International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

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Fatigue analysis of crankshaft sections under bending with

consideration of residual stresses
W.Y. Chien a, J. Pan a,
, D. Close b, S. Ho b
a

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2250 GG Brown, 2350 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 2125, USA
b
DaimlerChrysler, Auburn Hills, MI 48326, USA
Received 13 August 2003; received in revised form 30 April 2004; accepted 14 June 2004

Abstract
In this paper, the inuence of the residual stresses induced by the llet rolling process on the fatigue process of a ductile cast
iron crankshaft section under bending is investigated. The stress concentration near the llet of the crankshaft section under
bending without consideration of residual stresses is rst investigated by a two-dimensional elastic nite element analysis. The
plastic zone development and the residual stress distribution near the crankshaft llet induced by the llet rolling process are then
investigated by a two-dimensional elasticplastic nite element analysis. In order to use the two-dimensional nite element analysis to shed light on the residual stress distribution due to the three-dimensional rolling process, the rolling depth after the unloading of the roller in the two-dimensional nite element analysis is determined by the llet surface proles measured by the
shadowgraphs taken before and after the llet rolling process. After the rolling process, a bending moment is then applied to the
crankshaft section. With consideration of the stresses due to the rolling process and the bending moment, the fatigue failure near
the llet is investigated based on a linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. An eective stress intensity factor, which combines
the stress intensity factors due to the bending moment and due to the residual stresses, is dened. An eective stress intensity factor range is then approximated and compared to an assumed threshold stress intensity factor range to determine if the crack can
continue to propagate for a given crack length. The results indicate that the four-bubble failure criterion only determines the
crack initiation life for small cracks initiated on the surfaces of llets. The four-bubble failure criterion does not indicate whether
a fatigue crack initiated on the llet surface can propagate through or arrest in the compressive residual stress zone induced by
the rolling process.
# 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Crankshaft; Rolling; Residual stresses; Fracture; Fatigue; Bending

1. Introduction
Crankshafts in automotive engines can experience a
signicant number of service cyclic loads. Since fatigue
fracture initiated near the llets is one of the primary
failure mechanisms of automotive crankshafts, llet
rolling processes have been used to improve the fatigue
lives of crankshafts for many years [17]. The llet rolling process induces compressive residual stresses near
the llet surface. The compressive residual stresses
lower the fatigue driving stresses near the llet surface


Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-734-764-2694; fax: +1-734-6473170.
E-mail address: jwo@umich.edu (J. Pan).

0142-1123/$ - see front matter # 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2004.06.009

due to operating loads and consequently increase the

fatigue lives of crankshafts.
Due to the complex geometry of crankshafts, the
uncertainties of the operating loads acting on crankshafts, and the uncertainties of the residual stresses
near the llet surface due to rolling, the design of
crankshafts is quite dicult and empirical in nature.
Guagliano et al. [10] investigated the stress concentration factor of diesel engine crankshafts based on
experiments and nite element analyses using a threedimensional model and the corresponding two-dimensional model. The two-dimensional model was shown
to be reliable to evaluate the stress concentration factor
without signicant errors compared to that based on
the three-dimensional model. Guagliano and Vergani

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

[11] later considered cracks emanating from the llet

surfaces and obtained the stress intensity factors for
various depths of cracks based on their experimental
observations using both three-dimensional and the corresponding two-dimensional nite element models.
Their results indicate that it is possible to predict crack
growth based on a geometric factor obtained from the
corresponding two-dimensional nite element model.
In contrast, from the multiaxial fatigue theory viewpoint without consideration of any crack emanating
from the llet surface, Henry et al. [13] studied the
durability of crankshafts based on a three-dimensional
mechanical analysis. With consideration of rotating
external bearing loads, torsional vibrations and internal
centrifugal loads, a three-dimensional nite element
analysis followed by a local boundary element analysis
was used for stress calculations. The multiaxial Dang
Van criterion [7] was then used for fatigue life prediction. Another approach to evaluate the strength of the
crankshaft was carried out by Taylor et al. [28] using a
linear elastic nite element analysis to calculate an
equivalent stress intensity factor due to the stress concentration near the llets of the crankshaft. The
approach is known as crack modeling. The elastic
stress eld near the llet was obtained from the nite
element analysis and then compared to that for a standard center-cracked plate. The fatigue limit of the
crankshaft was assumed to occur when the threshold
stress intensity factor range is reached in the corresponding cracked plate. The results showed that the
fatigue limit of the crankshaft can be linked to a value
of the threshold stress intensity factor range. Later,
Taylor et al. [29] successfully extended the approach to
predict the fatigue limit of the crankshaft under torsion
conditions. However, the eects of the residual stresses
near llets due to rolling processes on the fatigue limit
of the crankshaft were not considered in Henry et al.
[13], Guagliano and Vergani [11] and Taylor et al.
[28,29]. But Henry et al. [13] recognized the importance
of the residual stresses near llets in the durability prediction of crankshafts.
In general, the fatigue lives of mechanical components are inuenced by the residual stresses. Tensile
residual stresses are usually harmful to mechanical
components, whereas compressive residual stresses are
often intentionally introduced to improve the fatigue
lives. For example, autofrettage, induction hardening
and shot peening have been employed to improve the
fatigue lives of mechanical components with compressive residual stresses. For automotive crankshafts, a llet rolling process has been used to induce compressive
residual stresses near the llet surface. In the llet rolling process, crankshaft llets are repeatedly rolled by
primary rollers assisted by secondary rollers. Merwin
and Johnson [19] studied the plastic deformation and
residual stresses of rolling contact. Elasticplastic nite

element analyses have been used to study the plastic

deformation and residual stress distribution for single
and repeated rolling contacts (for example, see Refs.
[24,8,12]). In general, compressive longitudinal and
transverse residual stresses exist under the surface. For
repeated rolling contacts, the steady-state condition is
approached after two or three passes when elastic-perfectly plastic or elasticlinearkinematic-hardening
rules are used. Many practical situations such as wheel
passage on a rail encounter the problem of rolling contact.
In order to predict accurately the fatigue lives of
components, the residual stresses should be included in
the fatigue failure analysis. Numerous researchers have
investigated the eects of residual stresses on fatigue
life predictions using linear elastic fracture mechanics
by summing the stress intensity factors from both the
applied loads and residual stresses. For example, Perl
and Arone [21] calculated the stress intensity factors
for a radially multicracked partially autofrettaged pressurized thick-walled cylinder. The combined eects of
the internal pressure and the residual stresses due to
the autofrettage process were examined by an eective
stress intensity factor, which is dened as the superposition of two stress intensity factors from the internal
pressure and the residual stresses.
In this paper, resonant bending fatigue tests of
crankshaft sections are rst reviewed. Then, an elastic
plane strain nite element analysis of a ductile cast iron
crankshaft section under bending is carried out in
order to examine the stress concentration near the
crankshaft llet. The plastic zone development and the
residual stress distribution near the llet induced by
the rolling process are then obtained by an elastic
plastic plane strain nite element analysis based on the
llet surface proles measured by the shadowgraphs
taken before and after the rolling process. A bending
moment is subsequently applied to the crankshaft section with consideration of the residual stresses. In this
paper, cracks emanating from the llet surface are considered. A linear elastic fracture mechanics approach is
adopted to investigate the fatigue driving force for
these cracks from the applied bending moment and the
residual stresses due to the rolling process. The stress
intensity factors for these cracks due to the bending
moment and the residual stresses are calculated by the
normal traction method using nite element computations. The normal tractions along the surfaces where
cracks will be introduced are rst obtained from the
results of the nite element computations of the
uncracked crankshaft section under bending and after
the rolling process, respectively. Cracks are then introduced and the normal tractions are applied directly on
the crack faces to obtain the mode I stress intensity
factors of the cracks under bending and after the rolling process, respectively. An eective stress intensity

