WELDING RESEARCH

SUPPLEMENT TO THE WELDINC JOURNAL, AUCUST 1977

Sponsored by the American Welding Society and the Welding Research Council

Fatigue Resistance of Oxygen Cut Steel

Fatigue life is strongly influenced by oxygen cut surface
roughness, and fractography indica tes that resolidified
metal deposits at the torch edge of a cut may often be
the si te of fatigue crack initiation
BY R. PLECKI, R. YESKE, C. ALTSTETTER AND F. V. LAWRENCE, JR.

ABSTRACT. Oxygen cut surfaces of

controlled roughnesses were pre
pared. Fatigue specimens of high
strength, low alloy (ASTM A572) and
high strength , quenched-and-tem
pe red (ASTM A514) grades of steel
were prepared with four controlled
surface roughnesses. Load-controlled
fatigue tests were performed using a
zero-to-tension stress cycle. The sur
face roughness was quantified by the
RMS deviation from flatness, and the
sub-surface
microstructures
were
characterized metallographically and
by microhardness measurements.
Fatigue life was found to be strongly
influenced by roughne ss, and to differ
by as much as an order of magnitude
between rough and smooth surfaces at
the lowest stress leve ls. Fractography
indicated that resolidified metal de
posits at the torch edge of the cut were
often the site of fatigue crack initia
tion .
The effect of oxygen cutting o n
fatigue life could be qualitatively
understood on the basis of the stress
concentration resulting from an array
of surface notches.

Introduction
The oxygen cutting of thi c k steel
sect ions is an economical alternative
to other cutting and shaping methods,
particularly if little further machining

or grinding of the cut edge is required.

In fatigue applications, the surface and
sub-surface regions exert a strong
influence on behavior; thu s, it is
necessary to assess the i m pact of
oxygen cutting in these regions. In
addition to the modification of surface
properties due to chemical changes,
microstructural changes and changes
in the state of residual stress, changes
in geometrical features such as rough
ness, gouges, drag lines, melted beads
and cracks may be introduced by
oxygen cutting.
The effect of oxygen cutting on
fatigue life has been previously stud
ied in mi Id steel having a ferrite
pearlite microstructure, and results of
different investigators vary widely.'-"
Processing variables have been found
to significantl y modify the steel hard
ness and microstructure. However,
these va riables have not always been
systematically controlled, and the state
of the metal has been quite variable.

R. PLECKI is Researeh Assistant, R. YESKE is

Assistant Prol essor, C. ALTSTETTER is Pro
lessor, Departm ent 01 Metallurgy and
Minin g, and F. V. LA WRENCE, IR , is Asso
eiate Prolessor, Departmenls 01 Civil Engi
neering and Metallurgy and Mining, Uni
versily 01 lIIinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Urbana, /llin ois.

For example, Koenigsberger 12 and co

workers have reported both the pres
ence and the absence of significant
surface hardening, sub -surface soften
ing, and through-thickness softening
(32 mm) for different suppliers of
oxyge n cut specimens . The Nether
lands group' has reported surface
hardnesses ranging from 245 VHN to
well over double that value as a result
of changes in preheating procedure,
nozzle type, gas type and pressu re s,
and cutting speed. Even Goldberg,'
who defined surface quality and care
fully quantified the surface roughness,
found wide variability in hardness
changes.
Despite these changes in the mate
rial, the generally held view is that
excessive surface rough ness decreases
the fatigue life, and surface rough
ening is the most important result of
oxygen cutting.
The principal objective of the pres
ent work was to extend the current
knowledge of fatigue behavior of
oxygen cut surfaces to a higher stress
regime. Thus high strength , low alloy
(ASTM A572) and quenched-and
tempered steels (ASTM A514 ) were
investigated at short lifetimes. Surface
roughness was varied in a controlled
manner. The microstructure and hard
ne ss profiles were determined for each
roughness and steel type. The fatigue

WELDINC RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 225-s

1

Kno o p indenter and 100 gram (gm)

load.

