Kijang LGX camshaft’s failure analysis using the finite element method approach

Abstract

The camshaft on the Kijang LGX was broken after 14 years of use. This study aims to determine causes of camshaft fracture using finite element approach. The software used is Solidworks and ANSYS 17.0 for FEM simulation. The results to be obtained from the simulation results are stress, strain, and deformation which are then analyzed. The results showed that the greatest stress occurred in the fillet section where the area with highest stress concentration was 168.93 MPa. This value is smaller than the compressive strength so that the applied stress is within the limits of the strength of the material. Maximum stress location is 7 mm away from the fracture site (53.17 MPa), therefore the stress is not the main cause of the camshaft fracture and it can be assumed that there is a defect. The maximum strain is located at the same location as the maximum stress which is 0.0015361 mm/mm. The maximum deformation value is 0.016741 which is far from the fracture (located at the end of the cam). This value is included in the elastic deformation of the material so that the load applied to the camshaft does not change shape / does not lead to plastic deformation that triggers the appearance of cracks.