FEA | Endurica LLC

Rubber Fatigue ≠ Metal Fatigue Part 2: Linear Superposition

October 18, 2024August 28, 2024 by William V. Mars, Ph.D., P.E.

Rubber Fatigue DOES NOT EQUAL Metal Fatigue Part 2 Linear Superposition

The load cases to be considered in fatigue analysis can be very lengthy and can involve multiple load axes. Often, load cases are much longer than can be calculated via direct time-domain finite element analysis (FEA).

In metal fatigue analysis, linear superposition is a widely used technique to generate stress-strain history from road loads [1], [2], [3]. When structures behave linearly, this approach is accurate and computationally efficient, allowing the analysis of lengthy load signals. For single axis problems, the finite element (FE) solution for a single unit load case is simply scaled according to the input load history. For multiaxial problems, unit load cases are solved for each of the axes, then scaled and combined according to the input load history.

Due to rubber’s 1) nonlinear material behaviour, 2) nonlinear kinematics, and 3) the possibility of nonlinear contact, linear superposition cannot be applied to rubber fatigue analysis. This article is the second in a series examining how rubber fatigue analysis procedures differ from those used for metal fatigue. Here we present the Endurica EIE^TM (Endurica Interpolation Engine) solver, which is a tool for the rapid generation of stress-strain histories for fatigue analysis in cases where linear superposition fails.

Fig.1. Nonlinearity figures in the analysis of rubbery materials in several ways including material nonlinearity, kinematic nonlinearity, and contact linearity. Endurica’s EIE solver provides an efficient and accurate method for generating stress-strain history when there is strong nonlinearity.

Brief review of the linear superposition procedure for metals

For linear structures, the relationship between forces [F] and displacements [u] can be written as a matrix multiplication where [k] is the stiffness matrix.

[F] = [k][u]

The associative property of function composition means that multiplying the displacements by a scalar a produces proportionally larger forces.

a[F] = [k](a[u])

The distributive property of addition means that a force system resulting from combined displacements [u] and [v]

[F] = [k][u] +[k][v]

can also be calculated as

[F] = [k]([u] + [v])

Similarly, stress and strain fields can be scaled and combined by linear superposition. Engineers have been using this principle for many years in metal fatigue analysis, particularly for treating multiaxial cases arising from field-recorded load-displacement histories.

The stress and strain fields in a part are assumed to result from a linear combination of unit load cases, where the scale factor for each unit load case is applied to the stress or strain field corresponding to a given input channel.

For example, for the beam shown in Fig.2, if channel 1 is the unit displacement u with magnitude a(t), and channel 2 is another unit displacement v elsewhere in the structure with magnitude β(t) , then the entire history of stress and strain at all points in the beam can be recovered by linear superposition.

Note that the FE solver only needs to produce a single time-independent solution for each unit load case. The time dependence of the solution is obtained entirely through the time variations of the scale factors a(t) and β(t). This extremely efficient method has been used for many years in metal fatigue analysis. It allows rapid analysis of complete road load histories consisting of millions of time steps.

Fig.2. Linear superposition of single load case FE solutions has long been used to generate stress-strain histories from road load histories in metal fatigue analysis.

Endurica EIE^TM: load space discretization and interpolation for nonlinear cases

Solving the nonlinear case requires a completely different approach. We wish to retain the advantages of efficiently constructing stress-strain time histories from precomputed FE solutions. Instead of precomputing a single unit load case for each input channel, we precompute a set of load cases from a discretized load space. We call this set a map.

The number of load cases in the map must be sufficient so that we can use interpolation to obtain an reasonable approximation of the nonlinear response at any point within the map. Fig.3 shows a map with two channels defined by x and z displacements. The blue points in the map are precalculated using an FE solver such as Ansys or LS-Dyna following the path traced by the blue line. Once the map is defined, the stress-strain history along the red line can be interpolated from the precomputed solutions in the map.

Endurica EIE discretization map — Fig.3. Two-channel map discretizing a space defined by the x and z displacements. Blue dots represent FE solutions for which the stress-strain fields are precomputed. The blue line represents a solution path, which defines the order in which the solutions are computed and stored in the results database. The red line represents a possible actual displacement history. The stress-strain history for points on the red path is obtained by interpolation from points on the precomputed map.

Endurica EIE^TM is a general purpose tool for creating and using non-linear maps to generate stress-strain histories for fatigue analysis [4], [5]. EIE is an abbreviation for efficient interpolation engine. EIE provides a simple workflow and powerful utilities for creating and using maps for interpolation. It supports up to six independent input channels.

The entire EIE workflow consists of three main steps. The first step is to create a map. The next step is to specify your history in terms of forces or displacements. Note that any quantity that can be applied as a boundary condition to the FE model can be set up as a channel. The last step is to perform the specified interpolation. The process produces a time history of strain tensor components for each element in your FE model.

The map creation process involves four steps, as shown in Fig.4. First, the number of independent channels that will be used to specify the history must be defined. The map type must also be specified. Several types are available, including a completely customizable map. Grid-based maps are often appropriate for one-, two- and three-dimensional maps. For higher dimensional maps, case vector-based maps are often the most convenient.

Once the map type has been defined, EIE generates solution paths. These consist of enumerated load states that should be applied as boundary conditions to the FE model to generate the map. One or more paths may be generated depending on map type. Each path is called a branch. For each branch, EIE writes a file with the appropriate boundary condition history, which is necessary for the generation of the map. Next, the FE model is set up and executed using EIE’s boundary conditions. Finally, the database of FE results is linked to the corresponding branch in the definition of the map.

At this point the map is complete and ready for interpolation. Note that linear superposition can be implemented as a special case in EIE when unit load case solutions are collected and defined as a map. In general, however, a non-linear map will contain a greater number of solution steps.

Steps to specify a map for use by Endurica EIE. — Fig.4. Steps to specify a map for use by Endurica EIE^TM.

Specifying the load history is as simple as selecting a file containing the time history of each input channel. In the file, each row represents one time step and each column represents an input channel. EIE supports .csv and .rsp formats, both common data formats. Fig.5 shows an example history with and displacements. Note that the range of displacements in the history should not exceed the range of the precalculated map. Although interpolated solutions can be quite accurate, extrapolation for non-linear problems can be very risky and inaccurate.

Endurica example of two-channel displacement history for interpolation — Fig.5. Example two-channel displacement history for interpolation.