Table I-Mechanical Properties

Material

Yield
strength
5)', ksi

Ultimate
strength
5", ksi

stra in
at fracture
e r, %

55
108.3
52.0

79
119.0

23
15.2

A572 1"
A5'14 1"
A514 (norm alized)lb '
("\ ISuppli ed

by

no

manufacturero

(O'Ove(all spec imen length 12 in., 1 in . gage lenglh, 0.5 in. d!am eler redLJ ced sectlon.

results could be rationalized by the

stress concentration e ff ects of a peri
odic arra y of n otc h es .

Experimental Procedure
Two structural steels were obtained
as 1 in . (25 mm) thi c k pl at e. One wa s
co mparable to ASTM A572 grade 42
0.22% ma x. ca rb o n , 42 ksi (290 MPa)
minimum yield strength, and the
second was a quenched-and-tem
pered steel which conformed to ASTM
A514 grade
(0.2% max. carbon ,
0.005 % max. boron , 100 ksi (609 MPa)
minimum yield strength).
The tensile properties of these mate
rials are given in Table 1. The pl ates
were cut into 12 in. (305 mm) sq uares
and mill ed to the cross-se c tion shown
in Fig 1. Speci mens of a varying rough
ness were ox ygen c ut from these
blanks by moving them beneath a
c utting torch whi c h was oscillated at
different amplitudes and frequencies.
The cutting parameters were as
follows #1 tip , propylene gas at 5 psig
(34 KP a), preheat oxygen at 7 psig (48
KP a), c utting o xyge n at 50 psig (345
KPa), average cutting speed 9 ipm (3.8
mm / s) and torch tip to metal separa
tion of 1/ 4 in. (6 mm) . After cutting,
one side of the specimen was milled
parallel to the opposite oxygen c ut
surfa ce to give a 3/4 in . sq uare test

sect ion. AII speci m en s were wire

brushed by hand before testing . Spec
imens were mounted in an MTS
machine u sing se lf-alignin g grips and
were fatigue tested using a zero-to
tension stre ss cycle (R = O) under load
contro l at 5-'15 Hz .
The contour of the oxygen cut
surface of each spec imen wa s m ea
sured u sing an LVDT profilom eter with
a tung sten ca rbide stylus in c lined 30
degrees from the surfa ce normal.
Profile traces were reco rded at the
midpoint and at the melted (upper)
edge. The RMS amplitude of deviation
from flatness was u sed to characterize
the notch-peak di stribution .
Figure 2 sh o ws traces and photo
graphs of the four rou ghn ess levels
used in this study: 0.001 , 0.002, 0.007,
and 0.011 in . (25,50,180, and 280 ,um).
Triplicate fatigue te sts were run at
each of two stress levels and four
roughness leve ls for each steel. Spec
imen s of th e quenched-and-tempered
steel were also normali zed afte r oxy
gen cutting and then t es ted . A limited
number of tests wer e also performed
o n machined specimens.
Followi ng fatigu e testi ng, sele c ted
spec imens
were
sec tioned
and
mounted fo r op ti ca l metallograph y
and SEM fra c tograph y. Microhardness
profil es n orm al to th e oxyge n cut
surface were determin ed using a

Fleme Cul Surfece

7" Radius (Machined)

