Investigation of the Effect of Loading on Fatigue Life by Comparing Strain Gauge Measurements and Finite Element Analysis Under Gradually Increasing Load in An Axle Housing

Abstract

In this study, the stress values obtained from commercial finite element analysis software ANSYS® and stress values measured by strain gauges applied on an axle housing in test environment were compared. The axle housing is a test sample from heavy duty commercial vehicles. Besides from stress values comparison, fatigue behavior of the housing was observed under gradually increased loading conditions via hydraulic loaded test benches. Load conditions, configuration change steps, test parameters and fatigue life results will be explained in detail. It was observed that the results of FEA and strain gauge are coherent to each other and as the load was increased, the fatigue life decreased. The stress values in specified points of housing increase linearly with the load increment. However, as predicted, the relationship between load change and fatigue life is not linear. For instance, fifty percent increase in load reduces life by about seventy-five percent. The aim of the study is firstly correlate the FEA results by comparing with the test measurements and then try to observe the effect of load increase on the fatigue life which will be a beneficial source for estimation of the life of the axle housing under diverse loadings in the further studies.