2006-01-3459

THE APPLICATION OF VIRTUAL TEST TECHNOLOGY IN COMPONENT DESIGN AND PROCESS VALIDATION
Abhijit P. Birnale,
Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune, India

Dr Colin J. Dodds
Dodds and Associates, Edinburgh, UK
Copyright 2006 SAE International

ABSTRACT
In this paper the authors report on a development at Bharat Forge where CAE tools are an integral part of the new physical test laboratory. The paper will show how CAE can be used to model the physical test process and create its own virtual test process. By using these tools in parallel and by validating the virtual process at each stage of the test process, confidence is gained in the virtual process. The goal is to integrate the virtual test process into the component design process to establish an early validation of the component prior to finalizing the dies and forging the component.

Figure 1 Component under test Crankshaft forging comprises a number of steps to obtain the finished part. Initially the die is designed for ease of manufacturing, taking into account a number of factors like parting line, draft angle and shrinkage allowance. A three dimensional model of die impression is prepared in CAD software. The entire forging process is simulated using Forge-31 software to ensure forging free defects in die design and yield improvement. Next a CNC program is generated for the respective die using CAM software. It is optimized using NC-Speed2 and machined on a high speed milling machine. The die is assembled in Forging Press.

INTRODUCTION
Physical testing is an important part of any component validation process. However, physical tests require the component. Since the test is carried out after the component has been designed and the manufacturing process established the results can only have a limited impact on the immediate design and manufacturing process. It is incumbent on a supplier to develop an expertise in CAE where the fatigue life of the component under the design load can be estimated with confidence before the design is finalized and long before the manufacturing process has been established. A necessary requirement of this process is the accurate prediction of the maximum stress caused by the design load. A 10% error in the estimation of stress will influence the fatigue life by a factor of two. This paper will focus only on the methodology to evaluate the maximum stress. The component considered in this paper is a forged and machined crankshaft (Figure 1).

Forge-3 software was developed by Transvalor, France. It is a metal flow simulation process used to predict forging defects like under-fill and cold-shut and it calculates the load & energy required for each process. Using this software the maximum principal stress & deflection of the die can be evaluated. It will also optimize the die design process, input weight & process parameters. NC-Speed was developed by Formtech GMBH, Germany. It works with any CAM software & optimizes the tool path by considering the acceleration & deceleration of CNC machine. It also considers the amount of material removed by the tool while machining the die and then varies the feed rate of the machine. This software optimizes maximum tool performance and minimum machining time.

A billet of the required length is heated to 1230 C in an oil-fired furnace and reduce rolled to achieve the shape for pre-forging. Then it is press forged to get required shape in a blocker and finisher and the flash is trimmed from the forged component. The forged component is then rough machined, heat treated, ground, balanced and polished to the finished dimensions specified by customer. The surface strengths of the fillet area and pin surface are increased by fillet rolling (limited to car cranks) and induction hardening respectively. This process takes time and is costly. If the component fails the design validation test the process has to be reevaluated and at worst the dies redesigned and manufactured.

The process is repeated at different stress levels each time on a new sample.

Figure 2 Bending test showing the exciter, specimen & two vertical, parallel, inertia plates

