engleski

Computational and Experimental Fracture Assessment of a Cracked Hand Wheel

Material imperfections and manufacturing faults coupled with severe service conditions can lead to flaw appearance in machine elements. Consequential crack growth and propagation can seriously affect integrity of such structures. This is particularly important when dealing with possible fracture of components that are used in transportation vehicles since catastrophic consequences can occur if crack growth susceptible components are used in vehicle assembly. Therefore, using fracture mechanics principles to assess design is almost necessary [1, 2, 3]. In this paper, computational and experimental fracture assessment of a cracked hand steering wheel was conducted. Multiple crack occurrence was noticed on a hand wheel mounted on a go-kart vehicle. Cracks emanating from a fastener hole were noted and, consequently, final fracture occurred. Fracture assessment of a cracked hand wheel was carried out using experimental and computational approach. Material thickness measurement and visual inspection was performed and material type was experimentally detected. Using computational fracture mechanics procedures based on the finite element analysis, numerical fracture assessment of the hand wheel was conducted. Variation of stress intensity factor with crack length is presented as a result of computational procedure. Possible causes of crack occurrence are outlined. Obtained results are valuable for predicting fracture behavior of the cracked hand wheel and can be taken as a reference for design and exploitation process of such component.

handwheel; fracture; crack

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