Failure Analysis of High-Speed Pinion Gear Shaft |
| |
Authors: | W Muhammad N Ejaz S A Rizvi |
| |
Affiliation: | (1) Metallurgy Division, Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
| |
Abstract: | The failure of a high-speed pinion gear shaft was investigated. The pinion gear was an integral part of a system used to compress
the natural gas. It was a high-speed gear mounted on two roller bearings. An abnormal wear pattern was observed on the shaft
surface, beneath the inner race of the bearing. The material from shaft was observed to be dislodged and stuck to the surface
of the inner race. This transfer of material imparted an imbalance to the assembly, and abnormal sounds and fumes were observed
two days before failure. The macrofeatures of the fracture surface resemble these of fatigue but electron microscopy showed
brittle and mostly intergranular fracture. Fatigue features such as striations were not found on the fracture surfaces. Fatigue
samples made from the same material and heat-treated to the same hardness were tested under uniaxial fatigue and the fracture
features were compared with the original crack surface. The microfeatures of fracture surfaces were almost identical. The
root cause of failure was determined to be fatigue, and cracks on the pinion shaft in the region beneath the inner bearing
race lead to the transfer of material. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|