r-------

6" - - - - - - 1

Results
Metallography and Microhardness

O xyge n cutt ing produce s a var iety

of microstru c tures and several kind s of
hardn ess profile. At many po ints along
the surface of either stee l, th ere was a
decarburized laye r, p art ic ularly where
oxide droplets had so lidified on the
surface. Th ese nodul es of resolidifi ed
metal were invariabl y deca rburized
and were light etched with 3% nital
Fig . J Microhardness mea surements
verifi ed that these region s were much
so fter than the adJacent metal. Furth er
ev idence of deca rburi za tion wa s th e
absence of p ea rlit e in these re g ion s
after spec imen s were normalized (in
vacuum).
Below th e decarburized zone was a
relati ve ly hard zone in both steels. In
A572 steel, the mi c ro co n st ituent wa s
ac ic ular, and it s c h aracter chan ged
from coarse \lVidmanstatten ferrite ju st
under the surface to the appearan ce of
bainite and th en marten site . In the
A514 steel, j ust under the decarburized
zone was a dark etching, fine grained,
m art ensitic zone extending to about
0.04 in. (1.0 mm) below the surface.
Beyond this zo ne was the intercriti ca l
heat'affected zone (HAZ), con sis ting
of coarse ferrit e grains with so m e very
fine p ear lit e colonies at th e grain
boundaries.
In one specimen of A5 14, there was
a seco nd zone of coa rse ferrite and
pearlite at 0 .14-0.18 in. (3.6 to 4.6 mm) .
Other specim en s of A514 showed only
a single suc h zone. The intercr itica l
HAZ in th e A572 steel extended from
about 0.06 to 0.10 in . (1.5 to 2.5 mm)
below the surface. In both st ee ls, the
H AZ ex tended as mu c h as 0.2 in. (5
mm) below th e surface.
Figures 4 and 5 are microhardn ess
traverses across th e HAZ of a sa mple of
each type o f stee l. There wa s a m o re
distinct tend enc y for the A514 to show
plateaus of hardness which co uld be
co rre lated to the different microstruc
tures. In A572 under the martensiti c
zone, there was a general decrea se in
hardness which followed the observed
modificati o n s o f pearlite in a ferrit e
matrix.

Fii

b,

ri
ar
ar

sn
ar
Al

re
Al
th

pl

ex
ox
fa
w,
ro

stl

sic

1 - - - - - - - - - - - - 12" ------------~

Fatigue Test Results

Flame Cul Surface

Machined

Fig. 1-Specimen geo metry

226-s I AUGUST 1977

Surfaces

The re sult s of th e fatigue te st s for

the two steels are plotted in Fi gs. 6 and
7. The RMS rough ness was measured
for eac h fa tigue specim en and the
p o ints in Figs. 6 and 7 are co rre spond
ingl y identified. A numb er of spe c
imen s broke in the grips, thereby
decreasing th e numb er of data points
somewhat. Fo r this reason , sca tt er

Fr;

In

th
ge
th
to

R~

ini
dr,

(gm)

riety
js of

long
las a
here
Ihe
fied
i: ed

Fig. J- Oxide layer (A) al oxygen-cul

surfac e 01 A574 sleel specimen adjacenl to
underl ying decarburized zone (8)

\<'1

ents
luch
Iher
the
io ns
(in

, I!

Pii' U11 " "ti! 1"'" "MX'I

!

=f

'1

as a
s. In
was
Iged
just
e of
the
ized

:f
~

lout
ace.
:ical
ting
very
ra in

less

20f

ore
ow
be
uc
,itie
, in
ved
rit e

for
Ind

red

lhe

1d

eC
~by

nts
ter

follow the interdendriti c spaces and

the boundary between smooth and
dendritie areas. The fracture surfaees
them se lves showed largel y transgran
ular craeks with so me crack braneh
ing.

Discussion
Stress Concentration al Nolc hes

led,

was
and
1m).
mly
ical
'om
1m)
the
(5

1.0"

l.

-l

0.10"

.1

Fig. 2-Prolilom eler lraces and m acrograp h s 01 lhe tour oxygen-cul surfaces sludied

bands have not been ass igned in a

rigorou s way. The lines in Figs. 6 and 7
are lea st-squa res fit s for the roughest
and smoot hest spee imen s.
Comparison of the re sult s for the
smoothest flame cut surfaee (Figs. 6
and 7) shows that the higher st rength
A514 steel has a higher fatigue
re sistanee than the A572 at 10' eyeles.
At lO" eye lest he fatigue strengths of
the A514 and A572 steels are for all
purposes identi ea l. The A514 steel
exhibited a greater sensitivity to rough
oxygen cut surfaees in that for a given
fatigue life the allowable stress level
was degraded more severely by a
rough oxygen-eut in A514 than in A572
steel; this is partly due to the greater
slope of the S-N plot for A514.

