A Promising New Energy-Based Fatigue Life Prediction Framework

Abstract

An energy-based fatigue life prediction framework has been developed for prediction of axial and bending fatigue life at various stress ratios. The framework for the prediction of fatigue life via energy analysis was developed in accordance with the approach in our previous study which states: the total strain energy dissipated during a monotonic fracture process is a material property that can be determined by measuring the area underneath the monotonic true stress-strain curve. The framework consists of the following two elements: (1) Development of a bending fatigue criterion by observing the total strain energy of the effective volume, which is achieved by computing the total plastic strain energy with consideration of the stress gradient influence through the thickness of a specimen, in the fatigue area, during cyclic loading. A comparison between the prediction and the experimental results from 6061-T6 aluminum specimens was conducted and shows that the new energy-based fatigue criterion is capable of predicting accurate fully reversed bending fatigue life. (2) Development of a new life prediction criterion for axial fatigue at various stress ratios. The criterion was constructed by accounting for both the residual energy dissipated, monotonically, due to the mean stress, and the incorporation of the mean stress effect into the total strain energy density dissipated per cycle. The performance of the criterion was demonstrated by experimental results from 6061-T6 aluminum dog-bone specimens subjected to axial stress at various stress ratios. The comparison shows very good agreement, thus validating the capability of producing accurate fatigue life predictions.