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Formation of the science of fatigue of metals. 1870–1940

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Materials Science Aims and scope

Abstract

The process of formation and development of the science on fatigue of metals in 1825–1940 can be split into the following periods

1. Initial period (1825–1860). This period was characterized by the appearance of railroad transport and intense introduction of machines in the industry. The failures of mechanisms caused by the phenomenon called “fatigue of metals” became quite frequent. The first attempts were made to explain this phenomenon and propose the methods for its prevention.

2. 1860–1900. This period was characterized by the development of the procedures and equipment for mechanical testing under cyclic loads, as well as of the methods aimed at processing the accumulated data and presentation of the results. The fatigue limit of steels was found depending on the parameters of loading cycles and stress concentration. The phenomenological description of fatigue was given from the viewpoint of the mechanics of materials.

3. 1900–1920. This period was characterized by the gradual formation of a new science of fatigue of metals on the boundaries of the mechanics of materials, science of metals, and physical chemistry. The first monographs systematizing and synthesizing the results obtained in the field of fatigue also appeared in this period. The variations of the microstructure of materials under cyclic loads and the microscopic topography of the fracture surfaces were observed. The foundations of the theory of cracks (fracture mechanics) were laid. The first investigations of corrosion fatigue were performed and the methods aimed at the corrosion protection of metals were developed. The number of investigated types of steels, alloys of nonferrous metals (especially aluminum alloys), and structural elements was significantly increased.

4. 1920–1940. This period was characterized by the gradual formation of the analysis of structural strength regarded as an applied branch of the science of fatigue in which machine parts and models are tested with an aim of optimization of the available materials and development of new materials, procedures, and instruments for their processing under given operating conditions and, especially under irregular loads, at low or high temperatures, and in aggressive media.

In the USSR, the investigations in the field of fatigue of metals were originated in the 1930s at the Institute of Building Mechanics of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences by testing boiler iron and high-strength alloyed steels for fatigue resistance depending on various mechanical and technological factors. A method for the evaluation of fatigue strength of machine parts was developed and generalized to the cases of two-and three-dimensional stressed states. A statistical theory of fatigue strength based on physically grounded assumptions was proposed. At the same time, various mechanical and thermochemical methods aimed at the improvement of strength and durability of machine parts were developed (mainly) in Russia.

Almost all problems of the science of fatigue studied in the second half of the last century were posed prior to 1940. However, some of these problems, including the kinetics and mechanisms of initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks and the problems of low-cycle, corrosion, and thermal fatigue, were studied fairly superficially.

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  1. Karpenko Physicomechanical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Lviv, Ukraine

    S. Ya. Yarema

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This is the final part of a series of works. The previous parts were published in Materials Science, 42, No. 5, 673–680 (2006), 42, No. 6, 814–822 (2006), and 43, No. 2, 265–274 (2007).

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Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 101–118, November–December, 2007.

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Yarema, S.Y. Formation of the science of fatigue of metals. 1870–1940. Mater Sci 43, 869–885 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11003-008-9034-x

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