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

factor, which combines the stress intensity factors due

to the bending moment and due to the residual stresses, is dened. An eective stress intensity factor range
is then determined. This eective stress intensity factor
range is compared to the threshold stress intensity factor range to determine whether the crack can escape
from the compressive residual stress zone induced by
the rolling process under the cyclic bending moment.
Finally, some conclusions based on the results of this
investigation will be made.
2. Resonant bending fatigue tests
Fig. 1(a) shows an automotive ductile cast iron
crankshaft. In order to investigate the fatigue lives of
crankshafts, resonant bending fatigue tests are usually
conducted. In these tests, crankshaft sections are used.
Fig. 1(b) shows a crankshaft section. Fig. 1(c) shows a
close-up view of the llets where the stress concentration occurs when the crankshaft section is subject to
bending. Fig. 2 shows the experimental setup of a res-

Fig. 1. (a) An automotive ductile cast iron crankshaft, (b) a crankshaft section used in the resonant bending fatigue test and (c) a closeup view of the llets.

Fig. 2. The experimental setup of a resonant bending fatigue test.

onant bending fatigue test. As shown in the gure, a

crankshaft section is attached to two heavy tines which
are acting as a large tuning fork. The tuning fork
assembly is excited at its resonant frequency through a
shaker attached to one of the tines.
During the resonant bending fatigue test, oil is
applied to the llet surface. For a given bending
moment excited by the shaker probe, the crankshaft
fatigue life is determined when four pinhead-sized bubbles within a 6.35 mm (1/4 in.) area appear on the llet
surface [16]. At this point, the test is suspended. It is
possible that cyclic bending loads cause cracks to open
and close, and consequently, create oil bubbles as
observed in the experiment.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic drawing of the cross-section of the crankshaft section along the symmetry
plane. Note that the scale of the llet is exaggerated for
the convenience of presentation. During the resonant
bending fatigue test, cracks can be initiated on the llet
surface where the stress concentration occurs. A possible crack propagation path from A to B under the resonant bending fatigue test is indicated in the gure.
Fig. 4(a) shows a schematic plot of the cross-sectional
or side view of the crankshaft section near the llet.
Fig. 4(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the llet from
a crankshaft section. The crankshaft is made of SAE
J434C D5506 cast iron. The graphite nodules can be
seen as the dark regions in Fig. 4(b). The equivalent
mean diameter of graphite nodules is 26.5 lm and
the mean graphite nodule spacing is 156 lm. When
the crankshaft section is under the resonant bending
fatigue testing, the graphite nodules near the llet surface act as stress raisers and can debond from the
matrix material. Cracks can also be initiated near these
graphite nodules near the llet surface under cyclic
loading conditions. Examples of a small crack initiated
from a graphite nodule near the llet surface and a

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 3. A schematic drawing of the cross-section of the crankshaft

section along the symmetry plane. Note that the scale of the llet is
exaggerated for the convenience of presentation. A possible crack
propagation path from A to B is indicated.

Fig. 4. (a) A schematic plot of the cross-sectional view of the crankshaft section near the llet and (b) a cross-sectional view of a crankshaft section near the llet.

larger crack grown into the llet material are shown in

Fig. 5(a) and (b), respectively [24].
In order to obtain the bending moment in the resonant bending fatigue test, calibration bending tests are
carried out by applying loads 0.457 m (18 in.) away
from the centerline of the crank main journal, as schematically shown in Fig. 6. Strain gages are attached to
the right tine near the crankshaft section in order to
measure the bending strains of the tine under bending.
A calibration curve in terms of the strain gage readings
of the tine and the bending moment in the range up to
an approximate maximum value of 1130 N m (10000
lb in.) with respect to the centerline of the crank main
journal is obtained. Based on the strain gage readings
of the tine in the resonant bending fatigue tests, the
bending moment with respect to the centerline of the
crank main journal can be obtained based on the calibration curve obtained from the calibration bending
tests. A three-dimensional elastic nite element analysis

Fig. 5. (a) A small crack initiated from a graphite nodule near the
llet surface and (b) a larger crack grown into the llet material.

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 6. A schematic drawing of a calibration bending test under a

load 0.457 m (18 in.) away from the centerline of the crank main
journal.

of the calibration bending test and a three-dimensional

nite element vibration analysis of the resonant bending fatigue test were carried out by Yu et al. [30]. The
results of the elastic bending analysis and the fourth
mode of the vibration analysis indicate that the stress
distributions of the crankshaft section along the symmetry plane of two cross-sections are quite similar.
Therefore, we adopt the displacement distributions of
the crankshaft section from the three-dimensional nite
element analysis of the bending test as the displacement
boundary conditions for the two-dimensional nite
element analysis which will be discussed later.

elasticplastic two-dimensional plane strain nite

element analysis is conducted to obtain the residual
stress distributions near the llet due to the rolling process. The commercial nite element program ABAQUS
[14] is used to perform the computations.
A portion of crankshaft section (the hatched portion
as shown in Fig. 3), a primary roller, and a secondary
roller are considered in our nite element model as
shown in Fig. 7. The portion of crankshaft section and
the rollers are modeled by eight-node plane strain
quadrilateral continuum elements with a reduced integration scheme. Note that the geometry of the lower
right part of the crankshaft section is simplied. The
simplication is expected not to aect the results of the
nite element analysis near the llet. A relatively ne
mesh near the llet is generated in order to accurately
capture the characteristics of the stress eld in this
stress concentration area. A magnied nite element
mesh of the crankshaft section near the llet and a portion of the primary roller is shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9
shows schematic plots of two cross-sectional views of a
three-dimensional crankshaft section. The hatched
areas indicate the so-called football region. Maab [18],
Pfender et al. [22] and Eberhard [9] pointed out that in
addition to the llet radii, the football region also has

3. Finite element model

Since the existence of residual stresses can aect the
fatigue lives of components, determining the residual
stresses near the crankshaft llets due to the llet rolling process is important in the crankshaft fatigue life
prediction. Signicant advances have been made in
recent years to obtain residual stress distributions
experimentally and numerically. While several experimental approaches (e.g., X-ray diraction, neutron diffraction and hole drilling) can determine residual stress
distributions, it is dicult to infer the residual stress
distribution induced by the rolling process near the llet experimentally due to the shapes and small dimensions of the llet radii (1.25 and 0.65 mm) considered
in this paper. Here, an elastic two-dimensional plane
strain nite element analysis is rst conducted to
understand the nature of stress concentration near the
llet when the crankshaft is under bending. Then, an

Fig. 7. A two-dimensional nite element model of a portion of

crankshaft section, a primary roller and a secondary roller.

