A volumetric energy based high cycle multiaxial fatigue citerion

Abstract A reliable design of industrial parts against high-cycle multiaxial fatigue requires a fatigue criterion capable of predicting both the stress gradient and the load-type effects. These effects are very important in the transfer of fatigue data from specimen to component. By using the concept of volume influencing fatigue crack initiation proposed by Palin-Luc and Lasserre with an energy based approach, a new criterion is presented. Based on the strain-work density given to the material, this proposal is usable whatever the constant amplitude loading is: in and out-of-phase combined loadings, with or without mean stress. Its predictions are compared both with a total of 38 experiments on four materials (a mild steel, two high strength steels and a spheroidal graphite cast iron) and with the predictions of local criteria (Crossland, Dang Van, Papadopoulos and Morel). The comparison shows that the predictions of the volumetric proposal are very good and less scattered than those of the local approaches, especially for loadings with mean stresses or under non-proportional loadings.