An efficient procedure to speed up critical plane search in multiaxial fatigue: Application to the Carpinteri-Spagnoli spectral criterion

A more efficient procedure is proposed to speed up the Carpinteri-Spagnoli (CS) algorithm in numerical computations. The goal is accomplished by deriving the exact solution for the spectral moments and expected maximum peak of normal/shear stress in any rotated plane orientation. The algorithm then avoid the use of "for/end" loops to identify the five rotations that locate the critical plane in CS method. The procedure is especially advantageous if applied to three-dimensional finite element analysis, in which the stress spectra in thousands of nodes need to be processed iteratively. The procedure is based on theoretical results that have, however, a more general validity, being applicable to any multiaxial criterion that makes use of angular rotations to identify the critical plane.