Fatigue life prediction for acid-resistant steel plate under operating loads

The paper evaluates the causes related to the fatigue damage in a conveyor slide plate, exposed to high-frequency cyclic loads. The plate was made of 1.4301 acid-resistant steel. The fractography showed that the plate failure was caused by fatigue crack. A nonlinear analysis of plate deformation was conducted using the finite element method (FEA) in LS-Dyna software. The maximum normal stresses in the plate fracture were used in further analysis. A “fatigue limit” calculated initially using a FITNET procedure was above the maximum stress calculated using FEA. It indicates that the structural features of the plate were selected correctly. The experimental test results for 1.4301 acid-resistant steel were described using a probabilistic Weibull distribution model. Reliability was determined for the obtained S-N curve at 50% and 5% failure probability allowing for the selected coefficients (cycle asymmetry, roughness, variable load) and the history of cyclic loading. Cumulative damage was determined using the Palmgren-Miner hypothesis. The estimated fatigue life was similar to the actual value determined in the operating conditions for the S-N curve at 5% failure probability. For engineering calculations, the S-N curve at max. 5% failure probability is recommended.