1.

FRACTURE ANALYSIS
Machines arent supposed to break, and mechanical components such as shafts, fasteners, and
structures arent supposed to fail. But when they do fail, they can tell us exactly why.
It may sound a little far-fetched, but experts say that the causes for more than 90% of all plant
failures can be detected with a careful physical examination using low power magnification
and some basic physical testing. Inspection of the failure will show the forces involved,
whether the load applied cyclically or was single overload, the direction of the critical load,
and the influence of outside forces such as residual stresses or corrosion. Then, accurately
knowing the physical roots of the failure, you can pursue both the human errors and the latent
causes of these physical roots.
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
Before explaining how to diagnose a failure, we should review the effects of stress on a
part. When a load is put on a part, it distorts. In a sound design the load isnt excessive, the

stress doesnt exceed the "yield point", and the part deforms elastically, i.e., when the load is
released the part returns to its original shape. This is shown in Figure 1, a "stress-strain"
diagram that shows the relationship between loads and deformation.
In a good design, the part operates in the elastic range, the area between the origin and
the yield strength, the part will be permanently deformed. Even greater increases in load
will cause the part to actually break.
Figure 1 illustrates a very basic point of design, and applies when the load on a part is
relatively constant, such as the load on the frame of a building or the stress in the legs of your
desk. It is a very different case when fluctuating loads are applied, such as those in a
hydraulic cylinder or in an automotive connecting rod. These fluctuating loads are called
fatigue loads, and when the fatigue strength is exceeded, a crack can develop. This
fatigue crack can slowly work its way across a part until a fracture occurs. (Corrosion can
greatly affect the fatigue strength).

Figure 1
Machine components can fracture from either a single overload force or from fatigue
forces. Looking at the failure face will tell which of these was involved. A single overload
can result in either a ductile fracture or a brittle fracture.
DUCTILE OVERLOAD VS. BRITTLE OVERLOAD FAILURES
A "ductile failure" is one where there is a great deal of distortion of the failed part.
Commonly, a ductile part fails when it distorts and can no longer carry the needed load, like
an overloaded steel coat hanger. However, some ductile parts break into two pieces and
can be identified because there is a great deal of distortion around the fracture face,
similar to what would happen if you tried to put too much load on a low carbon steel bolt.
The term "brittle fracture" is used when a part is overloaded and breaks with no visible
distortion. This can happen because the material is very brittle, such as gray cast iron or

hardened steel, or when a load is applied extremely rapidly to a normally ductile part. A
severe shock load on the most ductile piece can cause it to fracture like glass.
An important point about failures is that the way the load is applied, i.e., the direction and the
type, can be diagnosed by looking at the failure face. A crack will always grow perpendicular
to the plane of maximum stress. Below we show examples of the difference in appearance
between ductile overload and brittle overload failures.

Figure 2
From the examples above in Figure 2, we know we can look at an overload failure and
knowing the type of material, tell the direction of the forces that caused the failure.
Common industrial materials that are ductile include most aluminum and copper alloys, steels
and stainless steels that are not hardened, most non-ferrous metals, and many plastics. Brittle
materials include cast irons, hardened steel parts, high strength alloyed non-ferrous metals,
ceramics, and glass.
One note of caution is that the type of fracture, ductile or brittle, should be compared with the
nature of the material. There are some instances where brittle fractures appear in normally
ductile materials. This indicates that either the load was applied very rapidly or some change
has occurred in the material, such as low temperature embrittlement, and the material is no
longer ductile. An example of this was a low carbon steel clip used to hold a conduit in
position in a refrigerated (-50 F) warehouse. The clip was made from a very ductile material,
yet it failed in a brittle manner. The investigation showed it had been hit by a hammer, a blow
that would have deformed it at normal temperatures.

In a brittle overload failure, separation of the two halves isnt quite instantaneous, but
proceeds at a tremendous rate, nearly at the speed of sound in the material. The crack
begins at the point of maximum stress, then grows across by cleavage of the individual
material grains. One of the results of this is that the direction of the fracture path is frequently
indicated by chevron marks that point toward the origin of the failure. Example 1 is a
photograph of the input shaft of a reducer where the chevron marks clearly point toward the
failure origin, while Figure 3 is a sketch of the cross section of the wall of a ruptured 20ft.
(6.1 m.) diameter vessel. In both cases, by tracing the chevron marks back to their origin, we
knew exactly where to take samples to determine if there was a metallurgical problem.