in the SEM at up to X 1000, the oxygen

cut surfaees were smoot hl y eo ntoured
in some plaees and dendritie in others.
The fatigue craeks were often see n to

Fractography

The fatigue failures almost always

initiated at the upper edge, elosest to
the toreh . At thi s edge there was
generally more reso lidified metal. At
thi s point also, there is a less regular
topograph y with somew hat greater
RM S rou ghn ess- Fig . 8.
Figure 9 shows a crack in A514 steel
initi at ing at the edge of a deearburized
droplet o n the surfaee. When viewed

600
500
Z
I

>

400
300"

The simplest treatment of the effect

of oxygen eutting on fatigue is to
disregard all but the geometrieal
features of the oxygen cut surfaee. A
model for the effeet of oxygen eutting
was developed by assuming that th e
surfaee co ntour can be approximated
as a se rie s of notehes. Assuming elastie
behavior, the theoretieal stress eon
een tration factor, K" at a single noteh
tip is defined simply as the ratio of the
maximum longitudinal stress at the tip,
o~ to the average, remote stress, S

K,

(1 )

oiS

For an elliptieal surfaee noteh of

depth , t, and root radius, r (see Fig . 10)

.... .
e.e

.......

..

200
0
Dislance Below Surface. millimelers
Fig. 4- 0 xygen cul surlace 01 A514 sl ee l specimen : lop -micros lru clural modilication s;
bOllom-microhardness var iation

WE LDING RESEARCH SUPPLEME NT 1 227-s

Intercritical
Mod. Pearlile

Marlen si le

600

Fine Ferrite

Partially
Spheroid ized
Pearlite and
Ferrite

b. In the limi t of large spaci ng , K, for

the array approa che s that for a single
notch. For the case of se mi c ircular
notc hes, Fi g. 12 illu stratE:s that (for a
finite arra y ) the stress co nce ntrati o n is
interm ed iate between that o f a sin gle
no tch and an infin ite array ' Further
more, K, decreases w ith the num ber of
notches and is greater for the end
notch than for the center notch.
For the more realistic case of ellip
tical notches, it wa s assu med that the
percent reduction in K, for an array
will be roughly the same as that found
for semicircul ar notches.

Pearl,te
and Ferrite

500
Z
I

>

400
300

OiSfance

8elow Surfoce, mi llime ler s

Fig. 5-Microh ardness variation in A572 oxygen-cut steel

'"

5Or

25 r-

Roughne.. IRMSI
o 0 .001 in.
o 0 .002 in.
v 0 .007 in.
Il 0 . 0 11 In .

a:

Vi

10

Effect of Notches on Fatigue

100

RoO

,1
la

10'

The elastic st re ss co nce ntration fac

tor
is appropriate
onl y
under
co mpletely elast ic conditions . How
ever, th ere is always so me small
amount of notc h root plasticity, espe
cially in fati gue load in g. The refore, the
K, va lues given by eqs. 1 and 2 and
graphically shown in Figs. 11 and 12
must be modified for fatigue. Th e
fatigue notch factor , K" is defined as
the ratio of fatigu e str ength s of
unnotched to notch ed spec im ens at
long Iives and

A 514

HiQh Strength Sleel

,1

10

iO'

Cycles lo Failure

Fig. 6- S- N diagram lo r A514 steel specimens

~ 100

K f

Vi

25 -

M~, 7s~eel
RoO

Roug hness
o 0.001
o 0.002
., 0.007
4l 0.011

(R MSI

in.
in.
in,
in.

