THE METHOD OF MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD APPLIED TO THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF FATIGUE DATA INCLUDING RUN-OUTS

The application is described of the principle of maximum likelihood to the analysis of fatigue test results including run-outs. The particular method used is that developed by Edwards and called by him the method of support. The use of this method is described in determining means and standard deviations for test results, the determination of best-fit S-N curves with their associated standard deviations and the determination of the significance of differences between groups of results, different S-N curves and the determination of best common slopes and intercepts of such curves. A computer program is presented which was developed to perform the necessary calculations. Examples are given of the types of results produced by this analysis and of certain difficulties in interpretation.