Failure Analysis of Automotive Main Bearing Cap for Alabama Motors

Simmons, L., Prabhu, R., Doude, M., & Hartzog, A. (2009). Failure Analysis of Automotive Main Bearing Cap for Alabama Motors. CAVS Extension Technical Reports.

Ferrous powder metallurgy (P/M) processing is becoming a commonly used technique in the automotive industry. FC-0205 is a material used to manufacture main bearing caps for Alabama Motors (AM). The bearing caps are frequently failing in the same location, so Alabama Motors would like to improve the bearing cap’s working life. Both physical testing, including tensile testing, Rockwell hardness testing, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis, and damage modeling were carried out on specimens of the bearing cap. Our results show that the automotive part fails where the damage (porosity) is maximum. We recommend AM to revisit the manufacturing process of the bearing cap with an emphasis on reducing the initial porosity.