FACTOR OF SAFETY

FACTOR OF SAFETY is the ratio of ultimate strength of the material to allowable stress. The term was originated for determining allowable stress. The ultimate strength of a given material divided by an arbitrary factor of safety, dependent on material and the use to which it is to be put, gives the allowable stress. In present design practice, it is customary to use allowable stress as specified by recognized authorities or building codes rather than an arbitrary factor of safety. One reason for this is that the factor of safety is misleading, in that it implies a greater degree of safety than actually exists. For example, a factor of

safety of 4 does not mean that a member can carry a load four times as great as that for which it was designed. It also should be clearly understood that, even though each part of a machine is designed with the same factor of safety, the machine as a whole does not have that factor of safety. When one part is stressed beyond the proportional limit, or particularly the yield point, the load or stress distribution may be completely changed throughout the entire machine or structure, and its ability to function thus may be changed, even though no part has ruptured.

Although no definite rules can be given, if a factor of safety is to be used, the following circumstances should be taken into account in its selection:

1. When the ultimate strength of the material is known within narrow limits, as for structural steel for which tests of samples have been made, when the load is entirely a steady one of a known amount and there is no reason to fear the deterioration of the metal by corrosion, the lowest factor that should be adopted is 3.

2. When the circumstances of 1 are modified by a portion of the load being variable, as in floors of warehouses, the factor should not be less than 4.

3. When the whole load, or nearly the whole, is likely to be alternately put on and taken off, as in suspension rods of floors of bridges, the factor should be 5 or 6.

4. When the stresses are reversed in direction from tension to compression, as in some bridge diagonals and parts of machines, the factor should be not less than 6.

5. When the piece is subjected to repeated shocks, the factor should be not less than 10.

6. When the piece is subjected to deterioration from corrosion, the section should be sufficiently increased to allow for a definite amount of corrosion before the piece is so far weakened by it as to require removal.

7. When the strength of the material or the amount of the load or both are uncertain, the factor should be increased by an allowance sufficient to cover the amount of the uncertainty.

8. When the strains are complex and of uncertain amount, such as those in the crankshaft of a reversing engine, a very high factor is necessary, possibly even as high as 40.

9. If the property loss caused by failure of the part may be large or if loss of life may result, as in a derrick hoisting materials over a crowded street, the factor should be large.

Mechanical Engineers’ Handbook: Materials and Mechanical Design, Volume 1, Third Edition.

Edited by Myer Kutz

Copyright  2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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