Failure mode analysis of two crankshafts of a single cylinder diesel engine

This paper reports an investigation carried out on two damaged crankshafts of single cylinder diesel engines used in agricultural services for several purposes. Recurrent damages of these crankshafts type have happened after approximately 100 h in service. The root cause never was imputed to the manufacturer. The fatigue design and an accurate prediction of fatigue life are of primordial importance to insure the safety of these components and its reliability. This study firstly presents a short review on fatigue power shafts for supporting the failure mode analysis, which can lead to determine the root cause of failure. The material of these damaged crankshafts has the same chemical composition to others found where the same type of fracture occurred at least ten years ago. A finite element analysis was also carried out in order to find the critical zones where high stress concentrations are present. Results showed a clear failure by fatigue under low stress and high cyclic fatigue on crankpins.     

A practical approach for predicting fatigue reliability under random cyclic loading

The purpose of this paper is to provide a simple approach for reliability analysis based on fatigue or overstress failure modes of mechanical components, and explain how this integrated method carries out spectral fatigue damage and failure reliability analysis. In exploring the ability to predict spectral fatigue life and assess the reliability under a specified dynamics environment, a methodology for reliability assessment and its corresponding fatigue life prediction of mechanical components using a supply-demand interference approach is developed in this paper. Since the methodology couples dynamics analysis and stochastic analysis for fatigue damage and reliability prediction, the conversion of the duty cycle history for the reliability study of an individual component is also presented. Using the proposed methodology, mechanical component reliability can be predicted according to different mission requirements. For an explanation of this methodology, a probabilistic method of deciding the relationship between the allowable stress or fatigue endurance limit and reliability is also presented.     

一种估算结构件随机疲劳寿命的新方法

提出了基于随机载荷历程频率域信息──功率谱密度函数（Ｐ．Ｓ．Ｄ）估算结构件低周疲劳寿命的一种新的计算方法。采用这种方法只要已知应力历程的功率谱密度和材料应变疲劳性能参数就可对承载结构件进行随机疲劳寿命估算。因此，对于结构设计阶段的使用寿命预估具有实际意义。最后，通过对缺口件的随机疲劳寿命估算及与试验结果比较验证了本文方法的适用性。     

On the estimation of the material fatigue properties required to perform the multiaxial fatigue assessment

To accurately perform the fatigue assessment of engineering components subjected to in‐service multiaxial fatigue loading, the adopted design criterion must properly be calibrated, the used information usually being the fatigue strength under both pure uniaxial and pure torsional fatigue loading. Because of the complex fatigue response of metallic materials to multiaxial loading paths, the only reliable way to generate the necessary pieces of calibration information is by running appropriate experiments. Unfortunately, because of a lack of both time and resources, very often, structural engineers are requested to perform the multiaxial fatigue assessment by guessing the necessary fatigue properties. In this complex scenario, initially, the available empirical rules suitable for estimating fatigue strength under both pure axial and pure torsional fatigue loading are reviewed in detail. Subsequently, several experimental results taken from the literature and generated by testing metallic materials under a variety of proportional and non‐proportional multiaxial loading paths are used to investigate the way such empirical rules affect the accuracy in estimating fatigue strength, the damage extent being evaluated according to the modified Wöhler curve method. Such a systematic validation exercise allowed us to prove that under proportional loading (with both zero and non‐zero mean stresses), an adequate margin of safety can be reached even when the necessary calibration information is directly estimated from the material ultimate tensile strength. On the contrary, in the presence of non‐proportional loading, the use of the empirical rules reviewed in the present paper can result, under particular circumstances, in a non‐conservative fatigue design.     

基于健康监测系统的大跨多荷载桥梁的 疲劳可靠度评估

考虑到火车、汽车与风荷载的长期作用以及多荷载的随机性,评估大跨多荷载桥梁的疲劳可靠度是一项富有挑战的任务。该研究基于健康监测系统提出了大跨多荷载悬索桥的疲劳可靠度分析框架,并应用到香港青马大桥。首先,定义了疲劳可靠度的极限状态函数,基于监测数据建立火车、汽车与风荷载的概率模型。基于概率模型和蒙特卡洛模拟方法,利用疲劳关键位置上多荷载的每日随机应力响应,估计每日应力幅m次方之和的概率分布。假设交通保持不变,可确定在给定时段内应力幅m次方之和的概率分布。最终得到桥梁不同疲劳关键位置不同时间点的疲劳失效概率。结果表明,在目前的交通状态下,青马大桥的疲劳健康状况可保持良好。     

Cause of failure and optimization of a V-belt pulley considering fatigue life uncertainty in automotive applications