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 8. A magnied nite element mesh of the crankshaft section

near the llet and a portion of the primary roller.

strong inuence on the stress concentration near the

crankshaft llets. Therefore, attention is focused on
this critical region in our analysis.
Due to the lack of the stressstrain curve of the
crankshaft material and in view of the large compressive stresses induced near the llet during the llet rolling process, the cyclic compressive stressstrain curve
as shown in Fig. 10 based on the work of Tartaglia
et al. [27] for the ductile cast iron with the hardness,
Youngs modulus, ultimate strength, tensile yield
strength and percentage of elongation similar to the
manufacturing specications is used as the compressive
stressstrain curve in the analysis. Table 1 lists the
material properties of the ductile cast iron based on the
work of Tartaglia et al. [27]. Note that due to the existence of graphite nodules, the ductile cast iron exhibits
dierent stressstrain curves under tension and compression. In general, the compressive yield strength can
be up to 20% higher than the tensile yield strength for

Fig. 10. The stressstrain curve for the crankshaft used in the nite
element analysis.

Table 1
The material properties for the ductile cast iron from Tartaglia et al. [27]
Hardness (BHN)
Youngs modulus (GPa)
Ultimate strength (MPa)
Tensile yield strength (MPa)
Elongation (%)

236
169
759
419
8.1

ductile cast irons. Here, for simplicity and due to the

lack of the experimental data of the monotonic tensile
and compressive tests of the ductile cast iron, the Mises
yield criterion is used to describe the yield behavior of
the cast iron crankshaft where the material near the llet is under dominant compressive loading conditions

Fig. 9. Schematic plots of two cross-sectional views of a crankshaft section. The hatched areas indicate the so-called football region.

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

due to the rolling process. The value of the cyclic compressive yield strength of 462 MPa is taken as the yield
stress for the Mises yield criterion for the nite element
analysis. Note that, for example, the DruckerPrager
yield criterion can also be adopted to describe the plastic behavior of the ductile cast iron when the tensile
and compressive strengths of the ductile cast iron are
available.
3.1. Bending tests without consideration of residual
stresses
The crankshaft section under a bending moment
without consideration of residual stresses is rst considered in order to investigate the stress concentration
near the llet. The stress eld near the llet under a
bending moment is obtained by applying linear distributed displacements on the crank pin and the main
journal of the crankshaft section, as schematically
shown in Fig. 11, in an elastic nite element analysis.
The displacement distributions are based on the results
from a three-dimensional nite element analysis where
the crankshaft section is subject to a bending moment
of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) with respect to the centerline
of the crank main journal. The details of the threedimensional elastic nite element analysis are reported

Fig. 11. A schematic drawing of the displacement boundary conditions under bending.

in Yu et al. [30]. The elastic three-dimensional nite

element model of Yu et al. [30] has a rather coarse
mesh and cannot be used to examine the detailed distributions of the stresses near the llet. Note that based
on the four-bubble failure criterion, crankshafts with
the existence of the residual stresses due to the llet
rolling process fail at the order of 106 cycles under the
bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.). Note also
that the crankshaft section is in fact under combined
bending and tension conditions. For convenience, we
follow the convention to describe the test as a bending
test.
Fig. 12 shows the nite element model near the llet
surface. This llet surface has two circular curve surfaces. The stresses are expressed in terms of the cylindrical coordinates with respect to the center of the
circular surface with the larger radius of 1.25 mm, as
v
shown in Fig. 12. Note that 0 represents the vertical
downward direction as shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 13 shows
the angular distributions of the hoop stress rhh, the
radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh along the llet
v
v
surface as functions of h from 0 to 90 . The values of
these stresses normalized by the nominal bending
stress, which is dened as the normal stress in the x
direction at the top of the pin on the left edge of the
crankshaft section (as shown in Fig. 7), are also shown
at the right side of the gure. As shown in the gure,
the hoop stress rhh depends on the angle h whereas the
radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh are signicantly
lower than the hoop stress rhh. Theoretically speaking,
the radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh should be
zero along the llet surface. The maximum hoop stress
v
rhh occurs around h 40 . The maximum value of the
normalized stress is about 7.5, which can be regarded
as the stress concentration factor near the llet in the
crankshaft section subject to bending. Note again that
stress concentration factors near the llets in crankshafts have been extensively studied in Guagliano et al.
[10]. Their results indicate that two-dimensional plane
stress models can be used to obtain the stress concentration factors for the corresponding three-dimensional
crankshaft models. We use a plane strain model here in
order to be consistent with the following simulation of
the rolling process under plane strain and axisymmetric
loading conditions. Another reason to use a plane
strain model is that we investigate the stresses and the
deformation of the material away from the llet surface, where the deformation of the material is restricted
by the neighboring material.
Here, attention must be paid not only to the magnitudes of the stresses on the llet surface, but also the
magnitude of the stresses and the stress gradients
into the llet material. Fig. 14 shows the radial distributions of the hoop stress rhh at selected angles of
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
h 0 , 14.41 , 28.90 , 43.38 , 60.73 , 73.25 and 90 ,

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 12. Denitions of the cylindrical coordinates.

The results of an elasticplastic nite element analysis of the llet rolling process are rst reported in this

section in order to obtain the residual stress distributions near the llet. Since the llet rolling process
involves plastic loading/unloading, the kinematic hardening rule is selected to account for the possible reverse
plastic loading eects when the roller is released.
Fig. 15(a)(c) shows the boundary conditions of the
plane strain nite element models of roller loading,
roller unloading and bending. As shown in Fig. 15(a),
the left edge of the crankshaft section represents the
symmetry plane in the llet rolling process and is constrained to have zero displacements in the x direction.
The central axis of the crank pin is also set to have the
symmetry condition and is constrained in the y direction. The right edge of the crankshaft section is set to

Fig. 13. Angular distributions of the hoop stress, the radial stress
v
and the shear stress along the llet surface as functions of h from 0
v
to 90 under the displacement corresponding to a bending moment of
508.4 N m (4500 lb in.).

