Project Info
Fatigue of High Strength Steels
Kip Findley | kfindley@mines.edu
High strength steels are employed in numerous applications including transportation, heavy equipment, wind towers, gears, etc. Their properties are achieved through thermomechanical and sometimes thermochemical processing to achieve complicated microstructures. The influence of these microstructures on fatigue, i.e. lifetimes under cyclic loads, is critical to understand and can also be complicated by local variations in microstructure and residual stress.
More Information
ASM Handbooks (available online on campus or through VPN)
Vol. 19 Fatigue and Fracture – Fatigue and Fracture Resistance of Ferrous Alloys
Grand Engineering Challenge: Not applicable
Student Preparation
Qualifications
MME or ME major
Desired but not required – Completed SYGN202.
Time Commitment
20 hours/month
Skills/Techniques Gained
The student will obtain laboratory experience in performing fatigue experiments and potentially other experiments to evaluate mechanical behavior. The student may also gain experience in preparing specimens for and analyzing microstructures.
Mentoring Plan
At the beginning of the project, we will set up a plan for the student to help establish their understanding of the topic – e.g. literature, discussions with questions posed by the student. The student will also be trained on the relevant mechanical testing techniques and safety procedures. A project plan will be developed by the student and me. After this initial period, the student will begin mechanical testing with some oversight from a graduate student. As they start to get results, we will meet at least weekly to discuss results and project planning.