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A two-parameter model to predict fatigue life of high-strength steels in a very high cycle fatigue regime

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Abstract

In this paper, ultrasonic (20 kHz) fatigue tests were performed on specimens of a high-strength steel in very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) regime. Experimental results showed that for most tested specimens failed in a VHCF regime, a fatigue crack originated from the interior of specimen with a fish-eye pattern, which contained a fine granular area (FGA) centered by an inclusion as the crack origin. Then, a two-parameter model is proposed to predict the fatigue life of high-strength steels with fish-eye mode failure in a VHCF regime, which takes into account the inclusion size and the FGA size. The model was verified by the data of present experiments and those in the literature. Furthermore, an analytic formula was obtained for estimating the equivalent crack growth rate within the FGA. The results also indicated that the stress intensity factor range at the front of the FGA varies within a small range, which is irrespective of stress amplitude and fatigue life.

(Graphical abstract)

A two-parameter model is proposed to predict the fatigue life of high-strength steels with fish-eye mode failure in a very high cycle fatigue regime, which takes into account the inclusion size and the FGA size. The model was verified by the data of present experiments and those inthe literature. Furthermore, an analytical formula was obtained for estimating the equivalent crack growth rate within FGA. It is also indicated that the stress intensity factor range at the front of the FGA varies within a small range, which is irrespective of stress amplitude and fatigue life. Figure Comparison of predicted fatigue life with experimental data, in which the superscript 4 denotes the specimens by oil-quenching and tempering for 2.5 h in a vacuum at \(300\,^\circ \hbox {C}\) by a conventional frequency test.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant 2012CB937500) and the National Natural Science Foundations of China (Grants 11172304 and 11202210).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Chengqi Sun, Xiaolong Liu & Youshi Hong

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  1. Chengqi Sun
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  2. Xiaolong Liu
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  3. Youshi Hong
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Correspondence to Youshi Hong.

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Sun, C., Liu, X. & Hong, Y. A two-parameter model to predict fatigue life of high-strength steels in a very high cycle fatigue regime. Acta Mech Sin 31, 383–391 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-015-0451-4

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