Fig. 14. Radial distributions of the hoop stress under the displacement corresponding to a bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.)
v
v
v
v
v
v
at several angles of h 0 , 14.41 , 28.90 , 43.38 , 60.73 , 73.25 and
v
90 .

respectively. As shown in the gure, the stress gradients

are very high near the llet surface. Although the hoop
stress rhh is very high on the llet surface, its magnitude drops very quickly with increasing distance away
from the llet surface. Therefore, if compressive hoop
stresses can be created in a shallow area near the llet
surface, the fatigue life of the crankshaft can be signicantly improved.
3.2. Bending tests with consideration of residual stresses
from llet rolling

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

conditions of the axisymmetric models of the roller

loading and unloading, respectively. Only the upper
part of the crankshaft section is modeled. Unfortunately, bending due to resonant fatigue tests cannot be
conveniently applied to the axisymmetric model. It
should be mentioned again that the crankshafts are
three-dimensional and the roller is rolled along the
crankshaft llet during the manufacturing process. A
full three-dimensional simulation of the rolling process
would be very computational intensive with numerical
diculties. Therefore, simplied two-dimensional plane
strain and axisymmetric models are adopted here with
the displacement boundary conditions obtained from
the shadowgraphs and the three-dimensional nite
element analysis of the bending fatigue tests.
In order to use the two-dimensional nite element
analysis to shed light on the residual stress distribution
due to the three-dimensional rolling process, the shadowgraphs of the llet surface proles were taken
before and after the rolling process. Fig. 16(a) shows
the llet surface proles before and after the llet rolling process based on the shadowgraphs. In the nite
element analysis, the secondary roller is given a specic
vertical displacement in the negative y direction such
that the maximum dierence of the llet surface proles in the y direction before and after the rolling process is the same as that identied in the shadowgraphs.
Note that the left edge of the secondary roller
Fig. 15. Boundary conditions of the plane strain nite element
model for (a) roller down, (b) roller released and (c) bending moment
applied. Boundary conditions of the axisymmetric nite element
model for (d) roller down and (e) roller released.

have zero traction. As schematically shown in

Fig. 15(a), the secondary roller is set to have a given
displacement in the negative y direction. A master and
slave contact algorithm with the frictionless condition
is used in the nite element analysis. As shown in
Fig. 15(b), the secondary roller is set to have a displacement in the positive y direction until the primary
roller is completely without any contact force with the
crankshaft. The nal stage of the nite element analysis
is schematically shown in Fig. 15(c) where the constraints along the left edge and the central axis are rst
released. Then the displacements as shown in Fig. 11 to
cause a bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) are
applied along the left edge and the right edge as schematically shown in Fig. 15(c).
In order to have another independent check on the
results of the residual stresses due to the rolling process
based on the plane strain model, an axisymmetric
model is also considered since the cross-section of the
crank pin is circular. Fig. 15(d),(e) shows the boundary

Fig. 16. The llet surface proles before and after the llet rolling
process based on (a) shadowgraphs and (b) the nite element analysis.

10

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

represents the symmetry plane and is constrained to

have zero displacements in the x direction. Fig. 16(b)
shows the llet surface proles before and after the llet rolling process based on the nite element analysis.
Note that in Choi and Pan [5], a parametric study of
the eects of the primary roller geometries on the
residual stress distribution has been carried out. The
results of the investigation suggest that the most
important parameter to determine the residual stress
distribution in the critical orientation is the maximum
dierence of the llet surface proles before and after
the llet rolling process.
The maximum dierence of the llet surface proles
before and after the llet rolling process based on the
shadowgraphs and based on the nite element analysis
is 0.17 mm, as shown in Fig. 16(a) and (b), respectively. Note that the nite element model is based on
the manufacturing specications and the shadowgraphs
represent the geometry of the manufactured crankshaft
before grinding of the crank pin in plants. Therefore,
the left part of the nite element model is slightly different from that of the manufactured crankshaft before
grinding based on the shadowgraph. Note that many
possible boundary conditions have been tried to simulate the actual complex rolling process in plants. The
results presented in this paper represent the most convenient way of simulation of the process. The boundary condition is not the best by a comparison of the
right part of the proles from the shadowgraphs and
simulations. The results from the shadowgraphs indicate that the proles are converging to each other while
the results from the nite element simulations show
that the proles do not close to each other. The disagreement indicates that another possible boundary
condition needs to be applied to ensure the alignment

of the axes of the crankpins and the main journal. Further investigations are still needed to nd a boundary
condition to simulate the rolling of a crankshaft section
instead of the complex rolling of the entire crankshaft
as in plants.
Since the computational results based on the plane
strain model and the axisymmetric model are quite
similar, we only present the computational results
based on the plane strain model. Fig. 17 shows the
Mises stress contour in the area of interest (the football
region) when the roller is down at its maximum displacement based on the two-dimensional plane strain
model. The plastic zone is the region with the darkest
shade. Note that the size of the plastic zone based on
the two-dimensional plane strain model is slightly smaller than that based on the axisymmetric model. The
smaller plastic zone in the two-dimensional plane strain
model can be attributed to the fact that the two-dimensional plane strain model has more constraints than the
axisymmetric model. The result suggests that the twodimensional plane strain model may be a reasonable
simplication for the simulation of the llet rolling
process.
Fig. 18(a) shows the angular distributions of the
hoop stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress
v
rrh along the llet surface as functions of h from 0 to
v
90 when the roller is down at its maximum displacement based on the two-dimensional plane strain model.
As shown in the gure, the radial stress rrr is near
2300 MPa, and the hoop stress rhh is near 1000
v
MPa at h 0 . In general, the magnitude of the compressive radial stress rrr and the magnitude of the compressive hoop stress rhh become less as h increases. The
v
compressive radial stress rrr vanishes at h from 80 to
v
90 , indicating that no contact occurs between the

Fig. 17. The Mises stress contours near the llet surface when the roller is down at its maximum displacement based on two-dimensional plane
strain model.

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 18. Angular distributions of the hoop stress, the radial stress
v
and the shear stress along the llet surface as functions of h from 0
v
to 90 based on the two-dimensional plane strain model for (a) the
roller down at the maximum displacement and (b) the roller released
with no contact force between the roller and the crankshaft.

primary roller and the crankshaft section in this region.

