Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya KCEP 2112 Design for Machine Elements

Experiment: A study of fatigue using rotating fatigue machine Introduction: Fatigue of materials is a well know situation whereby rupture can be caused by a large number of stress variations at a point even though the maximum stress is less than the proof or yield stress. The fracture is initiated by tensile stress at a macro or microscopic flaw. Once started the edge of the crack acts as a stress raiser and thus assists in propagation of the crack until the reduced section can no longer carry the imposed load. While it appears that fatigue failure may occur in all material(s), there are marked differences in the incidence of fatigue. For example mild steel is known to have an endurance limit stress below which fatigue fracture does not occur with aluminium alloys, however, there is no such limit. As a consequence of these there are two design methods. With a material like mild steel the actual stress range can be kept below the endurance limit. Alternatively, one can design for a specified number of stress variations, on condition that the part will be replaced at the stage. The latter method is quite common with aircraft where the use of aluminium is widespread. To introduce this very complex subject in a simple way, the apparatus demonstrates the classical fatigue experiment carried out by Wohler. He selected the method of reversing the stress on a part by employing a cantilever rotated about its longitudinal axis. Hence the stress at any point on the surface of the cantilever varies sinusoidally. In the machine used here the cantilever is specially designed to use a relatively simple specimen with a definite minimum cross section. Apparatus: Wohler rotating fatigue apparatus and HSM 19 xw Set of Weights.

Figure 1 Objectives: To determine fatigue strength of engineering materials (steel) using a Wohler rotating fatigue apparatus. Procedures: As fatigue fracture experiments may run on for many hours the usual procedure is for each group in a class set up and start one or two specimens, and for all the results to be shared at the end. 1) First the drive shaft and the loading arm chucks have to loose collect grip insert into which the 9 mm diameter ends of the test specimen are slid as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 2) Then tighten the collect on the drive shaft chuck so that about a 1 mm shoulder shows between the face of the collect and start of the neck of the specimen. Use 16 and 23 mm spanner provided. 3) After that push the loading arm onto the end of the specimen and adjust the collect to give a sliding fit. Now position the loading arm so that the dimension of 109.5 mm is attained from the rear of the specimen. Tighten the collect with the spanners. Refer Figure 3.

Figure 3 4) Rotate the specimen to check that end of the cantilever runs true. 5) Apply required weight on the load hanger based on the table below. Select the revolution counter to zero, and fit the safety guard over the apparatus. Refer Figure 4.

Figure 4 6) With one finger ready to push STOP button, use another finger to press ON button. Should the motor not start adjust the micro switch downward slightly and try again. Normally, the test terminates itself through the fracture of the specimen opening the micro switch and hence stopping the machine. Observation: 1) Collate the results in the table and plot them as they occur on a suitable graph. 2) Reproduce the graph of stress range, S against N from the table below. The bending stress for load P (N) is, 125.7 P 32 = 43 = 20 P( N / mm 2 ) 3) Determine endurance strength and calculate what fraction of ultimate stress for all material. 4) How does it compare with typical elastic design stresses?
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