Author(s)

R. Kieselbach & R. Primas

Abstract

The failure of a shaft after a relatively short service life has been analyzed. Based mainly on the fractographic investigation the failure was attributed to fretting fatigue. The fretting was caused by the contact of an inner ring of a roller bearing on the shaft. Material properties and in-service loads showed no significant deviations that could have led to the failure. A new design has been put in service to prevent future failure due to fretting fatigue. A numerical analysis by the finite element method was performed to compare the new to the old design with respect to fretting. The local load situation in the contact area was modeled and the mechanical parameters most important for fretting fatigue were identified. For this purpose the zone of contact was specially treated using gap-friction elements in the finite element models. The possibilities and limitat

Keywords