In this first example problem we start with a very simple model to introduce some fatigue analysis concepts by investigating the total life of the component shown to the side. For the purpose of this exercise we will refer to it as the keyhole model as it is a keyhole shape notched component. Due to symmetry, only the top half of the keyhole was modeled.

To introduce the S-N fatigue life prediction method, commonly referred to as the “total life” method.

All files necessary to perform this and subsequent examples are found in

<install_dir>/mscfatigue_files/examples (UNIX)

x:<install_dir>\mscfatigue_files\examples (Windows)

Where, <install_dir> is the installation top level directory such as /msc/fatigueXX (/msc/patranXX) or z:\msc\fatigueXX (z:\msc\patranXX), z is the drive letter for Windows workstations, and XX is the version number. The <install_dir> is commonly referred to as P3_HOME and, as such, can be set as an environment variable as explained in the MSC Fatigue Installation and Operations Guide under the section called User Environment. Each chapter will have a table in this section indicating which files are necessary for proper execution.

Copy the file simpleSN.op2 to a clean working directory to begin.