Evaluation of fatigue life of aluminum alloy wheels under radial loads

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P. Ramamurty Rajua,
a

, B. Satyanarayanab, K. Ramjib and K. Suresh Babua

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sagi Rama Krishnam Raju Engineering College, Bhimavaram 534 204, Andhra Pradesh, India
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Andhra University, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India Received 12 November 2006; accepted 19 November 2006. Available online 17 January 2007.

Abstract
This paper is concerned with generation of SN curve for aluminum alloy (Al) A356.2T6 and estimation of fatigue life under radial fatigue load. The SN curve is developed by conducting tests at different stress levels under constant amplitude loading. Tests are conducted on alloy wheels for fatigue life evaluation under radial loads. Finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out by simulating the test conditions to analyze stress distribution and fatigue life of the alloy wheels. It is observed from analysis that the prediction of fatigue life using FEA is found to be in close agreement with the corresponding experimental observations. An attempt has been made by conducting parametric study to suggest a suitable safety factor for reliable fatigue life prediction. Keywords: SN curve; Radial fatigue load; Fatigue life; Safety factor; Finite element analysis

Nomenclature
Su ultimate tensile strength Sy yield strength e elongation HB

hardness K acceleration test factor F maximum tyre load Fr radial load

Article Outline
Nomenclature 1. Introduction 2. Development of SN curve 3. Material properties and manufacturing process for cast aluminum wheels 4. Radial fatigue test layout 5. Radial fatigue test (RFT) results 6. Finite element analysis 7. Results and discussion 7.1. Test results under radial load along circumferential direction of 090 with safety factor 2 8. Conclusions References

Fig. 1. Rotating bending fatigue test specimen (All dimensions are in mm).

Fig. 2. Scattered points at different stress levels.

Fig. 3. SN curve of A356.2 material.

Fig. 4. Layout of test setup of radial fatigue test.

Fig. 5. Image showing cracks of failed wheel in RFT.

Fig. 6. Loading in the form of cosine function over 90.

Fig. 7. Pressure on rim vs. circumferential angle.

Fig. 8. Load angle vs. fatigue life curves under variable safety factors.

Fig. 9. Load angle vs. von Mises under variable safety factors.

Fig. 10. Stress distribution plot showing max. and min. stress locations.

Fig. 11. Life distribution plot showing the locations of max. and min. life.