Fatigue Failure Theories:: Soderberg Line, Goodman Line and Gerber's Parabola

Fatigue Failure Theories:
Soderberg Line, Goodman Line and Gerber’s parabola:
When a component is subjected to fluctuating stresses there is mean stress (Sm) as well as stress
amplitude (Sa). It has been observed that the mean stress component has an effect on fatigue failure when
it is present in combination with an alternating component.
The fatigue diagram for this general case is shown in Fig. below. In this diagram, the mean stress is
plotted on the abscissa. The stress amplitude is plotted on the ordinate. The magnitudes of (Sm) and (Sa)
depend upon the magnitudes of maximum and minimum force acting on the component.
 When stress amplitude (Sa) is zero, the load is purely static and the criterion of failure is Sut or
Syt. These limits are plotted on the abscissa.
 When the mean stress (Sm) is zero, the stress is completely reversing and the criterion of failure
is the endurance limit Se that is plotted on the ordinate.
 When the component is subjected to both components of stress, viz., (Sm) and (Sa), the actual
failure occurs at different scattered points shown in the figure. There exists a border, which
divides safe region from unsafe region for various combinations of (Sm) and (Sa).
Different criterions are proposed to construct the borderline dividing safe zone and failure zone. They
include Gerber line, Soderberg line and Goodman line.
Gerber Line: A parabolic curve joining Se on the ordinate to Sut on the abscissa is called the Gerber
line.
Soderberg Line: A straight line joining Se on the ordinate to Syt on the abscissa is called the Soderberg
line.
Goodman Line: A straight line joining Se on the ordinate to Sut on the abscissa is called the Goodman
line.
The Soderberg line and Goodman line are straight lines. The theories using such straight lines for
predicting fatigue failure are called ‘linear’ theories.
There are some theories that use parabolic or elliptical curves instead of straight lines. These theories are
called ‘non-linear’ theories. One of the most popular non-linear theories is the Gerber theory that is
based on parabolic curve.
The equation of Soderberg line is:
The equation of Goodman line is:
The equation of Gerber Parabola is:

Modified Goodman’s Diagram:
The components, which are subjected to fluctuating stresses, are designed by constructing the modified
Goodman diagram. For the purpose of design, the problems are classified into two groups:
(i) Components subjected to fluctuating axial or bending stresses; and
(ii) Components subjected to fluctuating torsional shear stresses.
Separate diagrams are used in these two cases.
The modified Goodman diagram for fluctuating axial or bending stresses:
In this diagram, the Goodman line is ‘modified’ by combining fatigue failure with failure by yielding.
 In this diagram, the yield strength Syt is plotted on both the axes—abscissa and ordinate—and a
yield line CD is constructed to join these two points to define failure by yielding. Obviously, the
line CD is inclined at 45° to the abscissa.
 Similarly, a line AF is constructed to join Se on the ordinate with Sut on the abscissa, which is the
Goodman line discussed in the previous article. The point of intersection of these two lines is B.
 The area OABC represents the region of safety for components subjected to fluctuating stresses.
The region OABC is called modified Goodman diagram. All the points inside the modified
Goodman diagram should cause neither fatigue failure nor yielding.
The modified Goodman diagram combines fatigue criteria as represented by the Goodman line and yield
criteria as represented by yield line.
Note that AB is the portion of the Goodman line and BC is a portion of the yield line.
If the mean component of stress (Sm) is very large and the alternating component (Sa) very small, their
combination will define a point in the region BCF that would be safely within the Goodman line but
would yield on the first cycle. This will result in failure, irrespective of safety in fatigue failure.
The portion BF of the Goodman line is a vulnerable portion and needs correction. This is the reason to
modify the Goodman line.
While solving a problem, a line OE with a slope of tanθ is constructed in such a way that
The magnitudes of Pa and Pm can be determined from maximum and minimum forces acting on the
component.
Similarly, it can be proved that
The point of intersection of lines AB and OE is X. The point X indicates the dividing line between the
safe region and the region of failure. The coordinates of the point X (Sm, Sa) represent the limiting values
of stresses, which are used to calculate the dimensions of the component. The permissible stresses are as
follows:
The modified Goodman diagram for fluctuating torsional shear stresses:
In this diagram, the torsional mean stress is plotted on the abscissa while the torsional stress amplitude on
the ordinate.
The torsional yield strength Ssy is plotted on the abscissa and the yield line is constructed, which is
inclined at 45° to the abscissa.
It is interesting to note that up to a certain point, the torsional mean stress has no effect on the torsional
endurance limit.
Therefore, a line is drawn through Sse on the ordinate and parallel to the abscissa. The point of
intersection of this line and the yield line is B.
The area OABC represents the region of safety in this case. It is not necessary to construct a fatigue
diagram for fluctuating torsional shear stresses because AB is parallel to the X-axis. Instead, a fatigue
failure is indicated if,
The permissible shear stresses are:

Fatigue Failure Theories:: Soderberg Line, Goodman Line and Gerber's Parabola

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Fatigue Failure Theories:

Soderberg Line, Goodman Line and Gerber’s parabola:

The equation of Soderberg line is:

The equation of Goodman line is:

The equation of Gerber Parabola is:

(i) Components subjected to fluctuating axial or bending stresses; and

(ii) Components subjected to fluctuating torsional shear stresses.

Separate diagrams are used in these two cases.

The modified Goodman diagram for fluctuating axial or bending stresses:

Similarly, it can be proved that

The permissible shear stresses are:

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