Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Failure analysis of PTO shaft of an agricultural tractor

Subrata Kumar Mandal ⇑, Md. Imran Shekh, Sanjeev Kumar, Avi Chakraborty, Nitish Kumar
CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, M. G. Avenue, Durgapur, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Power Take-Off (PTO) shaft is an efficient means of transferring mechanical power between farm
Available online xxxx tractors and attached implements. The PTO shaft of any agricultural tractor is basically a drive shaft
engraving with number of splines that converts the primary energy of the tractor to a rotating motion
Keywords: of a nicely connected power shaft. The shaft is usually having external splines and its rotational move-
Power take off ment is actually valuable for the operation of various farm implements like pumps, thresher, rotary tiller
PTO etc. to do numerous farming operations because it could be coupled at its external end. Because of the
Failure
movement of the PTO shaft, the attached implements perform the final agricultural operations. During
Agricultural tractor
Torsional load
the operations, number of failures usually occurred to the PTO the shaft and the attached implements.
They could become very unsafe to the users as it may stopped working of the attached implement/equip-
ment suddenly. In this research, a metallurgical investigation has been carried out to study the root cause
of failure in a PTO shaft. It was found out that the failure happened where there is sudden change in the
shaft cross sectional area which leads its failure due to torsion and bending effects. The analysis results
may be helpful to the end users as far as the cost during various farming operations is concerned.
Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Symposium on Failure
and Preventive Maintenance of Machineries 2022.

1. Introduction
In the present-day scenario, agricultural and food production
issues are becoming more significant due to the rapid increase in
world population. Due to rise in population growth, it is expected
that national food demand will be increased at a drastic rate. This
demand is expected to reach 355 MT by the year 2020–2030
against 192 MT during 2000–2010. However, with the restrictions
in land usage and with considerable cropping depth over a limited
timeframe, enhancement of yield from the same acreage is a per-
sistent necessity to fulfill the needs of a rising national populace.
It is obvious that sufficient food can be produced in a sustainable
manner through higher level of farm mechanization. Farm mecha-
nization has already emerged as proven methods in terms of econ-
omy and societal aids to agriculturalists. Principal amongst the
financial advantages is the high produce that arises due to the
application of modern machineries during crop production. Tractor
forms an integral part in farm mechanization for any country and
contributes a considerable amount in agricultural sector and in
overall productivity. The Indian tractor industry is believed, to be
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: subrata.mandal72@gmail.com (S.K. Mandal).
among the most important tractor markets in volume terms, con-
tributing 35% of the worldwide volumes. In terms of number of
units, India is one of the most important tractor markets in the
world, with 6 to 7 lakh tractors sold annually. The infiltration of
tractors has grown drastically from 1 per 150 ha to 1 per 30 ha
in agricultural land. In addition to that the agricultural machinery
market In India is expected to reach INR 900 Bn by the year 2024 at
a cumulative annual growth rate of 10.70% [1]. The change has
seen in the farming sector due to availability of quality agricultural
equipment and high output.
Hence, use of agricultural machinery is very much essential as
far as the agricultural produce is concerned. But it is to be ensured
the use of machineries in a most efficient way. In this situation,
design optimization and production problems for agricultural
machineries needs to be taken into account; but, facing the trage-
dies during the usage of machineries in agricultural operations are
foreseeable substance. Very often operators are seriously injured,
or may be dead, due to the fatalities in agricultural machines which
includes PTO shafts as tractor is one of the major prime movers
used in most of the farming operations. This failure may lead to
further damages as the whole system will stopped working which
in turn linked to economic losses.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.06.574
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Symposium on Failure and Preventive Maintenance of Machineries 2022.

Please cite this article as: Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al., Failure analysis of PTO shaft of an agricultural tractor, Materials Today:
Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.06.574
Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Any agricultural tractor typically transmits energy to the con-

nected device independently. Most importantly, rotary agricultural
equipment gets the essential power and drive from the tractor
power-take-off shaft which transmit the power from the engine
through a mechanical gearing system. During this, the shaft expe-
riences high torsional load which may lead to the failure of the
shaft. This shaft may additionally endure special loads because of
fluctuating conditions together with shock load, design constraints,
and driver accountabilities; in in the least case, it is essential to
explain the principal reason of failure of the power-take-off shaft
such that it might save casualties during the operation.
Fig. 2. The tractor-implement combination via PTO shaft.
Finite element method (FEM) is one of the best tools to solve
complex numerical problems in present day engineering research.
One of the important applications of this tool is the solution of
structural problems where it states the total pressure evaluation
in a mechanical system [2]. In line with this, complex design prob-
lems can also be solved in the design of agricultural machineries. In
the current study, first of all, a stress analysis was done for a failed
PTO shaft used in an agricultural tractor. In the present research,
initially an analysis has been carried out using finite element
method (FEM) to find out the failure at the design stage. Results
of the analysis are presented and this allows to afford an improved
thoughtful of the failure zone on the shaft. However, in the later
stage, a metallurgical investigation has also been carried out to
ascertain the original reason of the failure.

