Investigation of a

failed connecting rod

 Introduction
•The 4-stroke internal combustion engine, although not originally
designed for high-performance racing, has been commonly used in
Global Class race cars. These engines are subjected to extremely high
speeds, exceeding 11,000 revolutions per minute (RPM), during their
track life. After undergoing an engine rebuild, the car had run for
approximately 50 race before experiencing a catastrophic failure during
a race, resulting in a sudden loss of power.
•Upon inspection of the failed engine, it was discovered that a
connecting rod had failed. A typical connecting rod, along with its key
features, is shown in Figure a, while Figure b displays a comparison
between an intact connecting rod and the one that failed. Connecting
rods endure cyclic tensile and compressive loading throughout the
combustion cycle, indicating that fatigue could potentially be the
underlying cause of the failure.

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 • To analyze the failed components, a visual inspection was conducted after removing them from the engine. Six
specimens, labeled as ENG1 to ENG6, were collected and tested.

Methodology • Fractography analysis was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) by placing the specimens
inside. Before analysis, unmounted samples were cleaned in an ultrasound bath to reveal their microstructures.

• Furthermore, hardness tests were conducted on the mounted samples using a Vickers hardness tester. A 5 kgf force
was applied for 5 seconds, and the test was repeated 5 times at random locations on each sample surface to
determine an average hardness value.

• Additionally, a finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to understand the stress distribution. The engine
reached the highest RPM of 11,000 on at least 5 occasions during the test sessions, and the RPM was frequently
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close to the RPM limit during all laps. The maximum tensile force of 14,800 N was calculated based on inertia
Results

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 •Fig. 2a shows the fracture point at the big end of the connecting rod.
Visual analysis The fracture surface, Fig. 2b, is normal to the rod big end.
Observation of the fracture surface reveals discoloured area due to
excessive heat.
•. The rod cap is plastically deformed as shown in Fig. 2a. The
plastic deformation is due to heat build-up during operation
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 •Evidence of heat tinting was found, suggesting that thermal hotspots inside
Fractography the material were a contributing factor to its failure. The blue sections
represent a temperature of around 330 °C, the violet represent temperatures
of approximately 280 °C, and the yellow areas represent temperatures
ranging from 210 °C for the lighter shade to 240 °C for the deeper shade, as
seen in Fig. 3. The red arrow in Fig. 3a indicates the fracture point in the big
end of the connecting rod

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 •The observation of the fracture surface using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at low

Fractography magnification provides insights into the causes of fracture, including crack initiation, crack
propagation, and a fracture failure. In region 1 (shown in Fig. 4), the fracture's geometry
indicates the direction of shear and suggests the initiation of multiple ratchet cracks. During
operation, micro cracks in region 1 grow into major ratchet cracks. Circular micro cracks can be
observed as subtle yellow circular beach marks in Fig. 4, and their direction aligns with the
crack propagation from the initiation site in region 1 towards the fracture failure (region 3). The
fracture failure, indicated by the red arrow in Fig. 4, exhibits a morphology consistent with a
brittle fracture mode. A closer examination of the black circle in Fig. 4, shown in Fig. 5b,
reveals a rapid brittle fracture. The highlighted area in Fig. 5b represents the transition zone
from beach marks (region 2) to brittle fracture (region 3).

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 Fractography
•At a higher magnification shown in Fig. 6, surface SEM imaging indicates the presence of
mud-type micro cracks on the connecting rod. These cracks originated from the accumulation
of Sulphur-rich iron scale during the process of environmental corrosion, leading to the
formation of brittle sulphide inclusions . Fig. 7 highlights these micro cracks. Analysis using
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). However, no sulphur was detected in fracture
regions 1, 2, and 3. This could be attributed to the engine's oil being sulphurized due to a
cylinder sealing defect or inadequate hygiene during the refurbishment. The EDX analysis
further reveals that the sulphide inclusions on the surface, whereas no sulphur is present on
the inner surface at the fracture point. Detailed chemical compositions are provided in Table
3.

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Hardness
Analysis
•The hardness test in Table 4 shows that the
intact portion of the bolts measured an
average of 393 HV, above the maximum
hardness for AISI/SAE 4140 medium
carbon steel. The fractured bolt measured
an average of 182 HV, which shows a large
reduction in the bolt's hardness, possibly
due to a primary manufacturing defect

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 Finite Element
Analysis
It was observed that the maximum tension stress in the shank bottom
occurs at the top dead center (TDC) after the exhaust cycle and the
creation of a vacuum in the combustion chamber. The stress magnitude
varies with the location and engine speed. The fracture point in Fig. 3b
corresponds to the location of the maximum stress at the big end, as
shown in Fig. 9.
The stress analysis in Fig. 9a reveals that the maximum stress region is
located between the big end and the shank, reaching 300 MPa. However,
the average tensile stress at the fracture point is 195 MPa, which is below
the yield strength of the alloy steel. This suggests that the fracture
occurred due to fatigue failure. Fig. 10 presents the statistical fatigue
strength of low alloy steel AISI 4140 plotted against fatigue cycle
number. The intersecting line on the graph represents the probability of
fatigue failure occurring from one million cycles onward at a cyclic
tension stress of 195 MPa. The fatigue S-N curve, however, does not
consider material imperfections nor the direction of the acting stress on
crack growth 10
 The connecting rod failed suddenly due to the formation and propagation of micro cracks
caused by scale build-up and brittle sulphide inclusions. The fracture surface analysis
conclusion revealed regions with ratchet marks, striations/beach marks, and fast brittle fractures,
indicating fatigue failure. One of the bolts had lower hardness, leading to excessive
elongation and cyclic impact stress on the journal's surface. The engine management system
detected abnormal noise before the failure. The failure occurred at the end of the exhaust
stroke due to fatigue loading.
Thank you

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