What is Fatigue Strength?

Materials have been known to fail in service under repetitive stresses that are much
lower than their tensile strength. It’s estimated that about 90% of mechanical failures
of materials in service are caused by or at least contributed to by fatigue. Therefore,
fatigue is an important parameter to consider for moving mechanical components that
are expected to last for long periods [1].
Fatigue has been recognised as a problem since the early 1800s, where catastrophic
failures were recorded in metallic components of machines, infrastructure and
constructions, predominantly bridges and railroads. However, a proper understanding
of the mechanism of failure due to fatigue was not understood until the 20th century,
with many engineers and scientists building upon the earlier observations and tests of
railway engineer August Wöhler.
The present-day study and application of fatigue strength are expansive, as the
tolerance for failure becomes smaller and design criteria become more stringent. More
fatigue strength data is being generated via fatigue analysis for more materials, and it
is a crucial component in calculating the lifespan or fatigue life of a product or
structure. Fatigue strength knowledge is vital to modern-day applications
in aerospace, medicine and sports, amongst others.
In this article, you will learn about:
 What fatigue strength is
 The measurement of fatigue strength
 Application areas where fatigue strength is important
What is fatigue strength?
There are different types of fatigue, namely [2]:
 Mechanical fatigue: from fluctuating stresses and strains
 Creep fatigue: as a result of cyclic stresses at elevated temperatures
 Thermal fatigue: from repeated changes in temperature
 Thermo-mechanical fatigue: a combination of thermal and mechanical fatigue
 Fretting fatigue: fatigue due to frictional wear
 Corrosion fatigue: resulting from cyclic stresses under corrosive conditions
Fatigue strength, however, generally refers to mechanical fatigue, and it is defined
as the stress level below which there would be no fatigue failure even if there
were to be a certain very high number of stress cycles applied to a material. This
mechanical stress can be either axial stress, torsional stress or flexural stress. Fatigue
strength is often used interchangeably with fatigue limit or endurance limit, but they are
not strictly the same thing.
Fatigue limit is a stress level below which there would be no fatigue failure no matter
the number of load cycles the material is subjected to. But since it is impossible to test
a material for an infinite number of cycles, the fatigue limit is an assumption deduced
from testing results. It should be noted that some materials, such as aluminium and
copper, do not have an endurance limit because they will always eventually fail from
fatigue when subjected to a certain number of cyclic loading regardless of how small
the load is. Therefore, the fatigue strengths of such materials are usually calculated as
the stress levels they can endure without failing at a large total number of cycles,
usually 5x108 cycles [1].
A material that is operating under cyclic loads below its fatigue strength will be
expected never to fail as a result of fatigue alone for a certain number of specified
loading cycles.
Measurement of fatigue strength
Fatigue strength is calculated experimentally through several methods, and sometimes
it is extrapolated through numerical fatigue analyses based on existing empirical data.
The S−N diagram is the most widely used concept when calculating fatigue strength. It
is a graph that plots the constant cyclic stress of amplitude S applied to a material
specimen against the number of loading cycles N the specimen can withstand before
eventually failing. The number of cycles required for failure is often to the tune of
millions, especially at low load levels, and so the x-axis is normally plotted
logarithmically [3].

Figure 1. S−N curves for aluminium and low-carbon steel [1].

There is considerable variance in test results. That is why as many tests as possible are
conducted, and the S−N diagram is a representation of the mean of the data from
several tests. The stress level below which the material does not fail and can be
theoretically cycled infinitely is known as the endurance limit, and it is determined as
the stress level where the curve becomes a horizontal line. However, for some
materials, the endurance limits are not clearly defined, and a certain number of loading
cycles considered adequate for the lifetime of the material is specified and plotted. The
stress level at that number of cycles, typically between 1x108 and 5x108, is considered
the fatigue strength for that material.
Below are some of the important parameters which are used to plot an S-N diagram
from which fatigue strength can be determined. They are also used for calculations of
fatigue strength by numerical analyses [4].
Stress ratio: R=σminσmax�=�min�max
The mean stress: σm=σmin+σmax2��=�min+�max2
The stress range: Δσ=σmax−σminΔ�=�max-�min
The stress amplitude: σa=Δσ2��=Δ�2
Amplitude ratio: A=σaσm=1−R1+R�=����=1-�1+�
where σmin is the minimum stress; σmax is the maximum stress.
The fatigue strength at N cycles is denoted by σN and can be calculated with the above
parameters according to several formulas such as the Goodman, Gerber, and
Soderberg formulae [1].
Applications of fatigue strength
The primary application of fatigue strength is in design. Engineering design requires
stress limits to ensure fatigue failure does not happen before the lifespan of the
materials being used has been reached. Determining the safety factors against fatigue
failure is a complicated task because there are a lot of factors at play that affect a
material during its service. Such factors include composition, microstructure,
processing, temperature, physical dimensions, stress range, and type of loading [5].
Table 1. Fatigue strength of some commercial materials.
Fatigue Tensile Elastic
Trade name Material type
strength strength modulus

