Fatigue failure by in-line flow-induced vibration and fatigue life evaluation

The phenomenon of fatigue failure due to In-line flow-induced vibration has been investigated. In the experimental program an induced-vibration experimental set-up involving water flow was developed. This apparatus was used to produce fatigue failure resulting from In-line flow-induced vibration. The fatigue specimens were made of a medium carbon steel. A small hole was drilled into the specimen surface to localize the fatigue cracking process. A strain histogram recorder (Mini Rainflow Corder, MRC) was used to acquire the service strain histogram and also to detect any variations in natural frequency. The cumulative fatigue damage, D, as defined by the Modified Miner Rule, was determined by using the strain histogram of the early portion of the test record. The value of D was almost unity in the case of In-line vibration. In contrast, the value of D obtained in a previous investigation for the case of the Cross-flow vibration ranged approximately from 0.2 to 0.8. (author)