Exhaust Manifold Durability Subject to Splash Quenching

Exhaust manifold design is one of the more challenging tasks for the engine engineer due to the harsh thermal and severe vibration environment. Extremely high exhaust gas temperatures and dynamic loading combine to subject the manifold to high cyclic stress when the material has reduced fatigue strength due to the high temperature. A long service life before a fatigue failure is the objective in exhaust manifold design. Accumulation of fatigue damage can occur from dynamic loading and thermal loading combined. Thermal mechanical fatigue (TMF) is a primary mechanism for accumulating fatigue damage. TMF typically occurs when a vehicle driving cycle has operating conditions that repeatedly change the exhaust gas temperature between hot and cold. Another way to experience temperature cycling is through splash quenching. Splash quenching was analyzed and found to rapidly accumulate fatigue damage. An experimental and analytical method is presented that quantified splash quenching and the impact on exhaust manifold durability. The number of quenches in the life of a vehicle is uncertain. It is therefore recommended that vehicle packages are designed in such a way that splash quenching of the exhaust manifold is avoided. This will maximize the durability of the hot exhaust components.