Fatigue assessment of a rear axle for light trucks

In the present paper, the fatigue assessment of welded components, in particular the axle beam of a rear axle for light trucks, is presented. The analysis starts with in-service measurements of actual loads. In order to obtain these data, load spectra measurements were performed on urban, extra-urban, high-way and off-road conditions. Then, by means of finite element analyses, the stresses in the component were obtained and post-processed by means of two different techniques for the assessment of welding joints: “Hot Spot” method and Local Stress. The results were eventually discussed and validated through full scale testing. Considering the possible presence of inhomogeneities, a fitness-for-purpose analysis has also been carried out and compared with experimental full-scale tests on axles beams.