Influence Of Surface Roughness On Ultra-High-Cycle Fatigue Of Aisi 4140 Steel.

Daniel Januário Cordeiro Gomes et al. Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications www.ijera.com
ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 5, Issue 4, ( Part -3) April 2015, pp.80-90
www.ijera.com 80 | P a g e
Influence Of Surface Roughness On Ultra-High-Cycle Fatigue Of
Aisi 4140 Steel.
Daniel Januário Cordeiro Gomes; Ernani Sales Palma; Pedro Américo Almeida
Magalhães Júnior.
Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC - MG) – Brazil
ABSTRACT
Low and high-cycle fatigue life regimes are well studied and are relatively well understood. However, recent
fatigue studies on steels have shown that fatigue failures can occur at low amplitudes even below the
conventional fatigue limit in the ultra-high-cycle fatigue range (life higher than 107
cycles). Fatigue life in the
regime of 106
to 108
cycles-to-failure in terms of the influence of manufacturing processes on fatigue strength is
examined. Specifically, the influence of surface roughness of turned surfaces of AISI 4140 steel specimens on
fatigue strength in the giga cycle or ultra-high-cycle fatigue range is evaluated. The fatigue experiments were
carried out at room temperature, with zero mean stress, on a rotating-bending fatigue testing machine of the
constant bending moment type. The fatigue strength of the specimens were determined using the staircase (or
up-and-down) method.
Keywords: Giga cycles, ultra-high-cycle fatigue, super long life regime, very high cycle regime, fatigue limit,
surface roughness, surface integrity.
I. INTRODUCTION
Fatigue is a major cause of the failure of
mechanical components during service. Fatigue
cracks usually nucleate on the surface of these
components. Thus, the fatigue life of a machine
component strongly depends on its surface layer
condition. Fatigue crack nucleation and propagation,
in most cases, can be attributed to impaired surface
integrity, which includes surface roughness,
structural and stress conditions of the surface layer.
The importance of surface integrity increases with
increasing lives, loads, environment and temperature.
The surface layer is determined by manufacturing
processes and by finishing treatments. Machining is a
competitive alternative process for producing a wide
range of mechanical components, such as gears,
cams, shafts and axles. The process of machining
steel is complex and the surface generated is
influenced by several variables: steel properties
(elastic and plastic deformations), tool material and
geometry, cutting tool vibrations, cutting speed, feed,
depth of cut, lubricant, etc. Previous studies have
demonstrated that machining processes produce
damage to the surface of metals, thus the properties
of the surface differ from those of the bulk of the
material (BENARDOS; VOSNIAKOS, 2003;
BAILEY; JEELANI; BECKER, 1976; ZAHAVI;
TORBILO, 1996) e.g., the surface layer is subjected
to elastic-plastic deformation and heating, which
results in structural changes, strain hardening,
residual stresses and irregularities that may cause
surface roughness.
The influence of machining parameters on the fatigue
limit of AISI 4140 steel was studied in detail by
Lopes 2006 and Lopes, Sales e Palma (2008). A
relationship between surface roughness and
machining parameters with a fatigue limit at 2x106
cycles was determined. Residual stresses, strain
hardening and roughness surface play a dominant
role in determining material fatigue behavior.
Many structural components now are working
beyond 107
cycles. This required has increased the
number of research on ultra-high-cycle fatigue life
regime (MARINES; BIN; BATHIAS, 2003). Studies
on fatigue lives greater than 107
cycles began to
emerge in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, several
consistent reports demonstrated that steels could fail
beyond ten million cycles due to fatigue (BATHIAS
et al., 1991; BATHIAS; NI, 1993; ; MASUDA;
TANAKA, 1994; MURAKAMI; ENDO, 1994; WU;
NI; BATHIAS, 1994; BATHIAS, 1996;
KANAZAWA; NISHIJIMA, 1997; STANZL-
TSCHEGG, 1999). Bathias and co-workers
performed fatigue tests on steel and other metals and
concluded that these materials do not have an infinite
life under cyclic loading. (BATHIAS, 1999;
BATHIAS; DROUILLAC; FRANÇOIS, 2001;
BATHIAS; PARIS, 2005). According to these
researchers, the S-N (stress/ cycles) curves obtained
up to 1010
cycles did not have a typical horizontal
level, i.e., it was not possible to determine fatigue
limit for these materials. Several other authors have
presented the same conclusion (BAYRAKTAR;
GARCIAS; BATHIAS, 2006; SHIMIZU; TOSHA;
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