High accuracy of dimensions and strength in design requirements are required to produce reliable automotive components with consistent strength distribution. For example, a V-belt pulley is widely used to transmit power between rotational mechanical elements. However, due to defects from the manufacturing process and heterogeneity of materials, different kinds of failure damage may occur in pulleys of identical shape and material. Common applications in the automotive industry include crankshafts, water pumps, air-conditioner compressors and power steering pumps. Although the shape and the usage of pulleys are very simple, evaluating the pulley design is difficult because the loading conditions and installation environment are complicated. This paper focuses on the clutch pulley in the A/C compressor system of automotives and cause of failure was investigated. The applied stress distribution of the pulley under high-tension and torque was obtained by using finite element analysis (FEA) and based on theses results, the life of the pulley with variation in fatigue strength was estimated with a durability analysis simulator. The results for failure probabilities of 50% and 1% were compared with the fatigue life. Incidentally, the purpose of this study was to optimize the fatigue life of vehicle components from the stochastic point of view. The fatigue life was obtained by an approximation function, and the optimum design was verified by fatigue tests considering durability and validity. The design optimization of a V-belt pulley was performed using an approximation function, which improved the fatigue life. A new shape optimization procedure was presented to improve the fatigue life of the pulley in automotive applications and the shape control concept was introduced to reduce the shape design variables. Design of experiment (DOE) was employed to evaluate the design sensitivity of fatigue life with respect to shape design variables.     

A multi-temporal scale approach to high cycle fatigue simulation

High cycle fatigue (HCF) is a failure mechanism that dominates the life of many engineering components and structures. Time scale associated with HCF loading is a main challenge for developing a simulation based life prediction framework using conventional FEM approach. Motivated by these challenges, the extended space–time method (XTFEM) based on the time discontinuous Galerkin formulation is proposed. For HCF life prediction, XTFEM is coupled with a two-scale continuum damage mechanics model for evaluating the fatigue damage accumulation. Direct numerical simulations of HCF are performed using the proposed methodology on a notched specimen of AISI 304L steel. It is shown the total fatigue life can be accurately predicted using the proposed simulation approach based on XTFEM. The presented computational framework can be extended for predicting the service and the residual life of structural components.     

On the assessment of fatigue life of marine diesel engine crankshafts

The fatigue strength and its correct assessment play an important role in design and maintenance of marine crankshafts to obtain operational safety and reliability. Crankshafts are under alternating bending on crankpins and rotating bending combined with torsion on main journals, which mostly are responsible for fatigue failure. The commercial management success substantially depends on the main engine in service and of its design crankshaft, in particular. The crankshaft design strictly follows the rules of classification societies. The present study provides an overview on the assessment of fatigue life of marine engine crankshafts and its maintenance taking into account the design improving in the last decades, considering that accurate estimation of fatigue life is very important to ensure safety of components and its reliability. An example of a semi-built crankshaft failure is also presented and the probable root case of damage, and at the end some final remarks are presented.     

汽车发动机曲轴弯曲疲劳试验方法研究

目的研究两种常用的疲劳试验加载原理对疲劳试验结果的影响,为曲轴选材、设计和制造的各阶段开展弯曲疲劳试验提供技术支持。方法在两种加载方式下采用同批次曲轴进行弯曲疲劳试验,利用成组法得到疲劳试验结果,针对试验加载原理和试验数据开展分析和讨论。结果电液伺服加载方法的试验精度更准确,而电磁谐振加载方法可以大幅度缩短试验周期。电液伺服加载和电磁谐振加载试验的疲劳极限分别为1140.4 N·m和1189.4 N·m。两种加载方法下,曲轴的失效情况均为连杆颈辊压槽处断裂。结论两种加载方法对曲轴弯矩的加载效果相同,试验结果的相对误差为4.3%。在曲轴的仲裁试验中或有争议的情况下使用,推荐使用电液伺服加载方法。在使用电磁谐振加载方法时须严格控制标定误差。曲轴连杆颈辊压槽是曲轴的薄弱环节,应严格控制辊压槽的机加工质量。     

Probabilistic fatigue assessment for railway axles and derivation of a simple format for damage calculations

This paper describes a procedure for the determination of railway axle risk of fatigue failure under service loading for a simple fatigue assessment compliant to modern structural recommendations.After an initial review of reliability assessment under fatigue, a fully probabilistic approach is outlined, whose input data for the fatigue damage obtained with the EURAXLES project are briefly summarized. Then, a series of Montecarlo simulations was carried out in order to determine the maximum allowable stress for a given axle made of EA4T and EA1N under service conditions identified by different load spectra from the literature.Results have been obtained in terms of a safety factor for damage calculations that allows designers to adopt a simple semi-probabilistic approach for designing axles for a target reliability against fatigue. The application of this procedure to a railway axle then shows how safety factors should be have to be further increased for taking into the prospective presence of impact damages.     