Once the map and history are specified, interpolation can begin. Endurica EIE^TM supports multi-threading, meaning that interpolation calculations can be distributed and executed in parallel across available CPUs. This makes interpolating very fast and very scalable to large models and lengthy histories. Note that Endurica EIE^TM generates large files because it calculates stress and strain tensor components for each time step of each finite element. It is therefore important to ensure that you have sufficient disk space available when running Endurica EIE^TM.

Comparing linear and non-linear interpolation results for a sway bar under uniaxial loading

As a first example, consider an automotive sway bar link, shown in Fig.7. The sway bar transmits load in a single axial direction. This model uses Ogden’s hyper elastic law, which involves a non-linear relationship between stress and strain. The large deformation solution also involves non-linear kinematics due to the incompressibility of rubber and finite displacements and rotations. To compare the linear and non-linear interpolation methods, we will run the analysis using both: 1) the linear scaling method (where the map consists of a single load case in which we apply one newton of total load in the x-direction to the link and solve for the strain distribution in the part); and 2) the non-linear method (where the map consists of 11 precomputed steps ranging from -10000N to +10000N).

Endurica sway bar analysis area noted by red arrows — Fig.6. Sway bar link under uniaxial loading (left). Axial load history input for strain history interpolation (right).

Figs. 8–10 show the six engineering strain tensor component history results for both the linear superposition procedure (left) and the nonlinear EIE procedure (right). The results are shown for three different locations on the sway bar bushing (highlighted in red). The largest strain component is the 31 shear (orange line). Note that for the linear procedure, a linear increase in the amplitude of the global force results in a linear increase in the strain components. The non-linear procedure produces quite different results. In fact, where the linear solution predicts symmetry of tension and compression loads, the non-linear solution correctly captures asymmetries.

Endurica Sway Bar Analysis linear and nonlinear — Fig.7. Comparison of linear (left) and non-linear (middle) interpolation results for strain tensor components at the location indicated on the right.

Enduria sway bar analysis top area — Fig.8. Comparison of linear (left) and non-linear (middle) interpolation results for strain tensor components at the location indicated on the right.

Endurica sway bar analysis top at edge — Fig.9. Comparison of linear (left) and non-linear (middle) interpolation results for strain tensor components at the location indicated on the right.

As a final comparison, Fig.11 shows the fatigue life calculated using Endurica CL^TM. A longer fatigue life is predicted for the non-linearly interpolated case compared to the linearly interpolated case. Note that the fatigue damage is more concentrated in the linear case and more spatially distributed for the non-linear solution.

Endurica sway bar analysis Linear versus Nonlinear — Fig.10. Comparison of fatigue life calculations based on linear (left) and non-linear (right) interpolated strain history.

Endurica EIE^TMvalidation for a six-channel non-linear interpolation

As a further test of the non-linear interpolation procedure for a six-channel ( forces + moments) multiaxial load analysis of the gearbox mount shown in Fig.11, the map shown in Fig.12 was defined. This map contained 51 precalculated non-linear FE solutions. The complete loading history to be interpolated is shown in Fig.13. This history was solved in full directly and interpolated from the map using Endurica EIE^TM.

Endurica Gearbox Mount Analysis — Fig.11. Gearbox mount analysis. All forces and moments (x, y, and z) were applied at the centre of the top rigid mounting plate.

Endurica Six-channel map containing 51 precalculated finite element solutions. — Fig.12. Six-channel map containing 51 precalculated finite element solutions.

Endurica Full six-channel road load history used for validation analysis of gearbox mount. — Fig.13. Full six-channel road load history used for validation analysis of gearbox mount.

The strain tensor histories for the 11, 22 and 12 strain components are compared between the directly solved and interpolated solutions in Fig.14 at the location of the most critical element. A fairly accurate interpolation was obtained with a much shorter run time than the direct finite element analysis of the full history.

Endurica Comparison of EIE-interpolated strain components (blue) v. direct finite element solution (red) at the location of the most critical element. — Fig.14. Comparison of EIE-interpolated strain components (blue) v. direct finite element solution (red) at the location of the most critical element.

The fatigue life of the gearbox mount was calculated with Endurica CL^TM using both the EIE-interpolated strain history and the directly solved strain history. The fatigue contours for both cases are shown in Fig.15. The fatigue life for the interpolated history was 7.52E8 and for the directly solve history the fatigue life was 7.87E8. These results indicate a close agreement between the EIE and directly solved cases. Other validation cases were recently published elsewhere (Mars et al 2024).

Endurica comparison of fatigue life calculated from EIE-interpolated strain components (right) and direct finite element solution (left). — Fig.15. Comparison of fatigue life calculated from EIE-interpolated strain components (right) and direct finite element solution (left).

Conclusion

Analysis of rubber components typically involves strong nonlinearities due to material behaviour, finite strain kinematics, and contact. The traditional linear superposition of unit load cases, widely used in metal fatigue analysis, is not effective in such cases. Fortunately, the Endurica EIE^TM solver can generate strain histories efficiently and accurately in these cases. The EIE tools allow the analysis to precalculate a set of FE solutions for efficient discretization of the load space and accurate interpolation of signals within the load space. With sufficient discretization of the load space, it was shown that quite accurate results can be produced for cases where there are between one and six load input channels.

MORE

This article by Dr. Mars was published in Futurities magazine in Volume 21 No.3 Autumn 2024 issue on pages 34-38 which can be accessed by clicking here. Futurities is published by EnginSoft, a leading technology transfer company, and an Endurica reseller in Italy.

Dr. Mars originally presented this information in Endurica’s Winning on Durability webinar series. To view the webinar click here.

References

[1.] R. W. Landgraf, “Applications of fatigue analyses: transportation”, Fatigue ’87, vol. 3, pp. 1593–1610, 1987

[2.] Moon, Seong-In et al, “Fatigue life evaluation of mechanical components using vibration fatigue analysis technique”, Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 25, pp. 631–637, 2011.

[3.] F. A. Conle and C. W. Mousseau, “Using vehicle dynamics simulations and finite-element results to generate fatigue life contours for chassis components”, International Journal of Fatigue, vol. 13(3), pp. 195–205, 1991.

[4.] K. P. Barbash and W. V. Mars, “Critical plane analysis of rubber bushing durability under road loads”, SAE Technical Paper No. 2016-01-0393, 2016.

[5.] W. V. Mars, “Interpolation engine for analysis of time-varying load data signals”. U.S. Patent 9, 645, 041, May 9, 2017.

[6.] W. Mars, K. Barbash et al, “Durability of Elastomeric Bushings Computed from Track-Recorded Multi-Channel Road Load Input”, SAE Technical Paper No. 2024-01-2253, 2024.

