An experimental validation of unified mechanics theory for predicting stainless steel low and high cycle fatigue damage initiation.

An experimental campaign of stainless-steel specimen tests has been completed. Three different types of tests have been performed: UTS (Ultimate Tensile Strength), LCF (Low Cycle Fatigue) and HCF (High Cycle Fatigue). This experimental campaign has been conceived and performed to validate the fatigue damage initiation prediction capabilities of UMT (Unified Mechanics Theory). Two different formulations have been used for LCF and HCF. For the latter, a modification to the existing approach is proposed in this paper. Good agreement has been found between UMT predictions and experimental results.