1. List and explain the factors that affect fatigue life of a material.

One of the factors that affect the fatigue life of a material is the load. When the load is larger or
heavier, it will cause stress applied on the material increases as well as decreases the fatigue life of
the material.Besides, the environmental factor affects the fatigue life of material.In a hot
environment, the fatigue life of a material decreases as the high temperature causes expansion and
contraction;thus,lead to thermal stress in the material which makes the material has lower fatigue
life.On the other hand,low temperature often make the usually ductile material more brittle. The
cracks in brittle materials propagate more rapidly than in ductile materials which worsen the fatigue
life.Moreover,the surface of the material is an important factor that affect fatigue life of a material.

The reasons are that the most highly-stresses fibers are located at the surface (bending fatigue) and
the intergranular flaws which precipitate tension failure are more frequently found at the
surface.Thus,most cracks leading to fatigue failure occur at surfaces since this is where the load is
applied (specifically at stress amplification sites); sharper discontinuities mean greater stress
concentration.The corrosion on the material also will decrease the fatigue life of the material.A
corroded material will have a low fatigue life as the stress acted on a corroded material will become
higher.Furthermore,the size also can affect the fatigue life of a material.The larger the component,
the more initial imperfections within the component. With increasing surface area, the likelihood that
multiple crack initiation sites will occur near one another is increased leading directly to earlier crack
coalescence and shorter fatigue life of the material.Also,the material used can affect the fatigue life
due to their different microstructure. For an example,the microstructure of the steel has a strong
effect on the resistance to low-cycle fracture. The highest fracture resistance in cyclic loading is
shown by the steel with the austenitic structure, that of the steel with the ferritic-pearlitic structure is
slightly lower, whereas the lowest resistance was recorded for the steel of the transition grade
(ferritic-martensitic). This is explained by special features of deformation of their microstructural
components and different properties of the crystal lattice.The improvement in fatigue life is ascribed
to retardation of crack propagation caused by grain boundaries acting as barriers and a crack closure
effect due to crack deflection.Lastly,the surface treatment of the material will lead to difference in
the fatigue life.Surface treatment like stamping process will introduce discontinuities and
irregularities to the material and thus high stress concentration.But, process like cold rolling and
shoot peening which introduce compress residual stress at the surface have positive impacts on the
fatigue lives.(Factors affect fatigue life,2019)

Inc, eFunda: Factors Affect Fatigue Life. engineering fundamentals.Retrieved from:

https://www.efunda.com/formulae/solid_mechanics/fatigue/fatigue_factor.cfm [Accessed August 7,
2019].