Rubber Fatigue ≠ Metal Fatigue Part 1: Mean Strain Effects

September 25, 2024April 19, 2024 by William V. Mars, Ph.D., P.E.

Rubber Fatigue does not equal Metal Fatigue Part 1 Mean Strain Effects

Figure 1. Constant amplitude cycles at three different mean strains.

Rubber and metal are very different materials that exhibit very different behaviors. Consider the effect of mean strain or stress on the fatigue performance of these materials. Figure 1 illustrates a few typical constant amplitude strain cycles, each at a different level of mean strain. If the stress amplitude is equal to the mean stress, we say that we have pulsating tension or fully relaxing tension. If the mean stress is zero, we say that we have fully reversed tension/compression. If the minimum stress is always positive, then we have nonrelaxing tension (i.e. always under load). Nonrelaxing cycles are quite common in applications. Examples include: pre-loads applied during installation; swaging of a bushing to induce compressive pre-stresses, interference fits, self-stresses occurring due to thermal expansion/contraction; and in tires, shape-memory effects of textile cords.

In metal fatigue analysis, it is customary to define the effect in terms of stress amplitude σ_a and mean stress σ_m, relative to the yield stress σ_y and the ultimate stress σ_u, as shown in Figure 2. Below the fatigue threshold stress σ₀, indefinite life is predicted. The Haigh (or Goodman)

Figure 2. Haigh diagram (left) and Wohler curves (right) showing mean strain effects on fatigue life for a metal.

diagram (left) maps fatigue life as a function of these parameters [1]. Wohler curves (right) provide similar information. For metals, a simple rule may be applied universally: increasing mean strain is detrimental fatigue life. It is also commonly assumed for metals that the critical plane is perpendicular to maximum principal stress direction.

There are many ways that rubber materials differ from metallic materials. At the atomic scale, rubber is composed of long chain molecules experiencing constant thermal motion while interlinked with a permanent network topology. This structure permits large, elastic/reversible straining to occur. Metals could not be more different, existing as individual atoms packed into well-ordered crystals with occasional dislocations or lattice vacancies. This structure permits only vanishingly small strains before inelastic deformation occurs. At the meso scale, rubber is typically a composite material containing fillers such as carbon black, silica or clay, as well as other chemical agents. The mesoscale of a metal is generally described in terms of crystalline grain boundaries and inclusions or voids. Rubber exhibits many “special effects” that are not seen in metals: rate and temperature dependence, ageing, cyclic softening. It is unsurprising that analysis methods for rubber differ substantially from those applied for metals.

Rubber’s fatigue performance has a more complex dependence on mean strain. For amorphous (ie non-crystallizing) rubbers, increasing mean strain reduces the fatigue life, as with metals. But for rubbers that exhibit strain-induced crystallization, mean strain can greatly increase fatigue life, as illustrated in Figure 3. Fatigue simulations therefore must take account of the strain crystallization effect.

Figure 3. Fatigue tests run in simple tension under constant amplitude show a significant increase in life for Natural Rubber (NR), which strain crystallizes, and a decrease of life for Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) which is amorphous [2].

Mean strain effects are specified in the Endurica fatigue code in terms of fracture mechanical behavior, using the concept of an equivalent fully relaxing tearing energy T_eq. The tearing energy for fully relaxing conditions is said to be equivalent when it produces the same rate of crack growth as the nonrelaxing condition. For amorphous rubbers, the equivalent R=0 tearing energy T_eq is simply the range ΔT of the tearing energy cycle, which can be expressed in terms of the min and max tearing energies T_min and T_max, or in terms of R= T_min / T_max. Plugging this rule into the power law crack growth rate function yields the well known Paris law, which predicts faster crack growth for increasing mean strain. For a strain crystallizing rubber, the equivalent fully relaxing tearing energy can be specified using the Mars-Fatemi law. In this case, the equivalent fully relaxing tearing energy depends on a function F(R), which specifies the crystallization effect in terms of its influence on the powerlaw slope of the crack growth rate law. The relationship for amorphous and crystallizing rubbers are summarized in Table 1 [3,4].

Table 1. Models for computing crack growth rate in amorphous and strain-crystallizing rubbers.

Rubber’s fatigue behavior may be plotted in a Haigh diagram, but the contours can be quite different than for metals. In metal fatigue analysis, it is assumed that cracks always develop perpendicular to the max principal stress direction. This is not always true for rubber, especially in cases involving strain crystallization and nonrelaxing loads. For rubber fatigue analysis it is therefore required to use critical plane analysis [5], in which fatigue life is computed for many potential crack orientations, and in which the crack plane with the shortest life is identified as the most critical plane. Figure 4 shows the dependence of the fatigue life and the critical plane orientation on strain amplitude and mean strain. A sphere is plotted for each pair of strain amplitude and mean strain coordinates, on which the colors represent fatigue life, and unit normal vectors indicate critical plane orientations. It can be seen that different combinations of mean strain and strain amplitude can produce a range of crack plane orientations.

Figure 4. Critical plane analysis consists in integrating the crack growth rate law for every possible crack orientation, and identifying the orientation that produces the shortest life (left). Each point in the Haigh diagram (right) is associated with its own critical plane orientation.

The Haigh diagrams for natural rubber (NR) and for styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) are shown in Figure 5. In these images, red represents short fatigue life, and blue long life. For natural rubber (on the left), the long-life region of the Haigh diagram exhibits a notable dome-like shape, indicative of a beneficial effect of mean strain under the influence of strain-induced crystallization. In contrast, SBR always exhibits decreased fatigue life as mean strain increases. Even so, the Haigh diagram for SBR has a nonlinear character associated with the material’s hyperelasticity that is also distinct from a metal.

Figure 5. Haigh diagrams computed for NR (left) and for SBR (right) rubbers.

It should be noted that the strain crystallization effect in rubber depends on temperature. At colder temperatures, the effect is stronger, and at higher temperatures it is weaker. Figure 6 compares experimental Haigh diagrams [6] (top) for a crystallizing rubber to computed results (bottom) for three temperatures.

Figure 6. Experimental Haigh diagram [6] for natural rubber at 3 temperatures (top), compared to computed Haigh diagram (bottom). Increasing temperature tends to reduce the beneficial effect of strain crystallization.