Notice how the

chevron marks
(high-lighted)
point toward the
origin of the
fracture.

Example 1
Figure 3

FATIGUE FAILURES
So far weve talked about the gross overloads that can result in immediate, almost
instantaneous, catastrophic failures. A very important distinction is that fatigue cracks take
time to grow across a part. In a fatigue failure, an incident of a problem can exceed the
materials fatigue strength and initiate a crack that will not result in a catastrophic failure
for millions of cycles. We have seen fatigue failures in 1200 rpm motor shafts that took less
than 12 hours from installation to final fracture, about 830,000 cycles. On the other hand,
we have also monitored crack growth in slowly rotating process equipment shafts that
has taken many months and more than 10,000,000 cycles to fail.
Figure 4 shows a simple fatigue crack with the different growth zones and the major physical
features.
The fatigue zone is typically much smoother than the instantaneous zone, which is
usually brittle and crystalline in appearance. Progression marks are an indication that the

growth rate changed as the crack grew across the shaft and dont appear on many failure
faces.

Figure 4
There are some complex mechanisms involved in the initiation of a fatigue crack and once
the crack starts, it is almost impossible to stop because of the stress concentration at the tip.
STRESS CONCENTRATION
A stress concentration is a physical or metallurgical condition that increases the local stress in
the part by some factor. A good example is the shaft shown in Figure 5. We see that the stress
in the area of the radius varies depending on the size of the radius. A small radius can
increase the stress dramatically.

Figure 5
Stress concentrations, indicated by the symbol Kt, can be caused by changes in metallurgy,
internal defects, or changes in shape. There is extensive data that indicates that the resultant
values depends on both the type of stress, i.e., bending, torsion, etc., and the general shape of
the part.

Stress concentrations have a great effect on crack initiation because of their effect on
increasing the local stress. The crack can start solely as the effect of the operating loads or it
can be multiplied by the stress concentration factor.
WHAT TYPE OF LOAD WAS IT?
The face of a fatigue failure tells us both the type (bending, tension, torsion or a
combination) and the magnitude of the load. To understand the type of load, look at the
direction of crack propagation. It is always going to be perpendicular to the plane of
maximum stress. The four examples in Figure 6 reflects four common fracture paths.

Figure 6
Figure 6 brings up the question "what type of bending?" Was it one-way plane bending, like a
leaf spring or a diving board, or was it rotating bending, such as a motor shaft with a heavy
belt load? As seen in Figure 7, looking at the fracture face again tells us the type of load.
Notice that "rotating load" on the right causes the crack to grow in a non-uniform manner. In
general, when the divider of the instantaneous zone does not point to the origin, it shows
there was a rotating bending involved in the failure cause.

Figure 7

HOW HEAVILY WAS IT LOADED?

Fatigue failures almost always start on the outside of a shaft at a stress concentration, because
the local stress is increased. However, the instantaneous zone (IZ) carries the load in the
instant before the part breaks. By looking at the size of the IZ, you can tell the magnitude
of the load on the part. Figure 8 shows a comparison between a lightly and a heavily loaded
shaft for both plain bending and rotational bending.

Figure 8
THE EFFECT OF STRESS CONCENTRATIONS ON A FRACTURE FACE
If a part is relatively lightly stressed, the cracking will start at only one point and the result
will look like one of the examples above. However, if a shaft is more heavily loaded, then
cracks can start in several places and work their way across the part. In Figure 9 we see a
sketch of a rotating shaft that failed in only a few weeks. Inspecting it, you can see the
instantaneous zone is very small, indicating it wasnt highly stressed. Also, the crack is
straight across the shaft, showing the cause was a bending load. But if the load was light, why
did the shaft fail? The answer is stress concentrations.

Figure 9
Looking at the fracture face, you see a series of ratchet marks. These are the boundaries
between adjacent fracture planes, i.e., between each pair of ratchet marks is a fracture origin,
and as these individual cracks grow inward they eventually join together on a single plane.

