• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.429-436
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• 2013

This study considers how the fatigue behavior and probabilistic properties of SAE1055 steel are related to its hardness level. SAE1055 steel was heat-treated using induction hardening. Five types of specimens were prepared (A: base material, B: through hardened material with HV390, C: through hardened material with HV510, D: through hardened material with HV700, and E: surface hardened material with HV700). Fatigue tests were performed under a stress ratio of R = -1 using a 4-point rotary bending fatigue tester. The fatigue behaviors were greatly influenced by the hardness, but the fatigue limit did not increase over a hardness of HV510. In addition, the effect of the hardness level on the failure mechanism was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. The probabilistic properties of the fatigue life were investigated using a probabilistic S-N approach, and the effect of the hardness level on these properties was evaluated using a residue analysis.