,1
lO'

S (sm oo th)
S (notched)

Fig . 7-S-N diagram lor A572 stee l specimens

notch. The value of K, for such an array

depends not only upon th e no tc h
ac uity, but also on the notch spacing,

(3)

is usuall y le ss th an K, because of pl as
ticit y eHects. Peterso n G has found that
these eHects can be empirically
acco unted for by a mat eri al property,
a, w here

Cycle s lo Foilure

th e elast ic stress concentration factor

fo r a sing le notch is approxim ate ly

0 .0

Kf

Fig.
phi(

K, - 1
1

(4)

+ al r

For steels the value of (a) can be re

lated to the ultimate ten sil e strength

WhE

ind

Su,

Fati

For the case of a semicircular notc h,

this expression reduces to K, = 3. At
hi ghe r va lues of notch acuity, tlr, the
theo ret ical elastie-stress concentration
may reach quite hig h va lues, as show n
in Fi g. 11 .
A periodic, infinite array of no tc hes
is far less detrimental than a sing le

lOO/:,

A
res i
cut
rou :
whl
tip s

Thi ~

stat
Ir
mor
ri ca
esti l
lev,
cale

e lli ~

met
fac t,
c iru
th e

Tabl
m en
w en
Fig. 8- Topograph y oi oxygen -cut surface .
top-at torch edge, botlom -at midsectibn

228-5 I AUGUST 1977

mil(

Fig 9- Fatigue crack origin ating at decarburiz ed, reso lidified metal

alt er

:ot . ' ' ;

".
"

.;<":;:~.~;~:~ ... ...;/

J': . . . . . . 4

for
19le
ular
:Jr a
'n is
19le
her
'r of
end

60

Min~rTO')

40
1

r::'--t.? $+

s-+

OOIa[

111111

, r-.c,in; r

r:l~
CT max

CTmax

20

I
I

K,

l.