In summary, while tensile mean stresses are always detrimental in metals, in rubber they may be either beneficial or harmful, depending on whether the rubber can strain crystallize. The benefits of mean stresses in rubber can be quite strong – sometimes amounting to more than several orders of magnitude. The beneficial effect is stronger at colder temperatures and is reduced at higher temperatures. Critical Plane Analysis is essential for accurately predicting the effects of strain crystallization in rubber. Wohler curves, commonly used for metal fatigue analysis, incorrectly assume that the worst-case plane is always normal to the max principal stress direction. This is not an accurate approach for strain crystallizing rubber under mean strain. Use the Endurica fatigue solvers to accurately capture these effects when its important to get durability right!

MORE

This article by Dr. Mars was published in Futurities magazine in Volume 21 No.2 Summer 2024 issue on pages 36-38 which can be accessed by clicking here. Futurities is published by EnginSoft, a leading technology transfer company, and an Endurica reseller in Italy.

Dr. Mars originally presented this information in Endurica’s Winning on Durability webinar series. To view the webinar click here.

References

[1] Stephens, R. I., Fatemi, A., Stephens, R. R., & Fuchs, H. O. (2000). Metal fatigue in engineering. John Wiley & Sons.

[2] Ramachandran, Anantharaman, Ross P. Wietharn, Sunil I. Mathew, W. V. Mars, and M. A. Bauman. (2017) “Critical plane selection under nonrelaxing simple tension with strain crystallization.” In Fall 192nd technical meeting of the ACS Rubber Division, pp. 10-12.

[3] Mars, W. V. (2009). Computed dependence of rubber’s fatigue behavior on strain crystallization. Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 82(1), 51-61.

[4] Harbour, Ryan J., Ali Fatemi, and Will V. Mars. “Fatigue crack growth of filled rubber under constant and variable amplitude loading conditions.” Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures 30, no. 7 (2007): 640-652.

[5] Mars, W. V. (2021). Critical Plane Analysis of Rubber. Fatigue Crack Growth in Rubber Materials: Experiments and Modelling, 85-107.

[6] Ruellan, Benoît, J-B. Le Cam, I. Jeanneau, F. Canévet, F. Mortier, and Eric Robin. “Fatigue of natural rubber under different temperatures.” International Journal of Fatigue 124 (2019): 544-557.

2023 – a Year of Magnitude and Direction

February 8, 2024February 8, 2024 by William V. Mars, Ph.D., P.E.

2023 marked year 15 for Endurica. If I had to pick one word to describe the past year, that word would be “vector”. Because magnitude and direction. 😊

We updated our core value statement this year. The first one I ever wrote as part of Endurica’s original business plan listed 3 values: technical leadership, customer focus, and trustworthiness. Those values served us well for many years and in many ways shaped who we have become. But it was important this year to take stock again. We’ve grown 8-fold since I wrote those down! So our team spent many hours revisiting our shared values and deliberating over which will best define our culture and steer us right going forward. In the end, we decided to keep the first 3, and we added 3 more: embrace the grit, make an impact, and better every day.

We also completed an exercise to articulate what makes Endurica truly unique in the CAE / durability simulation space. The 3 words we chose are… Accurate, Complete, and Scalable.

Accurate refers to the accurate material models that capture rubber’s many “special effects”, the accurate critical plane analysis method for analyzing multiaxial history, the accurate handling of nonlinear relationships between global input load channels and local crack experiences, and the extensive set of validation cases that have demonstrated our accuracy over the years. Nobody offers a more accurate solution for rubber durability.
Complete refers to our complete coverage of infinite life, safe life and damage tolerant approaches to testing and simulation. It refers to feature completeness that enables users to account for nearly any material behavior under nearly any service conditions. Finally, it refers to the documentation, the materials database, and the examples we distribute with the software and with our webinar series. Nobody offers a more complete solution for rubber durability.
Scalable refers to our capacity to apply our solutions efficiently in all circumstances. Scalability is the training we provide so that users can learn our tools quickly. Scalability is access to powerful, ready-to-use workflows right when you need them. Scalability is the modular approach we take to material testing and modeling so that simple problems can be solved cheaply and complex problems can be solved accurately in the same framework. Scalability is our multi-threading that allows job execution time to be accelerated to complete impactful analysis on tough deadlines. Nobody offers a more scalable solution for rubber durability.

2023 was not all navel-gazing and new marketing. We also had magnitude and direction in other areas.

Top 10 Code Developments:

New Endurica Architecture: After several years of development and a soft launch under the Katana project name, we finally completed our migration to the new architecture. The new architecture provides a huge speed advantage for single thread and now for multithread execution. It uses a new input file format (.json). The json format makes it easier than ever for users to build customized and automated workflows via Python scripting.
Sequence Effects: Sometimes the order of events matters to durability, and sometimes it doesn’t. We introduced Steps and Blocks to our input file, giving users complete control over the specification of multi-block, multi-step scheduling of load cases. There is also a new output request that came out of this work: residual strength.
EIE: 6 channels and support for RPC: Support for 6 channels of load input was one of our most highly requested new features. Fast growing use of this feature led to further enhancements of the workflow (support for rpc file format, studies of map building techniques), and new recommendations on how to implement boundary conditions for specified rotation histories in explicit and implicit finite element models.
Queuing: Design optimization studies need efficient management and execution of multiple jobs. Endurica’s software license manager now supports queueing for licenses. Queuing allows a submitted job to automatically wait to start until a license is available, instead of the prior behavior of exiting with a license error. Now you can submit many jobs without worrying about license availability.
Haigh Diagram Improvements: We implemented an improved discretization of the Haigh diagram, and parallelized its evaluation. Now you get much nicer looking results in a fraction of the time. For details, check out our blog post on Haigh diagrams and also read about other improvements like axis limit setting and smoother contour plots.
Viewer image copy: There is now a button! Its easier than ever to get your images into reports.
Documentation Updates: We have been focusing on improving documentation this year. There are many new sections in the theory manual and user guide, as well as a getting started guide and more examples. Stay tuned for many more examples coming in 2024!
User Defined Planes: It is now possible to define your own set of planes for the critical plane search. One example where you might want to do this would be the situation where you would like to refine the critical plane search on a limited domain of the life sphere.
New Database Materials: We added 7 new carbon black and silica filled EPDM compounds to the database. We are now up to 42 unique rubber compounds in the database.
Uhyper Support: The new architecture now supports user-defined hyperelasticity. If you have a Uhyper subroutine for your finite element analysis, you can use it directly with Endurica.

Testing Hardware

We completed the acquisition and installation at ACE labs of a Coesfeld Instrumented Cut and Chip Analyser (ICCA). The ICCA provides unmatched measurement and control of impact conditions, and provides a way to evaluate rubber compounds for their resistance to cutting and chipping.

