• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.513-517
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• 2005

A full-bead of multi-layer-steel engine head gasket, taking charge of the dynamic sealing of combustion chamber, is susceptible to fatigue failure. The fatigue durability of full-bead was assessed with the finite element analysis results and the high-cycle multi-axial fatigue theory. The assessment aimed to reveal the effects of the forming parameters and dimensions of full-bead. The results show that the selection of embossing parameters producing less deformation of bead plate is beneficial for the improvement of durability while the flatting has marginal influence. The fatigue durability also improves with the increase in the width of full-bead and the radial length of bore-side flat region. However, the dimensional effects are limited due to the occurrence of snap-through.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.207-212
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• 2004

Full-beads of multi-layer steel engine head gaskets that are used to seal the combustion gas between the head and the block are subject to cyclic bending stresses due to the variation of the head/block gap during engine operation. The S-N curve for the fatigue durability assessment of the full-bead formed on NBR-coated SUS301 thin plate is deduced from the axial fatigue test results because of the difficulty in conducting the bending fatigue test of thin plate. The experimental verification of the deduced S-N curve is presented. It is shown that the NBR coating increases the endurance limit of the plate significantly. Mechanism of crack nucleation and propagation in the full-bead is discussed with photographs of the fatigue cracks.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.109-114
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• 2006

Half-beads of multi-layer-steel cylinder head gaskets take charge of sealing of lubrication oil and coolant between the cylinder head and the block. Since the head lifts off periodically due to the combustion gas pressure, both the dynamic sealing performance and the fatigue durability are essential for the gasket. A finite element model of the halfbead has been developed and verified with experimental data. The half-bead forming process was included in the model to consider the residual stress effects. The model is employed to assess the dependence of the sealing performance and the fatigue durability on the design parameters of half-bead such as the width and height of bead and the flat region length. The assessment results show that the sealing performance can be enhanced without significant deterioration of the fatigue durability in a certain range of the half-bead width. In the other cases the improvement of sealing performance is accompanied by the loss of the fatigue durability. Among three parameters, the bead width has the strongest influence.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2005

A full-bead of multi-layer-steel (MLS) engine head gasket is used to seal the combustion gas. Finite element analyses were conducted to assess the dependence of the sealing performance of full-bead on the forming process consisting of embossing and flatting operations. It is demonstrated that the sealing performance is enhanced with more severe deformation of the bead plate during the embossing, i.e., with the increase in the punching depth, the punch height, the punch width and the friction coefficient of the bead plate against the punch and die, and with the decrease in the width of die cavity. Meanwhile, the flatting process that is employed to adjust the height of the embossed full-bead has no influence on the sealing performance.