Numerical Investigation of Stress Ratio and Geometry Effects on Fatigue Behavior of 2024-T3 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

The fatigue performance of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy is of critical importance in aerospace applications, yet the combined effects of stress ratio and geometry remain insufficiently explored. The objective of this study is to numerically investigate how different stress ratios (R = -0.2, 0.1, 0.4) and specimen geometries influence fatigue life, damage, and safety factor under varying tensile stresses (483, 241.5, and 120.75 MPa). Three specimen configurations-open-hole, transverse, and shear-were modeled and simulated using ANSYS Workbench, with input data obtained from literature-based mechanical properties and S-N curves. Results demonstrate that increasing tensile stress markedly reduces fatigue life and safety factor, whereas stress ratio exerts a non-linear influence, with intermediate values yielding the most detrimental effect. The findings reveal the interaction between stress ratio and geometry, providing new insights for fatigue life prediction and structural design of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy.