FATIGUE ASSESSMENT OF WELDED COMPONENTS: A CASE FROM THE AUTOMOTIVE FIELD

In the present paper, the fatigue assessment of welded components, in particular the rear axle housing of light trucks, is presented. The analysis starts with in-service measurements of actual loads. In order to obtain these data, load spectra measurements were performed on urban, extra-urban, high-way and off-road conditions. Then, by means of finite element analyses, the stresses in the component were obtained and post-processed by means of two different techniques for the assessment of the welding joints: “Hot Spot” method and Local Stress. The results were eventually discussed and validated through full scale testing