Fatigue Life Calculation Concepts for Structures with Locally Modified Properties

The influence of forming on the cyclic behaviour of various thin sheet metals with austenitic phases is looked into, with the main focus lying on the variation of cyclic parameters and the progression of work hardening over the materials’ fatigue life. There is a marked interaction of hardening due to increased dislocation density resulting from forming and hardening due to cyclic straining under varying strain amplitudes of strain controlled LCF testing. This is strongly dependant on the degree of forming and the amplitude of the following cyclic loading. Also, the temperature influence during forming of addtional forming elements in a temperature controlled die on the fatigue performance of austenitic and complex three phase steels was analysed, showing a marked influence of the forming temperature on the fatigue performance, enabling positive effects to be achieved by choosing suitable material specific forming temperatures.