A comparison of results of axial-tension,rotating-beam and pressurized-cylinder fatigue tests

In a previous paper by Davidson, Eisenstadt and Reiner, it was noted that, as the diameter ratio of an open-end, thick-walled cylinder approached unity, the stress state due to internal pressure approaches that of uniaxial tension. It was, therefore, proposed that the fatigue life of a cyclically pressurized thick-walled cylinder might be predicted from the results of axialtension fatigue tests. In this paper, the results of the thick-walled-cylinder fatigue tests, reported in Ref. 2, extrapolated to a diameter ratio of unity, are compared with the results of axial-tension fatigue tests on the same material. The effect of oil in contact with the surface of the axial fatigue specimens and that of varying the cyclic speed from 1800 cpm to 200 cpm are investigated. Rotating beam fatigue test results for the same material are also reported. The results of the axial-tension fatigue tests do not agree with the extrapolated thick-walled cylinder results in the range of fatigue lives from 10⁴ to 10⁶ cycles with the cylinder results showing the shorter lives. For less than 10⁴ cycles, the results converge. No effect of cyclic speed or of oil in contact with the surface was found. The results of the rotating-beam tests generally lie between the axial-tension and extrapolated cylinder results.