Fundamental Investigations of Fretting Fatigue : Part 1, On the Relative Slip Amplitude of Press-fitted Axle Assemblies

Abstract

Although the significant reduction in fatigue strength produced by fretting of the press-fitted axle assemblies has been well known, the causes of this phenomenon have not been fully clarified. The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of fretting on the fatigue strength of press-fitted axle assemblies where the minute relative slips at the end region of the hub on the axle surface occur due to the alternate elongation and contraction of the axle fibers. In the present paper, the authors have focused their attention on the amplitudes of the relative slips near the end of the press-fit, and investigated them quantitatively. The effects of various factors, such as size, shape, clamping pressures, magnitude of nominal stresses, number of cycles and frequency of alternating stresses, on the amplitudes of relative slips are evaluated extensively.