Effect of Surface Properties on the Fatigue Life of Manufactured Parts: Experimental Analysis and Multi-Axial Criteria

Abstract

The effects of machined and treated surface characteristics on the fatigue strength were analyzed on the basis of experimental results related to AISI D2 ground surface and AA 5083-H111 hammered surface. The fatigue strength improvement resulting from controlled grinding and mechanical surface treatment was discussed on the basis of the beneficial effect of the work hardening and the stabilized residual stress. A numerical procedure using F.E.M for calculating residual stress and work hardening evolution under cyclic loading has been developed. The validation of the numerical procedure was carried out by comparing the calculated residual stress profiles to those resulted from XRD measurements. The multi-axial criterion accounting for the work hardening and the residual stress was used to predict the fatigue life of notched samples.