Multiaxial fatigue life prediction method considering notch effect and non-proportional hardening.

• A computational procure to quantify the stress field intensity is developed. • A new modified non-proportional hardening factor is established. • The notch effect and the stress concentration can be well characterized by the absolute value of the relative stress gradient. • A multiaxial life prediction model for notched specimens is established. Engineering components with geometric discontinuous structures generally appear notch effect, which might eventually induce fatigue failure. In this study, a novel multiaxial fatigue prediction model is established for notched components by incorporating the notch effect and non-proportional hardening. Firstly, according to the notch effect, a computational procure of damage parameters is presented by combining the notion of stress intensity with finite element simulations based on the critical plane method. Secondly, considering the non-proportional hardening effect of path modes and material properties, a new modified non-proportional hardening factor is proposed. Particularly, the relationship between the relative stress gradient and the fatigue life is investigated under different stress concentration factors. Finally, with the help of the Manson-Coffin equation, a multiaxial fatigue life prediction model is developed subjected to multiaxial proportional/non-proportional loadings. Experimental data of medium steel En8 and GH4169 alloys are utilized to evaluate and validate the proposed model as well as four other classical models (FS model, MSWT model, Yu model and CXH model). The result indicates that the proposed model yields a higher accuracy on multiaxial fatigue life than other four models, and the majority of prediction results are within the ±2 life factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]