TSUCHIYA; 2010). Sadananda, Vasudevan and
Phan (2007) showed that the fatigue strength of steel
is more sensitive to the presence of stress inducers at
a giga cycle life than at shorter lives. Finally, some
researchers have shown that S-N curves exhibit more
than one type of failure (PYTELL; SCHWERDT;
BERGER, 2011; SONSINO, 2007; BOMAS;
BUKART; ZOCH, 2011). In general two knees can
be observed: one associated with surface crack
nucleation, for high fatigue life and inner crack
initiation observed at giga cycle lives (WANG et al.,
2002; CHAPETTI, 2011). Subsurface cracks may be
associated with microscopic defects (inclusions,
pores) but sometimes these failures can occur in
defects free materials like microstructural
heterogeneities (BAYRAKTAR; GARCIAS;
BATHIAS, 2006; ZUO; WANG; HAN, 2008).
The recent studies have shown that fatigue tests on
super long life have shown that metallic materials
exhibit a decrease in fatigue strength after 107
cycles.
Therefore, the concept of life-safe based on infinite
life criterion should not be used because the S-N
curves do not have a horizontal level as previously
thought.
In Low and high-cycle fatigue life regimes the crack
nucleation arises primarily from surface defects.
Recent researches have shown that the nucleation in
ultra-high-cycle fatigue tends to occur within the
material from inclusions, pores, microstructural
heterogeneities and other internal defects. However,
there are not conclusive studies on the mechanisms of
failure and methods of predicting fatigue life in this
life range.
Tanaka and Akiniwa (2002) obtained interesting
results in the very high cycle regime of specimens
submitted to shot peening. These authors noted that
all fatigue cracks appeared within the material due to
compressive residual stresses on the surface layer.
Furthermore, when compared with grinding test
specimens, the shot peening specimens showed a
decrease of fatigue strength because of tensile
residual stresses being inside the material.
Bayraktar et al. (2009) carried out a research about
the surface conditions in mechanical components in
order to understand the fatigue behavior in super long
life regime. These authors analyzed the influence of
carburizing thickness and of surface roughness. This
study did not show evident effect in fatigue strength
for the two cases of carburizing thickness.
Furthermore, the three cases of surface roughness
investigated did not present noticeable effect on the
S-N curves.
The importance of both surface roughness and
integrity is well recognized, with several studies
relating these characteristics with fatigue life
(MCKELVEY; FATEMI, 2012). Few reports in the
literature, however, describe the influence of
machining cutting parameters on the very high cycle
fatigue life of commercial steels. In the present study,
the influence of feed rate on the fatigue strength of
turning specimens of commercial AISI 4140 steel at
lives above 107
cycles is examined.
II. MATERIAL, SPECIMENS AND
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
In this investigation the AISI 4140 steel was
used as raw material. The average chemical
composition (wt%) of this steel is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Chemical composition of the AISI 4140 steel
Element C Mn Si Cr Mo Fe
wt (%) 0,40 0,87 0,25 0,95 0,20 balance
The microstructure of this steel is composed of ferrite and pearlite. A micrograph of the virgin specimen of the
investigated steel is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Micrograph of the AISI 4140 steel in virgin specimen. Expansions of 200 and 500 times respectively
This material was supplied as laminated cylindrical bars about 3,000 mm long with a diameter of 16.88 mm (5/8
in). These as-received materials were normalized and fatigue specimens were turned to the configuration shown
in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Geometry of the specimens used in rotating-bending fatigue testing – Dimensions in mm
The test specimens were turned with the following cutting parameters: Cutting
velocity (Vc) = 60m/min, depth of cut (ap) = 1.2 mm and two feed rates [(f) = 0.12 and 0.25 mm/rev].
These test specimens were grouped according to the surface finish induced by cutting parameters.
The turning process was carried out using a CNC lathe model Romi Centur 30D with a 6% concentration
emulsion as the cutting fluid (Esso, specification Kutwell 40). The selected cutting tool was cemented carbide
(WC+Co+TiC+TaC), with a specification of DCMT 11 T 304 – PM05, WAM-20 and coated by TiN. The
geometry of the tools used was as follows: rake angle  = 60
, clearance angle  = 50
, approach angle
r = 600
and inclination angle s = 00
. The tool-holder used for machining the specimens was the PDJCR2020.
All tests were performed using cutting tools with fresh edges (without wear). An optical microscope was used to
observe and control the cutting tool wear.
Other specimens were cut and their surfaces were finished by grinding to achieve a surface finish less than Ra =
30 μm in the gauge length. These specimens are hereafter designated as grinded and were used to generate
reference mechanical properties.
The specimen turning procedures are summarized in Figure 3. These specimens are hereafter designated
according to their condition number.

