Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

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Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Numerical prediction of fatigue life of an A356-T6 alloy wheel

T
considering the influence of casting defect and mean stress
Yong-chuan Duana,b, Fang-fang Zhanga,b, , Dan Yaoa,b, Le Tiana,b, Liu Yanga,b,
⁎

Ying-ping Guana,b, Jin-hua Huc

a
Key Laboratory of Advanced Forming & Stamping Technology and Science, Ministry of Education of China, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao
066004, Hebei, China
b
College of Mechanical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei, China
c
Technical Center, CITIC Dicastal Limited Company, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: A fatigue prediction method considering shrinkage cavity, secondary dendrite arm spacing
Shrinkage cavity (SDAS) and mean stress level is presented in the paper. Firstly, the casting process of an alu-
SDAS minum alloy wheel is simulated based on ProCAST software. And the data of SDAS and porosity
Mean stress of different parts are predicted based on the solidification process. Then the data mapping al-
Data mapping algorithm
gorithm between tetrahedral mesh elements is developed to realize the unidirectional transfor-
Radial fatigue life prediction of wheels
mation of microcosmic data from a cast model to a static mechanical model. And the radial
loading mechanical analysis model of a wheel containing microcosmic information is further
established. According to the specific mechanical and fatigue parameters of each node, the fa-
tigue life prediction model is established by Fesafe software. Based on the self-developed Transfer
Couple Data (TCD) software, the integrated coupling method of the three software prediction
models is realized, and the method is further used to realize a precise prediction of the radial
fatigue life of a wheel considering effects of shrinkage cavity, SDAS and mean stress. Compared
with the experimental results, after considering the microcosmic influence, the predicted position
of the minimum life is unchanged, and the predicted life value is more accurate after considering
the microcosmic influence. The proposed method lays a solid foundation of the optimization
design and lightweight design of aluminum alloy wheels.

1. Introduction

With the development of automobile industry and the aggravation of energy problem, people put forward requirements for higher
quality and performance of auto parts. Cast aluminum alloy material is widely used in new energy vehicles due to its high specific
strength and good foundry performance [1–3]. A wheel is one of important parts in the vehicle, an accurate service life prediction of
wheel is a key to realize lightweight design under the premise of ensuring safety.
A356 has good cast ability [4–6], but it is difficult to eliminate the pores and shrinkage cavity of cast materials in casting process
[7,8]. Balance between appearance and bearing performance is required in the wheel design, and the geometry of a wheel is usually
complex. The complicated geometry will result in different solidification time of different areas in the same part, and then different

⁎
Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Advanced Forming & Stamping Technology and Science, Ministry of Education of China, Yanshan
University, Qinhuangdao 066004, Hebei, China.
E-mail address: [email protected] (F.-f. Zhang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2020.104903
Received 13 July 2019; Received in revised form 5 September 2020; Accepted 8 September 2020
Available online 11 September 2020
1350-6307/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

microstructure will be produced [9]. Non-sequential solidification also produces isolated liquid phase region, and then produces
pores and shrinkage cavity when the temperature keeps dropping [10]. Pores, shrinkage cavity and uneven distribution of micro-
structure inside the material will affect the service life of a wheel [11,12], therefore, it has a great significance to study the fatigue
behavior of heterogeneous materials with porosity, shrinkage cavity and uneven microstructure.
Many researches have been done in the field. Roy et al. [13] used the experimental method to study the fatigue performance of the
material, and found that the defects of the cast aluminum alloy material have great impacts on the formation and propagation of the
micro-crack. Gao et al. [14] concluded that the fatigue behavior of A356 is determined by the internal defects of the material. Roy
et al. [15] found that the fatigue behavior of non-defective cast materials is also affected by secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS).
Gall et al. [16] concluded that the fatigue resistance of materials is affected by both microscopic defects and microstructure. Koutiri
et al. [17,18] found that the refinement of SDAS can improve the fatigue behavior of materials under cyclic loading, and suggested
that Goodman method can be used to consider the impact of mean stress on material fatigue. Mohamed et al. [19] studied the effect of
defect size on fatigue limit by using Kitigawa diagram.
With the development of computer technology, finite element method (FEM) has been widely used. Many scholars have studied
casting process, fracture and fatigue properties based on FEM. Hidalgo et al. [20] predicted the propagation of crack in cast aluminum
alloy based on the XFEM, and provided the prediction model of crack initiation and propagation. Vincent et al. [21] studied the
influence of defect size and shape on fatigue limit based on the coupled FEM and DSG method. Nadot et al. [5] used the FEM and
Crossland criterion to study the fatigue limit of cast aluminum alloy materials. Above all, many scholars have studied the fatigue
behavior based on the experimental specimens. However, the influence of pores and shrinkage cavity defects on the mechanical
properties cannot be eliminated, because the geometry of an aluminum alloy wheel is always complex, the solidification times of
different parts are different, and the microstructure distribution of the material after casting is non-uniform. So the prediction of the
service life at the beginning of the design considering shrinkage cavity, SDAS and mean stress is the key to realize the lightweight of a
wheel. The development cycle and cost can be greatly reduced by making accurate prediction with considering the influence of
various factors on the service life.
In this paper, a fatigue prediction method with shrinkage cavity, SDAS and mean stress level is proposed. The parameters of SDAS
and shrinkage porosity of different parts are predicted through the simulation of casting process of aluminum alloy wheels. The
unidirectional inheritance of the microcosmic data from the cast FEM model to the Abaqus static model is realized by the data
mapping algorithm, and the radial loading mechanical analysis model including microcosmic information is established. The self-
developed Transfer Couple Date (TCD) software is used to integrate ProCAST model, Abaqus static model and Fesafe fatigue pre-
diction model, to realize an accurate prediction of radial fatigue life of a wheel.

