-Langer (see Table 6-8)

Torsional Fatigue Loading

For shafts that are subjected to fluctuating shear stress with non-zero mean (due to
pulsating torque), a fatigue criterion (ASME elliptic, Gerber, etc.) needs to be used.

 It should be noted that the endurance limit 𝑆𝑒 already accounts for the torsional
loading since 𝑘𝑐 = 0.59 is used in such case.
 Similarly, the yield or ultimate strengths need to be corrected where the “shear
yield strength” 𝑆𝑦𝑠 or the “shear ultimate strength” 𝑆𝑢𝑠 need to be used and those
are found as:
𝑆𝑦𝑠 = 0.577𝑆𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑢𝑠 = 0.67𝑆𝑢𝑡

Combination of Loading Modes

The procedures presented earlier can be used for fatigue calculations for a component
subjected to general fluctuating stress (or fully reversed stress, easier) under one of the
three modes of loading; Axial, Bending or Torsion.

 For a component subjected to general fluctuating stress under combination of

loading modes:
 The stress corresponding to each mode of loading is split into its alternating (𝜎𝑎 )
and midrange (𝜎𝑚 ) components.
 The fatigue stress concentration factor corresponding to each mode of loading is
applied to the (𝜎𝑎 & 𝜎𝑚 ) of that mode.
 An equivalent von Mises stress is calculated for the alternating and midrange
components as:

2
(𝜎𝑎 )𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 2
𝜎𝑎′ = √[(𝐾𝑓 )𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝜎𝑎 )𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 + (𝐾𝑓 )𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 ] + 3 [(𝐾𝑓𝑠 ) (𝜏𝑎 )𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 ]
0.85 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 18 of 20
 2 2
′
𝜎𝑚 = √[(𝐾𝑓 )𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝜎𝑚 )𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 + (𝐾𝑓 )𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 (𝜎𝑚 )𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑎𝑙 ] + 3 [(𝐾𝑓𝑠 )𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝜏𝑚 )𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 ]

 Note that alternating component of the axial load is divided by 0.85 (i.e., 𝑘𝑐
for axial loading).
 The torsional alternating stress is not divided by its corresponding 𝑘𝑐 value
(i.e., 0.59) since that effect is already accounted for in the von Mises stress.
 The endurance limit is calculated assuming the loading is bending (i.e., 𝑘𝑐 = 1).
 Finally, a fatigue failure criterion (Gerber, Goodman, ASME-elliptic, etc.) is
selected and applied as usual.

A road map summarizing all the important equations for the stress-life
method is given in Sec. 16-7 page 338.

Example: A 40 𝑚𝑚 diameter bar has been machined from AISI-1045 CD bar. The bar
will be subjected to a fluctuating tensile load varying from 0 to 100 𝑘𝑁. Because of the
ends fillet radius, 𝐾𝑓 = 1.85 is to be used.
Find the critical mean and alternating stress values 𝑆𝑎 & 𝑆𝑚 and the fatigue factor of
safety 𝑛𝑓 according to the Modified Goodman fatigue criterion.
Solution:
From Table A-20 𝑆𝑢𝑡 = 630 𝑀𝑃𝑎 & 𝑆𝑦 = 530 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝑆𝑒 ′ = 0.5(𝑆𝑢𝑡 ) = 315 𝑀𝑃𝑎
Modifying factors:
- Surface factor: 𝑘𝑎 = 4.51(630)−0.265 = 0.817 (Table 6-2)
- Size factor: 𝑘𝑏 = 1 since the loading is axial
- Loading factor: 𝑘𝑐 = 0.85 (for axial loading)
- Other factors: 𝑘𝑑 = 𝑘𝑒 = 𝑘𝑓 = 1

 𝑆𝑒 = 𝑘𝑎 𝑘𝑐 𝑆𝑒′ = (0.817)(0.85)(315) = 218.8 𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝐹 𝜋
Fluctuating stress: 𝜎= , 𝐴 = 𝑑 2 = 1.257 × 103 𝑚𝑚2
𝐴 4

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 19 of 20
 100 × 103
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 = = 79.6 𝑀𝑃𝑎 & 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 0
1.257 × 103
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝜎𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝜎𝑚 𝑜 = = 39.8 𝑀𝑃𝑎 & 𝜎𝑎 𝑜 = = 39.8 𝑀𝑃𝑎
2 2
Applying 𝐾𝑓 to both components: 𝜎𝑚 = 𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑚 𝑜 & 𝜎𝑎 = 𝐾𝑓 𝜎𝑎 𝑜

 𝜎𝑚 = 𝜎𝑎 = 1.85(39.8)
= 73.6 𝑀𝑃𝑎

 The plot shows that the load line

intersects the Goodman line:

𝑟𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡 1(218.8)(620)

𝑆𝑎 = =
𝑟𝑆𝑢𝑡 + 𝑆𝑒 1(620) + 218.8

 𝑆𝑎 = 162.4 𝑀𝑃𝑎 = 𝑆𝑚
1 𝑆𝑎 𝑆𝑚
𝑛𝑓 = 𝜎 𝜎 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑓 = =
𝑎
+ 𝑚 𝜎𝑎 𝜎𝑚
𝑆𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑡
162.4
 𝑛𝑓 = = 2.21
73.6

See Example 6-12 from text

Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design, 10th Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

CH 6 (R1) Page 20 of 20