Figure 3: Flow chart of specimen production procedures
After turning with each combination of cutting parameters, the surface roughness was measured before
performing the fatigue tests. A surface evaluation system (Surtronic, Taylor Hobson) was used to measure the
roughness of the turned surfaces. The surface perfilometer was set for a 0.8mm cut-off length. Surface
roughness was evaluated using the arithmetic mean value (Ra), the root mean square (Rq) and the peak to valley
height or maximum height roughness parameter (Rt) over a gauge length of 80 mm (Fig. 2) for all specimens.
Surface roughness of each specimen was measured four times. The mean values of all specimens of each
condition were used for analysis.
1.1. Fatigue Tests
Fatigue tests were performed at room temperature, applying a cyclical frequency of 58Hz, with mean stress
equal to zero (R= -1), on a rotating-bending fatigue testing machine with a constant bending moment. The
specimens were subjected to a constant bending moment along the gauge length (80 mm according to Figure 2)
between the inboard bearings. The specimens were cooled to maintain a constant temperature of 23±2o
C during
the test.
The test specimens were grouped according to the machining parameters in the turning process. These
specimens were separated under conditions determined in accordance with the specific parameters of cutting
(Figure 3). These conditions made it possible to measure the influence of machining parameters on the fatigue
strength.
The staircase or up-and-down method was used to determine the fatigue strength of each specimen’s condition.
In these fatigue tests were used 1x108
cycles as the run out criterion. For each test group, if the specimen failed
before reaching the run out criterion, the stress level was decreased by a preselected increment and the second
specimen was tested at this new lower stress level. If the first specimen ran out, the stress level was increased by
the preselected increment and the second specimen was tested at this new higher stress level. The tests were
continued in this sequence, with each successive specimen being tested at a stress level that was above or below
that of its predecessor. The experimental data were statistically analyzed, using staircase method (COLLINS,
1993; LEE et al., 2005).
1.2. Microhardness Test
Because of its wide use and acceptance in scientific research, the Vickers microhardness method was adopted to
measure material’s hardness. This method utilizes a pyramid-shaped diamond indenter with a square base and
inside angle of 3600
between their opposing faces. In these tests, was used a load of 1.0 kgf and a time of 30
seconds to obtain printing.
In each machining condition were taken two hardness test sample of virgin specimens (i.e., test specimens not
examined by fatigue) and four hardness test sample of specimens tested by fatigue. Of these, two samples were
taken of specimens failed by fatigue before attaining the prescribed life (1.0 x 108
cycles) and the other two
samples of test specimens that ran out (i.e., reached the prescribed life without occurrence of fatigue failure).
The microhardness measurements were carried out radially and equally spaced of 500 μm from the surface
toward the center of the sample.

