Fatigue strength of small-notched specimens under variable amplitude loading within the fatigue limit diagram

Although the fatigue limit diagram is defined in principle for constant stress amplitude, it is often considered that fatigue failure would not occur, even in varying loading, if applied stresses were kept within the fatigue limit diagram. However, it was shown in the case of small‐notched specimens that fatigue failure occurred in some special cases of variable amplitude loading, even when all stress amplitudes were kept within the fatigue limit diagram. The cause of this phenomenon was examined using two‐step stress and repeated two‐step stress patterns in which the first step stress was chosen to be equal to the fatigue limit with zero mean stress and a mean stress was superposed on the second step stress. A non‐propagating crack was formed by the first step stress. This crack functioned as a pre‐crack for the second step stress with high mean stress. Consequently, fatigue failure occurred even when all stress amplitudes were kept within the fatigue limit diagram. It was an unexpected fracture caused by the interference effect of a non‐propagating crack and a mean stress change.