Note that a signicant tensile hoop stress rhh occurs at
v
h larger than 75 . Fig. 18(b) shows the angular distributions of the hoop stress rhh, the radial stress rrr
and the shear stress rrh along the llet surface as funcv
v
tions of h from 0 to 90 when the roller is released
completely with no contact force between the roller
and the crankshaft based on the two-dimensional plane
strain model. As shown in the gure, the radial stress
rrr and the shear stress rrh become small along the surface. These small values indicate that the numerical
v
v
inaccuracies are more near 0 than those near 4045
where the bending stresses are large. The magnitude of
the compressive residual hoop stress rhh is near its
v
maximum of 460 MPa at h 0 and decreases to
v
v
nearly 300 MPa for the range of h from 20 to 70 . No
signicant compressive residual hoop stress rhh exists
v
v
around h from 80 to 90 . Note that the magnitude of
the compressive hoop stress based on the axisymmetric

11

model is larger than that based on the two-dimensional

plane strain model by approximately 100 MPa from
v
v
h 0 to 70 when the roller is released with no contact
force between the roller and the crankshaft.
In the rolling processes, the roller rolls around the
crankshaft for multiple passes. The axisymmetric
model may give a more realistic residual stress distribution without the out-of-plane shear stress due to the
rollers rolling motion. The general agreement of the
stress distributions based on both the plane strain and
axisymmetric models gives an independent check of the
results based on the plane strain model. Choi and Pan
[5] have also conducted a two-dimensional nite
element analysis of a rigid cylinder indenting on an
elasticplastic half space. The general trend of the
transverse residual stress agrees well with that for rolling contact of Bhargava et al. [2]. This agreement indicates that the residual hoop stresses obtained in our
indentation computations can represent those of rolling
contact of the primary rollers.
Fig. 19 shows the angular distributions of the hoop
stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh
v
v
along the llet surface as functions of h from 0 to 90
after releasing the symmetry constraints and applying
the bending displacements corresponding to 508.4 N m
(4500 lb in.) based on the two-dimensional plane strain
model. The distribution of the hoop stress rhh is
approximately equal to the summation of that obtained
from the bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) as
shown in Fig. 13 and that from the residual stresses as
shown in Fig. 18(b). The locations of the local peak

Fig. 19. Angular distributions of the hoop stress, the radial stress
v
and the shear stress along the llet surface as functions of h from 0
v
to 90 based on the two-dimensional plane strain model after the
symmetry conditions are released and a bending moment corresponding to 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) is applied.

12

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

v

hoop stress rhh at about 40 in general agree with those

from the experimental observations where the bubbles
were found in bending fatigue tests. Note that the
observed fatigue crack shown in Fig. 5(a) is located at
v
h 46 . The maximum hoop stress rhh from the twov
dimensional plane strain model occurs at about 85 .
Occasionally, bubbles were found near the location of
v
90 in bending fatigue tests.

4. Linear elastic fracture mechanics

The graphite nodules of the ductile cast iron can
provide stress concentration sites for crack initiation
near the crankshaft llet surfaces, as shown in Fig. 5(a).
When crankshafts are under cyclic loads during engine
operations, it is of great importance to examine if fatigue cracks can continue to grow and cause extensive
damages to the engine. Within the content of linear
elastic fracture mechanics, the stress intensity factor K,
which is used to characterize the singular crack tip
elds, needs to be evaluated in order to characterize the
fatigue crack propagation process. The domain J integral formulation [23,26] is used in ABAQUS to evaluate the stress intensity factors. For linear elastic
materials under plane strain mixed mode I and mode II
loading conditions, the stress intensity factor K can be
related to the J integral as
J

KI2 KII2
1  m2
E

where KI and KII are mode I and mode II stress intensity factors, respectively, E is Youngs modulus and m is
Poissons ratio.
Strictly speaking, the J integral is applicable only to
linear or nonlinear elastic materials where the strain
energy is a unique function of the strain eld. For elasticplastic materials, the J integral can still be adopted
to characterize approximately the crack tip elds if the
loading is increased monotonically. In such cases, the J
integral is path independent and can be evaluated from
elds remote from the crack tip. However, when
unloading occurs in elasticplastic materials, the values
of the J integral calculated far away from the crack tip
may show signicant path dependence and have no
clear connection with the stress and strain elds near
the crack tip. For the llet rolling process considered
here, the residual stresses are the result of plastic loading/elastic unloading. Therefore, the validity to use the
J integral to characterize the crack tip elds will be in
question.
Hou et al. [15] showed that when the stresses near
the crack tip due to the applied load are large compared to the residual stresses, the J integrals with consideration of the residual stresses for dierent paths
follow the same trend as those without consideration of

the residual stresses. Pavier et al. [20] also showed that

when the applied load is large compared to the residual
stresses, a region of constant J integral is observed
close to the crack tip. However, in this investigation,
the residual stresses are comparable to the stresses due
to the bending moment of interest near the llet surface. Based on the nite element mesh with the element
size of about 100 lm, the singular stress elds near the
tips of small cracks with lengths of a fraction of millimeter initiated near the llet surface due to the bending
moment cannot be obtained. Further reduction of the
nite element size near the crack tip may detect the
singular stress elds but becomes meaningless since the
continuum description of the material behavior will not
be valid at the smaller scale. Also, numerical diculties
arise in the simulation of the entire process of the rolling contact and the crack generation to evaluate the
stress intensity factors. Therefore, the stress intensity
factors due to the bending moment of interest and the
residual stresses are evaluated alternatively as follows.
4.1. Stress intensity factors due to bending moment and
residual stresses
In order to use a linear elastic fracture mechanics
approach to investigate the crack propagation process,
cracks with initial crack lengths must rst be considered. Here, the crack orientation is selected as h
v
52:35 which corresponds to the angle that links the
locations of the llets in the football region. Note that
the maximum hoop stress due to the bending is located
v
at near h 40 . Although cracks can be initiated near
v
h 90 due to almost no compressive residual hoop
stress as indicated in Fig. 18(b) and as indicated by
observed bubbles in bending fatigue tests, the main
driving force for crack propagation is still due to the
bending. The bending should drive cracks to propagate
near the football region and/or in the direction of the
maximum hoop stress near the llet. Here, the stress
v
state along the radial direction at h 52:35 is rst
obtained based on the two-dimensional nite element
model. Fig. 20(a) shows the radial distributions of the
hoop stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress
v
rrh at h 52:35 under the bending moment of 508.4
N m (4500 lb in.). As shown in the gure, the magnitude of the shear stress rrh is quite small compared to
that of the hoop stress rhh. This indicates that the
values of the mode II stress intensity factors due to the
bending should be quite small compared to those of
the mode I stress intensity factors. Indeed, the mode II
stress intensity factors are quite smaller than the mode
I stress intensity factors for several crack depths based
on the nite element computations. Since the stress
intensity factor ranges due to the bending are the main
driving force for fatigue crack propagation, we will

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

13

Fig. 20. Radial distributions of the hoop stress, radial stress and shear stress of the crankshaft at h 52:35 based on the two-dimensional plane
strain model (a) under bending, (b) roller down, (c) roller released and (d) summation of (a) and (c).

