An evaluation of total fatigue life prediction of a notched shaft subjected to cyclic bending load

This article deals with the fatigue life prediction of a notched shaft in a bend loading state. The life prediction models applied include both initiation and propagation phases, without a prior definition of an initial crack length. Two criteria based on the critical plane approach were carried out to predict initiation fatigue life. The model proposed by Socie is applied to predict initial crack size in the propagation phase, and total fatigue life includes a combination of both initiation and propagation phases. In order to validate the estimated lives, results from experimental tests carried out on notched shafts were compared with predicted lives.