Including Mean Stress in the Effective Equivalent Stress of the ASME BPVC Elastic–Plastic Fatigue Method

Abstract

This work provides a novel method for including mean stress in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) elastic–plastic fatigue procedure. Typically, the mean stress is accounted for by adjusting the stress-life cycle curve. A new approach is provided by adjusting the effective equivalent stress range with a mean stress correction. This approach is advantageous because this adjustment can be made at each cycle and efficiently implemented in the computation. This new approach allows for fatigue analysis of large-scale models, such as full spacecraft assemblies or a semi-truck trailer. The proposed method is verified by predicting the fatigue life of a test coupon and compared to experimental results.