Design and construction of a torsional fatigue testing machine operated by inertial loads

Abstract

In this paper the development of a torsional fatigue testing machine for metallic materials is presented. This machine is considered type I according to the Weibull classification because the fatigue failure is caused by a load of inertial origin. The machine operation is based on the alternating movement that the transmission of a washing machine produces. The inertial load is caused by a flywheel located at the top of the machine. Unlike many machines that generate fatigue-alternating stresses through relocation or the rotation of the specimen on loads that are consistent across time, the design of the machine clearly shows how inertial loads due to the acceleration of the mechanical elements generated loads of alternating character which eventually causes fatigue failures.