FATIGUE LIFE ESTIMATION UNDER MULTIAXIAL RANDOM LOADINGUSING A CRITICAL PLANE-BASED CRITERION

A multiaxial fatigue criterion for random loading is presented. Firstly, the orientation of the critical plane (verification plane, i.e. the plane on which fatigue life estimation is carried out), is determined from the weighted mean directions of the principal stresses. Then, the scalar value of the normal stress vector perpendicular to the critical plane is taken as the cycle counting variable, since the direction of such a vector is fixed with respect to time (conversely to the time-varying direction of the shear stress vector), and a nonlinear combination of normal and shear stress components acting on the critical plane is used to define an equivalent stress amplitude. Finally, a damage accumulation model is employed to process such an equivalent stress amplitude and to determine fatigue endurance. This criterion is herein applied to some recent random fatigue tests of smooth steel specimens submitted to combined non-proportional bending and torsion.