Strength of Materials
SUBJECT :
A REPORT ABOUT
FATIGUE TEST
Supervised By :
Ass. Lec.
Abdulmajeed A. Mohamad
Prepared By :
1-Mahamad Hiwa
2-Baxtiar Tahir
Introduction
Fatigue testing is a specialised form of mechanical
testing that is performed by applying cyclic loading to
a specimen or structure.
It causes progressive localized permanent structural
change in a material because of fluctuating stresses
and strains at some point or points and that may result
in cracks or complete fracture after a sufficient number
of fluctuations.
Introduction
Cyclic fatigue tests produce repeated loading and
unloading in tension, compression, bending, torsion or
combinations of these stresses.
Introduction
Usually the purposes of a fatigue test are to :
1-Expect the lifespan of a material subjected to cyclic loading.
2-Determine the maximum load that a specimen can
withstand for a specified number of cycles.
3-Obtain material data such as fatigue strength, crack
resistance and the rate of growth of a fatigue crack.
4-Identify critical locations such as holes and fittings.
All of these characteristics are extremely important in any
industry.
Introduction
Fatigue tests are used on a range components from
specimens through to full size test articles such as
automobiles and aircraft.
Fatigue test of the
Airbus A380 wing
Introduction
Types of materials for fatigue tests:
Nearly all materials may experience fatigue in one way
or another during their lifespan.
However, in applications where fatigue is a factor it is
common to find components made from metals or
composites. These materials have a higher fatigue limit
than others because of the rigidity and ductility, which
are characteristics that tend to increase fatigue strength.
Introduction
Other materials, such as, polymers, ceramics and wood
may experience fatigue and also need to be tested to
understand how they will respond to these unique stress
combinations.
Related Nomenclatures
Fatigue life is defined as the number of loading (stress)
cycles that a specimen sustains before failure.
The fatigue limit: also known as the (endurance limit)
or (fatigue strength), is the stress level below which an
infinite number of loading cycles can be applied to a
material without causing fatigue failure.
Procedure
The process of fatigue consists of three stages:
1-Initial fatigue damage: leading to crack nucleation and
crack initiation.
2-Progressive cyclic growth of a crack (crack
propagation) : until the remaining uncracked cross
section of a part becomes too weak to withstand the
loads applied.
3-Final (sudden) fracture of the remaining cross section.
Procedure
To perform a fatigue test a specimen is loaded into a
fatigue test machine and loaded using the pre-
determined test stress, then unloaded to either zero
load or an opposite load. This cycle of loading and
unloading is repeated until the end of the test is
reached. The test may be run to a pre-determined
number of cycles or until the sample has failed
depending on the parameters of the test.
Procedure
Instrumentation such as load cells and strain gauges
are installed on the structure to ensure the correct
loading has been applied.
A load cell is used to monitor the applied loads
(stresses) during the test.
Discussion
Types of fatigue failure :
Mechanical fatigue: fatigue damage develops as a result
of exposure to external cyclic stresses for an extended
period of time.
Thermo-mechanical fatigue : is the cyclical mechanical
loading, that leads to fatigue of a material, with a cyclical
thermal loading. Thermo-mechanical fatigue is an
important point that needs to be considered, when
constructing turbine engines or gas turbines.
Discussion
Creep Fatigue: Deformation of a material under repeated
stresses at high temperature.
Corrosion fatigue: occurs from the simultaneous actions
of chemical attack and mechanical fatigue. Corrosive
environments are known for damaging metals.
Fretting fatigue: Cyclic loads combined with frictional
sliding.
Discussion
Factors affecting fatigue limit :
A-Primary factors :
1-The general shape of the specimen.
2-The size of the specimen.
3-The outer surface of the specimen.
4-The internal structure of the material.
B-External factors :
1-The surrounding Temperature.
2-Stress specifications.
Discussion
The cyclic stresses are normally well below the yield
strength of the material.
Fatigue cracks typically initiate from high stress
concentration regions like holes and fittings or
material and manufacturing defects.
Discussion
Because of the size and unique shape of full size test
articles, special test rigs are built to apply loads
through a series of hydraulic or electric actuators.
Actuators aim to reproduce the significant loads
experienced by a structure, which in the case of
aircraft, may consist of manoeuvre, gust and ground-
air-ground loading.
Discussion
Types of Fatigue Testing Machine :
