An XFEM-Based Approach to Fatigue Crack Growth in Press-Fit Spur Gears

Gears mounted on a shaft via interference fit are the subject of an internal pressure which is essential for power transmission between gear and shaft. The pressure between shaft and gear is responsible for additional stresses occurring both in shaft and gear. This study examines the effect of stresses arising due to the interference on the crack growth that exists at the root of the gear tooth. The numerical analyses were conducted on models having different rim thicknesses by using the extended finite element method that allows mesh-independent crack modeling and does not need re-meshing. The results showed that internal pressure yields additional stresses in the tangential direction. The increment in tangential stress changed the location and intensity of the maximal 1st principal stress and accelerated crack growth. As the tightness of the fit increased, the crack turned towards the rim rather than towards the tooth. As the crack growth through the rim may cause a catastrophic failure of gear, the increment in tangential stress due to internal pressure is crucial for the fatigue life of the gear.

Evaluation of collapse moment of pressurized 30°–180° bend pipes subjected to out-of-plane bending moment

The present paper determines collapse moments of pressurized 30°–180° pipe bends incorporated with initial geometric imperfection under out-of-plane bending moment. Extensive finite element analyses are carried out considering material as well as geometric nonlinearity. The twice-elastic-slope method is used to determine collapse moment. The results show that initial imperfection produces significant change in collapse moment for unpressurized pipe bends and pipe bends applied to higher internal pressure. The application of internal pressure produces stiffening effect to pipe bends which increases collapse moment up to a certain limit and with further increase in pressure, collapse moment decreases. The bend angle effect on collapse moment reduces with the increase in internal pressure and bend radius. Based on finite element results, collapse moment equations are formed as a function of the pipe bend geometry parameters, initial geometric imperfection, bend angle, and internal pressure for elastic-perfectly plastic material models.

An Investigation Into the Effect of Pre-bending on the Tube Hydro-forging Technology

Tube hydro-forging (THFG) combining with the pre-bending is an advanced method to manufacture the complex cross-sectional tubular component with curved axis. However, the effect of pre-bending on the subsequent THFG, especially on the critical internal pressure required to inhibit wrinkling, has not been clarified yet. Therefore, this paper makes a detailed study on it. At first, based on the energy method, the change rule between the critical internal pressure and the hoop strain was established when pre-bending was considered. Subsequently, the mechanics condition difference between single and double curvature differential segment during THFG was analyzed. Via the plastic theory, the distribution of hoop strain could be obtained. Mainly due to the uneven distribution of thickness and cold work-hardening caused by pre-bending, the maximum hoop strain at the outer straight-wall was greater than that at the inner straight-wall during THFG. Substituting the maximum hoop strain at the outer/inner straight-wall into the change rule, then their mathematical model of the critical internal pressure to restrain the wrinkling could be solved respectively. Finally, the critical internal pressure considering pre-bending was determined by that of outer straight-wall, and its value was always greater than the critical internal pressure without considering pre-bending under the same punch stroke. With the increase of bending radius, the critical internal pressure difference between considering and not considering pre-bending also increases. When the bending radius was 250 mm, the critical internal pressure difference was 33%, while it increased to 74% as the bending radius reduced to 100 mm, all of which were verified by experiment. The effect of friction coefficient on the critical internal pressure was also studied. In conclusion, this work provided a new and more accurate prediction model of critical internal pressure to guide practical production for when existing the pre-bending.

A New Stress Intensity Factor Solution Based on the Response Surface Method for Nozzle Corner Cracks in Nuclear Reactor for Thermal Energy Generation

As considered carbon-free, the use of nuclear energy for thermal energy generation may expand in the future, with the guarantee of safe operation of the nuclear reactor. In a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV), the nozzle area is an important part of the safe operation. It bears internal pressure, axial force, and overall moment, and at the same time bears higher stress than the rest of the vessel. To assess the integrity of the nozzle structure with a crack under combined load, an accurate solution of stress intensity factors (SIF) along the crack front is necessary. To obtain the SIF, this paper proposes a solution method that uses the stress on the crack surface and the response surface method to fit the stress under the framework of the linear superposition technique. This method is the first choice to determine a series of influence coefficients under unit pressure load. Then, one can estimate the SIFs by superposition method for an arbitrary stress distribution resulted from combined loads. The proposed solution is verified for a typical RPV with cracks under internal pressure, axial force, and global bending moment. The results reveal that the proposed solution is in good agreement with the existing solutions under internal pressure. Therefore, it can be obtained that this solution can be effectively used for the structural integrity assessment of RPV with nozzle corner cracks.