The small instantaneous zone indicates the stress at the time when the shaft finally broke was
low, but the multiple origins and the ratchet marks show us there was enough stress to cause
cracking at many points around the perimeter almost simultaneously.
From this you can conclude that there must have been a significant stress concentration. (The
calculated stress concentration was in the range of 4.0, so the stress in the area of those
origins was four times as much as it should have been.)
With this information on the type of load and the magnitude of the load, we can start looking
at some failures and diagnosing where they came from. Following are some examples of
failures and an explanation of their causes.

Figure 10.

Figure 11.

A torsional fatigue failure resulting from a

A rotating bending fatigue failure from a

loose hub fit. Note the severe fretting (from

motor shaft. Notice the small instantaneous

looseness) and the cracked shaft.

zone that shows the shaft was lightly loaded

at the time of failure.

Figure 12.

Figure13.

By tracing the progression marks backward,

Impressive brittle fracture of a large universal

we can see the failure started at the corner of

the keyway. But, the instantaneous zone is
tiny. This indicates the shaft was very lightly
loaded at the time of failure and further
research is needed.

joint. The chevron marks point to where the

failure started. The fact that the surface has
uniform roughness tells us that this was an
instantaneous failure.

Figure 14.
A testimony to an inept repair. The weld

Figure 15.

repair of the shaft should never have been

Typical rotating bending failure. Moderate

attempted. The four gross weld flaws

sized instantaneous zone. Rotating bending

initiated fatigue cracking of a very heavily

failure origins surround the shaft.

loaded shaft.

Figure 16.
Ugly plain bending failure.

2. MATERIAL SUGGESTION

High Strength Stainless Steel (17-4 PH)

17-4 PH is a chromium-nickel grade of stainless that may be hardened by a single low
temperature precipitation-hardening heat treatment. Excellent mechanical properties at a high
strength level may be obtained by such treatment. Scaling and distortion is minimized. 17-4
PH should not be used in the solution treated condition. The strength and corrosion resistance
properties of 17-4 hold up well is service temperatures up to 800 F. Fabrication techniques
for this steel is similar to those established for the regular stainless grades. 17-4 machines
well, has excellent welding characteristics, and forges easily. The combination of good
mechanical and processing properties makes this grade adaptable to a wide range of uses.

ANALYSIS
Carbon
(C)

Manganes
e (Mn)

Silicon
(Si)

Max

Max

Max

Chromiu
m (Cr)

Nickel
(Ni)

Copper
(Cu)

Phosphoru
s (P)

Sulfur
(S)

Max

Max

0.04

0.3

0.07
1
1
165-17.5
3-5
3-5
17-4 stainless generally conforms to ASTM A564 Type 630 AMS 5643

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Condition

A (annealed)
H900 (hardened at
900 F)
H1150 (hardened
at 1150 F)

Tensile
Strength
(PSI)

Yield
Strength
(PSI)

Shear
Strength
(PSI)

Elongation
in 2"

Hardness

150,000

110,000

10

40

34

200,000

185,000

14

50

44

145,000

125,000

19

60

33

The above values are average and may be considered as representative of 17-4 stainless

APPLICATIONS
17-4 is used where high strength and good corrosion resistance are required, as well as for
applications requiring high fatigue strength, good resistance to galling, seizing and stress
corrosion. Suitable for intricate parts requiring extensive machining and welding, and/or
where distortion in conventional heat treatment is a problem. The corrosion resistance of 17-4
is superior to that of hardenable straight chromium grades such as 416. It approaches the
corrosion resistance of the non-magnetic chromium-nickel grades. Corrosion resisting

properties will be affected by such conditions as surface finish and aging heat treatment.
Common applications include uses in aircraft and gas turbines, nuclear reactors, paper mills,
oil field industry, and chemical process components.

MACHINEABILITY AND WELDABILITY

Machinability in the annealed condition is rated at 48% of B1112. Average cutting speed 80
ft/min. 17-4 is readily weldable by all the conventional processes. Preheating and postheating practices used for the standard hardenable stainless grades are not required. 17-4 can
be forged between 2050-2150 F. Do not forge below 1850 F. Forgings are air cooled to 90
F or lower.

