PREDICTION OF FATIGUE BEHAVIOR IN STRESS-CONCENTRATORS OF ARBITRARY GEOMETRY

A new method is outlined which aims to predict high-cycle fatigue beha viour of components which fail from stress-concentrators. This involve s examination of the stress field in the vicinity of the stress-concen trator, and comparison with stress fields for cracks at known stress i ntensities. Methods which are currently used for simple notch geometri es can thus be generalised, making the approach applicable to stress c oncentrators of any geometry. The method of prediction is shown to be stable, providing a solution of good accuracy when compared to analyti cal methods for standard specimen geometries. Favourable comparisons w ith experimental data have been achieved both for standard notches and for a corner geometry which represents a typical component case.