Baosteel Technical Ｒesearch

Volume 10， Number 2， June 2016，

Page 45

Test study on the fatigue performance of HSS for steel wheels

XIAO Hua1，2） and SHI Lei1，2）
1） Ｒesearch Institute，Baoshan Iron ＆ Steel Co．，
Ltd．，
Shanghai 201900， China；
2） State Key Laboratory of Development and Application Technology of Automotive Steels （ Baosteel） ，
Shanghai 201900， China

Abstract： High-strength steel is currently one of the main material choices for creating lightweight automobiles． To
realize lighter wheels that can comply with harsh fatigue requirements， sufficient knowledge of the relevant material
fatigue properties is required． Fatigue tests were conducted on Baosteel’s 600 MPa level dual-phase steel DP600，
which is a typical high-strength hot-rolled steel for steel wheel， and on 550 MPa level HＲ60． Whler（ S-N） fatigue
curves were obtained for both steels， and the measured stress fatigue limits were 414 and 329 MPa for the HＲ60 and
the DP600， respectively．
Key words： lightweight； HSS； steel wheel； fatigue； bending fatigue； DP600； HＲ60
doi： 10． 3969 / j． issn． 1674 － 3458． 2016． 02． 008

In recent years， Baosteel has developed a series of

1 Introduction
With the development of society and economy， the
requirement for environmental protection and energy
saving is increasing． Lightweight automobiles have
become a development trend of the global
automobile industry． Moreover， as the vehicle weight
is reduced by 10% ，fuel efficiency has been
increased by 6% -8% ［1-2］．
Each car has four main wheels and a spare wheel
with the total weight ranging from 30 to 60 kg，
which implies that by reducing the wheel weight， the
overall weight of the vehicle can be reduced．
Currently， most of the steel wheels used in China are
still manufactured from the steel with a tensile
strength of 300 MPa，while in Europe and America
the 600-MPa-grade high-strength steel is used to
make lightweight wheels［3］． Wheel bears and
transmits all types of loads of a vehicle and road，it
is therefore an important safety component for an
automobile with very strict performance
requirements，especially，the fatigue requirements．
When using high-strength steel for obtaining a
lightweight wheel， it is required to select the suitable
materials and specifications to meet the requirements
of the fatigue performance of the wheels［4-6］．
high-strength steels for wheels with 600 MPa level
and above，which makes it possible to reduce the
wheel weight by using the high-strength steel．
However， there is not much research on the fatigue
behavior of high-strength-wheel steel．
The stress life method is a stress-based method for
fatigue analysis and design． Moreover，it is one of
the most commonly used methods to predict fatigue
life，known as S-N methods． In this study，stress
controlled fatigue tests have been performed on hot-
rolled high-strength steel DP600 and HＲ60． Their S-
N curves are obtained，and the differences of their
fatigue properties are compared． Moreover， a
comparison has been conducted between the
measured fatigue values and the empirical formula．
2 Mechanical properties of high-strength
steel for wheel
DP600 and HＲ60 are two types of hot-rolled high-
strength steel used in steel wheels． DP600 is a hot-
rolled dual-phase steel with 600 MPa level，mainly
used on the wheel disc． HＲ60 is a low alloy high-
strength steel，mainly used on the wheel rim． The
typical chemical composition of DP600 and HＲ60 is
listed in Table 1．

Corresponding author： XIAO Hua； E-mail： xiaohua@ baosteel． com

 46 Baosteel Technical Ｒesearch，Vol． 10，No． 2，Jun． 2016

Table 1 Typical chemical composition for DP600 and HＲ60 %

M aterial wC w Si w Mn wP wS w Cr w Mo w Nb w Ti

DP600 0． 07 1． 1 1． 3 0． 02 0． 005 0． 5 0． 3 － －
HＲ60 0． 08 ＜ 0． 15 1． 2 0． 03 0． 005 － － 0． 03 0． 03

The static tensile properties of the steels are
show n in Table 2，w hich show s that both the steels
still have good plasticity w ith high tensile strength．
The measured elongation for DP600 is 29． 45% and
that for HＲ60 is 25． 80% ． When comparing the tw o
HSS steels，the yield strength of DP600 is low er
than that of HＲ60，and the uniform elongation and
the elongation of DP600 are higher than that of
HＲ60． From the static stress-strain curves show n in
Fig． 1 and Fig． 2，DP600 also exhibits higher w ork-
hardening rate and low er yield ratio than those of
HＲ60． All results indicate that the DP600 is more
suitable for forming w heel disc，w hich is usually
w ith complex shape．

Table 2 Static tensile properties for DP600 and HＲ60

M aterial Yield strength / M Pa Tensile strength / M Pa Uniform elongation / % Elongation / %

HＲ60 516 587 14． 10 25． 80
DP600 401 621 17． 53 29． 45

limits were tested and obtained first． Then，

Fig． 1 Static stress-strain curve for HＲ60
Fig． 2 Static stress-strain curve for DP600
3 Fatigue test of high-strength steel for wheel
In this study，stress controlled fatigue tests are
designed according to GB / T 3075-2008． The fatigue
the range of
the fatigue line was tested with five stress levels．
Finally，
the S-N curve was fitted． All tests were made
on the SHIMADZU U type material testing machine，
the maximum tonnage is 5 t，the maximum stroke is
50 mm． In order to prevent the material buckling，
a test
was performed with a pulse fatigue load． According to
the GOODMAN equation，the stress level was
converted from the Ｒ = － 1 condition to the Ｒ = 0
condition．
σ a = σ －1 （ 1 － σ m / σ b ） （ 1）
w here σ a and σ － 1 are the corresponding stress
amplitude under the Ｒ = 0 and Ｒ = -1 conditions，σ m
is the average stress w ith Ｒ = 0 condition，σ b is the
tensile strength of the material． Here the material
fatigue limit is set at 1 000 000 cycles．
The test results of HＲ60 are show n in Fig． 3，the
stress amplitude at the fatigue limit point w ith
condition Ｒ = -1 is 414 M Pa． Then，the S-N curve
equation for material HＲ60 w as fitted by the
method of least squares．
σ a = 887． 3 × （ 2N f ）
－0． 053
（ 2）
The test results of DP600 are show n in Figure 4．
The stress amplitude at the fatigue limit point w ith
XIAO Hua，et al． Test study on the fatigue performance of HSS for steel wheels 47