2. Fatigue life predication method using casting data

In this paper, the fatigue prediction method presented involves three steps. Step one, the casting and solidification process is
simulated by ProCAST software, SDAS and shrinkage cavity data of each node are exported from the ProCAST model. Step two, micro
defects and micro-structure data are mapped to the element of Abaqus model, and Abaqus is used to analyze the wheel under specific
working conditions. Step three, micro defects and micro-structure data are transmitted to the element of Fesafe model, Fesafe is used
to analyze the fatigue of the wheel under specific working conditions, and then the service cycle of the wheel is finally determined.
The usage flow is shown in Fig. 1.
Transfer Coupling Data (TCD) is a self-developed software. Firstly, the node coordinates and the element connectivity of the
ProCAST finite element model are read by TCD software. And then the SDAS and shrinkage porosity data at the corresponding nodes
are imported. According to the field data of the ProCAST results, the mechanical parameters influenced by SDAS and shrinkage
porosity are calculated based on each node coordinate of the Abaqus model. Depending on the specification of the Fesafe software
interface, the fatigue parameters influenced by microscopic data are calculated and exported. The role of self-developed TCD software
are mapping mesh data and calculating the degraded mechanical and fatigue properties.

ProCAST
Mesh mapping Abaqus inp file
FEM model

Micro defect Mathematical Abaqus

data model analysis

mechanical Abaqus odb

properties file

Fe-safe
fatigue Fe-safe
properties analysis

Fig. 1. Usage flow of predicated fatigue life tools.

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

Fig. 2. Definition of transformation area from liquid to solidification.

2.1. Prediction of casting defect based on FEM

SDAS refers to the distance between two adjacent secondary dendrite arms growing on the primary dendrite arm. The study of Li
[11] showed that the value of the SDAS is directly related to the alloy composition and local solidification time. In the solidification
process of metal, the crystal occurs preferentially where the heat quickly dissipates. SDAS is calculated via Eq. (1):

2 = 5.5(Mts )n (1)

where 2 is the value of secondary dendrite arm spacing, ts is the solidification time of a certain location during the process of casting.
M is the grain coarsening coefficient, n is the grain growth factor, as for A356 aluminum alloy, M = 680 μm3/s, and n = 1/3.
Through research Cui [12] concluded that, when a liquid phase area is completely contained by the solidified area, the density of
the internal material will increase with the decrease of the temperature, and macroscopic shrinkage cavity will be generated at the
highest temperature point. The definitions of the shrinkage cavity area and the relevant area are shown in Fig. 2, where fs is the
solidification ratio of cast in different area. For the completely solidified area, fs = 1, and when the area is liquid, fs = 0 . As shown in
Fig. 2, the shrinkage cavity area is located in the area with zero solidification ratio, and the area with zero solidification ratio is
contained by the area with one solidification ratio. In mathematical words, it can be expressed as e fs = 0 fs = 1. Equal soli-
dification rate method is used to predict shrinkage cavity, when the non-solidified zone is closed by solidified metal, the shrinkage
porosity is calculated based on the change of cast local density. Generally, shrinkage porosity greater than 1% is defined as mac-
roscopic shrinkage cavity, and shrinkage porosity less than 1% is defined as microscopic shrinkage cavity. Shrinkage porosity is
calculated via Eq. (2):
e
e T
T T = e
T T (2)

where e
Trepresents the material density in the area fs = 0 while the temperature is T, represents the material density in the
e
T - T
area fs = 0 while the temperature is T T . In Fig. 2, fpif = 0.3 and fpof = 0.7 .
The density-temperature curve of A356 aluminum alloy low-pressure cast material is shown in Fig. 3. With the decrease of
temperature, the accumulative calculation of shrinkage porosity is carried out for each node in the cast model.

Fig. 3. Density-temperature curve of A356 aluminum alloy.

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Fig. 4. The results of node P extracted from a tetrahedral element.

