Optimization Design of Welding Seam for Axle Housing Baseed on Fatigue Life

Abstract

The reasonable optimization of welding seam load is of great significance for improving the overall fatigue life of punch-welded axle housing. Taking the welding axle housing of passenger car as the research object, the stress distribution of the housing and the welding bracket was calculated by the finite element method (FEM), and the fatigue stress spectrum was obtained. On this basis, the fatigue damage of the housing, the welding bracket and the welding seam was predicted using the critical plane method and the notch stress method, and the rationality of the welding seam layout was evaluated by the fatigue damage of the welding seam. Then, the mechanical analysis was carried out for the welding seam with large fatigue damage, and the optimization measures were put forward from the weld position, length and welding bracket stiffness, so as to improve the local load state of the welding seam. Finally, the fatigue life calculation and experimental verification of the optimized scheme were carried out. The results show that compared with the original scheme, the fatigue damage of the optimized scheme is reduced by 43.0%, and the overall life of the housing is greatly improved. The optimization scheme has passed the bench durability test and vehicle road durability test, and the housing has no fracture or crack, which verifies that the optimization scheme is effective, and the weld optimization measures have certain engineering reference value. Compared with the bench fatigue durability test, the prediction accuracy of fatigue life is 82.4%, which meets the engineering needs.