Fatigue life estimation was made in order to predict the fatigue lifetime of an automotive steering drag link. Specimens taken from the drag link tube was used for the monotonic tensile test and strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue test, that resulted ...
Fatigue life estimation was made in order to predict the fatigue lifetime of an automotive steering drag link. Specimens taken from the drag link tube was used for the monotonic tensile test and strain-controlled low-cycle fatigue test, that resulted in the monotonic and cyclic properties of the drag link steel. Finite element method was employed to investigate local stress and strain distributions of the link. From the experimental stress analysis using strain-gages, the accuracy of the FE stresses at the curved region of the link was verified. Based on the fatigue life curves and the stress analysis, the fatigue life of the drag link was predicted and compared with the experimentally determined fatigue life, resulting in a fairly good correlation.<br/>
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