Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Two cases of failure in the power transmission system

on vehicles: A universal joint yoke and a drive shaft
_ Yavuz
H. Bayrakceken *, S. Tasgetiren, I.
Afyon Kocatepe University, Technical Education Faculty, Afyon 03200, Turkey

Received 16 November 2005; accepted 11 February 2006

Available online 19 May 2006

Abstract

Power transmission system of vehicles consist several components which sometimes encounter unfortunate failures.
Some common reasons for the failures may be manufacturing and design faults, maintenance faults raw material faults,
material processing faults as well as the user originated faults. In this study, fracture analysis of a universal joint yoke
and a drive shaft of an automobile power transmission system are carried out. Spectroscopic analyses, metallographic anal-
yses and hardness measurements are carried out for each part. For the determination of stress conditions at the failed sec-
tion, stress analyses are also carried out by the finite element method.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Drive shafts; Universal joint yoke; Failure analysis; Power transmissions

1. Introduction

The movement of vehicles can be provided by transferring the torque produced by engines to tires after
some modification. The transfer and modification system of vehicles is called as power transmission system
and have different constructive features according to the vehicle’s driving type which can be front wheel drive,
rear wheel drive or four wheel drive. Fig. 1 gives elements of a front wheel and a rear wheel drive power trans-
mission system. The elements of the system include clutch, transmission system, propeller shaft, joints, differ-
ential, drive shafts and tires. Each element has many different design and construction properties depending on
the brands of vehicles. Heyes [1] studied the common failure types in automobiles and revealed that the fail-
ures in the transmission system elements cover 1/4 of all the automobile failures. Some common reasons for
the failures may be manufacturing and design faults, maintenance faults, raw material faults as well as the user
originated faults.
Several researchers studied on the failures of the elements of power transmission system as there are many
cases of the failures [2–5]. Bayrakceken analyzed the failure of a pinion shaft of a differential in a previous

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 272 228 1311; fax: +90 272 228 1319.
E-mail address: bceken@aku.edu.tr (H. Bayrakceken).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2006.03.003
 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724 717

Fig. 1. Elements of power transmission system: (a) Front-mounted engine rear-wheel drive and (b) longitudinal front-mounted engine
front-wheel drive.

study [6]. Kepceler et al. studied the stress and life calculation of the elements of power transmission system of
a four wheel drive vehicle [7].
Some researchers studied on the drive shafts. Among these Vogwell [8], carried out a study on a failed axle
and obtained the stresses on the axle by numerical analysis technique. Nanaware and Pable [9], investigated
the fatigue cracks on the rear axle of a tractor. The main reason for the observed cracks on the axes was the
cyclic stresses occurred on the axle. Heat treatment errors were observed on 80–85% of failed axles. The axles
were generally fractured at keyway locations.
Some studies for alternative design and production of propeller shaft which is the biggest element of the
system of rear wheel drive vehicles are carried out. Lee et al. [10] proposed an aluminum matrix composite
shaft. They carried out some stress analysis of proposed shaft by finite element technique. By using this single
part shaft instead of the conventional two part shaft has given a 75% weight reduction and 160% increase of
torque transmission capacity. In addition, the novel shaft has lower influence of corrosive environment.
As can be seen in Fig. 1, the propeller shaft is connected to gearbox and pinion shaft of the differential via
two universal joints. Hummel and Chassapis [11] researched on the design of the universal joints. They have
given some suggestions on the configuration design and optimization of universal joints with manufacturing
tolerances.
The drive shafts are used to transmit the motion from differential to the wheels. The shafts work with the
vehicles motion. Torsional, bending and normal forces occur during the working of the shaft [12]. The forces
cause a combination of normal and shear stresses which applied cyclically on the shaft. The arrangements for
supporting the road wheels on live axles and providing the driving traction involve using an axle hub mounted
on to the axle casing and supported by ball or roller bearings. Axle half shafts are situated on each side of the
final drive, to convey motion to the road wheels. There are basically three different methods of supporting axle
wheel hubs on the rear axle casing. These are semi-floating axle-hub, three quarter floating axle hub, fully
floating axle hub. Fig. 2 gives a semi floating ball-race bearing axle.
The universal joint, on the other hand, consists of two forged-steel yokes or forks joined to the two shafts
being coupled and situated at right angles to each other. A spider hinges these two yokes together. Since the
arms of the spider are at right angles, there will be four extreme positions during each revolution when the
entire angular movement is being taken by only one half of the joint. This means that the spider arm rocks
backwards and forwards between these extremes and the output-shaft speed will therefore increase or decrease
twice in one revolution. Friction due to rubbing between the spider and the yoke bores is minimized by incor-
porating needle-roller bearings between the hardened spider journals and hardened bearing caps pressed into
the yoke bores.
In this study, fracture analysis of a universal joint yoke and a drive shaft of an automobile power transmis-
sion are carried out (Figs. 3, and 7). Spectroscopic analyses, metallographic analyses and hardness measure-
ments are carried out for each part. For the determination of stress conditions at the failed section, stress
analyses are also carried out by the finite element method.
718 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724

Drive Shaft
Bearing

Wheel Nut

Fig. 2. A design type of shaft-wheel assembly.

Spider
Spider

Yoke
Yoke

Fig. 3. A solid appearance of a universal shaft with two yokes and a spider.

2. Investigated failures in the power transmission system

2.1. Case 1: Fatigue failure of an universal joint yoke

The analyzed universal joint is failed as the fracture of one arm of the yoke (Fig. 4). The technical drawing
and overall dimensions of the yoke is given in Fig. 5. Preliminary observation show that the failure occurred as
a result of a fatigue process.
As a result of spectroscopic analyses, the obtained chemical compositions are given in Table 1. The AISI
5046H is the most agreeable standard steel in the literature for this chemical composition [13]. AISI 5046H is a
material in the low alloy steel group. Typical mechanical properties are 1750 MPa of tensile strength and
1400 MPa of yield strength. For some strength levels, low-alloy steels have a good combination of strength,
toughness, and ductility. Low alloy steels are used to a great extent in the manufacture of automobiles and
trucks for parts that require superior strength and toughness properties which cannot be obtained from plain
carbon steels as in the present case. Some other typical applications for low alloy steels in automobiles are
shafts, axles, gears, and springs.
The hardness values of the universal joint yoke are obtained in Rockwell A scale. The mean hardness value
of three different locations of yoke is obtained as 50.2 HRA.
The metallographic study has given the microstructures in Fig. 6. As can be seen from figure, the micro-
structure contains pearlite and ferrite. As can be predicted from the hardness values, the material is not
quenched for the sake of protection of toughness. As a result of air cooling, the fine pearlite formation is
occurred. The ferrite surrounding the fine pearlite morphology can be seen from the magnified figure.

2.1.1. Finite element analysis

A finite element stress analysis is carried out at the failure region to determine the stress distribution and
possible design improvement. The ANSYS 7.1/Mechanical module is utilized for the modeling of entire body.
 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724 719

Fig. 4. Failed yoke.

Ø38
Ø20 8

Ø8
4.0

6
Ø5

Ø3
Ø57
Ø90
13.5

2
6

Fig. 5. A schematic technical drawing of the analyzed failed joint yoke.

Table 1
Comparison of yoke material and AISI 5046H
Fe C Si Mn Cr Mo S P
Yoke material 97.91 0.50 0.18 0.92 0.34 0.044 0.035 0.0027
AISI 5046H 98.00 0.44–0.5 0.23 0.88 0.28 – 0.04 0.035

After the construction of the geometrical model, a static stress analysis is carried out by entering the obtained
mechanical properties of the material (Elasticity modulus = 205 GPa, Poisson’s ratio = 0.29). Fig. 7 gives the
solid model, finite element mesh, distribution of von Misses stress values and a comparison of failed yoke and
stress analysis result. The force applied at the spider mounting location as a torsional moment is 200 Nm.
720 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724

Fig. 6. Microstructure of the universal joint yoke.

Fig. 7. Finite element stress analysis of the universal joint yoke and failed part.

However the value changes depending on the speed and loading of the car, the value is taken as a maximum at
start of the car. In addition, a 500 rpm revolution speed is also considered. Solid 92 type elements are used in
the construction of finite element mesh. Totally, there are 13,575 elements and 24,201 nodes.
The car had encountered about 2 · 105 km which mean more than a 108 cycle of loading. When the present
material is considered, standard fatigue limit estimation process from the tensile strength (Half of tensile
strength with size correction factor, loading correction factor and surface roughness correction factor) gives
a value between 400 and 450 MPa. As a result, the yoke should undergo for an infinite life with this loading.
However, as can be seen from the Figs. 4 and 7, the highest stresses (indicated with arrows) are occurred at the
crack beginning location of the yoke. A possible surface fault could have started the crack propagation period
at the highly stressed point. After a crack propagation period, the arm had completely fractured.

2.2. Case 2: Fatigue failure of the drive shaft

A schematic technical drawing and a photograph of the analyzed failed shaft is given in Fig. 8. The com-
plete fracture is occurred between the bearing and flange (Fig. 9).
The spectroscopic analyses yielded that the material is a low alloy boron steel of the type 94B30H (Table 2).
However the plain carbon steels are relatively low in cost but have some limitations including low strength,
 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724 721

Fig. 8. A schematic technical drawing and a photograph of the analyzed failed shaft.

Fig. 9. Fractured drive shaft.

