Fatigue Analysis & FEA

In-company course
5 half-day sessions
Upon request
English / Dutch
Upon request

Course Objective

“Provides a comprehensive understanding of fatigue and analysis methods, giving engineers the tools to understand the fatigue performance of a structure.”

About the Course

Did you know that the number of structural failures due to fatigue is much larger than due to static overload? Managing and preventing problems due to metal fatigue should be considered a key capability of a structural engineer. Safe operation of your structural asset is important to you; you want to avoid your structure collapsing.
This course fills the gap between textbook theory and fatigue calculations with design codes; teaching participants the fundamentals required to perform a technically sound fatigue analysis. Through knowing these fundamentals of fatigue, participants will be able to identify which factors are good and bad for fatigue, how to improve a design and how to calculate the fatigue life of a structure. In this course participants will learn about both analytical analysis for fatigue and how to use FEA (Finite Element Analysis) for a fatigue analysis.
The course consists of 5 sessions with the instructors.

Your Instructors

Johannes Homan | Fatigue & Damage Tolerance Specialist

Mart Heerschap (MGts) | Senior Consultant in FEA,  FEA Trainer

Program & Details

Module 1 Introduction
  1. What is fatigue?
  2. Why is fatigue important?
  3. Fatigue mechanisms & phenomena
Module 2 Fatigue of Materials
  1. Effect of material properties
  2. Impact of mean stresses and type of loading
Module 3 Fatigue of Structures
  1. Stress concentrations
  2. Notch sensitivity
  3. Residual/internal stresses
  4. Fatigue properties of structures
  5. Surface conditions
  6. Environmental factors
  7. Identification of critical locations
  8. Exercises
Module 4 Variable Amplitude Loading
  1. Load and stress spectra
  2. Cycle counting
  3. Damage accumulation
Module 5 Fatigue Analysis using Nominal Stresses
  1. Accuracy of the approach
  2. Material data
  3. Accounting for geometry
  4. Mean stress correction
  5. Examples
Module 6 Fatigue Analysis using Local Stresses
  1. Material data
  2. Accounting for the geometrical features
  3. Impact of stress gradients
  4. Examples
Module 7 FEA Part I
  1. Meshing for a fatigue analysis
  2. Element types, and impact on stress levels
  3. Dealing with singularities
Module 8 FEA Part II
  1. Non-linear analysis
  2. Post processing of results
  3. Verification
Module 9 Welded Joints
  1. Difference between fatigue in welded and non-welded structures
  2. Analysis of a welded joint
  3. FEA analysis of a welded joint
  4. Example
Module 10 Multi-axial Fatigue
  1. Multi-axial loading
  2. Multi-axial stresses
  3. Principal vs equivalent stresses

After this course

  • You have a solid fundamental understanding of the mechanism of fatigue, and know how to interpret fatigue calculation codes.
  • You know how to identify fatigue critical locations, and are familiar with the analysis methods (both analytical and FEA) so as to be able to predict component life.
  • You understand how fatigue behaviour is impacted by the mean stress, the surface condition, surface treatment and corrosion.
  • You have seen the concepts for damage accumulation and combined fatigue loading.
  • You have a solid overview of how to use FEM optimally for fatigue design studies and fatigue life analysis. You will have seen the importance of selecting appropriate elements and performing an appropriate convergence study. 

Who should attend this course

  • Those involved in structural design or reviewing designs:
    • Stress engineers
    • Structural designers
    • Test engineers
    • Lead engineers
    • Engineering managers
  • Prerequisites:
    • An understanding of loads and stresses
    • Basic understanding of material behaviour
  • Level:
    • Intermediate
What to expect

This course consists of instructor-led live sessions which consist of presentations, exercises and discussions of questions. During each session, participants can ask questions to the instructor which will be answered.

Certification & Credits

A personal certificate will be made available to each participant upon full attendance.

FAQ

Will I be able to download the training material?

Yes, course content will be available for download.

Can I ask questions to the instructor?

Yes, interactive Q&A sessions are part of the sessions in this course and allow you to interact with the instructor and ask questions.

Do I get a software license as part of this course?

No software licenses are provided as part of this course.

Online

This course is also available as instructor-lead online course.

Related Courses

More Information?

What Do Others Say

De cursus Vermoeiing & FEM was voor mij een leerzame en verhelderende cursus. Met name de samenwerking tussen de beide docenten, waarbij de een meer op de theoretische vermoeiingsleer gespitst is en de ander de toepassing hiervan in FEM beschrijft is erg leerzaam en zorgt voor de nodige afwisseling die nodig is voor een cursus gedurende de hele dag. Het niveau van de cursus was wat ik er van verwachte, naast het opfrissen van de nodige theorie werden er ook nieuwe aspecten behandeld die direct toepasbaar zijn in mijn huidige werkzaamheden. Kenny Hoolwerf