A fuzzy residual strength based fatigue life prediction method

Abstract

The fatigue damage problems are frequently encountered in the design of civil engineering structures. A realistic and accurate fatigue life prediction is quite essential to ensure the safety of engineering design. However, constructing a reliable fatigue life prediction model can be quite challenging. The use of traditional deterministic approach in predicting the fatigue life is sometimes too dangerous in the real practical designs as the method itself contains a wide range of uncertain factors. In this paper, a new fatigue life prediction method is going to be proposed where the residual strength is been utilized. Several cumulative damage models, capable of predicting the fatigue life of a structural element, are considered. Based on Miner's rule, a randomized approach is developed from a deterministic equation. The residual strength is used in a one to one transformation methodology which is used for the derivation of the fatigue life. To arrive at more robust results, fuzzy sets are introduced to model the parameter uncertainties. This leads to a convoluted fuzzy based fatigue life prediction model. The developed model is illustrated in an example analysis. The calculated results are compared with real experimental data. The applicability of this approach for a required reliability level is also discussed.