HEAT TREATING
Condition H 900 - 900 F for 1 hour, air cool. Rockwell C 44 average
Condition H1150- 1150 F for 4 hours, air cool. Rockwell C 33 average
Annealing (Condition A)
The annealing (solution treatment) temperature is 1900 F, followed by air cooling.
Maximum Brinell hardness at mid-radius is 363.

3. DESIGN

Power transmission shaft is a vital element of all rotating machinery. Generally, a

shaft has a circular cross-section area, and may be hollow or solid. The shaft is supported on
bearings and it rotates a set of gears or pulleys for the purpose of power transmission. It
generally acted upon by bending moment, torsion as well as axial force. Design of the shaft
primarily involves the stresses at critical point in the shaft that is arising due to
aforementioned loading.
For a design purpose as well as production, a few aspects need to be considered in
order to produce a good shaft. Laconically, the design of shaft based on two mechanical
properties which are strength and stiffness. Designing a shaft based on strength is carried out
so that stress at any location of the shaft should not exceed the yield strength of the material.
As for the stiffness, it depends on the allowable deflection and twist of the shaft.
First and foremost, the strength of a material plays an important role is designing a
good shaft. Basically, the state of stress to be considered is caused by bending due to its
weight or load, axial loading, and also torque that being transmitted to the shaft. These three
basic conditions are given as follows:
SIMPLE BENDING
Case 1 considers simple bending. For a given bending moment, M and nominal stress
in bending, b :
b=

32 M
d 30 (1k 4 )
Where
d0

: Outer diameter of the shaft

: Ratio of inner to outer diameters of the shaft

( k =0 for a solid shaft because inner diameter is

zero)

AXIAL LOADING
Case 2 considers axial loading. For a given axial force acted on the shaft, F and
nominal stress in axial force, a :
a=

4 F
d (1k 2)
2
0

Where
d 0 : Outer diameter of the shaft
k

: Ratio of inner to outer diameters of the shaft

( k =0 for a solid shaft because inner diameter is

zero)

: Column-action factor
( =1.0 for tensile load)

The term

known as column action factor due to the phenomenon of buckling of

long slender members which are acted upon by axial compressive loads where
defined as follows:
1) For

L
<115
K
1

10.0044 (

2) For

L
)
K

L
>115
K
yc

L 2
)
2 nE K
(

is

Where
K

: least radius of gyration

: shaft length
yc

: yield stress (compression)

: 1.0 for hinged; 2.25 for fixed point; 1.6 for bearing

PURE TORQUE
Case 3 considers pure torque. For a shaft transmitting power, P0 at a rotational speed,
n the transmitted torque, T can be found from:
xy =

16 T
d ( 1k 4)
3
0

Where
xy

: Shear stress due to torsion

d 0 : Outer diameter of the shaft

k

: Ratio of inner to outer diameters of the shaft

( k =0 for a solid shaft because inner diameter is

zero)

COMBINATION OF BENDING, AXIAL LOADING, AND TORSION

Case 4 considers combined bending, axial loading, as well as the torsion on a circular
shaft. Since both bending and axial stresses are normal stress, so the net normal stress
is given by:
x=

32 M
4 F
+ 2
3
4
d 0 (1k ) d 0 (1k 2)

The net normal stress can be either positive or negative. Normally, shear stress due to
torsion is only considered in a shaft, and shear stress due to load on the shaft is
neglected. Design of the shaft mostly uses maximum shear stress theory. It states that
a machine member fails when the maximum shear stress at a point exceeds the
maximum allowable shear stress for the shaft material. Therefore,

x 2 2
max = allowable= ( ) + xy
2

Substituting the values of

and xy in the above equation will results to,

F d 0 (1+k 2 ) 2 2
16
allowable = 3
(M +
) +T
8
d 0 (1k 4 )
Therefore, the shaft diameter can be calculated in terms of external loads and material
properties. However, the above equation is further standardized for steel shafting in
terms of allowable design stress and load factors in ASME design code for shaft.
The shafts are normally acted upon by gradual and sudden loads. Hence, the equation
is modified in ASME code by suitable load factors as follows:
C
2 2
F d 0 (1+k )
2
(C b M +
) +( t T )
8
16
allowable= 3

