TY - JOUR
AU - Perera, S. D. Rasika
AB - Out of many important components such as steering, power train and suspension components, the reliability of drive shafts is of high priority. When a component fails under dynamic loading conditions, the consequences are catastrophic and may cause severe injuries or sometimes death to the occupants of the vehicle and pedestrians. In this study the sudden failure of a semi floating type Automotive Rear Axle is being investigated. The visual examination revealed that the shaft failed at the neck of wheel mounting flange and the stub axle due to a fatigue failure. However, there was no deterioration of shaft in the vicinity of the crack observable to the naked eye. The shaft is of 35 mm diameter made of medium carbon steel alloy with post heat treatment. Optical microscopy examinations and microhardness testing were carried out in transverse direction closer to the fatigue surface and far away from the fatigue surface. The micrograph analysis and the microhardness profiles revealed that the shaft had been subjected to a restoration procedure using welding in the vicinity of the failed section. Furthermore, cracks in the order of 1 mm could be seen in the heat affected zone of the failed shaft. The analysis revealed a significant reduction in hardness of the core of the shaft due to repair procedure and thus a reduction in fatigue strength. Based on the observations, it has been recommended not to repair such automotive components using welding and to completely replace the component to ensure the passenger and pedestrian safety.
TI - Failure on an Automobile Rear Axle Shaft
JF - Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention
DO - 10.1007/s11668-022-01412-x
DA - 2022-06-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/springer-journals/failure-on-an-automobile-rear-axle-shaft-bWkONGU0Mv
SP - 934
EP - 939
VL - 22
IS - 3
DP - DeepDyve
ER -