concentrate on the mode I stress intensity factor due to

the bending for the crack in the direction of
v
h 52:35 .
Fig. 20(b) shows the radial distributions of the hoop
stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh
v
at h 52:35 when the roller is down at its maximum
displacement. The magnitudes of the compressive hoop
stress rhh and the compressive radial stress rrr are near
740 and 1900 MPa, respectively, on the llet surface
and decrease quickly with the increasing distance away
from the llet surface. The magnitude of shear stress
rrh is 200 MPa on the llet surface. The shear stress rrh
reaches the maximum value of about 300 MPa at the
depth of 0.5 mm from the llet surface, and decreases
with the increasing distance away from the llet surface.
Fig. 20(c) shows the radial distributions of the hoop
stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress rrh
v
at h 52:35 when the roller is completely released
with no contact force between the roller and the crankshaft. As shown in the gure, the magnitude of the
residual compressive hoop stress has an average value
of 280 MPa within the depth of 2 mm from the llet
surface, and then decreases with the increasing distance
away from the llet surface. The magnitude of the
compressive radial stress rrr is quite small near the llet
surface and gradually increases to 80 MPa at the depth
of 1 mm from the llet surface. The magnitude of the

shear stress rrh is also quite small near the llet surface.
However, the magnitude of the shear stress rrh gradually reaches to 150 MPa at the depth of about 3 mm
from the llet surface.
The summation of the radial distributions of the
hoop stress rhh, the radial stress rrr and the shear stress
v
rrh at h 52:35 from those of the bending moment
and those of the residual stresses due to the rolling process is shown in Fig. 20(d). As shown in the gure, a
tensile hoop stress rhh occurs near the llet surface.
The depth of the region with the tensile hoop stress rhh
is about 0.5 mm. As the distance from the surface
increases, the magnitude of the compressive hoop stress
rhh increases and then decreases. As the distance from
the surface is larger than 3.3 mm, the hoop stress rhh
becomes tensile again. The radial stress rrr remains
small to the depth of 4 mm. Here, it should be mentioned that the values of the shear stress rrh are not
small when the distance increases away from the llet
surface. However, Fig. 20(a) shows that the magnitudes
of the shear stress rrh near the llet surface at h
v
52:35 are quite small due to the bending fatigue tests.
Since the stress intensity factor ranges due to the bending are the main driving force for crack propagation,
only the mode I eects on the fatigue crack propagation will be considered in the following analysis.
The mode I stress intensity factors KI max
b s due to
bending are calculated by the normal traction method.

14

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

The normal tractions are rst obtained at the locations

where the crack will be introduced by applying the linear distributed displacements corresponding to the
bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) on the
crank pin and the main journal of the uncracked nite
element model. The normal tractions are then applied
directly on the crack faces of a cracked nite element
model to obtain the stress intensity factor of the crack.
The computational results indicate that the stress intensity factors evaluated from several dierent contours
are in general path independent when the normal tractions exist on the crack faces, except for the contours
closest to the crack tip where the stress states are not
accurate due to coarse meshes. The demonstration of
path independence of the J integral when the normal
tractions exist on the crack faces with the rened mesh
and singular elements around the crack tip will be
shown later for the residual stress case.
Note that the crankshaft sections are subject to
bending moment during bending fatigue tests. We here
used the displacement boundary conditions corresponding to the bending moment of 508.4 Nm (4500
lb-in.) for the two-dimensional uncracked nite element
model. If the displacement boundary conditions are
applied to the nite element models with pre-determined cracks, the values of KI max
will not correctly repb
resent the stress intensity factors experienced by the
cracked crankshaft sections under the bending moment
of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) since the compliance of the
cracked crankshaft sections will increase when the
crack length increases. Note that the bending fatigue
tests are in fact controlled by the bending moment
through the output of the strain gage in the right tine.
The normal traction method will result in the stress
intensity factors for cracks with the displacement
boundary conditions under the bending moment of
508.4 N m (4500 lb in.). The computational results of
the KI max
corresponding to the bending moment of
b
508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) based on the normal traction
method for several crack lengths are listed in Table 2.

The mode I stress intensity factors (KI)rs due to the

residual stresses are also calculated by the normal traction method. In order to validate the results based on
the original coarse mesh as shown in Fig. 8 or 12, the
same level of the mesh renement near the crack tips
is used for two dierent crack lengths, a 0:33
p
and 1:25 mm. In order to model the 1= r singularity
at the crack tip, quarter-point singular elements are
employed around the crack tip. An example of the
rened nite element mesh near the crack tip for a
0:33 mm is shown in Fig. 21. Note that the local
Cartesian coordinates x0 and y0 and the local polar
coordinates r0 and h0 are centered at the crack tip as
shown. The x0 axis is along the crack line direction.
Figs. 22 and 23 show the mode I stress intensity factors for several dierent contours as functions of the
normalized contour distance from the crack tip due to
the normal tractions for the crack lengths a
0:33 and 1:25 mm, respectively, based on the rened
meshes. Note that the contour distance is normalized
by the crack length. As shown in the gures, path independence is observed with a variation of less than 1%

Table 2
corresponding to 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.), (KI)r
The values of KI max
b
and D(KI)e for several crack lengths
KI max
b

Crack
length (mm)

MPa m

0.13
0.33
0.60
0.90
1.25
1.60
2.28
2.96
3.65
4.33

7.65
10.23
11.66
12.48
13.17
13.73
14.59
15.6
16.64
17.75

1=2

(KI)r
(MPa m1/2)

D(KI)e
(MPa m1/2)

4.89
7.33
9.96
12.78
16.23
19.76
24.84
26.87
25.64
22.88

2.76
2.9
1.7
0.3
3.06
6.03
10.25
11.27
9.0
5.13

Fig. 21. A rened nite element mesh near the crack tip for
a 0:33 mm.

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

15

Table 3
A comparison of the values of (KI)r based on the original coarse
mesh and the rened mesh
Crack
(KI)r (MPa m1/2,
length (mm) coarse mesh)
0.33
1.25

Fig. 22. The mode I stress intensity factors for several dierent contours as functions of the normalized contour distance from the crack
tip, r=a, for the crack length a 0:33 mm under the residual stresses.

compared to the average value for all the contours

evaluated. The average values of (KI)r for these contours are 7.58 and 16.56 MPa m1/2 for a
0:33 and 1:25 mm, respectively. Note that based on the
original coarse mesh, the average values of (KI)r are
7.33 and 16.23 MPa m1/2 for a 0:33 and 1:25 mm,
respectively. Table 3 gives a comparison of the values
of (KI)r based on the original coarse and rened
meshes. The dierence between the two dierent meshes
is less than 4%. This indicates that the mesh renement

Fig. 23. The mode I stress intensity factors for several dierent contours as functions of the normalized contour distance from the crack
tip, r=a, for the crack length a 1:25 mm under the residual stresses.