Failure Analysis of a Vehicle Engine Crankshaft

An investigation of a damaged crankshaft from a horizontal, six-cylinder, in-line diesel engine of a public bus was conducted after several failure cases were reported by the bus company. All crankshafts were made from forged and nitrided steel. Each crankshaft was sent for grinding, after a life of approximately 300,000 km of service, as requested by the engine manufacturer. After grinding and assembling in the engine, some crankshafts lasted barely 15,000 km before serious fractures took place. Few other crankshafts demonstrated higher lives. Several vital components were damaged as a result of crankshaft failures. It was then decided to send the crankshafts for laboratory investigation to determine the cause of failure. The depth of the nitrided layer near fracture locations in the crankshaft, particularly at the fillet region where cracks were initiated, was determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with electron-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Microhardness gradient through the nitrided layer close to fracture, surface hardness, and macrohardness at the journals were all measured. Fractographic analysis indicated that fatigue was the dominant mechanism of failure of the crankshaft. The partial absence of the nitrided layer in the fillet region, due to over-grinding, caused a decrease in the fatigue strength which, in turn, led to crack initiation and propagation, and eventually premature fracture. Signs of crankshaft misalignment during installation were also suspected as a possible cause of failure. In order to prevent fillet fatigue failure, final grinding should be done carefully and the grinding amount must be controlled to avoid substantial removal of the nitrided layer. Crankshaft alignment during assembly and proper bearing selection should be done carefully.     

Surface cracks in fatigued structural components: a review

Surface cracks are a common occurrence in structural components due to the frequently highest values of the stress at the outer boundary of the body and to the presence of defects. Such flaws can heavily reduce the service life of structural components leading to their premature failure, especially under repeated loading. During last decades, many research works based on theoretical, numerical and experimental techniques have been performed, mainly devoted to the determination of the stress‐intensity factors for recurrent surface crack shapes, different loading types and boundary conditions. Further, fatigue behaviour of surface cracks has been examined through numerical analyses or by simplifying the expected crack growth process. In the present paper, a literature survey is carried out by discussing the main topics related to the safety assessment of structural components with surface cracks under static or fatigue loading.     

Multiaxial fatigue life prediction method in the ground vehicle industry

The extensive progress which has been made in the multiaxial fatigue area over the past 5 to 10 years has allowed wider application of the multiaxial fatigue method in component durability design in the ground vehicle industry. The method adopts the long established local strain–life approach and includes several new features. (1) A three-dimensional cyclic stress–strain model, used to simulate the elastic–plastic material behavior under complicated loadings. (2) The critical plane approach, which requires the fatigue analysis to be performed on various potential failure planes before determining the lowest fatigue life. (3) A biaxial damage criterion, to better quantify fatigue damage under various loading conditions. (4) A multiaxial Neuber equivalencing technique, used to estimate, from the elastic finite element stress results, the multiaxial stress and strain history of plastically deformed notch areas. This paper examines the application of the above features to the fatigue analyses of three generic service/test histories: a constant amplitude (baseline) test history, a history directly recorded by strain gages mounted on the critical location of a structural component, and a loading history recorded in multichannels for a complex structure.     

An improved neural computing method for describing the scatter of S–N curves

The reliability evaluation of structural components under random loading is affected by several uncertainties. Proper statistical tools should be used to manage the large amount of causalities and the lack of knowledge on the actual reliability-affecting parameters. For fatigue reliability prediction of a structural component, the probability distribution of material fatigue resistance should be determined, given that the scatter of loading spectra is known and a suitable damage cumulating model is chosen. In the randomness of fatigue resistance of a material, constant amplitude fatigue test results show that at any stress level the fatigue life is a random variable. In this instance fatigue life is affected by a variety of influential factors, such as stress amplitude, mean stress, notch factor, temperature, etc. Therefore a hybrid neural computing method was proposed for describing the fatigue data trends and the statistical scatter of fatigue life under constant loading conditions for an arbitrary set of influential factors. To support the main idea, two examples are presented. It can be concluded that the improved neural computing method is suitable for describing the fatigue data trends and the scatter of fatigue life under constant loading conditions for an arbitrary set of influential factors, once the optimal neural network is designed and trained.     

Investigation of the effectiveness of electromechanical hardening of metallized crankshafts of car engines

The article describes the results of an investigation of the feasibility of using an electromechanical surface treatment as a means of hardening automobile engine crankshafts reconditioned by high-frequency induction metallizing. Metallographic examination of the metal structure, determination of residual stresses in the connecting rod journals and fatigue tests on actual parts established that electromechanical hardening ensures a high endurance of crankshafts reconditioned by high-frequency metallization.     