Applications, Case Studies, Webinars

Never underestimate the students! We were blown away by the work of undergraduates at the University of Calgary with our tools and Ansys. The students designed an airless tire, completing durability simulations using Endurica software within the scope of a senior design project. They were able to Get Durability Right on a short timeline and a student budget. Check out their multi-objective, high-performance design project here.

Analyzing what happens to tires as they take on the most celebrated testing track in the world might have been the funnest project Endurica’s engineers tackled in 2023. We presented the technical details at The Tire Society annual meeting and more in a followup webinar. An extensive Q&A session followed, and I loved the final question: “So, how long before we have a dashboard display of ‘miles to tire failure’ in our cars?” Bring it. We are ready!

Our Winning on Durability webinar series hit a nerve with the Metal Fatigue DOES NOT EQUAL Rubber Fatigue episodes on mean strain (the tendency of larger mean strains to significantly INCREASE the fatigue life of some rubbers!) and linear superposition (for converting applied load inputs to corresponding stress/strain responses). The great response has lead to our third installment on the differences between rubber and metal fatigue with an upcoming presentation on temperature effects.

Durability of 3D Printed Elastomer Structures

June 15, 2022October 3, 2019 by Christopher G. Robertson, Ph.D.

If you are involved in 3D printing with elastomers, can you predict the fatigue behavior?

How is product lifetime affected by complex lattice designs with multiaxial stresses, and what is the impact of printing defects?

Scientific literature and social media are abound with amazing examples of the potential for 3D printed articles made from metals, plastics and elastomers for use in many fields including the biomedical area. Researchers at ETH Zürich recently 3D printed a functioning artificial heart made from a silicone material. A picture of the device is shown below, and the story can be viewed elsewhere.^1,2This pioneering work represents a very noteworthy achievement. This research also highlights the importance of understanding elastomer durability in these cutting edge applications, as the silicone heart only survived 3,000 beats or about 30 minutes.

But the material can only keep going for 3,000 beats at this time.

One of the key differences between 3D printing (additive manufacturing) and conventional manufacturing is the ability of 3D printing processes to create complex structures containing open spaces, often lattice-like in nature. Perhaps the most innovative and high profile example of a 3D printed product with lattice construction is the midsole for the Adidas Futurecraft 4D shoe that is created using the Carbon 3D technology.³

a 3D printed product with lattice construction is the midsole for the Adidas Futurecraft 4D shoe that is created using the Carbon 3D technology.

Overall stresses that are relatively modest and unidirectional translate into much higher stress, multiaxial conditions within the struts of a lattice structure like the shoe sole example above. The finite element simulation below illustrates this for a lattice structure undergoing simple compression (thanks to Mark Bauman, engineering analyst at Endurica).

finite element simulation illustrates this for a lattice structure undergoing simple compression

Multiaxial load cases, crack closure considerations, and other complexities that arise in lattice designs and make it impossible to predict fatigue behavior using simplistic approaches such as Wohler / stress(S)-lifetime(N) curves, can be readily handled using the Endurica CL elastomer fatigue solver for Abaqus, MSC Marc, and ANSYS finite element analysis to predict when and where cracks will show up in the structure.

Cracks in an elastomer start out as microscopic precursors that grow due to applied cyclic loading according to a characteristic crack growth rate law for the material.⁴ In combination with critical plane analysis, this rubber fracture mechanics approach is the cornerstone of our Endurica CL software. The crack precursors – also called intrinsic defects or flaws – are especially important to pay attention to in the additive manufacturing of products in which voids or defects can be introduced by the printing process. The Core Module of our Fatigue Property Mapping testing services includes quantification of crack precursor size, and our new Reliability Module characterizes its distribution. The figure below illustrates the clear influence of crack precursor size on tensile strength in a study wherein we intentionally introduced glass microspheres as flaws in the rubber compound.⁵ Fatigue lifetime shows the same strong dependence on flaw size.

the clear influence of crack precursor size on tensile strength in a study wherein we intentionally introduced glass microspheres as flaws in the rubber compound

Endurica has the software, testing solutions, and expertise to help you understand and improve the durability of your 3D printed elastomer applications, so contact us to see how we can help you #GetDurabilityRight in the additive manufacturing world.

References

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-3d-printed-soft-artificial-heart-beats-just-like-a-real-one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUYNXeHfTdQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlomslovAnI
W. V. Mars, “Fatigue life prediction for elastomeric structures”, Rubber Chemistry and Technology 80, 481 (2007), https://doi.org/10.5254/1.3548175.
C. G. Robertson, L. B. Tunnicliffe, L. Maciag, M. A. Bauman, K. Miller, C. R. Herd, and W. V. Mars, “Characterizing Tensile Strength Distribution to Evaluate Filler Dispersion Effects and Reliability of Rubber”, paper presented at the Fall 196^th Technical Meeting of the Rubber Division, American Chemical Society (International Elastomer Conference), Cleveland, OH, October 8-10, 2019.

Calibrating Crack Precursor Size in Endurica CL

June 6, 2022July 22, 2019 by Mark Bauman

Crack precursors exist in all elastomers owing to the heterogeneous microstructure, even before any loads are applied. The size of the typical precursor must be specified as part of the Endurica fatigue analysis workflow. The best practice for finding the precursor size is to leverage both crack growth and crack nucleation experiments to enforce agreement between the nucleation test results and the corresponding simulation-predicted life results. This procedure guarantees that both the crack growth and the crack nucleation experiments add up to an overall consistent story.

Prior to performing the calibration, you will need to have already defined the hyperelastic law, and the fatigue crack growth rate law. Fatigue models used for rubber have the following parameters:

Relationship between tearing energy and crack growth rate
- The parameters needed to define this relationship are obtained through fatigue crack growth experiments. The crack is loaded under a range of tearing energies while tracking growth of the crack. These tests obtain the critical tearing energy, T_c, which is the tearing energy at which the crack reaches end of life failure in one loading. The crack growth rate at critical tearing energy, r_c, and the slope of the curve, F, are determined by fitting a power law to the experimental crack growth and tearing energy.
Threshold
- This is the tearing energy limit T₀ below which cracks do not grow. If you do not specify this parameter, then you will use the Thomas law. If you do specify this parameter, you will use the Lake-Lindley law. The threshold can be measured using an Intrinsic Strength experiment.
Strain Crystallization
- Some rubbers exhibit a strain crystallization behavior that causes an increase of durability under non-relaxing loads. If the duty cycle of your calibration experiment is nonrelaxing, and if you have a strain crystallizing material, then this characterization should be completed before calibrating the precursor size. The strain crystallization effect is measured in the non-relaxing module.
End of life crack size
- This parameter should be set in the material definition prior to calibrating the precursor size. A default value of 1mm is generally adequate, particularly when it turns out that the precursor size is at least 5x smaller than this value. The part is considered to have failed when a crack reaches this size.