lip
:he
rray
Jnd

-1
2

ae

'
l 1

1 11111

6 8 10

"!!!1

20

40

.~~

!!
!
!
~~~
.~~

t !!!

"

tlr
Fig. 11-Elastic stress concentratio n la cto r lor sing le sllrlace notch '

- - - - - , - - - - - , - - - - , -- -- 1

4.0 ~,

der

)VV

l.

la II
pe
the
md

.1

End Nolch of The Array

3.5

Middle Naleh of The Array

12
-he
as
of
at

K,

2.5
)1-----

2.0

----=~~~ls~~

lat
lIy
ty,

4)

'e
th

.001 (300 )
Su

J.S

(5)

11.

As se en in Figs . 6 and 7 the fatigue

res istan ce of spec im ens with oxygen
c ut surfa ces decreased with increasing
roughness, particularly at longer lives,
where the state of stress at the notch
tip s approaches elastic conditions.
Thi s is in agreeme nt with previously
sta ted relationships.
In orde r to place this trend on a
more quantitative basis, the geomet
ri cal parameters, r, t, b and c were
estimated lor lhe different roughness
levels tested. K, values were then
calculated for both semicircular and
ellipti ca l notches. Using the base
m etal Su values for each steel, the
factor K, was calculated for both semi
circu lar and elliptical notch arrays for
the rough es t surfaces tested.
Th e ca lcu lated va lues are shown in
Tab le 2 and compared with experi
ment all y determined va lues. The latter
were es timat ed using eq. (3). To mini
miz e the effect of micro structural
alteration due to oxygen cutting, the

S.

b/c

Fig. 12-Ela stic stress co nc entration laclOr lor periodic arrays 01

se micircular surlac e no tch es'

Table 2-Comparison 01 Calculated and Measured Fatigue Stress Concentration Factor,

K,( a l

where Su is given in ksi, and (a) is in

in c hes.
Fatigue Resistance 01 Oxygen Cut Surlace

~2r

1.0':-'_ _ _ _ _-'-_ _ _ _ _"-_ _ _ _ _L-_ _ _ _..J

o
2 3 4

Fig. 1O-A ellla l (lOp) and idealized oxygen -cllt surlace topogra
phies

Infinile Array

?TI

./

1.5

as

.Y

Cal cul ated K,

Material

a (in .)

AS72
AS14
AS14 (normalized)

0.0'10
0.0053

tn) K r

v alue~

Semi circ ul ar

ElIiptica l

.Measured K,

-1.30

-1. 83

1.28

1.48
1.24

2. -16

H8

1.80

-1.53

0.012

Jre lor roUglW ";l spec imens lesled (0.011 in . RMS) co mpared 10 smoo thesl speci m ens lested (OJ)(JI in . RMS).

200,

1 I i

i i

' 1 1

100f

'""'<l>

g""

o::

"'

"'
!"

Vi

~
o

50f

25 f-

10 I

lO

__

A 514

Roughness (RMS)
o 0.001 in.
o 0.002 in .
o 0.007 in.
o 0.011 in .

Normolized

Sleel

R~O

1I

11

105

106

Id

Cycles 10 Fai lure

Fig. 13-S-N diag ram l o r n o rmaliz ed A514 steel specimens

smooth es t ox yg en cut spec imen re

sults were taken for th e numerator and
the ro ughest spec imen result s for the
denominator. The va lues of stress were

lhe stresses which caused failure in lO'

cycles. These stresses were taken from
the curves of Figs. 6 and 7. Th e close
agreement in Table 2 between mea-

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT I 229-s

200r------------,-------------.------------~

---------
~
~tee l

Hig h Strength

-'""'
100

.,o

e
~

50-

<f)

"'~

- ---...

Mild Steel (A 572)

-.. ........

25-

g' 50f-

o
o;:

_. Rough Flame Cut Surface

- - - - - Smooth Flame Cut Surface
- - - Machined Surfaee
I

10

1001

.,

-----.----.--

(f)

200r------------.------------r-----------~

(A 514)

- -
---'-~
---'--'-

25f

_ . - - Raugh Flame Cut Surfaee

- - - - - Smaoth Flame Cut Surface
Maehined Su rfaee

(f)

106

Id

Cyeles

Id

Cyeles

Fig. 14- Com parison 01 machined and ox ygen-cut surlace latigue

resiSlance - A 514 sleel specimens

Fig. 75-Comparison 01 m ac hined and oxygen-cut surface fatigue

res ist3nce-A572 steel spe cim ens

su red values of K, and th ose ca lculated

for an array of semic ircu lar notches
indicates tha t the model is va lid and
that th e approx imations are reason
able; however, further data wo ul d be
useflll.
Accord in gly, spec imens of the A514
steel we re norm alized after oxygen
cuttin g an d tested subsequen t to wire
brushing to remove th e scale from the
normaliz in g treatments. Hard ness pro
fil es demon strated that aside from
some decarbu ri zat ion at the sll rface
the hardn ess was uniformo The ten sil e
properties are show n in Table 1.
Fatigue results are shown in Fig . 13 and
experi m en tal and calcul ated K valu es
are co mpared in Table 2. Although the
agree m ent is not as good as for the as
cut surf ace s, it is qualitatively corree!.
A furthe r refinement o f the model
would be to take into account the
layer of altered microstructure at the
surface of the flame cut spec imen s.
Her e the hardness and S" wou ld be
hi gher, and the (a ) valu e lower. This
