Invariant-Based and Critical-Plane Rainflow Approaches for Fatigue Life Prediction under Multiaxial Variable Amplitude Loading

Multiaxial variable amplitude histories usually require a rainflow algorithm to identify individual cycles. A computationally-efficient 5D multiaxial rainflow algorithm that can deal with any 1D to 6D history has been proposed by the authors, based on the representation of 6D stresses and strains in 5D deviatoric sub-spaces that use a von Mises metric. These spaces provide simple geometric interpretations for the identified load cycles while highly reducing computational cost. In this work, the most efficient multiaxial rainflow algorithms for variable amplitude histories are presented and compared, detailing their individual advantages and disadvantages. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.