NOMENCLATURE eat are etecy LOADING Most loads on a con-rod are cyclic tension and compression in line with its length. Con-rods are also subjected to cyclic bending loads from the inertia or whipping action caused by crankshaft rotation. High Stress Areas ‘Areas of high stress concentration are shown above’ A 8. c. D. E F. G Bottom 120° of rod-eye. Blend between the shank and rod eye. . Mid-shank. Blend between the shank and crankshaft bore. Fillets near bolt head seats. Too 120° of the crankshaft bore, Fillets near the rod bolt nut seats.BROKEN BOLTS Common roadsigns of con-rods damaged by broken bolts are: 1) Bearing not spun thin - mostly secondary impact damage. 2) Litte if any fretting corrosion on parting faces. 3) One bolt with either a fatigue fracture or shear damage. 4) Hinge on the parting face opposite the side where the bolt was sheared or fractured. 5) Bolt on hinged side failed in ductile fracture. Failure due to a broken bolt. The upper bolt has a ductile Bearing shows little damage - only secondary impact. fracture indicating overload, Bearing is for 1.27mm undersize crankshaft indicating a previous repair. Rod piece failed due to secondary impact - shear Closer view of fatigue fracture showing initiation site is at damage. Thebroken bolt hasa flat, smooth surface witha _a dent on the knurled surface in the upper right of this final ductile fracture and shear lip. photo. The dent is most probably due to handling damage during rebuild.CON-ROD PROBLEMS Con-Rod Problems Cae¢e line me-o) Calan eer e Heal Con-tods are very carefully manufactured and closely controlled to prevent material or workmanship defects. Occasionally however, forging, heat treat, machining, shot peening, or assembly problems can ocour. FORGING LAPS Forging laps are produced when metal folds over on top of self in the forging die. Roadsigns are a dark, scaly pre-crack below the surface of a pert. The dark surface is caused by oxides which are formed during forging. A forging lap was found in this con-rod during normal overtaul. Note the dark, scaly surface of the lap between the two milled flats on the rod eye in the above photo.FORGING LAPS (ConTINUED) £ This con-rod is broken through to the crankshaft bore at_ The cap has a ductile fracture indicating resultant the blend between the bore and the shank and through damage. the cap. The bearing is not spun and has only resultant damage. The con-rod fracture is fatigue with initiation sites below Closer view of the initiation sites. The polished area from the shot peened surface. Note the multiple initiation sites __the shot pened surface to the initiation sites is a pre- and ratchet marks. ‘tack. Most probably the pre-crack is a forging lap which initiated the fatigue crackHEAT TREAT Quench cracks can also occur in con-tods. They are formed when hot parts are cooled too quickly after heat treat, causing high and sudden shrinkage stresses, Roadsigns are a dark, brittle pre-crack starting at the surface of a part. ‘A quench crack caused a severe stress raiser and a fatigue crack down this con-rod shank web. Note the dark, rough surface at the top of the fracture in this closer view. Beach marks and ratchet marks start at the end of the quench crack and progress down the web,MACHINING/SHOT PEENING ‘After heat treat, con-rods are shotpeened and machined. Depending on design. some bolt head and/or nut seats are then shot pened again. If any of these operations are done improperly, proolems can result, ‘A fatigue fracture separated this con-rod at a nut seat. ‘The fracture through the nut seat has roadsigns of fatigue smooth, flat and beach marks leading back tothe lower, right of the fracture face. The initiation site is the sharp edge where the surface of the nut seat fillet and the ‘outside surface of the rod cap join. The other side was then overloaded. Note the hinge and ductile fracture of the bolt. This roadsign says "the other side of the rod cap opened up first’ This view of the nut seat and fillet shows shot pening on upper portion but not on the lower part. The result was a sharp edge where the surface of the fillet and the outside Of the rod cap join. This unusual stress raiser caused the fatigue fracture.a x A eee) Che This con-rod failed through the shank and at the rod eye, The crankshaft bore and bearing are normal. ‘Typical fracture face on the rod eye. This is a low cycle fatigue fracture caused by cyclic overload. The shank failure is due to impact shearing. Note the smooth, sikky surface with localized heat discoloration — roadsigns of shear damage whichis aresult of something lse failing first The cyclic overload was due to the piston pin bushing failure. The piece circled in white was found in the oil sump. tis thicker than the other pieces, indicating itbroke off before the rest of the bushing was hammered thin. Thisis a more advanced stage of the type of failure shown ‘on page 8. The bushing was most probably loose due to machining the bore for the piston pin bushing oversize.ASSEMBLY Con-rods can also be damaged as a result of assembly errors. This con-rod failed through the eye of the rodinthe highly _Impact and shear damage indicate the rod eye opened up loaded 120° portion of the bore. first allowing the bushing to move prior to it being damaged. This closer look reveals a fatigue fracture starting on the inside of the piston pin bushing bore. Most probably the fatigue fracture resulted from a stress raiser due to scoring the rod bore during assembly as the piston pin bushing was pressed in,CONCLUDING THE ANALYSIS Le Ta Romero me la Think @ Facts @ Lore ol Tei te elo ola) fee ae et fo Berto) Oe seroma WEN Cale Every failure analysis should be pursued until the most probable root cause has been found. This is done by following an ‘organized procedure such as the Eight Steps of Applied Failure Analysis, thinking with the facts, and using the ‘Doublecheck Question’ - “Is there any possible way the other party could have caused this failure?” During the analysis, we alsoneed to investigate environmental facts such as heat, load, application, operation, and