Estimation of the lifetime of short fiber-reinforced plastic parts in steering systems

Abstract

Abstract. The paper presents a strain-based approach for the lifetime calculation of short fiber-reinforced plastics which takes into account the elastoplastic and anisotropic behavior of the material. For this, a coupled process-structure simulation is used. The advantages of the new approach are shown by comparison between a linear elastic and isotropic Finite Element (FE) analysis using conservative estimation of the lifetime [1]. Tests of a steering system component subjected to load cycles are the basis. The material used is a glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 66 (PA66 GF30).