4
d0 (1k )

Where
Cb

: bending factor

Ct

: torsion factor

Cb

Ct

For stationary shaft:

-

Load gradually applied

Load suddenly applied

1.0

1.0

1.5 2.0

1.5 2.0

1.5

1.0

1.5 2.0

1.0 1.5

2.0 3.0

1.5 3.0

For rotating shaft:

-

Load gradually applied

Load suddenly applied (minor shock)
Load suddenly applied (heavy shock)

ASME code also suggests about the allowable design stress,

steel shafting,
ASME Code for commercial steel shafting

allowable
allowable

= 55 MPa for shaft without keyway

= 40 MPa for shaft with keyway

ASME Code for steel purchased under definite specifications

allowable

to be considered for

 allowable = 30% of the yield strength but not over 18% of the ultimate strength in
tension for shafts without keyways. These values are to be reduced by 25% for the
presence of keyways.

4. ENVIRONMENT FACTOR

Harsh environmental conditions lead to erosion, corrosion, or embrittlement.

Extreme heat or cold can have a damaging effect on fatigue failure and
fatigue life.
Protection Possibilities Checklist

Provide protection against corrosion.

Monitor extreme or frequent changes in of loading, temperature or pressure.

Choose materials with fewer mismatches of thermal coefficients of expansion
for mating parts.

Provide protection against UV light or other harmful sources.

The natural frequency of the structure must stay away from the frequency of
its working environment or loading. Increase natural frequency for reduction of
resonance corrosion fatigue

Minimize or eliminate cyclic stresses A load of insufficient magnitude to cause

failure in a single application may lead to failure if it is removed and reapplied
repeatedly. Long ago, engineers discovered that if you repeatedly applied and
then removed a nominal load to and from a metal part (known as a "cyclic
load"), the part would break after a certain number of load-unload cycles,
even when the maximum cyclic stress level applied was much lower than
the UTS, and in fact, much lower than the Yield Stress.

Reduce stress concentration or redistribute stress (balance strength and

stress throughout the component)

Select the correct shape of critical sections

Avoid internal stress

Avoid fluttering and vibration-producing or vibration-transmitting design

Limit corrosion factor in the corrosion-fatigue process (more resistant

material / less corrosive environment).

Corrosion-fatigue is the result of the combined action of an alternating or

cycling stresses and a corrosive environment.

The fatigue process is thought to cause rupture of the protective passive film,
upon which corrosion is accelerated.

If the metal is simultaneously exposed to a corrosive environment, the failure

can take place at even lower loads and after shorter time.

In a corrosive environment the stress level at which it could be assumed a

material has infinite life is lowered or removed completely. Contrary to a pure
mechanical fatigue, there is no fatigue limit load in corrosion-assisted fatigue.

No metal is immune from some reduction of its resistance to cyclic stressing if

the metal is in a corrosive environment. Control of corrosion fatigue can be
accomplished by either lowering the cyclic stresses or by various corrosion
control measures

Ultrasonic Impact Treatment, UIT is effective in enhancing a components resistance

to thermal fatigue, and it is proven effective in extremely cold operating environments
that frequently result in reduced fatigue performance.

UIT successfully removes corrosion and restores surface quality to counter

the effects of aggressive environments to stress corrosion cracking and

increase fatigue life substantially.

UIT also leads to greater erosion resistance without increasing brittleness.

Referencing

http://www.maintenancetechnology.com/2012/07/failure-analysis-of-machine-

shafts/
http://www.plant-maintenance.com/articles/rcfa.shtml
http://www.speedymetals.com/information/Material2.html
http://www.appliedultrasonics.com/blog/fatigue-failure/preventing-fatigue-

failure-with-ultrasonic-impact-treatment
http://www.appliedultrasonics.com/blog/fatigue-failure/preventing-fatiguefailure-with-ultrasonic-impact-treatment

http://www.appliedultrasonics.com/blog/fatigue-failure/preventing-fatiguefailure-with-ultrasonic-impact-treatment