Subtle changes can have a large benefit in fatigue
Having applied fatigue engineering principles to assess a particular objective, customers may need to develop a strategy to enhance fatigue performance. In that context, we advise evaluating several areas for opportunities to improve:
- Manufacturing and surface quality
- Material processing
- Residual stress
- Part geometry at stress concentrations
- Material orientation
- Material substitution
Careful consideration of these factors can often provide a significant improvement in fatigue behavior for a modest effort. Larger improvements to fatigue performance can be obtained by using advanced residual stress treatments like cold expanded holes and laser shock peening. These treatments are applied in areas vulnerable to fatigue cracking to produce compressive residual stress fields that slow or arrest fatigue cracking. Hill Engineering is a world leader in engineering of fatigue life improvement using residual stress engineering.
Summary of options for improving the performance of aluminum test specimens using engineered residual stress
Illustration of performance enhancement using engineered residual stress
Fatigue Engineering
Fatigue Life Extension
Fatigue Testing and Certification