Numerical Prediction of Fretting Fatigue Life for Cold-Drawn Eutectoid Carbon Steel Wire Using Continuum Damage Mechanics and Effective Slip Amplitude

The effective and safe use of wire ropes in various applications relies on a comprehensive understanding of the fretting fatigue phenomena that occur between internal wires. Estimating the fatigue life of steel wires subjected to fretting loading through numerical simulation techniques requires significant computational capacity and time, especially when considering wear process. In this study, a more straightforward and practical approach for predicting fretting fatigue life is developed using Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM). This involves introducing damage stresses that account for relative slip amplitude and modified maximum principal stresses into the CDM framework. Additionally, the Effective Slip Amplitude (ESA) approach is utilized, incorporating relative slip amplitude and Walker effective stress, to evaluate fretting fatigue lifetime. A finite element model is replicated to obtain the relative slippages and stresses at the contact region. The accuracy of the CDM approach and the ESA approach is individually validated and verified by comparing them to experimental data and simulation results including the wear process from published literature. The results indicate that the CDM and ESA approaches, which combine relative slip amplitude and Walker effective stress, effectively predict the fretting fatigue lifetime of cold-drawn eutectoid carbon steel wires.