Loading sequence effect on fatigue life of Type 316 stainless steel

•The loading sequence effect of Type 316 stainless steel was investigated.•The fatigue life tended to be reduced by the loading sequence effect.•The fatigue life for strain was reduced by change in effective strain amplitude.•The margin of 1.3–2.3 is necessary to take account of the loading sequence effect.

The change in fatigue life due to variable cyclic loading was investigated experimentally in order to consider the loading sequence effect in fatigue damage assessment for a component design, and the reason for the change was discussed. Strain-controlled fatigue tests, that is, two-step, surface removal two-step, repeating two-step and periodical overload tests were conducted using Type 316 stainless steel specimen in a room temperature laboratory environment. The high-low loading amplitude sequence for the two-step test, and the repeating two-step and periodical overload tests showed a shorter fatigue life than that predicted by the linear damage accumulation rule. On the other hand, the low–high loading amplitude sequence for the two-step test exhibited a longer fatigue life. The reduction in the fatigue life was mainly attributed to the change in effective strain amplitude. The fatigue life reduction due to the loading sequence effect could be assessed conservatively by determining the allowable number of cycles for effective stress amplitude. Namely, by assuming the crack mouth was fully opened in the assessment, predicted fatigue life became shorter than the experimental results. It was concluded that the margin of 1.3–2.3 should be considered in the design fatigue curve in order to take account of the reduction in fatigue life due to the loading sequence effect.