Table 2
Chemical analysis of the axle material and matching 94B30H (wt%)
Fe C Si Mn Cr Ni Mo B S P
Shaft material 98.21 0.32 0.20 0.81 0.31 0.14 0.059 0.0005 0.022 0.0027
AISI 94B30H 97.7–98.49 0.27–0.33 0.15–0.30 0.70–1.05 0.25–0.55 0.25–0.65 0.08–0.15 0.0005–0.003 0.040 0.035

lower deep hardenability, low corrosion and oxidation resistance and poor impact resistance at low temper-
atures. To overcome the deficiencies of plain-carbon steels, alloy steels have been developed which contain
alloying elements to improve their properties. Alloy steels in general cost more than plain-carbon steels,
but for many applications they are the only materials that can be used to meet engineering requirements.
The principal alloying elements added to make alloy steels are manganese, nickel, chromium, molybdenum,
and tungsten. Other elements that are sometimes added include vanadium, cobalt, boron, copper, aluminum,
lead, titanium and niobium [14]. Compared to conventional quenched and tempered steels, boron steel have
several benefits including better formability. Boron steels are used for a wide variety of applications as a high-
strength structural steel as in the present case. Examples include wear plate, screen plate, punching tools,
spades, knives, saw blades, caterpillar tracks, and agricultural machinery [13].
To determine the hardening treatment applied to the shaft material, hardness measurements are carried out
on the cross section. The measurements are applied from surface to the core with a 1 mm step. A measurement
from the outer surface is also done. The results are given in Table 3. These hardness values can only be
obtained by a surface hardening technique. In the present case, the technique is probably one of the induction
or flame hardening. Notice that the outer surface hardness is lower than inner hardness about 10%. The reason
for this situation may be decrease of carbon content due to excessive heating and wrongly applied heat treat-
ment duration. Up to the 3 mm, the hardness reaches to 44 HRC, while the inner regions have very lover hard-
ness values. This condition is necessary to obtain a tough core and hard surface. Typical value of tensile
722 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724

Table 3
Locations and values of hardness measurements on the cross section
Distance from surface (mm) Surface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Hardness (HRC) 46 50 49.9 44.4 30.4 22.6 16.6 14.4 12

strength and yield strength of 94B30H steel (oil quenched and tempered at 205 C) are about 1700 MPa and
1550 MPa, respectively.
The decrement in the carbon content of the surface region is also observed in the metallographic studies.
Fig. 10 shows the microstructures of the cross sections from surface (Fig. 10a) to the center (Fig. 10c) of the
shaft. The grain boundaries can easily be observed and this indicates the poor carbon content of the micro-
structure. The structure is composed of polygonal ferrite having sometimes coarse grains among the fine
grains. This also indicates the high temperature treatments which caused the grains to grow. Fig. 10b shows
the microstructure of the hardened region. The structure consists of martensite and ferrite. Under the effect of
high temperature applied at the surface, the morphology turned to tempered martensite. Fig. 10c on the other
hand shows the microstructure of the center of the cross section. The structure in this case contains pearlite
and ferrite.
The observation of the fracture surface gives the fatigue signs. Fig. 11 shows the fracture surface, stress
analysis results and a fractographic map from ASM metals handbook [15]. The handbook suggests that the

Fig. 10. Micro structure of the drive shaft (a: surface; b: hardened region; c: center).
 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724 723

Fig. 11. Fracture surface, comparative ASM handbook map and stress analysis result.

fatigue process is a rotating bending process with low nominal stress and mild stress concentration. The the-
oretical stress concentration factor in this case is 1.9. The fatigue cracks originated from multiple points on the
surface. These locations are especially at highly stressed points in the cross section.

2.2.1. Finite element analysis

A stress analysis is carried out to determine the stress distribution at the failed section and to obtain pos-
sible design improvements by the finite element analysis technique. After the construction of the geometric
model, a statical stress analysis is carried out as done for joint yoke before. The loads are lateral bending load
of 1/4 of weight of the full car (2500 N) and torsional moment for turning of the wheel (100 Nm). However,
the loads have highly variable character for real road conditions, these considered load values give extreme
values encountered by the analyzed component. The geometrical model, finite element model and stress anal-
ysis results are given in Fig. 12. Fig. 12 also gives sectional view of the stress distribution at the failed section.
The mesh consists of 11,486 elements and 20,612 nodes. Bending and twisting torques are applied at the joint
location of shaft and wheel. Boundary conditions are applied at the bearing and geared coupling locations. As
can be observed from the two figures, the highest stresses occur at the outer regions of the failed cross section.
Unfortunately, these stresses do not have a symmetrical feature. They are especially concentrated at the crack
beginning locations. The fatigue limit of this material can also be estimated from the tensile strength as nearly

Fig. 12. Finite element model and results of the stress analysis.
724 H. Bayrakceken et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 716–724

400 MPa which is higher than obtained maximum stress (296 MPa) at the failed cross section. However, the
highly variable character of the applied stress and possible shock forces coming from the road surface irreg-
ularities may reduce the fatigue limit. The improper heat treatment may also contribute to reduction of the
fatigue limit. The failed part is taken from a car encountered a 120,000 km of travel which mean a
120 · 106 cycles of loading. Normally these parts are designed for high factor of safety and last up to the scrap
conditions of the cars.

3. Conclusions

Two cases of fatigue failures of components in the power transmission system of passenger cars are consid-
ered in this study. Several experimental and numerical investigations are carried out. As a conclusion, the fol-
lowing points can be drawn:

 Both failures are occurred as a result of fatigue process.

 The crack beginning location of the joint yoke corresponds to highest stress points. Some modification on
the design of the joint may be considered for prevention of later failures.
 The drive shaft failure seems to be originated from improper heat treatment conditions, however the failed
section and the crack beginning locations also coincide with the highly stressed regions. The mild stress con-
centration also speed up the failure.

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