The component S-N method is the most macro view of the world of life prediction since all the failure mechanisms are built right into the component S-N curve: plasticity, geometry effects, residual stresses, surface conditions, etc. When the failure mechanisms are unknown or not well understood this method must be used. For this reason it is a completely general purpose method and lends itself well to most applications where other methods of life prediction fail. Non-ferrous materials such as plastics, ceramics, rubber, and composite structures as well as welds can use this method, whereas the other two main methods of life prediction (crack initiation and crack growth) are mainly restricted to metals or materials that behave like metals under cyclic loading conditions.

In this example you ran one of the MSC Fatigue modules in batch mode. Most MSC Fatigue modules can be run in batch mode either by including the batch commands in a file and then issuing the command using the @ sign to direct the module to read the commands from the file (pfmat @filename). Or the commands can be included on the same line as the command:

fefat /opt=p/inp=filename/out=filename/ov=y

Batch operation can be quite convenient if you have to do a lot of repetitive tasks. See the MSC Fatigue User’s Guide for batch operation descriptions.