Failure Analysis of Reverse Shaft in the Transmission System of All-Terrain Vehicles

Abstract

This paper presents a failure analysis of a reverse shaft in the transmission system of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). The reverse shaft with splines fractured into two pieces during operation. Visual examination of the fractured surface clearly showed cracks initiated from the roots of spline teeth. To find out the cause of fracture of the shaft, a finite element analysis was carried out to predict the stress state of the shaft under steady loading and shock loading, respectively. The steady loading was produced under normal operation, while the shock loading could be generated by an abrupt change of operation such as start-up or sudden braking during working. Results of stress analysis reveal that the highest stressed area coincided with the fractured regions of the failed shaft. The maximum stress predicted under shock loading exceeded the yield strength and was believed to be the stimulant for crack initiation and propagation at this weak region. The failure analysis thus showed that the premature fatigue fracture of the shaft was caused by abnormal operation. Finally, some suggestions to enhance service durability of the transmission system of ATV are discussed.

Failure analysis of an axle shaft in an airport ground support vehicle

“…Considering this, the regions where failure can occur for the axle shaft in the study are the fillet region and spline region, as encountered in the studies of other researchers. 1–12…”

“…These failures can occur when the towable load limits are exceeded or not (by fatigue). Also, these failures can occur at fillet region and spline region for shafts, as encountered in the studies of other researchers 1–12 because these regions form stress concentrations. If there are discontinuities that form stress concentrations and reduce torsional strength, fracture zone can occur at middle region of shafts.…”

“…Considering this, the regions where failure can occur for the axle shaft in the study are the fillet region and spline region, as encountered in the studies of other researchers. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] However, the actual failure occurred in the middle cylindrical region. Therefore, there must be discontinuities that form stress concentrations and reduce torsional strength in the fracture zone of the middle cylindrical region of the axle shaft, such as cracks due to impact, high surface roughness, inclusions or brittleness from improper heat treatment or chemical composition.…”

Rotational torsion fatigue failure of an engine driven fuel pump coupling

“…When the defect was opened up for examination the cracking was found to extend approximately 6 mm around the periphery and to a maximum depth of approximately 2 mm. The fracture surface exhibited facets at approximately ±45° and 90° to the longitudinal axis, indicative of reversed torsional and bending fatigue loads 5 . The early stages of cracking were obscured by oxides and corrosion or fretting products.…”