Multiaxial fatigue and life prediction of elastomeric components

Elastomeric components have wide usage in many industries. The typical service loading for most of these components is variable amplitude and multiaxial. In this study a general methodology for life prediction of elastomeric components under these typical loading conditions was developed and illustrated for a passenger vehicle cradle mount. Crack initiation life prediction was performed using different damage criteria. The methodology was validated with component testing under different loading conditions including constant and variable amplitude in-phase and out-of-phase axial–torsion experiments. The optimum method for crack initiation life prediction for complex multiaxial variable amplitude loading was found to be a critical plane approach based on maximum normal strain plane and damage quantification by cracking energy density on that plane. Rainflow cycle counting method and Miner’s linear damage rule were used for predicting fatigue life under variable amplitude loadings. The fracture mechanics approach was used for total fatigue life prediction of the component based on specimen crack growth data and FE simulation results. Total fatigue life prediction results showed good agreement with experiments for all of the loading conditions considered.     

Cumulative fatigue damage and life prediction of elastomeric components

Elastomeric components are widely used in many applications due to their good damping and energy absorption characteristics. The type of loading normally encountered by these components in service is variable amplitude cyclic loading. Therefore, fatigue failure is a major consideration in their design. In this work capabilities of Rainflow cycle counting procedure, maximum principal strain as a damage criterion, and Miner's linear cumulative damage rule are evaluated with both specimen and component tests. An automotive cradle mount is used as an illustrative component. Comparison of predicted and experimental fatigue lives in both specimen and cradle mount variable amplitude load tests indicate satisfactory predictions in both cases.     

Multiaxial fatigue reliability analysis of railroad wheels

A general methodology for fatigue reliability degradation of railroad wheels is proposed in this paper. Both fatigue crack initiation and crack propagation life are included in the proposed methodology using previously developed multiaxial fatigue models by the same authors. A response surface method in conjunction with design of experiments is used to develop a closed form approximation of the fatigue damage accumulation with respect to the input random variables. The total fatigue life of railroad wheels under stochastic loading is simulated, accounting for the spatial and temporal randomness of the fatigue damage. The field observations of railroad wheel fatigue failures are compared with the numerical predictions using the proposed methodology.     

Fatigue failure of suspension arm: experimental analysis and multiaxial criterion

An experimental device have been developed to study fatigue phenomena for nodular cast iron automotive suspension arms. On the base of a detailed fracture analysis, it is shown that the major parameter influencing fatigue failure of casting components are casting defects: the High Cycle Fatigue behaviour is controlled mainly by surface defects such as dross defects and oxides while the Low Cycle Fatigue is governed by multiple cracks initiated independently from casting defects. A methodology is proposed to define the maximum defect size allowable in a casting component. It correlates the empirical method proposed by Murakami to determine the evolution of the fatigue limit with defect size and a multiaxial endurance criterion based on the Dang Van model. The junction between the two approaches gives a concurrent tool for the fatigue design of casting components. Validation of the proposed approach gives encouraging results for surface defects and constant amplitude proportional loading.     

Using computer techniques for vibration damage estimation under stochastic loading using the Monte Carlo Method for aerospace applications

The main focus of this article is a review of legacy methods for vibration damage estimation under stochastic loading and extending research made by Dirlik and Bendat using two combined methods: FEM and Monte Carlo simulation, for which we used Python programming for aerospace applications. For some aircraft, regulated by the RTCA international aviation standard DO-160G (Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment), stochastic loading is defined as one of the requirements. This article will focus on the stochastic loading impact on the fatigue life assessment made on a dummy sample, and frequency and time domain damage estimation shall be considered in parallel to compare both results. Additionally, dummy PSD responses shall be defined in the frequency domain for signal statistical parameters research. The article introduces Rainflow Cycle Counting methods in the frequency domain for procedures used commercially in aerospace applications. The first method introduced and developed further is the Dirlik method of Rainflow Cycle Counting in the frequency domain, which is the most popular method in commercial use. The second technique introduced and developed further was established by Bendat — the Narrow Band Method. The new empirical equation presented in this paper is the modification of the Narrow Band Method fitted for general use (narrow band, wide band, and white noise signals). A new approach for the integration of spectral moments is introduced in this paper, allowing for an accurate evaluation of the signal statistic parameters in the frequency domain for use in the modified Dirlik and Narrow Band methods. Research results also revealed new phenomena not researched by Dirlik, such as high vibration damage variation from stochastic loading, which depends on the frequency resolution (the block size used in Inverse Fourier Transformation). This discovery will be the subject of further study. Research results presented in this paper will also be utilised to combine stochastic and deterministic loading scenarios for military helicopters, as well as fighter aircraft, and will be the subject of further research.