Abstract:
Sri Lanka’s first research project conducted
utilizing fe-safe software by SIMULIA, in the interest area of
fatigue life prediction. The field of Metallurgical Engineering
associated with the fatigue life of atmospherically corroded
structural components has been studied in extensive detail.
Most of the researchers in this area have focused on statistical
analysis of fatigue strengths of alloy steels and other metals
undergone pitting corrosion in a conventional manner. The
scope of this work is focused on the fatigue behavior of low
carbon steel, exposed to coastal-atmospheric corrosion. The
change in surface topography with time, due to atmosphericcorrosion
of low-carbon steel is one of the two main areas in
this research and other factor is the drop in fatigue strength
with changing surface topography. In this research project,
effect of surface topography of corroded low carbon steel on
their fatigue lives are evaluated with both experimentally and
analytically using finite element modelling. The surface
topography is evaluated quantitatively, using Scanning
Electron Microscopy and a 3D metrology software. The
quantitative data obtained on pit geometries are then
represented in finite element modelling to evaluate their fatigue
lives using fatigue analyzing FEA software. The significance of
this work is that it takes into account the surface topography of
corroded low carbon steel and helps to explain the difference
between simulated and experimentally obtained fatigue
strengths of them.
