A Study of Fatigue Remaining Useful Life Assessment for Construction Machinery Part in Remanufacturing

Abstract

Remanufacturing is the process of returning a worn-out product to an ‘as new’ condition. For large construction machinery parts with cracks, which are highly value-added, costly, and complexly processed, it is critical to assess the fatigue remaining useful life (RUL) for the following remanufacturing strategy. In this study, a simulation method based on the step-by-step finite element (FE) analysis is presented. The crack life and path are assessed by the linear elastic fracture mechanics theory. Furthermore, the substructure modeling technical is adopted to take account of the influence of structural details and loading shedding during crack growth. For a further step, the method is applied to concrete pump truck boom structure to investigate fatigue crack growth remaining lives and paths.