1.1. Tractor PTO shaft

The PTO shaft (Fig. 1) of an agricultural tractor is a drive shaft
which transmits the foremost power of the tractors to the rotating
drive of the drive shaft a properly attached implement (Fig. 2). The
rotating motion of the PTO shaft is very important for the attached
implements as far as the variety of farming operations are con-
cerned [3]. A number of failures in PTO shaft are commonly raised.
These failures are directly linked with the huge economic loss due
to stoppage of the entire systems. Every year many peoples lost
their lives due to the injury associated with this failure [4]. Thus,
an appropriate investigation is very much essential in this regard.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Failure of the PTO shaft
In the present research, failure analysis has been carried out of a
PTO shaft of Krishishakti-125DI agricultural tractor. The shaft has
been failed while working in the field with an attached implements
namely, rotary tiller or rotavator (Fig. 3) during tillage work. At the
first sight, a brittle fracture was observed at the broken shells of
Fig. 3. Krishishakti Tractor attached with a Rotary tiller.
the PTO shaft. In the preliminary notes of the broken shaft, it
was assumed that failure might occurred either because of sudden
shock loading or torsional loading or metallurgical defect; but it
was unsure about which is the reason behind the failure from
the earlier stage of examination. The failed shaft was fragmented
into two pieces viz. a and b (Fig. 4); nevertheless, the broken parts
were in such a condition that can’t accepted as shown in Fig. 4.
During the operation, the operator realized an intense sound as
the implement undergone a terminating situation. Both the broken
parts were investigated at CSIR-CMERI. Before investigation, at
first, finite element analysis was undertaken to investigate the
effect of load on the shaft and thereby distribution of working/de-
signed stress on the surface of failure of the selected PTO shaft. In
the second phase, a through metallurgical characterization was
done to find out the root cause of the failure. Broad specifications
of the prime mover’s engine and failed PTO shaft are given in
Tables 1 and 2 respectively. The 2D and 3D view of the PTO shaft
is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 respectively.

Fig. 1. The PTO shaft (B) on an agricultural tractor.

2
Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 4. PTO shaft after failure.

Fig. 6. 3D view of the PTO drive shaft.

Table 1
Technical specifications of the Tractor.
Table 3
Name Specifications
materials properties of AISI 4140.
Engine Single Cylinder, Water cooled, 11.2 hp Diesel Engine, 3000 RPM
Property Unit Value
Max. Torque: 32.5 Nm @3000 RPM
Year of Production: 2006 Elastic modulus GPa 212.5
Emission: Bharat Stage-IV Poisson’s ratio 0.29
3
Bore: 92 mm Density Kg m 7.85E + 03
Stroke: 92 mm Tensile yield strength MPa 652.2
Displacement:611 cc Ultimate tensile strength MPa 1015
Compression ratio: 18
Fuel Tank capacity: 15 L
Transmission: Sliding Mesh
The analysis was carried out using ANSYS (2021-R2) platform.
During the analysis setup, linearly static mode and isotropic elastic
material was assumed. In the software platform, the material
Table 2 selected was as AISI 4140 (42CrMoS4). This material is belonging
PTO specifications. to medium-carbon steel category and generally used in transmis-
Name Specifications
sion components and drive shafts in majority of automobile appli-
cation [7–9]. The materials properties are given in Table 3.
Type Independent
RPM 1000
Element size determination is very much important towards
No. of splines 11 the generation of mesh to achieve precise result. In the present
research, element size of 2.0 mm was selected. By this way, we
have total number of nodes as 90,777 and total elements as
50967. This small element size was sufficient to examine the load-
2.2. Finite element analysis (FEA) ing effect in the PTO shaft. The mesh generation, deformation and
stress results are given in Figs. 7 to 9 respectively.
Finite element analysis was conducted in order to found out the
material deformation and stress distribution of the failed PTO shaft 2.3. Typical governing formula
under torsional loading. In the case of an agricultural tractor-
implement combination working in the field, it is necessary to con-
sider the transmission efficiency as 90% of overall engine power
T PTO :NPTO
while calculating the maximum torque [5,6]. By this way, a maxi- Pengine
0:9 ¼
mum theoretical torque of 300 Nm at 1000 rpm was considered for 9549
the current analysis. This torque was calculated based on the avail- [10] where, Pengine = Engine Power, kW, TPTO = PTO torque, Nm,
able engine power. NPTO = PTO RPM.