THE PHYSICAL TEST PROCESS

The crankshaft design and manufacturing process validation is based on fatigue failure in the pin and journal fillets and in the oil bores. The bending and torsional fatigue strengths are estimated separately under the application of bending and torsional stresses respectively. There are a number of ways that the load can be applied to the crankshaft. BFL use what is called the resonant dwell test methodology [1]. The tests (both bending & torsion) run around 60 to 90Hz and are 10 times faster than similar tests using hydraulic actuators. In the bending test, a single throw test specimen is used, whereas the torsion test uses a double throw. In both cases, the test specimen is clamped to two large inertia plates which coupled with the stiffness of the crankshaft in bending and torsion can be considered as an equivalent mass spring system. The test specimen and inertia plates can be considered integral and as such will have very low damping. Typical Q values will range from 100 to 1000. This implies that the force at resonance is 100 to 1000 times that of the input force. Controlling the level of the input displacement will control the stress in the fillet or applied torque. The test procedure is straightforward. The specimen, a single or double throw is cut from a six-cylinder heavyduty crankshaft. Two parallel plates are clamped to the journals and the specimen and fixture suspended with nylon rope from a frame (figures 2 and 3). One of the plates is excited sinusoidally at the natural frequency of the system. The amplitude is adjusted to obtain a predetermined stress in the pin fillet or, in the case of the torsional test, the shear stress in the pin and journal (see appendix 1). The test is run until a small change is observed in the natural frequency [2,3]. This is a consequence of a drop in specimen stiffness caused by a surface crack. The number of cycles to failure is noted.

Figure 3 Torsion test showing the exciter, specimen & two horizontal, parallel, inertia plate The staircase method [4] is used to estimate the endurance limits. The first test is carried out at a stress level close to the expected endurance limit. If the specimen fails prior to the number of cycles at which the endurance limit is to be calculated, the endurance life, (usually 1xE+06 or 1xE+07 cycles) the stress level is decreased by a small increment and the test repeated. This increment is typically around 5% of the initial estimate. If the specimen again fails prior to the endurance life the stress is again decreased by the same increment and the test repeated. If the specimen exceeds the endurance life the stress level is increased by the same increment and the test repeated. Figure 4 shows the format of the test output. From these test data an estimate can be made of the stress or torque at the endurance life along with the standard deviation in the data.

Figure 4 Presentation of Stair Case test data P=Pass, F= Fail

The failures in bending occur in the pin or journal fillet radius and in torsion, at the oil hole. Both locations are areas of maximum stress and have high stress concentrations (fillet area) or have unfavorable residual stress pattern (oil hole)

If we know the coefficients of the Whler fatigue equation,

Sa = Sf ' (2Nf )b
where, Sa = stress amplitude Sf = intercept at 1 reversal 2Nf = reversals to failure b = slope (fatigue strength exponent) we can estimate the stress for a given number of cycles and specifically the stress, Se at the endurance limit, Ne.

FATIGUE FAILURE IN CRANKSHAFTS

Fatigue is defined as failure under a repeated load which is lower than the load to cause failure in a single application. Typically tests are carried out at different fully reversed loads (figure 5) and the stress amplitude,

S max S min , is plotted against the number of cycles to 2

failure. In most cases of crankshaft validation, the applied mean stress is zero. endurance

In general fatigue cracks will develop as a result of cyclic plastic deformation in a localized area. In a homogeneous component like a crankshaft the local deformation will start on the surface of the crankshaft in the area of locally high stress. The crankshaft validation is obtained by testing to establish the endurance limits for bending and torsion. These are the stresses at which the application of additional cycles will not cause failure. The endurance limit, Se is estimated at a specified endurance life Ne (figure 6). This endurance life is typically 1E+06 or 1E+07 cycles. If a stress is applied below the endurance limit the component will have a life much greater than Ne cycles (but not necessarily infinite).

THE VIRTUAL TEST PROCESS BENDING TEST

The bending test set up was modeled in Pro-Engineer (wildfire) and meshed in the simulation software in ANSYS (V8) with 20-node tetrahedron elements as shown in figure 7. The stress concentration areas in the fillets are fine meshed. The nylon wire rope is meshed with spring elements with appropriate stiffness.

Figure 7 CAE model of bending test set up

Figure 5 Fully reversed load cycle

Log

Sa = Sf (2Nf)
Sa
Se

Figure 8 Bending stress contour at resonance

Ne
Log N

Number of cycles, N

Ten node tetrahedral SOLID 92 element types are used for meshing. COMBIN14 spring elements with 252.2N/mm stiffness are used for modeling the rubber isolator/nylon rope. Steel material properties are defined for all metal parts.