The crack nucleation experiment used for the calibration procedure may be made on a material test coupon, or on an actual component. Test coupons are convenient in early development stages as they do not require having a part to test. So long as crack precursor size is controlled by intrinsic features of the compound recipe (and not by the extrinsic features of post-mixing processes), a test coupon is likely to give useful results. There is a risk when using a test coupon: the risk that the precursor size in a manufactured part is actually controlled by some feature of post-mixing process such as factory contamination, part molding, abrasion, etc. This risk can be mitigated by calibrating precursor size on the basis of crack nucleation experiments on the finished part. In the following example, we show the process for calibration based on a finished part. The process for a test coupon is the same, but the model of the part is replaced by a model of the specimen.

To illustrate, take the case of a rubber bumper spring. Its duty cycle consists of compressing the 150 mm long rubber spring by 80 mm. Experiments show a fatigue life of 282,534 cycles for this duty cycle. A finite element analysis of the rubber spring is made to obtain strain history. The rubber spring is shown in the image below at the initial condition, at 50% of the displacement, and at 100% of the displacement during the fatigue duty cycle.

The rubber spring at the initial condition, at 50% of the displacement, and at 100% of the displacement during the fatigue duty cycle

We are now ready to calibrate the as yet unknown precursor size to the known experimental fatigue test result of the spring. The precursor size can be calibrated by calculating the fatigue life for a series of precursor sizes and then interpolating to find the one precursor size that results in the best agreement between fatigue life calculations and the experimental fatigue life. Use the PRECURSORSIZE_CALIBRATION output request in Endurica CL to produce a table of fatigue life vs. crack precursor size. Your output request syntax will look something like this:

**OUTPUT

PRECURSORSIZE_CALIBRATION, NFS=25, FSMIN=1e-2
LIFE

NFS is the number of precursor sizes to evaluate, in this case 25. FSMIN is the smallest precursor size to evaluate, in this case 0.01 mm.

Once you’ve executed the calibration, use the new Endurica Viewer to complete the calibration workflow. It can plot a wide range of Endurica analysis outputs including precursor size calibration. Just open the Endurica output file containing the calibration results and expand the output file contents tree to find the Precursor Size Calibration results. The viewer then plots the computed table of precursor size vs fatigue life.

The viewer plots the computed table of precursor size vs fatigue life

If you click on the plot options in the upper left corner, you can input the target life and the viewer will interpolate the precursor size. In this case, for a life of 282,534 cycles, the corresponding precursor size is 39 microns. Now that the precursor size is calibrated, the spring geometry can be optimized, different loadings analyzed, or entirely different parts can be analyzed using the material model to get fatigue life results that accurately reflect the precursor size that is most representative of the final material in the part. Again, if a part is not available, precursor size can also be calibrated to fatigue results from standard simple tension test specimen.

The calibrated rubber spring FE model with the life result of 282,534 cycles is shown below.

EIE – Effect of Map Discretization on Interpolation Accuracy

June 15, 2022September 28, 2018 by Jesse D. Suter

Overview

The accuracy of the interpolated results performed by EIE is dependent on the discretization of the map. Specifically, the results will become more accurate as the map’s point density increases. This study uses a simple 2D model to quantify the accuracy of results interpolated from maps with different densities.

Model

A 1 mm x 1 mm rubber 2D plane strain model with two channels is used. The square’s bottom edge is fixed and the top edge is displaced in the x and y directions as shown below. The x displacement corresponds to channel 1 and the y displacement corresponds to channel 2. The working space of the model is defined by the x displacement ranging from 0 mm to 0.8 mm and the y displacement ranging from -0.08 mm to 0.8 mm.

The model is meshed with 100 8-node, quadrilateral, plane strain, hybrid, reduced integration elements (shown below).

History

We define as the benchmark reference solution a history that covers the model’s entire working space with a high density of points. An evenly spaced grid of 128×128 points for a total of 16384 points is used as the history (shown below). It is important that this history is more refined than the maps that we will create to ensure that we are testing all regions of our maps.

These points are used to drive the finite element model and the results are recorded. For this study, we record the three non-zero strain components and the hydrostatic pressure (NE11, NE22, NE12, and HP) for each element at each time point. In summary, there are 4 result components, 100 elements, and 16384 time increments. This set of results is the reference solution since it is solved directly by the finite element model. We will compare this solution to our interpolated results to measure our interpolation accuracy.

Maps

Six maps with different levels of refinement are used to compute interpolated results for our history points. All of the maps structure their points as an evenly spaced grid. The first map starts with two points along each edge. With each additional map, the number of points along each edge is doubled so that the sixth and final map has 64 edge points. The map points for the six maps are shown below.

The map points for these six maps are used to drive the finite element model’s two channels. The strain and hydrostatic pressure results from the FEA solutions are recorded at each map point in a similar way to how the results were recorded for the FEA solution that was driven by the history points. Next, EIE is used six times to interpolate the map point results at each resolution onto the high resolution reference history points.

We now have seven sets of history results: the true set of results and six interpolated sets of results.

Results

To compare our results, we look at the absolute difference between the sets of results. The absolute error is used, opposed to a relative error, since some regions of the model’s working space will give near zero strain and hydrostatic pressure. Division by these near zero values would cause the relative error to spike in those regions.

Since we have 100 elements and 4 components per element, there are a lot of results that could be compared. To focus our investigation, we look at the element and component that gave the maximum error. The figure below shows contour plots for each of the six maps for this worst-case element and component. The component that gave the maximum error was NE12. The title of each of the contour plot also shows the maximum error found for each of the plots.

Error contours for the worst-case element and component. Titles report the maximum log10 error. — Error contours for the worst-case element and component. Titles report the maximum log₁₀ error.

You can see that the error decreases as the map density increases. Also, you can identify the grid pattern in the contour plots since the error gets smaller near the map points.

Plotting the maximum error for each of the maps against the number of map points on a log scale is shown below. The slope of this line is approximately equal to 1 which is expected since a linear local interpolation was used to compute the results.