7.33
16.23

(KI)r (MPa m1/2,

rened mesh)

Dierence (%)

7.58
16.58

3.30
2.11

may not be necessary if the stress intensity factors are

evaluated based on the contours far away from the
crack tip. The values of (KI)r for several crack lengths
based on the original coarse mesh are also listed in
Table 2. Note that although the crankshaft section is
not exactly symmetric with respect to the crack line, the
mode II stress intensity factors (KII)r are almost zero
when the normal traction is considered.
In order to check the mode I stress intensity factor
obtained by the normal traction method due to the
residual stresses, we use the initial stress method to
obtain the stress eld ahead of the crack tip. First, the
rened nite element model is adopted in order to
obtain the accurate stress eld ahead of the crack tip.
The residual stresses induced by the llet rolling process are obtained by the elasticplastic nite element
analysis based on the rened mesh without crack. A
user subroutine is written to import the residual stresses of each integration point of all elements as the
initial stresses for the corresponding integration points
of the elements in an elastic nite element analysis with
a pre-determined crack where the crack faces are connected by elastic springs of large stiness. The springs
are then released for the desired crack length to obtain
the stress elds near the crack tip in the elastic nite
element analysis.
Figs. 24 and 25 show comparisons of the normalized
hoop stress distributions ahead of the crack tip with
respect to the local cylindrical coordinate system in a
loglog scale based on the initial stress method and
those predicted by the K eld based on the normal
traction method for the crack lengths a 0:33
and 1:25 mm, respectively. The hoop stresses are normalized by a reference stress which is taken as the yield
stress ro. Note again that the nite element computations are based on the linear elastic material behavior
without consideration of the contact between the crack
faces. As shown in these gures, the hoop stress distributions ahead of the crack tip obtained from the
initial stress method are very close to those predicted
by the K eld based on the normal traction method as
the radial distance from the crack tip decreases. However, the dierence becomes large as the radial distance
from the crack tip increases since the crack tip singularity becomes less dominant.
Note that the accuracy of the stress intensity factors
obtained from the displacements or stresses near the

16

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

method. The results shown in Figs. 24 and 25 suggest

that the normal traction method can give reasonable
values of the mode I stress intensity factor (KI)r due to
residual stresses. Note that the implementation of the
shear tractions on the crack faces is not convenient in
ABAQUS. Also, the mode II stress intensity factors are
small compared to the mode I stress intensity factors
due to the bending. In addition, the mode I stress
intensity factors due to the bending are the primary
driving force for fatigue crack propagation. Therefore,
only the mode I stress intensity factors due to the
bending and the residual stresses will be considered in
the following analysis.
4.2. An eective stress intensity factor range

Fig. 24. A comparison of the normalized compressive hoop stresses

ahead of the crack tip with respect to the local cylindrical coordinate
system as shown in Fig. 21 based on the initial stress method and
those predicted by the K eld based on the normal traction method
for the crack length a 0:33 mm under the residual stresses.

crack tip depends on the mesh renement near the

crack tip for crankshaft sections even under bending
conditions [11]. Here, it should be mentioned that the J
integral remains path independent from the elastic
nite element method based on the normal traction

In the presence of the residual stresses, the actual

maximum stress intensity factors of the cracks near
the llet surface under bending are dierent from the
due to bending alone. In order to account for
KI max
b
the eects of the residual stresses, we dene an eective
stress intensity factor, (KI)e, which combines the stress
intensity factor due to the bending moment, (KI)b, and
the stress intensity factor due to the residual stresses,
(KI)r, as
KI eff KI b KI r

In order to examine if the fatigue crack propagation

will continue or arrest in the compressive residual
stress zone, the eective stress intensity factor range is
dened as
min
DKI eff KI max
eff  KI eff

As indicated in, for example, Beghini and Bertini [1],

max
the determination of KI min
eff and KI eff is quite complicated with consideration of the residual stress distribution, depending on the condition that a crack is fully
open, partially open or fully closed at the minimum
external load. For simplicity, we assume that no damage can be produced during the compressive part of the
cycle and only the positive part of the cycle can contribute to fatigue crack propagation. Since these cracks
with crack lengths of our interest are almost fully
immersed in the compressive residual hoop stress eld,
the eective stress intensity factor range can be
approximated as
KI r
DKI eff KI max
b

Fig. 25. A comparison of the normalized compressive hoop stresses

ahead of the crack tip with respect to the local cylindrical coordinate
system as shown in Fig. 21 based on the initial stress method and
those predicted by the K eld based on the normal traction method
for the crack length a 1:25 mm under the residual stresses.

Note that the closure eect is important. However, it

is not considered in this investigation. Table 2 lists
D(KI)e based on Eq. (4) for several crack lengths
under the bending load corresponding to 508.4 N m
(4500 lb in.). Note that, when D(KI)e is negative, the
crack should not propagate based on our assumption.
corresponding to
Fig. 26 shows the values of KI max
b
508.4 N m (4500 lb in.), (KI)r and D(KI)e as functions

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

Fig. 26. The values of KI max

corresponding to 508.4 N m (4500 lb
b
in.), (KI)r and D(KI)e as functions of the crack length.

of the crack length. For the D(KI)e corresponding to

508.4 N m (4500 lb in.), the minimum value is about
11.27 MPa m1/2 at a 2:96 mm. This negative value
of D(KI)e suggests that under the bending moment of
508.4 N m (4500 lb in.), a fatigue crack initiated near a
graphite particle near the llet surface cannot grow out
of compressive residual stress zone. When the bending
moment increases, KI max
increases linearly according
b
to linear elasticity. As the minimum value of D(KI)e
exceeds the threshold values of the stress intensity factor range DKth for the cast iron, a crack can then continue to propagate through the compressive residual
stress zone. Here, DKth is dened as the largest DK for
which a measurable crack growth is not detected.
For the cast iron that we consider, the value of DKth
is not available in the literature. Clement et al. [6] tested a ferrite nodular graphite cast iron and reported
the value of DKth as 8.5 MPa m1/2. The cast iron of
Clement et al. [6] is dierent from the cast iron that we
study here. From the viewpoint of the material property, the tensile yield strength of the cast iron that we
investigate here is 419 MPa, which is much larger that
the tensile yield strength of 270 MPa of the cast iron in
Clement et al. [6]. In addition, the mean diameters and
spacings of nodules and the grain sizes are quite dierent. Since the tensile yield strength of our cast iron is
higher, we expect that the value of DKth may be lower
than 8.5 MPa m1/2. Note that DKth can be a function
of the load ratio R. Here, we arbitrarily take the value
of DKth as 4 MPa m1/2 to conduct a parametric study
for dierent load ratios in order to demonstrate the
importance of the residual stress distribution on fatigue
crack initiation and arrest.

