Experimental Fatigue Assessment of Crankshafts: Presentation of a Damage Equivalent Component Test Method

Experimental Fatigue Assessment of Crankshafts: Presentation of a Damage Equivalent Component Test Method. The crankshaft is a core component of today's internal combustion engines being subjected to complex service loading conditions. The transition radii of the crankpins to the crankwebs and the outlets of the oil ducts for lubricating the crankshaft journals and pins are often fatigue relevant hot spots. For this reason, expensive manufacturing and surface treatment processes are performed in order to improve the local fatigue characteristics. IABG has developed a new test concept for crankshafts to perform fatigue under near service loading conditions. This concept is applicable for crank shafts both for in-line or V-engines. In this paper this new test concept will be discussed and compared with common methods for crankshaft testing.