Maximum error vs the number of points for each of the six maps

Integrated Durability Solutions for Elastomers

June 7, 2022March 16, 2018 by Christopher G. Robertson, Ph.D.

Will the durability of your new rubber product meet the expectations of your customers?

Do you have a comprehensive capability that fully integrates all of the disciplines required to efficiently achieve a targeted durability spec?

Your engineers use finite element analysis (FEA) to model the elastomer component in the complex geometry and loading cycle for the desired product application. One traditional approach to predicting durability is to develop a rough estimate of lifetime by looking at maximum principal strain or stress in relation to strain-life or stress-life fatigue curves obtained for the material using lab specimens in simple tension. The difficulties and uncertainties with this method were discussed in a recent blog post.

a rough estimate of lifetime by looking at maximum principal strain or stress in relation to strain-life or stress-life fatigue curves obtained for the material using lab specimens in simple tension

A modern approach to elastomer durability is to use the Endurica CL™ durability solver for FEA. This software uses rubber fracture mechanics principles and critical plane analysis to calculate the fatigue lifetime – which is the number of times the complex deformation cycle can be repeated before failure – for every element of the model. This provides engineers with the ability to view lifetime throughout the FEA mesh, allowing them to modify design features or make material changes as needed to resolve short-lifetime areas.

view lifetime throughout the FEA mesh, allowing them to modify design features or make material changes as needed to resolve short-lifetime areas.

A sound finite element model of the elastomer product in the specified loading situation and fundamental fatigue material parameters from our Fatigue Property Mapping™ testing methods are the two essential inputs to the Endurica CL software. This is illustrated in the figure below.

The requisite elastomer characterization methods can be conducted by us through our testing services or by you in your laboratory with our testing instruments. For some companies, consulting projects are a route to taking advantage of the software before deciding to license the unique predictive capabilities. The following diagram shows how our products and services are integrated.

Durability Solutions for Elastomers

For companies that are just getting started with implementing our durability solutions, the following is a typical testing services and consulting project:

We use our Fatigue Property Mapping™ testing methods, through our collaboration with Axel Products Physical Testing Services, to characterize the properties of cured sheets of rubber compounds sent to us by the client. The minimum requirements for fatigue modeling are crack precursor size and crack growth rate law, and these are quantified within our Core Fatigue Module. Special effects like strain-induced crystallization and aging/degradation are accounted for using other testing modules when applicable.
The client sends us the output files from their finite element analysis (FEA) of their elastomer part design for the deformation of their complex loading cycle. It is common for the goal to be a comparison of either two designs, two distinct loading profiles, two different rubber compounds, or combinations of these variations. Our software is fully compatible with Abaqus™, ANSYS™, and MSC Marc™, so the simulations can be conducted on any of these FEA platforms. In some situations where a client does not have their own FEA capabilities, one of Endurica’s engineers will set up the models and perform the analyses instead.
The fatigue parameters and FEA model are inputted to Endurica CL fatigue solver to calculate values of the fatigue lifetime for every element of the model. The lifetime results are then mapped back onto the finite element mesh in Abaqus, ANSYS, or MSC Marc so that the problem areas (short lifetime regions) within the geometry can be highlighted.
We review the results with the client and discuss any opportunities for improving the fatigue performance through design and material changes.

Advanced implementors of our durability solutions have licensed the Endurica CL software and are using our rubber characterization methods in their laboratories on a routine basis, with instruments provided through our partnership with Coesfeld GmbH & Co. (Germany). One recently publicized example of a company using the Endurica approach to a very high degree is Tenneco Inc., which you can read about here.

We want to help you #GetDurabilityRight, so please contact us at info@endurica.com if you would like to know more about how Endurica’s modern integrated durability solutions for elastomers can help enable a product development path that is faster, less expensive, and more confident.

Specifying Strain Crystallization Effects for Fatigue Analysis

June 28, 2022November 3, 2017 by Jesse D. Suter

Endurica CL and fe-safe/Rubber provide several material models for defining cyclic crack growth under nonrelaxing conditions. Nonrelaxing cycles occur when the ratio R is greater than zero. R is defined as

where T is the energy release rate (note that T will always be greater than or equal to zero).

The crack growth rate under nonrelaxing conditions is, in general, a function of both T_max and R. For purposes of calculation, it is convenient to define an “equivalent” energy release rate T_eq that gives the same steady state rate of crack growth as the operating condition on the nonrelaxing crack growth curve, but which is instead on the fully relaxing crack growth curve. In other words,

Using this scheme, you can set up models for both amorphous and strain-crystallizing rubbers, depending on your definition of T_eq. Amorphous rubbers follow the well-known Paris model, and strain-crystallizing rubbers follow the Mars-Fatemi model (or you can define a lookup table).

Paris Model (Amorphous):

The Paris model is the simplest to derive, as it does not involve any material parameters. It defines the equivalent energy release rate as

This definition is only suitable for rubbers that do not strain-crystallize.

For strain-crystallizing rubbers, one of the other two models should be used.

Mars-Fatemi Model (Strain-crystallizing):

The Mars-Fatemi model accounts for strain crystallization by treating the power-law slope, F, of the Thomas fatigue crack growth rate law as a function of R, where

The exponential version is more compact, but the polynomial version is more flexible.

By substituting F(R) into the fatigue crack growth rate equations for relaxing and nonrelaxing cases, and doing a bit of algebra, the following relationship is obtained

Lookup Table (Strain-crystallizing):

The most flexible and accurate way to define strain crystallization is via a lookup table. The lookup table takes R as an input and returns x(R) as an output. This function can be defined as the fraction x(R) by which the nonrelaxing crack growth curve is shifted between the fully relaxing crack growth curve (x=0), and the vertical asymptote at T_c (x=1), at a given R.

This can be rearranged into the desired T_eq (T_max,R) form, as follows

Comparisons:

Visualizing the differences between the models helps gain a better understanding of how strain crystallization can affect fatigue performance. Since all of these models can be represented in the same form of T_eq(T_max,R), we show 2-D contour plots of T_eq with R on the x-axis and ∆T on the y-axis. ∆T is used instead of T_max to make it easier to compare back to the simple Paris model.

From the figures above, we see that for the Paris model, the equivalent energy release rate depends only on ∆T. When using this model, changes in R will have no effect on fatigue performance (when ∆T is also held constant).

For strain-crystallizing rubbers, changes in R should influence fatigue performance. This is seen in the figures for the Mars-Fatemi and lookup table models.

