AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR FAST FATIGUE ASSESSMENT UNDER WIDE-BAND RANDOM LOADING

An analytical solution based on the statistical theory of the peak distribution of a stationary random process and the concept of equivalent stress range is presented for a fast fatigue assessment under wide-band random loading. The fatigue life for structures under wide-band random loading can be predicted by means of this solution and a fatigue damage law based on the constant-amplitude loading. The equivalent stress range can be directly calculated from the spectral parameters of a stress power spectrum, implying that it is not necessary to reproduce the loading process in the time domain and then count cycle by cycle for fatigue assessment. A comparison between several empirical or semiempirical models and the one proposed has been carried out, from which the relative accuracy and reliability among these models are highlighted.