Fatigue life predictions including the Bauschinger effect

This paper proposes a modification on both the Smith-Watson-Topper and the Morrow models in order to take into account the Bauschinger effect. Two materials with substantially different Bauschinger effects, an Al7175 alloy with approximately no Bauschinger and Ck45 steel with a substantial Bauschinger effect will be assessed with the previous models. The paper discusses possible consequences of the Bauschinger effect on fatigue life of the two materials. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the Bauschinger effect may play a significant role on fatigue life of materials and should then be considered in fatigue life prediction models.