woul d have the effect of in cre asing
the calcu lat ed K, va lue s. It is felt that
such refin ements are unjustified in th e
prese nt wo rk, considering the approxi
mations which have been used. The
si tu ation is further complicat ed by the
chang es in geo metry as the fat igue
crack propagates, by residu al stresses
and by simultaneo us changes in
microstructur' below the surface .

leve ls. A rough indication co ul d be

obtained by noting that thr ee of the
lateral surfaces of the fatigu e spec
imens were mac hined and one was in
the ox yge n cut co ndit ion, yet nearly all
fat igue cracks initi ated at the ox ygen
cut surface. Further verifi ca tion o f the
sup er iority of the mac hin ed surface
was obta in ed by performing a limit ed
num ber of fat igue tes ts on fu ll y
machin ed spec im ens of the same
geometry, base me tal and stress leve l.
Figure s 14 and 15 show the re sul ts
for the machined spec imen s in com
parison w ith the live s for the sm oot h
est and roughest oxygen cut spec
imen s. From the limited amount of
data it is impossible to draw unequiv
oca l conc lu sions, yet it is elear that at
hi gh stress leve ls, machined surfa ces
are superior to even the smoothest
oxyge n cut surface. At a lower stress
leve l, it appea rs that a well-mad e
oxygen cut surface may result in no
degradation of fatigue life.
Extrapo lation to lower stre sses in
Figs. 14 and 15 indi cates th at machined
surfaces may in fa ct be inferio r to a
smooth oxygen cut. Thi s may be a case
of th e benefits of residual stress and
microstructural alteration as a resll l t of
oxygen cu t ting more than com pensat
ing for the geometrical effects of a
rough surface, resulting in an overa ll
improve m ent in fat igue life.

Comparson of Oxygen Cut and

Mach ned Surfaces

Conclusions

The ultimate object ive of oxygen

cu ttin g is to achieve an economy in
fabrication; however, this mu st be
done with out un wa rranted degrada
tion in pro pert ies. In orde r to eva lu ate
the quality of the trade-off between
economy and pe rforman ce, co mpari
sons were made between oxygen cu t
an d machined specimen s for the same
sp ec im en geome try and nom in al st ress

10 6

10

1. Th e fatigue resistance of the

smoothest oxyge n cut surface is
greatest for th e hi gh strength steel
A514. How ever, at lives equal to o r
grea ter than 10G cyeles, the difference
between A514 and th e A572 resul ts
dimini shes such that th e tw o steels
give app rox imately the sa me fatigue
strength.
2. Increasing surface roughness has
the greatest eff ec t on stress level in the

A514 steel and on ly a moderate effect

on the A572 stee l.
3. Oxygen cut surf aces o f both
stee ls have fatigue resistances inferior
to mac hin ed surfaces in the life range
10' to 10G cyc les. Extrapo lati on of the
test results to longer lives wo uld indi
cate the poss ibility th at smooth ox y
gen cut su rfaces may out-pe rform
machined surfaces at lives greater th an
lO" cycles.
4. The influen ce of surfa ce rough
ness on fatigue life can be qualitatively
understood by considering th e su rf ace
roughne ss to be a periodic array of
surface not ches.
Ackn owledg ments

This work was sponsored by the

Caterpillar Tractor Company, Peoria ,
Illinoi s. The suggestions and coop era
tion of Mr. W ill is Fildes and Mr. Cal
Loyd of that compa ny were impo rtant
contributions to th is work. The use of
the test ing fac iliti es of the Civil Engi
nee rin g Departme nt of the University
o f Illi nois are also apprec iated.
Referen ces
1. Koenigsberger, F., and Garcia -Mar tin ,
Z, "Fatigu e Strengt h o f Flame-Cut Spec
imens in Bright Mi ld Stee l," British We ldin g
oumal, january 1955, pp . 37-41.
2. Koenigsberger, F. , and Green , H . W.,
" Fatigue Stren gth of Fl am e-Cut Specim ens
in Black Mild Steel," Briti sh Welding our
nal, Jul y 1955, pp. 313-321.
3. " Th e Prope rties oi Fl ame-Cu t Ed ge s,"
Netherlands In stitute of Welding, Fi na l
Report of W orkin g Group 1913, M ay 1973.
4. Goldberg, F., " Influ enc e of Thermal
Cutt ing and It s Qua l ity o n the Fatigue
Stre ngth of Steel," Welding oumal, 52(9),
Sept. 1973, Res. Sup p., pp. 392 -s to 404-s.
5. Peterson , R. E., Stres s Co ncentration
Facto rs, W il ey and Sons, Ine. , New York,
1974.
6. Peterson, R. E., "Notch Sensitivity,"
Metal Fatigue, Ch apter 13, Sines and Wais
man, Editors, McGraw-Hill Book CO., In e.,
1959.

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AUTHORS . .. See page 244-5.

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