AMPCO® 45 Extruded 255 - 262 772 - 814

Wrought Copper 117 GPa
and drawn rods MPa MPa

SANDVIK 13RM19 Cold Austenitic Stainless 1100 - 1600

605 MPa 190 GPa
Rolled Steel MPa

Alloy 174 (C17410) TH02 515 - 585 665 - 790

High Copper Alloy 138 GPa
Strip MPa MPa

ToughMet® 3AT AT110

Nickel Grade 415 MPa 860 MPa 144 GPa
Plate (C72900)
 SANDVIK 11R51 Cold Austenitic Stainless 580 - 630 1700 - 2050
185 GPa
Rolled Steel MPa MPa

Precipitation
SANDVIK 9RU10 Cold 405 - 525 1300 - 1700
Hardening Stainless 180 GPa
Rolled MPa MPa
Steel

SANDVIK
1100 - 1900
SPRINGFLEX™ Cold Duplex Stainless Steel 615 MPa 200 GPa
MPa
Rolled

965 - 1000
AMPCO® M4 Extrusions Wrought Copper 352 MPa 124 GPa
MPa

There are several methodologies or “philosophies” which guide the tolerances of

fatigue failure in design [1].
Infinite-life design is the oldest and most conservative methodology, and it ensures
that the material only endures stresses well below its fatigue strength during its
lifespan.
Safe-life design accounts for plastic deformation rather than fracture as its failure
criterion. Design is such that a part is stipulated for a limited time of service, after
which it must be replaced.
Fail-safe design assumes that cracks due to fatigue will be discovered and remedied
before failure occurs. Design is such that no one component, even if it fails, can cause
catastrophic failure of the entire structure. This methodology was developed in the
aviation industry and is dependent on thorough inspections (non-destructive tests) and
certifications.
Damage-tolerant design is the least conservative methodology and is based on an
extensive understanding of crack formation and propagation. It depends on knowing
when crack propagation would reach a critical point that would lead to fatigue fracture
and ensuring the material does not reach that point.
Sources
[1] F .C. Campbell, “Fatigue,” in Elements of Metallurgy and Engineering Alloys, F.C.
Campbell, Ed. ASM International, 2008, pp. 243–264. [Online].
Available: https://www.asminternational.org/documents/10192/1849770/05224G_Chap
ter14.pdf. [Accessed May 27, 2020].
[2] V. Kazymyrovych, “Very high cycle fatigue of engineering materials,” Research
Report, Faculty of Technology and Science, Materials Engineering., Karlstad University,
Karlstad, Sweden, 2009. [Online].
Available: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:210661/FULLTEXT02.pdf [Access
ed May 27, 2020].
[3] D. Roylance, “Fatigue,” Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2001. [Online].
Available: http://web.mit.edu/course/3/3.11/www/modules/fatigue.pdf [Accessed May
27, 2020].
[4] T. Aldeeb and M. Abduelmula, "Fatigue Strength of S275 Mild Steel under Cyclic
Loading," Int. J. Min. Met. Mater., vol. 12, 10, pp. 564–570, Oct. 2018.
[5] A. Nyilas, Fatigue Data Compilation and Evaluation of Fatigue on Design.
Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany., 1985. [Online].
Available: https://publikationen.bibliothek.kit.edu/270021434/3812910 [Accessed May
27, 2020].
  Fatigue strength is the stress level below which there would be no fatigue
failure.
 Fatigue strength is often used interchangeably with fatigue limit or endurance
limit, but they are not strictly the same thing.
Materials

AMPCO® 45 Extruded and drawn rods

AMPCO® M4 Extrusions

ToughMet® 3AT Plate AT110 (C72900)

Alloy 174 (C17410) TH02 Strip

SANDVIK 9RU10 Cold Rolled

SANDVIK SPRINGFLEX™ Cold Rolled

SANDVIK 11R51 Cold Rolled

SANDVIK 13RM19 Cold Rolled

Applications

Mechanical Systems

Fasteners

Rings

Wear Parts

Bearings

Automotive
General Automotive Parts

Valves
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