Multiaxial fatigue life assessment in notched components based on the effective strain energy density

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology to predict the fatigue lifetime in notched geometries subjected to multiaxial loading based on the effective strain energy density concept. The modus operandi consists of defining a fatigue master curve that relates the strain energy density with the number of cycles to failure from standard cylindrical specimens tested under low-cycle fatigue conditions. After that, the multiaxial loading history at the geometric discontinuity is reduced to an equivalent uniaxial loading scenario via the calculation of an averaged value of the strain energy, which is done by combining the equivalent strain energy density concept along with the theory of critical distances. Then, this energy is inserted into the fatigue master curve to estimate the fatigue lifetime. The method is tested in solid round bars with lateral notches subjected to in-phase bending-torsion loading. Overall, the comparison between the experimental and predicted fatigue lives shows a very good agreement. Additionally, the proposed approach enables the determination of the most likely initiation sites as well as the crack angles at the early stage of crack growth.