Procedure

1. Select a circular specimen for the fatigue test.
2. Measure the dimensions of the specimen.
3. Mount the specimen in the fatigue testing machine and apply the required bending load using the loading arrangement.
4. The applied load produces tensile stress on one surface of the specimen and compressive stress on the opposite surface.
5. Start the machine so that the specimen rotates at the required speed. During rotation, each surface is subjected to alternating tensile and compressive stresses.
6. Continue the test until the specimen fails. Record the number of cycles to failure displayed by the machine.
7. Record the observations and calculate the required results.

Virtual Procedure

1. Start the experiment by clicking the Play button.
2. Observe the rotating beam fatigue test, in which the circular specimen rotates under a constant bending load.
3. Notice that, during each rotation, the outer surface of the specimen experiences alternating tensile and compressive bending stresses.
4. Observe the live values of Number of Cycles, Force, and Stress in the Observations table.
5. Observe the Cycle Counter and Status shown in the Input Parameters panel.
6. Observe the graph plotted between Stress (MPa) and log(Number of Cycles) to understand fatigue behaviour.
7. Pause temporarily stops the running simulation.
8. Play continues the simulation from the paused state.
9. Restart resets the simulation to the initial page-load state (values reset; simulation does not auto-run).
10. After specimen failure, the simulation automatically shows a Simulation Summary page.
11. In the summary page, review final result details (Stress, Cycles to Failure, and log(N)), full observation table, and the final graph trace carried from the live simulation.
12. Click Restart from the top control bar to return to the initial state and run the experiment again.

Note: The specimen dimensions shown in the simulation (Length = 80 mm and Diameter = 6 mm) are example values used for demonstration. In practice, rotating beam fatigue specimens are manufactured according to standard specimen geometries specified in fatigue testing standards.

Note: Various graph features such as zooming and panning are available. Hover over the icons above the graph to view the function of each feature.