Fig. 5. 2D view of the PTO shaft.

3
Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al.
Fig. 7. Mesh generation.
Fig. 8. Deformation results.
Fig. 9. von-Mises stress results.
By considering 90 % efficiency: The most efficient transmission
(90%) of net engine power (ASABE Standards, ASAE D497.7, 2015)
for an agricultural tractor for a towed working implement requir-
ing rotary power whether stationary or mobile is via the PTO shaft
[5,11].
In this case, Pengine = 11.2 hp = 8.35 kW; NPTO = 1000 RPM. Thus,
From above formula, TPTO  75 Nm; Taking Buffer = 6 times, Then
TPTO  300 Nm (considering as much as safety factor in dynamic
conditions).
2.4. Metallurgical investigation of the broken shaft
A thorough metallurgical study was performed with the chem-
ical analysis of the PTO shaft material. The analysis results are
given in Table 4. The microstructure of the shaft materials was
examined (as shown in Fig. 10.) in the hardened area of the failed
shaft accompanied by required hardness test. The test was con-
ducted crosswise the diameter of the shaft, it was found to be as
25 HRC and on the hardened surface (with a depth of 2 mm) aver-
4
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
age value was 51.5 HRC. The results showed that shaft material
falls under the category of low carbon steel which is very much
closer with the chemical analysis results. Thus, the mechanical
properties of the specimen block were improved via heat treat-
ment so as to achieve 51.5 HRC in the whole sample to suit the
requirement in the current application.
The tensile testing was also carried out in an UTM machine
where it was revealed the following results:
i. Yield Strength: 713 MPa; Ultimate Tensile Strength:
998 MPa
ii. Maximum Percent of elongation: 15.20 %; Percentage reduc-
tion in the cross-section area: 50.71%
Here, cup and cone fracture indicate the ductile failure of the
material. The tested sample is shown in Fig. 11.
2.5. SEM analysis
SEM was conducted for the two failed surfaces to examine the
surface roughness, profile etc. Figs. 12 and 13 represents the sur-
face profile of the failure surfaces near the external surface of the
shaft A, and B (Fig. 3).
3. Results and discussions
Results obtained from the finite element analysis are presented
in this section. The Von-Mises stress on the selected power-take-
off shaft is found out to be 632.08 MPa (Fig. 7) and the maximum
deformation as 0.1855 mm (Fig. 6). The Von-Mises stress obtained
from the analysis is much below the yield point of the assumed
material. From these results it may be stated that the PTO shaft
works within the elastic limit under designated applied constraints
(maximum torsional loading). This stress is also below the tensile
strength of the material and due to this it may be concluded that
this is not the case of the rupture failure. It might happen due to
brittle fracture under excessive torsion or shock/sudden load. The
FEA result is very much sensitive to predict the failure zone in
the failed shaft. Thus, a sudden dynamic shock loading may be well
thought-out in similar failure case through FEA. As the maximum
stress is very much lower than the tensile and yield stress, thus
it may be assumed that a brittle crack under dynamic loading
may be the reason of failure.
Subsequently all through metallurgical research with SEM
results imply that the fracture proliferates with intergranular frac-
tures and transgranular cracks followed by brittle fracture however
the varieties of paths with segments cracks areas are discrimi-
nated. The orientation of the fracture place is absolutely one-of-
a-kind as depicted at points a and b (Fig. 4.). The required fatigue
symbols were not present at all. Normally, all through the ordinary
running of any tractor, the power-take-off shaft is exposed to rota-
tional and torsional loading. During production, usually, a tough
material is chosen to face up to this sort of ordinary loading. In
our case, the PTO shaft turned into absolutely destroyed and
turned into damaged pieces.
The observed warning signs of the failed shaft led us toward the
idea of a fracture that propagated in subsequent stages:
i. A sudden total failure took place inside PTO shaft that
resulted in a whole breakage.
ii. The shaft become all at once subjected to torsional excess
loading. This excess loading was mainly accountable as far
as the failure at point A is concerned (second stage in fail-
ure). The failure commenced and its very last step turned
towards the location with informal metal look in the cracked
exterior.
Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 4
Chemical composition.

