Fatigue Life Prediction for the Steel Passenger Car Wheel in the Dynamic Cornering Fatigue Test

Abstract

This study aims to establish an effective method for predicting the fatigue life of an automotive wheel in the accelerated dynamic cornering fatigue test. The test was simulated by linear transient dynamic finite element analysis, in which a rotating force of constant magnitude was applied to the moment arm tip to simulate the rotational bending effect on the wheel, with the wheel being fixed. Furthermore, transient strain histories of the elements were obtained and the critical elements with the largest amplitudes in their respective steady radial strain histories were found. The steady radial strain histories of all the critical elements were processed based on the local stress-strain approach, and the shortest simulated fatigue lives were taken as the predicted wheel fatigue lives. The predicted fatigue life was in good agreement with the average real-world test life of the investigated wheel.