Development of a methodology for mechanical testing of steel samples for predicting the durability of vehicle wheel rims

Abstract

The reliability and durability of parts of aggregates and mechanisms of motor vehicles depend on the efficiency of the basic and responsible load-bearing structures. The responsible elements of the motor vehicle are the wheel rims, whose reliability will increase the energy efficiency of the motor vehicle as a whole. One of the directions for increasing the reliability of wheel rims is the use of optimized low-pearlite steels with the increased impact strength of the 10HFTBch type. When determining the mechanical characteristics of steels with increased impact strength, it is worth considering a mixed form of failure; therefore, the scheme of four-point asymmetric bending is optimal for laboratory research. Conditions of mixed failure for an oblique crack lead to a 25–45% decrease in the value of ΔКІm* relatively to the stress intensity factor ΔКІ* obtained for the pure I mode. The same can be said about the II mode, when ΔКІІ* determined during the growth of an oblique crack is 10% smaller than the value of ΔКІІ*, which is calculated for the pure mode of failure, This indicates an increase in the fatigue crack growth rate for mixed failure compared to pure modes.