maintenance which often help us determine the root cause of failure. lea} ENE! ere) eS VM alco} Follow-Up The job is not finished when we have identified the root cause of a failure. We now need to “Get The Payoff” through ‘communicating with the party responsible for the failure, making prompt, professional repairs and following up toinsure the customer's short and long term problems are solved.STRUCTURE Con-rods are forged, through hardened to RC 28 to 32, and most are shot pened to resist crack formation. The forging process causes grain flow to parallel the surfaces of high stress areas as can be seen in the above photographs. This grain flow arrangement also helps resist crack formation.PERFORMING FAILURE ANALYSIS Sees Rena ea 7) State Problem Clearly & Concisely Fo eee nea) EB oer ee hc a eens ema etacas eae td en Peden iio 4 aera ht tet as ‘As discussedin the Applied Failure Analysis Management module, following an organized approach such as the Eight Steps of Applied Failure Analysisis the quickest and surest way to identify the correct root cause of each failure and to satisfy customers. Lee) MUM OCH LL) fects Wear and fracture facts should be obtained through careful visual analysis of failed con-rods and related components. These facts will act as "roadsigns” which guide us to the correct root cause.Caterpillar connecting rods are very carefully manufactured and are seldom the root cause of failure. Therefore, when con-rods fail, we should carefully separate causes versus results by identfying any abnormal operating conditions which could have weakened or overloaded them and by classifying wear and fracture types. ABNORMAL CONDITIONS Abnormal Conditions Ce ela gel} © Bearing Failures © Rebuild Sua ‘Abnormal conditions which cause con-rod failures include: 1) External forces which bend or break con-rods. 2) Bearing failures which cause resultant rod damage. 3) Rebuild errors such as reuse of parts damaged by a previous failure. 4) Loose or broken rod bolts which cause resultant damage.EXTERNAL FORCES Bent con-rods will usually display roadsigns of high energy impact damage on the rod or piston. Occasionally we see a bent rod with no impact damage on the rod or piston. in this case, we should investigate the possibilty of 2 hydraulic lock. A hydraulic lock will sometimes darrage cylinder head gaskets or crack cylinder liners or walls. Look for the roadsigns of nigh cylinder pressure and rust, if you suspect a hydraulic lock. Bent con-rod due to hydraulic lock. Note there is no impact damage from external forces. Top of piston. No indication of piston hitting valves or Upper half of bearing looks normal. Hydraulic lock does cylinder head, ot normally cause rod bearing failures.BEARING FAILURES General conditions causing bearing failures that can also result in conod damage are: 1) Insufficient oil supply at the time of failure - Roadsigns are: black, thin bearing pieces, blue/black con-rod crankshaft bore with temper colors up the shank, rod bolts may be stretched and/or nuts may be backed off. 2) Other causes where oil supply was normal at the time of failure - Readsigns are: bearing may be worn or pounded thin, but will not be black. The con-rad may show some local heat discoloration, but not blue/black with temper colors up the shank. Parting faces may be heavily fretted. The rod, rod cap, or bolts may show rapidly progressing fatigue fractures andjor nuts may back off due to vibration caused by the loss of bearing thickness. rod was damaged due to insufficient oil supply at the time of failure.The bezring failedin this rodwith goodoilsupplyattimeot ‘The bearing bore shows direct contact between the failure. Rod bolts were tight at disassembly. The piston _crankshaftand rod after the bearing was hammered into shows all resultant damage thin pieces. Parting faces of the rod show extreme fretting corrosion Cyclic hammering due to losing bearing thickness, from heavy hammering loads due to increased clearance caused cyclic overload in the rod shank resulting in a between the crankshaft journal and bearing bore rapidly progressing, low cycle fatigue fracture.REBUILD ERRORS Reuseof damaged parts, improper salvage, orreassembly errors can cause failures. Roadsigns canbe fretting corrosion, of other indications of loose parts or abnormal stress raisers. This con-rod is fractured through a bolt head seat. The The back of the bearing indicates it has not spun, was other side shows the typical hinge effect (rolling over of __released from the bore, is 1.27 mm U.S. (Crankshaft has the outer edge of the parting face) indicating it was the been ground undersize in a previous repair). last side to open up. Fatigue fracture with the nitiationsite atthe upperrightof This rod bushing was replaced at previous repair. It the fracture face on the inside of the crankshaft bore. _turned in the bore during operation, contacted the piston Note the fretting corrosion on the bore surface which _strut and broke out a pece which was found in the drain caused a stress raiser and fatigue fracture. The fretting oil during an oil change. The bushing was most probably corrosion was either present during the previous repair or loose due to an oversize bore or pushing it in cocked due to machining the bore oversize during salvage. without preheating the bore.LOOSE BOLTS ‘Common roadsigns of con-rods damaged by loose bolts are: 1) Bearing not spun thin - mostly secondary impact damage. 2) Little if any fretting corrosion on parting faces. 3) Thread damage over entire threaded area of bolt 4) Last few threads stripped out of nut. 5) Hinge on the parting face opposite the side where the nut backed off. 6) Bolt on hinged side failed in ductile fracture. Failure due to loose bolt. The bearing shows minor, Parting faces have very little fretting corrosion. Cross secondary damage. Note the hinge on lower pertingface. hatch grinding marks are still visible. & The rod piece is broken due to secondary impact - shear _Bolt threads are damaged over the entire length, The last damage. few threads are stripped out of the nut.@ A LID TAINO OB LELO)