Fatigue Analysis of Crankshafts Using Nonlinear Transient Simulation Techniques

Static analysis are state of the art to determine the stress behaviour by use of the finite element method (FEM). Using direct methods for solving the equations even supercomputing does not help to prevent transient stress analysis from being very time consuming and inefficient for the essentially large number of degrees of freedom.

Presenting the nonlinear transient stress analysis for the rotating crankshaft of a 6-cylinder-inline engine, a method is shown which enables such analysis to be both highly sophisticated and efficient for determining the fatigue behaviour of crankshafts even using microcomputers.