17

Based on linear elastic fracture mechanics, when the

bending moment increases to 1017 N m (9000 lb in.),
the minimum value of D(KI)e is a bit larger than 4
MPa m1/2. Fig. 27 shows the values of KI max
correb
sponding to 1017 N m (9000 lb in.), (KI)r and D(KI)e
as functions of the crack length. Note that the values
are 200% of those in Table 2 based on linear
of KI max
b
elasticity. As shown in the gure, the minimum value
of D(KI)e corresponding to 1017 N m (9000 lb in.) is
about 4.33 MPa m1/2 at a 2:96 mm. This value of
D(KI)e suggests that under the bending moment of
1017 N m (9000 lb in.), a fatigue crack initiated near a
graphite particle near the llet surface can escape from
the compressive residual stress zone during the resonant bending fatigue tests based on DKth of 4 MPa
m1/2. Fig. 27 shows that D(KI)e increases and then
decreases to the minimum as the crack length increases.
As the crack length larger than 2.96 mm, D(KI)e continues to increase.
It should be emphasized that the crack propagation
process in the crankshaft is three-dimensional in nature. The crack propagation path is quite complicated
and can be inuenced by the stress concentration of the
football region. Here, the two-dimensional nite
element analysis and the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach are adopted in order to at least give
some physical insights of the fatigue cracking mechanisms under resonant bending fatigue tests. Note that we
v
investigate the case of h 52:35 here. In fact, the
crack initiation location and propagation angle h
should depend on the distribution of the stresses near
the llet surface, which depend upon the magnitude of

Fig. 27. The values of KI max

corresponding to 1017 N m (9000 lb
b
in.), (KI)r and D(KI)e as functions of the crack length.

18

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

the bending moment and the detailed residual stress

distribution. The results for other crack orientations
will be qualitatively similar to those of the case for h
v
52:35 discussed here.

5. Discussions and conclusions

The inuence of the residual stresses induced by the
llet rolling process on the fatigue process of a ductile
cast iron crankshaft section under bending is investigated by a two-dimensional plane strain nite element
analysis. The stress concentration near the llet of the
crankshaft section under a bending moment of 508.4 N
m (4500 lb in.) without consideration of residual stresses due to the llet rolling is rst investigated by a linear elastic nite element analysis. The computational
results show that the stress gradients are very high near
the llet surface such that the stress magnitude drops
very quickly with increasing distance away from the llet surface.
The llet rolling process is then investigated based
on the shadowgraphs of the llet surface proles before
and after the rolling process in an elasticplastic nite
element analysis with consideration of the kinematic
hardening rule. The critical football region is focused
in our investigation. The plastic zone development and
the residual stress distribution induced by the llet rolling process near the crankshaft llet are obtained.
When a bending moment of 508.4 N m (4500 lb in.) is
applied to the crankshaft after the llet rolling process,
a shallow tensile zone appears near the llet surface.
The locations of the peak hoop stress under bending in
general agree with the experimental observations where
the bubbles were found.
A linear elastic fracture mechanics approach is
employed to understand the fatigue crack propagation
process by investigating the stress intensity factors of
cracks emanating from the llet surface. The stress
intensity factors of these cracks due to the bending
moment and the residual stresses are evaluated based
on the domain J integral formulation in ABAQUS.
Note that the stress intensity factors obtained based on
the domain J integral are not path independent under
the presence of the residual stresses when the elastic
plastic and elastic unloading behavior of the material is
considered. Therefore, the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach is considered instead. First, the mode I
stress intensity factors are obtained by applying the
normal tractions on the crack faces. The results of the
normal traction method are independently checked by
comparing the crack-tip stress elds ahead of the crack
tip based on the normal traction method and the initial
stress method. Here, only mode I stress intensity factors are considered since the normal tractions are much
larger than the shear tractions on the crack faces under

bending. Note that based on the normal traction

method, the mode I stress intensity factor can be evaluated based on the contours far away from the crack
tip due to the path independence of the J integral. The
principle can be conveniently applied to other geometries and stress states to evaluate the mode I stress
intensity factor, which may contribute signicantly in
the fatigue crack propagation process.
An eective stress intensity factor, which combines
the stress intensity factors due to the bending moment
and due to the residual stress, is dened. The eective
stress intensity factor range is then approximated and
compared to an assumed threshold stress intensity factor range to determine if the crack can continue to
propagate for a given crack length. The results indicate
the four-bubble failure criterion may not correctly correlate to the nal failure of the crankshaft under the
given bending moment. The bubbles observed in the
resonant bending fatigue tests are possibly only due to
the graphite fallouts and small fatigue cracks initiated
near the graphite particles due to additional stress concentration from the existence of graphite particles [5].
Cracks found on the llet surface do not appear to be
detrimental to the fatigue life of the crankshaft.
Note that the detailed microstructure of the ductile
cast iron is not explicitly modeled in our analysis. The
existence of the graphite nodules can provide the
additional stress concentration to accelerate the crack
initiation and propagation. On the other hand, the
graphite nodules can also retard the crack propagation
due to the crack tip blunting when cracks hit the
graphite nodules. Further investigations are needed to
understand the eects of graphite nodules on the fatigue properties of the crankshaft. Also, the crack size is
relatively small. Therefore, the crack closure eects and
the smallness of the crack may be important for future
investigations. As indicated in Table 2, the smallest
crack length that we consider is 0.13 mm which is
about ve times of the graphite particle size and about
the mean spacing between the graphite particles. We
can pick a smaller crack length of the graphite particle
size and compute the values of KI max
b , (KI)r and
D(KI)e. These values will be smaller when compared to
those for a 0:13 mm. In fact, when we extrapolate
the curves of KI max
b , (KI)r and D(KI)e in Figs. 26 and
27, the curves will go to zero as a approaches to 0
within the context of fracture mechanics. Therefore,
within the context of fracture mechanics, we do need
an initial crack length of the size or the mean spacing
of graphite particles to support the results based on
Figs. 26 and 27.
Here, we concentrate on the eects of residual stresses induced by the llet rolling process. According to
our results, the four-bubble failure criterion can only
determine the crack initiation life for small cracks

W.Y. Chien et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 27 (2005) 119

initiated on the surfaces of llets, but cannot indicate

whether cracks can propagate through or arrest in the
compressive residual stress zone. Therefore, the crankshaft fatigue strength assessment based on the four
bubbles failure criterion may be too conservative. In
order to investigate the fatigue fracture of the crankshaft, a larger bending moment should be applied in
resonant bending fatigue tests such that a crack emanating from the llet surface can escape from the compressive residual stress zone to cause the complete
fracture of the crankshaft sections. The minimum
bending moment that can allow a crack to grow out of
the compressive residual stress zone should be the true
critical bending moment for the crankshaft section
under cyclic bending conditions. Investigation of the
complete fracture of crankshaft sections under cyclic
bending conditions has been planned [25]. The results
will be reported in the future.

Acknowledgements
The support of this work by a DaimlerChrysler
Challenge Fund project is greatly appreciated. Helpful
discussions with Darryl Taylor, Yung-Li Lee, Paul Spiteri and Andy Hartiger of DaimlerChrysler on crankshaft bending fatigue tests and William Hosford of the
University of Michigan on the material properties of
cast irons are greatly appreciated.

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