condition Ｒ = -1 is 329 M Pa． Then，the S-N curve formula． In the empirical formula，the fatigue life is
equation for material DP600 w as fitted by the 1 000 cycles when the cyclic stress amplitude is
method of least squares． 0． 9 times the tensile strength． When cyclic stress
σ a = 1433． 7 × （ 2N f ）
－0． 09857
（ 3） amplitude is 0． 5 times the tensile strength，
the stress is
taken as the endurance limit，
and the corresponding life
number is 5 000 000 cycles． Through these two points，
an effective period of the empirical S-N curve can be
determined．

Fig． 3 S-N curve for the HＲ60 sample

Fig． 5 S-N curve for the DP600-HＲ60 weld joint

The comparison between the S-N curves of the two

HSS for steel wheel is shown in Fig． 6． The solid lines
present the S-N curves fitted by test data and the
points present the end point of the effective periods of
the empirical S-N curve． Moreover，for high-strength
Fig． 4 S-N curve for the DP600 sample
steel HＲ60 and DP600，the empirical formula fitting
accuracy is poor．
4 Fatigue test of weld joint of high-strength
steel for wheels

Steel w heels are made of tw o parts： rim and disc．

The rim and disc usually comprise four seams
w elding together，w hich is often been the failure
source in the bench test． In this study，fatigue tests
w ere also performed w ith DP600-HＲ60 w eld joint，
and the results are show n in Fig． 5． The S-N curve
equation for DP600-HＲ60 w eld joint w as fitted
by the method of least squares and is listed as
Fig． 6 Comparison of the HＲ60 and DP600 S-N curves
follow s：
－0． 39
σ a = 9 624． 9 × （ 2N f ） （ 4） In addition，
although the tensile strength of DP600 is
higher than that of HＲ60，
the S-N curve in the stage of
high cycle fatigue of DP600 is below that of HＲ60．
5 Comparison and discussion on the test
This is because HＲ60 has a higher yield-tensile ratio，
results and the empirical formula
and the yield strength of HＲ60 is higher than that of
For iron and steel materials，the tensile strength is DP600． Therefore，at a lower level stress range，the
usually used to estimate the S-N curve in the empirical quasi-static tensile curve of HＲ60 is higher than that
 48 Baosteel Technical Ｒesearch，Vol． 10，No． 2，Jun． 2016

of DP600． When the cyclic loading stress is within this prediction of both HSSs．
range，
the plastic deformation of DP600 will be higher （ 4） There was a clear difference between the S-N
than that of HＲ60，and the plastic deformation is the curves of the weld joint and the base metals． The
root cause of fatigue failure． Therefore，
in a low-stress- fatigue limit of the weld joint was far lower than that
level circulation，
HＲ60’s S-N curve is higher than that of the base metal．
of DP600．
The results also show that there is an obvious
difference between the S-N curve of the weld joint Ｒeferences
（ Fig． 5） and the S-N curve of the base metal（ Figs． 3- ［1］ LI Y B，
LI Y T，
LOU M，
et al． Lightweighting of car body
4） ． The weld joint fatigue limit stress level is well and its challenges to joining technologies［J］． Journal of
below the base metal fatigue limit，because there are Mechanical Engineering， 48（ 18） ： 44-54．
2012，
inevitable weld defects and differences between the ［2］ SOUSANIS J． World vehicle population tops 1 billion

material properties，texture，and composition in the units［EB / OL］．［2011-08-15］． http： / / wardsauto． com / ar /

world_vehicle_population_ 110815．
welding structure．
［3］ LU P M，
QIAN C H and TONG T． Current situation and
trend of steel wheels industry ［J］． Automotive Engine-
6 Conclusions ering， 28（ 5） ： 504-507．
2006，
［4］ CUI S M and YANG Z C． Ｒesearch on the fatigue life
（ 1） Stress fatigue tests were carried out on the prediction method of automobile w heel［J］． Journal of
typical hot-rolled high-strength-wheel steels DP600 M echanical Strength， 24（ 4） ： 617-619．
2002，
and HＲ60． The S-N curves and the fatigue limits of ［5］ YAN F L，LU B and NI L Y． Fatigue life evaluation of
steel w heel dynamic cornering test ［J］． M achinery
the steels were obtained． The measured fatigue limits
2010（ 6） ： 117-119．
Design ＆ M anufacture，
for the DP600 and HＲ60 were 329 and 414 MPa，
［6］ WANG G F． Study on steel w heel ’s fatigue virtual
respectively．
evaluation ［D ］． Qinhuangdao： Yanshan University，
（ 2） A comparison regarding the fatigue properties 2011．
of the DP600 and HＲ60 steels was made． Although the
tensile strength of the DP600 steel was higher，
its S-N
curve reflected a faster fatigue deterioration when
compared to the HＲ60 steel．
（ 3） The comparison showed significant disparities
between the tested fatigue results and the estimates
provided through the empirical formula． Therefore，
the XIAO Hua SHI Lei
empirical formula was found unfitting for fatigue limit