Abstract
The drive pulley, which is employed for loading and unloading raw materials in a steel mill, is usually manufactured by use of various welding processes. In this study the weldment in the pulley, in which TIG and $CO_2$ welding processes are used, has been analyzed from view point of fracture mechanics. Fracture toughness tests have been performed according to ASTM E813. A servo-hydraulic testing machine (10kN) has been employed. Also the crack propagation tests (Mode I) have been performed with compact tension specimen in compliance with ASTM E647. To predict the critical crack size in the weldment, finite element stress analysis for the drive pulley under real operating conditions have been performed. In addition, the residual stresses at the weldment and in heat-affected zone have been obtained by hole drilling method. The planar critical crack size have been predicted for the drive pulley by considering the stress analysis results and the residual stresses due to welding process. For the drive pulley considered in this study, it has been concluded that the most important factor in determining the critical crack size is the welding residual stress in the transverse direction. Also the effect of stress concentration at the root of the weldment have been noticeable. For the planar crack, the fatigue crack growth life from an initial crack size of 2mm to the critical crack size obtained as in the above have been predicted. The predicted lives were between 55, 900 and 72, 000 cycles depending on the shape of the elliptical crack. The predicted lives were in fairly good agreement for the drive pulley considered in this study.
