Finite element-Based Fatigue Assessment of Engine Connecting-Rod Bolts

Fatigue fracture of engine connecting-rod bolts is encountered frequently during the developement of high-speed engines. Only the engine dyno test is a currently reliable fatigue durability assessment method. It is because the available rig tests cannot mimic the engine running condition completely, and because the finite element analysis cannot provide realistic stresses near the bolt thread that is modeled as a cylinder. This paper introduces a methodology to assess the fatigue durability of the connecting-rod bolts using the finite element analysis. The methods to contruct the bolt model, to extract the critical bolt stresses for the fatigue analysis, and to obtain the bolt fatigue endurance limit experimentally are discussed. Reliability of the method is verified indirectly.