Evaluation of fatigue life of aluminum alloy wheels under radial loads

This paper is concerned with generation of S–N curve for aluminum alloy (Al) A356.2-T6 and estimation of fatigue life under radial fatigue load. The S–N curve is developed by conducting tests at different stress levels under constant amplitude loading. Tests are conducted on alloy wheels for fatigue life evaluation under radial loads. Finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out by simulating the test conditions to analyze stress distribution and fatigue life of the alloy wheels. It is observed from analysis that the prediction of fatigue life using FEA is found to be in close agreement with the corresponding experimental observations. An attempt has been made by conducting parametric study to suggest a suitable safety factor for reliable fatigue life prediction.