The Mars-Fatemi example uses the following parameters:

The lookup table example uses T_c=10.0 kJ/m² and Lindley’s data for unfilled natural rubber (P. B. Lindley, Int. J. Fracture 9, 449 (1973)).

For these models, there is a significant decline in T_eq as R increases. This effect is most pronounced when T_max is much smaller than the critical energy release rate T_c. Also, there is a point where the effect is reversed (around R=0.8 in these examples) and the high R-ratio starts to have a negative effect on fatigue performance.

Implications:

A material’s strain crystallization properties’ impact on fatigue performance under non-relaxing conditions should not be ignored. Whether you are seeking to take advantage of strain-crystallization effects or simply comparing the results of different materials/geometries/loadings, strain-crystallization should be accurately represented in your simulations.

Follow these tips to take advantage of strain crystallization and help ensure your fatigue performance is the best it can be.

Take advantage of Endurica’s material characterization service (the FPM-NR Nonrelaxing Module generates the strain crystallization curve) or use your own in-house testing to create an accurate strain crystallization model of your material (the nonrelaxing procedure is available for the Coesfeld Tear and Fatigue Analyser).
Use output requests like DAMAGE_SPHERE, CEDMINMAX and CEDRAINFLOW to observe R-ratios for your duty cycles.

References

B. Lindley, Int. J. Fracture 9, 449 (1973)

Mars, W. V. “Fatigue life prediction for elastomeric structures.” Rubber chemistry and technology 80, no. 3 (2007): 481-503.

Mars, W. V. “Computed dependence of rubber’s fatigue behavior on strain crystallization.” Rubber Chemistry and Technology 82, no. 1 (2009): 51-61.

Barbash, Kevin P., and William V. Mars. Critical Plane Analysis of Rubber Bushing Durability under Road Loads. No. 2016-01-0393. SAE Technical Paper, 2016.

Durability Analysis in CAE: panel discussion of metals vs. polymers at the SAE World Congress

June 1, 2022June 9, 2017 by William V. Mars, Ph.D., P.E.

Two graphs depicting the relationship between cycles and tearing energy. Through these graphs they show a relationship between a facture mechanics experiment and a crack nucleation experiment.

The relationship between crack nucleation and fracture mechanics experiments for polymers was first documented in 1964 by Gent, Lindley and Thomas (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 8, 455, 1964.)

Some weeks ago, I attended the WCX 2017 SAE World Congress and Exhibition, where a Technical Expert Panel Discussion on the topic of Durability Analysis in CAE was held. The panel was moderated by Yung-Li Lee (FCA US LLC), and included topic experts Abolhassan Khosrovaneh (General Motors LLC), Xuming Su (Ford Motor Co., Ltd.), and Efthimio Duni (FCA EMEA). The discussion was excellent and wide ranging, owing both to the panelists, and also to the audience, which (judging by the high engagement) was very well versed with the core of the topic, as well as its frontiers. I will not attempt to give a complete summary of the event, but I do want to highlight a memorable discussion thread, and to offer a few thoughts.

I do not know who raised the topic. It could have been a doctoral student or young professional. Clearly, it was a person wanting to align his own efforts well relative to larger industry trends. He started out with the observation that the classical crack nucleation methods (in which fatigue behavior is defined by a stress-life or strain-life curve) are quite popular in the automotive sector for analyzing fatigue of metals. He also observed that modern tools for rubber take a different approach based upon a fracture mechanics method (in which fatigue behavior is defined by a crack growth rate curve). He then asked (I’m paraphrasing from memory here):

Which method (nucleation vs. fracture mechanics) is preferred for analysis of polymers?
Should we try to unify all testing and analysis efforts for metals and polymers under the same method?

The panelists made several points in responding to this prompt. They started with the point that differences in methodology may be hard to avoid, if only because metals and polymers are so different in composition, molecular structure, and microstructure. Of course, it is possible to use fracture mechanical methods with metals, although there are some limitations implied by the granular crystalline structure of metals when cracks are very small. Likewise, it is also possible to use stress-life methods with polymers, although certain aspects of the material behavior may be incompatible with the usual procedures, leading to questionable results. From a practical standpoint, it would be quite difficult to change the methods used by the industry for metal fatigue analysis – the methods are quite mature at this point, and they have been implemented and validated across so many codes and projects that it is hard to imagine what could be gained by making a change. For polymers, CAE durability methods are newer, and we should use what works.

There is a final point that I believe will ultimately define how this all plays out. It is that 1) fatigue analysis for polymers is usually driven by multiple “special effects”, and that 2) the economics of the testing required to characterize these effects scales very differently between the two approaches.

Let me illustrate with a typical example: we have a Natural Rubber compound used in a high temperature application, for an extended time, under nonrelaxing loads. Let’s compare our options:

Option 1

Stress-Life Method

Option 2

Fracture Mechanics + Critical Plane Method

To use the stress-life method, we will need to develop curves that give the effect of 4 parameters on the fatigue life: 1) strain amplitude, 2) mean strain, 3) temperature, and 4) ageing. The experiment is a simple cycle-until-rupture procedure, with one test specimen consumed per operating condition tested.

Let’s assume that we measure each of the four parameters at only 3 levels, and that we will require 3 replicates of each experiment. The total number of fatigue experiments we need is therefore:

N = 3 amplitudes x 3 means x 3 temperatures x 3 ageing conditions x 3 replicates = 3⁵ = 243 fatigue to failure tests

With the fracture mechanics method, a single run of the experiment solicits the crack at many different operating conditions, enabling observation of the crack growth rate at each condition. Using Endurica’s standard testing modules, the example testing program (including replication) would require the following procedures:

Core module: 9 experiments (amplitude effect)

Nonrelaxing module: 3 experiments (mean effect)

Thermal module: 12 experiments (temperature effect)

Ageing module: 30 experiments (ageing effect)

243 tests required

54 tests required

In this example, the fracture mechanics method is almost 243/54 = 4.5x more efficient than the stress-life method! If you need more than 3 levels, or if you have more than 4 key operating parameters, the experimental cost for the stress-life method quickly becomes completely impractical, relative to the fracture mechanics method. Based on these scaling rules, and on the fact that polymers exhibit so many special effects, you can now appreciate why the fracture mechanics method must prevail for polymers. For metals, the case is less compelling: there aren’t as so many special effects, and the industry testing norms are already well established.

Bottom line: for fatigue of polymers, the economics of testing for ‘special effects’ strongly favors a fracture mechanics approach. This fact is certain to shape the future development of fatigue life prediction methods for polymers.