APPLICATION OF FMEA TO THE DESIGN OF A COOLING FAN ASSEMBLY

POTENTIAL
PART NAME POTENTIAL POTENTIAL
EFFECT(S)
AND PART FAILURE CAUSE(S) OF
OF DESIGN
FUNCTION MODE FAILURE
FAILURE S O VERIFICATION D RPN
Motor: Fan vibration Audible noise 5 Fan’s centre of 5 • Design lightweight fan 4 100
provide from vibration; gravity off axis with min. band mass;
Mechanical imbalance and increased of rotation; part thickness to favour
Power to fans; axial TIR motor wear axial TIR uniform mould flow
Position fans Causes 2-plane • DV tests on vehicles to
Within shroud imbalance assess sensitivity to
vibration inputs

Motor: Motor Loss of Overheating, Vent holes in motor case;

provide burnout, cooling and 5 lack of air 2 fins in fan hub pull air 5 50
Mechanical bearing or A/C function circulation through ES, durability
Power to fans; brush failure tests
Position fans
Within shroud

Motor: Misassemble Loss of 7 Fan contact, 2 Design for easy assembly, 3 42

provide to shroud, cooling shroud, noise, accurate positioning in
Mechanical off center or function or motor- shroud
Power to fans; crooked burn-out
Position fans
Within shroud

Motor: Assemble at No-build Symmetrical • Power motion motor

provide ±12o off- condition in 6 spacing of 6 has unique mounting 3 108
Mechanical nominal assembly screw holes; configuration
Power to fans; Angle, motor plant non-unique • Visual inspection
Position fans wire in mounting during assembly
Within shroud Wrong interfaces
location

THIS TABLE SHOWS THE STANDARD FMEA FORMAT USED IN THE DESIGN OF A
COOLING FAN ASSEMBLY USED IN THE AIRCONDITIONING UNITS FOR
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES.

THE FIRST COLUMN IN THE TABLE IS FOR THE PART NAME AND PART FUNCTION.
THE PART CONSIDERED IN THIS EXAMPLE IS THE MOTOR WHICH PROVIDES
MECHANICAL POWER TO THE FAN.

THE SECOND COLUMN REQUIRES INFORMATION ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FAILURE

MODES. IN CASE OF THE MOTOR, THE FIRST POTENTIAL FAILURE MODE IS
MENTIONED AS FAN VIBRATION FROM IMBALANCE.
THE THIRD COLUMN REQUIRES THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE FAILURE WHICH,
FOR FAN VIBRATION, HAS BEEN MENTIONED AS AUDIBLE NOISE VIBRATION AND
INCREASED MOTOR WEAR.

THE SEVERITY RATING (S) IS FOUND QUALITATIVELY FROM FOLLOWING TABLE:

QUALITATIVE SCALE FOR THE SEVERITY INDEX (S)

Effect Level Criteria
Non 1 No effect

Very slight 2 Customer not annoyed. Very slight effect on product or system performance.

Slight 3 Customer slightly annoyed. Slight effect on product or system performance.

Minor 4 Customer experiences minor nuisance. Minor effect on product or system

performance.

Moderate 5 Customer experiences some dissatisfaction. Moderate effect on product or system

performance.

Significant 6 Customer experiences discomfort. Product performance degraded, but operable and
safe. Partial failure, but operable.

Major 7 Customer dissatisfied. Product inoperable but safe. System inoperable.

Extreme 8 Customer very dissatisfied. Product inoperable but safe. System inoperable.

Serious 9 Potential hazardous effect. Able to stop product without mishap – time dependent
failure. Compliance with government regulation is in jeopardy.

Hazardous 10 Hazardous effect. Safety related sudden failure. Non-compliance with government
regulation.

THE NEXT COLUMN IN THE TABLE IS THE POTENTIAL CAUSES OF THE FAILURE,
WHICH HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE FAN’S CENTER OF GRAVITY, WHICH IS OFF
THE AXIS OF ROTATION. THE NEXT COLUMN IS FOR THE FREQUENCY OF
OCCURRENCE (O) OF THE FAILURE MODE.

THE NEXT COLUMN IS FOR DESIGN VERIFICATION. FOR FAN VIBRATION, IT IS

‘DESIGN LIGHTWEIGHT FAN WITH MINIMUM BAND MASS’. IT ALSO SUGGESTS A
TEST ON VEHICLES HAVING THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT INSTALLED FOR
ASSESSING SENSITIVITY TO VIBRATION INPUTS. THE SECOND LAST COLUMN IS
FOR THE DELECTABILITY INDEX (D) WHICH QUALITATIVELY MEASURES HOW
EASY IT IS TO DETECT A FAILURE MODE.

IN CASE OF FAN VIBRATION, IT HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM TABLE AS 4, WHICH IS

MODERATELY HIGH ON THE CRITERIA OF TESTS ON EARLY PROTOTYPE SYSTEM
ELEMENTS. THE LAST COLUMN IN TABLE IS FOR RISK PRIORITY NUMBER (RPN)
WHICH IS CALCULATED BY USING THE FOLLOWING FORMULA:

RPN  S  O  D
THUS, RPN HELPS IN PRIORITIZING THE FAILURE MODES AND WORKING OUT FOR
THEIR PREVENTION. IN CASE OF FAN VIBRATION, THE RPN HAS BEEN
CALCULATED AS

RPN  5  5  4  100

QUALITATIVE SCALE FOR THE OCCURRENCE INDEX (O)

Effect Level Criteria
Almost never 1 Failure unlikely. History shows no failure.

Remote 2 Rare number of failures likely.

Very slight 3 Very few failures likely.

Slight 4 Few failures likely.

Low 5 Occasional number of failures likely.

Medium 6 Medium number of failures likely.

Moderately high 7 Moderately high number of failures likely.

High 8 High number of failures likely.

Very high 9 Very high number of failures likely.

Almost certain 10 Failure almost certain. History of failures exists from previous or
similar designs.

QUALITATIVE SCALE FOR THE DELECTABILITY INDEX (D)

Effect Level Criteria
Almost certain 1 Proven detection methods available in concept stage.

Very high 2 Proven computer analysis available in early design stage.

High 3 Simulation and/or modeling in early stage.

Moderately high 4 Tests on early prototype system elements.

Medium 5 Tests on preproduction system components.

Low 6 Tests on similar system components.

Slight 7 Tests on product with prototypes with system components installed.

Very slight 8 Proving durability tests on products with system components installed.

Remote 9 Only unproven or unreliable technique(s) available.

Almost impossible 10 No known techniques available.

IN THE TABLE THE HIGHEST RPN IS 108 FOR THE FAILURE MODE-ASSEMBLE
AT ±12 DEGREES OFF-NOMINAL ANGLE, MOTOR WIRE IN WRONG
LOCATION. THUS, IT DESERVES MAXIMUM ATTENTION FROM THE
DESIGNERS IN ORDER TO AVOID FAILURES OF THE FAN ASSEMBLY DUE TO
THIS PROBLEM.