The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the behavior of microhardness in super long lives regime (ultra-
high-cycle fatigue), before and after fatigue tests.
2. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Surface roughness of several specimens was measured in each machining condition according to Figure 3. The
surface roughness parameter Ra and Rt increased with an increase in the feed rate, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Mean roughness of each machining condition
Machining
condition
Vc
(m/min)
ap
(mm)
f
(mm/rev)
Ra (μm) Rt (μm)
1.1 ** ** ** 0.22 ± 0.08 2.65 ± 0.99
2.1 60 1.2 0.12 1.29 ± 0.14 7.75 ± 0.53
2.2 60 1.2 0.25 5.10 ± 0.88 26.70 ± 3.44
The mechanical properties of AISI 4140 steel are summarized in Table 3. Tensile tests were performed in each
machining condition, using de same test specimens utilized in fatigue tests. The monotonic mechanical
properties were similar for all conditions.
Table 3: Mechanical properties of AISI 4140 steel
Machining
Condition
1.1 - Grinding
2.1 - Turning
(f = 0.12 mm/rev)
2.2 - Turning
(f = 0.25 mm/rev)
0,2 (MPa) 479.35 ± 39.45 522.26 ± 17.54 490.43 ± 28.55
u (MPa) 624.90 ± 28.82 670.11 ± 9.24 638.47 ± 6.39
r (MPa) 450.71 ± 10.39 484.61 ± 3.97 475.13 ± 6.63
2.1. Fatigue Test Results
The fatigue strength of each specimen’s condition was determined using the staircase method. In these fatigue
tests were used 1x108
cycles as the run out criterion. Thus, the staircase tests of all condition are shown in figure
4 to 6.
Figure 4: Stair case fatigue test - Condition 1.1 (grinded)

In the condition fatigue tests 1.1, referring to the grinding specimens, the mean fatigue strength was determined
as 116.5 ± 7.7 MPa.
Figure
5: Stair case fatigue test - Condition 2.1 (turned, f = 0.12 mm/rev)
In the condition fatigue tests 2.1, referring to the turning specimens with Vc = 60m/min, ap = 1.2 mm and f
= 0.12 mm/rev, the mean fatigue strength was determined as 127.4 ± 7.7 MPa.
Figure 6: Stair case fatigue test - Condition 2.2 (turned, f = 0.25 mm/rev)
In the condition fatigue tests 2.2, referring to the turning specimens with Vc = 60m/min, ap = 1.2 mm and f
= 0.25 mm/rev, the mean fatigue strength was determined as 126.2 ± 7.7 MPa.
Comparing the fatigue strength results for the three machining conditions, it is noted that the surface roughness
did not have a noticeable influence on the fatigue strength of AISI 4140 steel in ultra-high-cycle fatigue. Despite
the mean fatigue strength of each machining condition being different, the results are very close. Thus, it can be
said that the surface roughness has a smaller effect on fatigue strength for larger numbers of cycles.
The Figures 7 and 8 shows, for each machining condition, the results of mean surface roughness and mean
fatigue strength respectively.

Figure 7: Mean surface roughness for each machining condition.
Figure 8: Mean fatigue strength with standard deviation for each machining condition.
The grinded test specimens (condition 1.1) there was lower fatigue strength, despite its lower surface roughness.
This behavior is due to the presence of residual stresses in the surface layer of test specimens. The machining
causes irregular elastic-plastic deformations, which contributes to the appearance of compressive residual
stresses in the surface layer. Despite the grinding decrease the surface roughness also eliminates compressive
residual stresses and causes the onset of tensile residual stresses when no proper cooling is used. Thus, the
residual stresses have greater influence on fatigue strength than the surface roughness in ultra-high-cycle
fatigue.
2.2. Microhardness Test Results
Figures 9 to 11 shows microhardness profile of virgin specimens and specimens tested by fatigue in each
machining conditions.

Figure 9: Microhardness profile of the condition 1.1 before and after fatigue tests.
In the condition 1.1 there was a mean cyclic softening of 9.84 ± 1.16% between virgin specimens and specimens
that failed by fatigue. This percentage represents a mean cyclic softening of 24.74 ± 3.34 kgf / mm².
In the condition 2.1 there was a mean cyclic softening of 7.11 ± 3.27% between virgin specimens and specimens
that failed by fatigue. This percentage represents a mean cyclic softening of 18.96 ± 9.24 kgf / mm².