Sample %C % Si % Mn %S %P % Cr % Ni
End of specimen 0.178 0.383 0.72 0.056 0.049 0.90 0.82
Middle of specimen 0.179 0.376 0.72 0.052 0.053 0.91 0.80

Fig. 10. Metallographic view at failed surface.

Fig. 11. UTM test sample.

Fig. 12. SEM results of the failed surfaces (Multi position) under Torsion.

5
Subrata Kumar Mandal, Md. Imran Shekh, S. Kumar et al.
Fig. 13. SEM results of the failed surfaces (Multi position) under Bending.
iii. The shaft axis at a and b misplaced its solid fastening. Load-
ing was steadily modified from the distinctive rotational-
torsional to bending effects. The failure commenced on sur-
face under torsional loading and soon became spread into
bending. It has been suspected that approximately 40% tor-
sion and 60% bending loads acted during the failure.
4. Conclusions
Failures are commonly raised extremely serious situations in
the case of agricultural work. If failure occurs, it may lead to sys-
tem collapse and linked to direct financial loss. PTO shaft is a quite
costly item and therefore if failure happens, a proper investigation
is very much needed. Under the circumstances, in this case, FEA
was conducted to determine the area of failure of the failed shaft;
however, specific fracture symbols were no longer represented
withinside the finite element analysis. This directed us to take into
the effect of dynamic loading situations inclusive of a case with
maximum torsion. In a similar context, regardless of the truth, that
the linear statistical finite element analysis technique sited a dis-
tortion at the failure quarter. This has not provided proper infor-
mation about the element failure during the analysis. The results
achieved due to sudden load with torsion with the addition of
excessive amount of torque in the failed shaft. Shock load motives
factors to crack and separate the structures inside the materials to
aids the failures. To get proper effects, metallurgical assessment
was executed to ascertain the consequent failure. The failure hap-
pened where there is sudden change in the shaft cross sectional
area. In the present investigation, failure occurred due to torsion
and bending effects. The sudden change in cross sectional area of
the shaft leads its failure due to torsion and bending effects. This
way of failure study may be helpful to the farmers community in
assessing the financial significances towards comparable inter-
granular cracking defects.
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
[1] Agri-Times, 2022. https://agritimes.co.in/farm-equipment/indian-agricultural-
machinery-market-to-touch-usd-12-bn-by-2024/. Accessed 03.04.2022.
[2] D.G. Pardhi, S.D. Khamankar, Stress Analysis of Spline Shaft Using Finite
Element Method and its Experimental Verification by Photo Elasticity, Int. J.
Mech. Eng. 3 (4) (2014) 451–458.
[3] Turkish Statistical Institute 2017. Agricultural Mechanisation statistics.
[4] G. Triantafyllidis, D. Zagkliveris, P. Koliotsas, Metallurgical Analysis Explains
the Failure Mechanism of a Farm Tractor’s PTO + PTO’s Drive Shaft, Assisting in
the Evaluation of Economical Consequences of Similar Events, J. Fail. Anal. Prev.
15 (2) (2015) 179–183.
[5] A.S.A.B.E. Standards, Agricultural Machinery Management Data, ASAE D497
(2015) 7.
[6] J.B.W. Roeber, P. Santosh, R.M. Hoy, J.D. Luck, M.F. Kocher, Tractor Power Take-
off Torque Measurement and Data Acquisition System, Biol. Syst. Eng.: Papers
Publ. 33 (5) (2017) 679–686.
[7] P. Starke, F. Walther, D. Eifler, New fatigue life calculation method for
quenched and tempered steel SAE 4140, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 523 (1-2) (2009)
246–252.
[8] I. Barsoum, F. Khan, Z. Barsoum, Analysis of the torsional strength of hardened
splined shafts, Mater. Des. 54 (2014) 130–136.
[9] H. Kristoffersen, S. Haglund, Influence of straightening on bending fatigue
properties of induction hardened shafts in steel 42CrMo4 (SAE 4140),
Proceedings of the 6th International Quenching and Control of Distortion
Conference 2012; Chicago, USA, 2012.
[10] H. Field, J. Solie, Introduction to Agricultural Engineering Technology: A
Problem Solving Approach, Springer Science & Business Media, 2007, p. 391.
[11] B.W. Roeber James, P. Santosh, M. Hoy Roger, D. Luck Joe, F. Kocher Michael,
Tractor Power Take-off Torque Measurement and Data Acquisition System,
Biol. Syst. Eng.: Papers Publ. 33 (5) (2017) 679–686.