Fatigue Durability Analysis of a Manual Slack Adjuster Housing

The purpose of this study is to analyze the durability of a Manual Slack Adjuster - MSA housing, based on the correlation of numerical and experimental studies. The aim of this analysis is to collect data through which is possible to evaluate the current quality of the component, as well as generate new information that may be useful for suggestions of improvements. To predict the fatigue life, accelerated durability tests were carried out in laboratory, using a specific test bench to evaluate this component and obtain the number of cycles until total failure and the failures modes of the samples tested. Numerical analysis was performed using finite element software Abaqus to stress calculation and the fe-safe to fatigue life calculation. Lastly, the correlation between the experimental tests results and the numerical model was accomplished in order to determine the prediction of durability of the component. The correlation obtained between number of cycles until failure collected through the experimental tests and the numerical analysis was considered satisfactory, presenting an error around 8%.