A new approach to the analysis of fatigue parameters by thermal variations during tensile tests on steel

Fatigue properties are of fundamental importance and extremely time consuming to be assessed. The aim of this research activity is to apply the Static Thermographic Method (STM) during static tensile tests in order to correlate the surface temperature trend to the fatigue properties of a C45 steel. Full-field techniques are a powerful aid in the evaluation of the mechanical behaviour of the material and they can also accelerate the overall test time. Infrared Thermography (IR) allows the assessment of the fatigue properties of the material evaluating the energetic release during a tensile test even with a limited number of specimens. In this work, preliminary results about the influence of the applied stress rate on the thermal release of a medium carbon steel has been evaluated. The obtained fatigue limit has been compared to the literature data for the same steel. This research activity is the results of the collaboration between the University of Messina and other several Italian universities within the AIAS group on Energetic Methods.