In the condition 2.2 there was a mean cyclic softening of 13.05 ± 1.68% between virgin specimens and
specimens that failed by fatigue. This percentage represents a mean cyclic softening of 35.02 ± 4.84 kgf / mm².
2.3. Microstructural analysis
Micrographic analyzes were also performed on specimens tested by fatigue that did not fail until reaching a life
at 1x108
cycles (see figure 12a and 12b for representative example).
a) Condition 1.1 b) Condition 2.1
Figure 12: Cracks in specimens tested until 1x108
cycles. 500 time expansion.
Cracks were observed on the surface and the inner of
several specimens. Thus, if the tests were not
interrupted, the specimens could fail. Therefore, there
isn't infinite fatigue life, because the material could
break by fatigue even in the super long life regime.
III. CONCLUSIONS
Analysis of results of the influence of machining
parameters on the fatigue strength of AISI 4140 steel
in very high cycle regime is presented. The results are
summarized as follows:
 An cyclic softening was observed in the
specimens tested by fatigue, i.e., there was a
decrease in the hardness of AISI 4140 steel after
it is subjected to cyclic stresses of the order of
giga cycles.
 Surface roughness did not have a noticeable
influence on the fatigue behavior of AISI 4140
steel in super long life regime. Thus, the surface
integrity has a smaller effect on fatigue strength
to lifetime beyond 107
cycles.
 In the grinding specimens the fatigue strength
was lower than in the machining specimens. This
effect was not caused by the finish surface, but
the absence of compressive residual stresses in
the surface layer.

 Even tests which reached the prescribed life
without breaking fatigue cracks were detected by
micrographics analyze. Therefore, if the test
specimen was not interrupted the fracture would
occur. So, there isn't infinite fatigue life in ultra-
high-cycle fatigue.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Financial support of this research was provided
by CNPq (National Council for Scientific and
Technological Development).
REFERENCES
[1.] BAILEY, J.A.; JEELANI, S.; BECKER, S.E.
Surface Integrity in the Machining of quenched
and tempered AISI 4340 Steel, ASME, J.
Engng Ind., 98, 1976 p 999-1004.
[2.] BATHIAS, C. et al. Fatigue threshold of alloys
at high frequency. ICM6, v. 4, p. 463 – 468,
1991.
[3.] BATHIAS, C.; NI, J. Determination of Fatigue
Limit between 105
e 109
Cycles using an
ultrasonic fatigue device. American Society
for Testing and Materials, p.141 -152, 1993.
[4.] BATHIAS, C. A review of fatigue of
aluminium matrix reinforced by particles and
short fibers. Science Forum, p. 1407 – 1412,
1996.
[5.] BATHIAS, C. There is no infinite fatigue life
in metallic materials. Fatigue Fract Engng
Mater Struct, v. 22, p. 559 – 565, 1999.
[6.] BATHIAS, C.; DROUILLAC, L.;
FRANÇOIS, P. Le. How and why the fatigue
S-N curve not approach a horizontal
asymptote. International Journal of Fatigue,
v. 23, p. S143 - S151, 2001.
[7.] BATHIAS, C.; PARIS, P. C. Gigacycle
fatigue in mechanical practice. New York:
Marcel Dekker, 2005.
[8.] BAYRAKTAR, E.; GARCIAS, I.
M.;BATHIAS, C. Failure mechanisms of
automotive metallic alloys in very high cycle
fatigue range. International Journal of
Fatigue, v. xxx, p. xxx - xxx, 2006.
[9.] BAYRAKTAR, E. et al. Heat treatment,
surface roughness and corrosion effects on the
damage mechanism of mechanical components
in the very high cycle fatigue regime.
International Journal of Fatigue, v. 31, p.
1532 -1540, 2009.
[10.] BENARDOS, P.G.; VOSNIAKOS G. C.
Predicting Surface Roughness in Machining: A
review, Int. J. of Mach. Tools & Manufacture,
43, 2003, p 833-844.
[11.] BOMAS, H.; BUKART, K.; ZOCH, H.W.
Evaluation of S-N Curves with more than one
Failure Mode, Int. J. of Fatigue, 33, 2011, p.
19-22.
[12.] CHAPETTI, M. D.. A Simple Model to Predict
the Very High Cycle Fatigue Resistance of
Steels, Int. J. of Fatigue, 33, 2011, p 833-841.
[13.] COLLINS, Jack A. Failure of materials in
mechanical design: Analysis, Prediction,
Prevention. 2. ed. New York: John Wiley &
sons, 1993.
[14.] LEE, Yung-Li et al. Fatigue testing and
analysis: Theory and practice. Burlington:
Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.
[15.] KANAZAWA K.; NISHIJIMA, S. Fatigue
fracture of low alloy steel at ultra high cycle
region under elevated temperature conditions.
J. Soc. Mater. Sci, v. 46, n. 12, p. 1396 - 1401,
1997.
[16.] LOPES, Karina Stefania souza. Influência dos
parâmetros de usinagem na resistência à
fadiga de aços AISI 4140. 2006. Dissertação
(Mestrado) – Pontifícia Universidade Católica
de Minas Gerais, Programa de Pós-Graduação
em Engenharia Mecânica, Belo Horizonte.
[17.] LOPES, K. S. S.; SALES, W. F.; PALMA, E.
S. Influence of machining parameters on
fatigue endurance limit of AISI 4140 steel. J.
of the Bra. Soc. Of Mech. Sci & Eng., n. 1, v.
xxx, p. 77 – 83, 2008.
[18.] MARINES, I.; BIN, X.; BATHIAS, C. An
understanding of very high cycle fatigue of
metals. International Journal of Fatigue, v.
25, p.1101-1107, 2003.
[19.] MASUDA, C.; TANAKA, Y. Fatigue crack
propagation mechanisms of SiC whisker and
particle reinforced aluminium matrix
composites. Adv. Composite Mater., v. 3, p.
319 – 339, 1994.
[20.] MCKELVEY, S.A.; FATEMI, A. Surface
Finish Effect on Fatigue Behavior of forged
Steel, Int. J. of Fatigue, 36, 2012, p130-145.
[21.] MURAKAMI, Y.; ENDO, M. Effects of
defects, inclusions and inhomogeneities on
fatigue strength. International Journal of
Fatigue, v. 16, p. 163 – 182, 1994.
[22.] PYTTEL, B.; SCHWERDT, D.; BERGER, C.
Very High Cycle Fatigue – Is there a Fatigue
Limit?, Int. J. of Fatigue, 33, 2011, p 49-58.
[23.] SHIMIZU, S.; TOSHA, K.; TSUCHIYA, K.
New Data Analysis of Probabilistic Stress-Life
(P-S-N) Curve and its application for
Structural Materials, Int. J. of Fatigue, 2(32),
2010, p 565-575.
[24.] SONSINO, C. M. Course of SN-curves
especially in the high-cycle fatigue regime
with regard to component design and safety.
International Journal of Fatigue. v. 29, p.
2246 - 2258, 2007.
[25.] STANZL-TSCHEGG, S. Fracture mechanisms
and fracture mechanics at ultrasonic frequency.
Fat. Fract. Engng. Mater. Struct., v. 22, p.
567 – 579, 1999.

