Papers by Author: Luca Susmel

Abstract: The aim of the present research is to investigate the fatigue behaviour of friction stir (FS) welded tubular joints in aluminium alloy subjected to torsional fatigue loading. To manufacture the samples which were tested, an MTS I-STIR process development system was equipped with a retracting tool specifically designed for these tubular welds. Al 6082-T6 FS welded samples were tested under cyclic torsion with a nominal shear stress ratio equal to-1 and 0. The test data show that, strictly speaking, the presence of non-zero mean shear stresses has a detrimental effect on the overall torsional fatigue strength of the FS welded joints. However, the reanalysis discussed in the present paper suggests that, from a statistical point of view, any detrimental effect is small. This means that fatigue assessment under torsional fatigue loading of these FS welded tubular connections can be performed with little loss of accuracy by neglecting the presence of non-zero mean shear stresses.

Abstract: The present paper summarises an attempt of using the so-called Modified Wöhler Curve Method (MWCM) to estimate fatigue damage in pitted cast iron water pipes subjected to in-service variable amplitude multiaxial fatigue loading. In this setting, pits are treated as hemispherical/hyperbolic notches whose depth increases over time due to conventional corrosion processes taking places in buried cast-iron pipes. The validity of such an approach is proven by showing, through a case study, that, under particular circumstances, the combined effect of corrosion and fatigue can remarkably shorten the in-service lifetime of cast-iron pipes as observed in the case study.

Abstract: The present paper is concerned with the use of the Modified Wöhler Curve Method (MWCM), applied in terms of nominal stresses, to estimate lifetime of notched components subjected to variable amplitude multiaxial fatigue loading. The MWCM is applied by defining the critical plane through that direction experiencing the maximum variance of the resolved shear stress: since the shear stress resolved along the above direction is a monodimensional quantity, fatigue cycles are directly counted by the classical Rain-Flow method. The performed validation exercise, based on an extensive experimental investigation, seems to strongly support the idea that the MWCM applied along with the classical nominal stress based approach is capable of accurately estimating fatigue damage also in notched components subjected to variable amplitude multiaxial load histories.

Abstract: In the field of cast metals, fatigue strength assessment necessarily deals with the strength reduction caused by randomly distributed small-sized defects. When components are taken into account, stress raisers due to component geometry are possible crack initiation sites as well as defects. For the investigation of the overall performance, an appropriate model considering notch sensitivity of parent material and defect behavior shall be used. Unfortunately, several mechanical models of material sensitivity to notches and defects require the knowledge of the un-defected material strength, which is not obtainable in this case. In this contribution, experimental fatigue tests have been carried out on plane and notched specimens, considering small size notches as well. An appropriate analysis of the generated results allowed the evaluation of the material behavior and its notch sensitivity according to critical distances theories. The obtained results have been confirmed also direct inspection of broken samples.

Abstract: The present paper is concerned with the use of the Theory of Critical Distances (TCD), applied in the form of the Point Method (PM), to estimate the range of the threshold value of the stress intensity factor, Kth, as well as the plane strain fracture toughness, KIc. In more detail, by reanalysing a large amount of experimental data taken from the literature, it is proved that Kth can successfully be evaluated through the plain fatigue limit and another fatigue limit generated by testing samples containing a known geometrical feature, whereas KIc is suggested here as being estimated by using experimental results generated by testing samples weakened by notches of different sharpness. The validation exercise summarised in the present paper fully confirms that the TCD is not only a reliable method suitable for performing the static and fatigue assessment of real components, but also an efficient experimental strategy capable of accurately estimating the classical Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) material properties.

Abstract: This paper reports on the use of the Modified Wöhler Curve Method (MWCM) applied along with the Theory of Critical Distances (TCD) to estimate fatigue lifetime of steel welded joints subjected to both uniaxial and multiaxial cyclic loading. In a recent work [1] we have proved that the above engineering method is highly accurate when calibrated by using standard fatigue curves characterised by a probability of survival equal to 50%. In order to better check its accuracy and reliability, in the present study our approach is systematically applied to a large amount of experimental data by calibrating it using standard fatigue curves having a probability of survival equal to 97.7%. This exercise allowed us to prove that the in-field application of such an engineering procedure results in estimates which fully comply, from a statistical point of view, with Eurocode 3’s recommendations. This result strongly supports the idea that our approach can safely be employed to perform the fatigue assessment of real mechanical assemblies, with the advantage over other existing methods that fatigue lifetime under any kind of fatigue loading can be estimated by simply post-processing linear-elastic Finite Element Models.