Abstract: Fatigue crack propagation characteristics of a diesel engine crankshaft are studied by measuring the fatigue crack growth rate using a frequency sweep method on a resonant fatigue test rig. Based on the phenomenon that the system frequency will change when the crack becomes large, this method can be directly applied to a complex component or structure. Finite element analyses (FEAs) are performed to calibrate the relation between the frequency change and the crack size, and to obtain the natural frequency of the test rig and the stress intensity factor (SIF) of growing cracks. The crack growth rate i.e. da/dN-ΔK of each crack size is obtained by combining the testing-time monitored data and FEA results. The results show that the crack growth rate of engine crankshaft, which is a component with complex geometry and special surface treatment, is quite different from that of a pure material. There is an apparent turning point in the Paris’s crack partition. The cause of the fatigue crack growth is also discussed.

Key words: Crack growth rate, Residual stress, Frequency sweep method, Engine crankshaft, Reliability

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