Prediction of Fretting Fatigue in Engine Cylinder Block 2016-01-0382

The reduction of engine weight is today a widely used and effective approach to increasing automotive fuel efficiency . However, the realization of weight savings in the engine can increase deformation of the crankshaft and cylinder block, resulting in fretting fatigue of the contact surfaces of the bearing caps and the cylinder block. Although researchers have identified the mechanism of fretting fatigue on the cylinder block, as yet there is no effective method of addressing the issue in the development stage. The research discussed in this paper applied quality engineering methods to investigate a variety of factors considered to influence fretting fatigue in unit test equipment. The results of the study indicated a good correlation between unit tests and actual engine tests. The paper will also discuss analytic methods for obtaining basic materials data, and methods of prediction of fretting fatigue at an early design stage.