Crankshaft is one of the crucial parts for the internal combustion engine which required effective and precise working. In this study, the aim of the study is to identify the stress state in the crankshaft and to explain the failure in automotive crankshaft and fatigue life of crankshaft by using finite element analysis. The 3D solid modelling of the crankshaft model was designed and developed using SolidWorks. A static structural and dynamic analysis on an L-twin cylinder crankshaft were used to determine the maximum equivalent stress and total deformation at critical locations of the crankshaft. The model was tested under dynamic loading conditions to determine fatigue life, safety factor, equivalent alternating stress and damage using the fatigue tool. The results obtained from this study indicated that the crankshaft has obvious fatigue crack which was belongs to fatigue fracture. The fatigue fracture developed was only attributed to the propagating and initiate cracks on the edges of the lubrication hole under cyclic bending and torsion. Overall, the crankshaft is safe for both static and fatigue loadings. In dynamic analysis, the critical frequency obtained in the frequency response curve should be avoided which it may cause failure of the crankshaft.

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A tire tends to trap stones in its tread pattern when the vehicle is on a move and this might affects the tire balance due to uneven tread wear of tread portion. The study aims to simulate stone trapping performance under various tire tread patterns and road conditions as well as assessing the performance of tires with stones trapped. The stone trapping phenomena on different tire tread pattern were analyzed under dry and wet road conditions. The tire models chosen were the symmetrical tire, asymmetrical tire, and directional tire. The model of these tires, stone and a flat road surface were created using SolidWorks and Fusion360 software and the static structural simulation is performed by using finite element analysis method. Tire inflation analysis and steady state rolling analysis were conducted to evaluate three parameters: total deformation, Von-Mises stress and equivalent elastic strain of the tires. It found that all three parameters are higher when stone trapped in tire for all tread pattern types. Symmetrical tread pattern provides the least wear and tear since it has the lowest increment of maximum equivalent elastic strain in both road conditions. Stone trapping in tire grooves would impact on the lifespan of the tire.