[26.] TANAKA, K.; AKINIWA, Y. Fatigue crack
propagation behavior derived from S-N data in
very high cycle regime. Fat. Fract. Engng.
Mater. Struct., v. 25, p. 775 – 784, 2002.
[27.] WANG, Q. Y. et al. Effect of inclusion on
subsurface crack initiation and giga cycle
fatigue strength. International Journal of
Fatigue, v. 24, p. 1269 – 1274, 2002.
[28.] WU, T.; NI, J.; BATHIAS, C. An automatic
ultrasonic fatigue testing system for studying
low crack growth at room and high
temperatures. ASTM STP, v. 1231, p. 598 –
607, 1994.
[29.] ZHAVI, Eliahu; TORBILO, Vladimir. Fatigue
design: Life expectancy of machine parts. New
York: CRC Press, Inc., 1996.
[30.] ZUO, J. H.; WANG, Z. G. ; HAN, E. H. Effect
of microstructure on ultra-high cycle fatigue
behavior of Ti-6Al-4V. Materials Science and
Engineering A, v.473, p. 147 – 152, 2008.

Influence Of Surface Roughness On Ultra-High-Cycle Fatigue Of Aisi 4140 Steel.

More Related Content

What's hot (17)

Similar to Influence Of Surface Roughness On Ultra-High-Cycle Fatigue Of Aisi 4140 Steel. (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Influence Of Surface Roughness On Ultra-High-Cycle Fatigue Of Aisi 4140 Steel.