Estimation of fatigue life by lethargy coefficient using molecular dynamic simulation

A vehicle structure needs to be more precisely analyzed because of complexities and varieties. Structural fatigue which is generated by fluctuations of stresses during the service life of a mechanical system is the primary concern in the structural design for safety. A fatigue life is difficult to obtain in structural components during the service life of mechanical systems since the fluctuating stress contributes to fatigue. This study introduces new procedures to measure the lethargy coefficient and to predict the fatigue life of a mechanical structure by using molecular dynamic simulation. A lethargy coefficient is the total defect-estimating coefficient, which was obtained by using the results of a simple tensile test in this study. With this lethargy coefficient, fatigue life was estimated. The proposed method will be useful in predicting the fatigue life of a structurally-modified vehicle design. The effectiveness of the proposed method using lethargy coefficient measurement to predict the fatigue life of a structure was examined by applying this method to predict the fatigue life of SS41 steel, used extensively as material of vehicle structures. Two types of specimen such as pre-cracked plate and simple plate is discussed, equation of fatigue life using the lethargy coefficient and failure time, both obtained from a simple tensile test, will be useful in engineering. This measurement and prediction technology will be extended for use in analysis of any geometric shapes of modified automotive structures.