Advance Fatigue Analysis of an Auto Rickshaw Rear Axle Shaft

In India, mostly auto rickshaws are used as the most cost-effective and easily available public transport, and because of its frequent usage, the failure of its rear axle shafts is a common problem. Studies and research on failure analysis of rear axle shafts reveal the problem during dynamic and uncertain loading. So, there is a huge scope for research on fatigue failure analysis of the rear axle shaft of the auto rickshaw to minimize the problem that leads to fatal road accidents. The function of the rear axle shaft of an automobile is to transmit power to the wheels. The rear axle shaft is subjected to cyclic loading, torsion loading, and the load due to the weight of the vehicle and passengers. The scope of the present paper is to find out the fatigue life due to cyclic loading and to find out the natural frequency of vibration of the rear axle shaft to predict the safe working condition for it. The tool used is ANSYS 14.0. AISI 4140 steel is considered as it is the most common material used in the manufacturing of rear axle shaft in auto rickshaws. Results show that the minimum and maximum life cycle of the shaft is 4544 and 106 cycles, respectively. The natural frequency of vibration varies from 92.18–515.19 Hz for the first six modes of vibration. These results will help in determining the suitable material for the manufacturing of the rear axle shaft.