Figure 6 - S/N curve

Stress MPa

The meshing is implemented using judgment based on previous experience. The stress convergence analysis results for the bending test setup to have proper element size & mesh refinement to get accurate results are shown in table 1.

1200 1100 1000 Test 900 800 700 600 45.00 50.00 55.00 60.00 65.00 70.00 Ansys

g Level

Figure 9 Test results v analysis results

THE VIRTUAL TEST PROCESS TORSION TEST

Figure 7 shows that the pin fillet, journal fillet and oil hole areas are fine meshed since in the bending test, the crack initiates from pin or journal fillet and in the torsion test the crack initiates from oil hole. Total number of elements in the bending test is 84481 and in torsion test, 263078. The natural frequency & mode shapes of the completed model (figure 8) were obtained from a modal analysis. The natural frequency and the bending mode shape are taken into account to calculate the maximum stress and its location. Strain gauges are applied on the pin fillet surface and at the same location the stress is measured in the FEA model. The natural frequencies and stresses of the model and the test specimen are compared in Table 2 and figure 9. The maximum stress location was also found to be the same as test set up. A similar process was used to model the torsion test (figures 10 & 11) and the comparative results are shown in table 3. Physical Virtual Torsion Natural 59 58 frequency, Hz Max. shear 95 84 stress, MPa Table 3 Comparison of the physical and virtual test results. Although the model accurately predicted the natural frequency, the maximum shear stress between the model and test was in error by 10%. The measured strain was obtained near the critical oil hole area and the test result will be influenced by the finite size of the strain gauge. Since the results of the bending test were in close agreement, this suggests that the model result is correct.

Figure 10 CAE model at resonance

R = D/2 = Pin radius (mm) J = (/2) * R4 = Moment of Inertia (mm4)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors acknowledge the help they received from the team in the Fatigue laboratory at Bharat Forge and to the company for permission to publish this paper. In particular the authors acknowledge the help they received from Rajesh Mane and Neelesh Hattarki who carried out the experimental work. Figure 11 Shear stress contour at resonance

REFERENCES
1. Law, R. M, Evaluation and development of engine components and accessories of engine components with electrodynamic shakers, Trans ASME, Jan.1972. Yu, V, Chien, W Y et al, Testing and modeling of frequency drops in resonant bending fatigue tests of notched crankshaft sections, SAE 2004-01-1501. Goel, A K, Paswar, MK Fatigue testing determines integrity of diesel-engine crankshafts, Industrial heating, July 2004 Brownlee K.A. et al, The Up-and Down Method with Small Samples, JASA, Vol. 48, pp. 262277, 1953

CONCLUSION
The agreement between stresses obtained in the virtual and physical test process was encouraging and sufficient to instill confidence in the modeling of the test process. Further work is in progress to tackle the much larger challenge - the theoretical estimation of the endurance limit. Residual stress has a major influence on the endurance limit and, as yet, we do not have a reliable method of evaluating it in the critical oil hole area below the induction hardened surface. However, we will calculate the fatigue life using the virtual test and a stochastic model for life estimation. 2.

3.

4.

CONTACTS APPENDIX 1
Dr Colin J Dodds

Experimental Stress Determination The fillet stress due to bending is determined using the following equation:

Dodds and Associates cjdodds@doddsandassociates.co.uk

Mr Abhijit P Birnale Bharat Forge Ltd

Where: = Applied Stress (MPa) = Fillet strain measured with strain gauge E = Modulus of Elasticity (MPa) v = Poissons Ratio The nominal crankshaft pin shear stress (), due to torsion and neglecting stress concentration factors, is determined using the following equations: Pin torque = (/8) * G * D3 * True Strain Where G = Shear Modulus = E/2 [1 + v] (MPa) D = Pin Journal Diameter (mm) E = Modulus of Elasticity (MPa) v = Poissons Ratio Nominal crankshaft pin shear stress (t) = T * R / J (MPa) Where T = pin torque (N-m)

AbhijitBirnale@bharatforge.com