A Microstructural and Fractographic Study on the Failure of a Drive Shaft

Abstract

The automotive industry is one of the most dynamic and competitive segments of the international economy and it has invested considerable resources into the research and development of new components and the improvement of existent pieces. Nonetheless, failures continue to occur, often because of defects in a component. Failure analysis uses several techniques to investigate causes of the defect which led to the failure of a component, equipment, or structure. Usually, these causes are related to the use of inadequate materials, the presence of defects which appear during fabrication or design errors, or improper assembly, maintenance and use. Knowledge about these causes and the correction of such anomalies allow the improvement of the performance of components regarding both efficiency and safety. In this study, the results of the failure analysis of the drive bar of a police car are presented and light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results are used to show that the presence of an already existent defect and an unfavorable microstructure led to the occurrence of brittle fracture which caused the premature and catastrophic failure of this component.

Materials in the Drive Chain – Modeling Materials for the Internet of Production

“…3). Despite the high level of standardization in modern manufacturing processes, hardly explainable fatigue events happen during the service life of highly loaded parts like axles or drive shafts in different machines like vehicles (Barbosa et al 2011) or (bucket wheel) excavators (Savković et al 2012). The reasons for these catastrophic failures, besides geometrical features, include defects regarding the local material properties like grain sizes and the surface integrity resulting from the individual manufacturing process chain (Zhao et al 2019).…”

Análise fractográfica e de resistência mecânica de duas marcas de placas de titânio em fraturas simuladas em corpo de hemimandíbulas de alumínio

“…A falha, que pode ser descrita pela perda de função de um componente, pode não ser o resultado do processo de fratura, mas frequentemente é a consequência da falha (Barbosa et al, 2011). Segundo Vander Voort (1992), Anderson (1995) O termo "ductilidade" significa que um material apresenta capacidade de sofrer deformação plástica.…”

“…A investigação da falha em relação as causas de colapso de um equipamento ou estrutura mostra geralmente que a causa está relacionada ao uso indevido do material, presença de defeitos e ainda erros de montagem ou manutenção. O conhecimento das causas e a correção das anormalidades permite a melhoria do material em relação a sua funcionalidade, design e segurança, evitando dessa forma que o mesmo tipo de falha ocorra (Righi et al, 1996;Barbosa et al, 2011;Pantazopoulos et al, 2011).…”