2.2. Data mapping algorithm between meshes

Before static analysis and fatigue life prediction, SDAS and shrinkage porosity data of the material should be determined by
ProCAST. In the casting simulation of the wheel, both the aluminum alloy cast and the cast mold should be discretized. In order to
fully consider the impact of casting geometry on microscopic properties, the geometry of cast and corresponding mold are not
simplified, and meshed by tetrahedral elements. Since the temperature drop is very small on the cast and mold contact surface, shared
node mesh transition is adopted on the surface. The cast part is different from the final part, therefore, it is difficult to adopt the same
mesh to both the ProCAST model and the Abaqus static model. The mesh of Abaqus static model is exactly same as the Fesafe fatigue
prediction model because of the Abaqus result file is directly imported into the Fesafe for fatigue prediction. Since machining
operations is performed after casting, the volume of the cast part should be larger than the final part. In order to reduce the difficulty
of subsequent mechanical model establishment, the discrete shrinkage porosity and SDAS data on the cast are mapped to the element
of Abaqus mechanical model. The micro data mapping algorithm is described as follows.
Suppose that node P (x , y, z ) is an arbitrary node in the Abaqus static prediction model, It is necessary to find element e that fully
contains node P from ProCAST model before mapping the result data (including the case of node P on the boundary surfaces and lines
of the element). As shown in Fig. 4, a typical tetrahedral element has four nodes. Nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the local node number of
element e, sequence of them meets the right-handed rule. The coordinates of the local nodes in the xyz cartesian coordinate system
are respectively ( x1, y1, z1), ( x2 , y2 , z 3 ), ( x3 , y3 , z 3 ), ( x 4 , y4 , z 4 ). 1, 2 , 3 and 4 are the SDAS value of the four local nodes, p is the SDAS
value of the node P. 1, 2 , 3 and 4 are the shrinkage porosity of the four local nodes, p is the shrinkage porosity of the node P.
The coordinate values of nodes ( x1, y1, z1), (x2 , y2 , z 3 ), (x3 , y3 , z 3 ) and ( x 4 , y4 , z 4 ) are read from the node connection and node
coordinate file of the ProCAST model. Then tetrahedron P123, P234, P124 and P134 are constructed by right-handed rule and volume
are calculated via Eq. (3):
1 x1 y1 z1
1 1 x2 y2 z2
V1234 =
6 1 x3 y3 z3
1 x4 y4 z4

1 x y z
1 1 x2 y2 z2
VP234 =
6 1 x3 y3 z3
1 x4 y4 z4

1 x1 y1 z1
1 1 x y z
VP134 =
6 1 x3 y3 z3
1 x4 y4 z4 (3)

1 x1 y1 z1
1 1 x2 y2 z2
VP124 =
6 1 x y z
1 x 4 y4 z4

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

1 x1 y1 z1
1 1 x2 y2 z2
VP123 =
6 1 x3 y3 z3
1 x y z

where VP234 is the tetrahedral volume formed by nodes P234, VP123 is the tetrahedral volume formed by nodes P123, VP124 is the
tetrahedral volume formed by nodes P124, VP134 is the tetrahedral volume formed by nodes P134. When all volume values are greater
than or equal to zero, the node P is certainly contained by the element e. When one of the volume values is negative, the node P is
certainly not contained by the element e.
Linear interpolation is performed in element e for SDAS and shrinkage porosity via Eqs. (4) and (5) respectively.
P = L1 1 + L2 2 + L3 3 + L4 4 (4)

P = 1 1 + 2 2 + 3 3 + 4 4 (5)
where L1, L2 , L3 and L4 are the natural coordinate components of element e. The calculation formula of each component is shown in
Eq. (6):
L1 = VP 432/V
L3 = VP 421/V
L4 = VP123/ V
L2 = VP 413/V (6)
where V is the total volume value of element e. When the node P coincides with the node 1 of element e, VP234 = V , L1 = 1, L2 , L3 and
L4 are equal to zero, and the SDAS of the node P can be entirely obtained by node 1. Similarly, when the node P coincides with node
2, 3 or 4, the SDAS of node P can be entirely obtained by node 2, 3 or 4. When the point P in any other position of element e, the SDAS
of node P is determined by L1, L2 , L3 and L4 together.
The interpolation principle of shrinkage porosity is same as the SDAS calculation. After mapping the shrinkage porosity of each
element in the ProCAST model to the Abaqus model, the shrinkage porosity of each node in the Abaqus model can be obtained
directly. Define i1, i2 , i3 and i4 as the shrinkage porosity of each local node of element i in Abaqus model, i is the average
shrinkage porosity of element i, the formula is shown in Eq.(7).

i =( i1 + i2 + i3 + i 4 )/4 (7)
Shrinkage cavity defect sizes can be characterized by area [22]. It is defined as the square root of the projected area on the plane
perpendicular to the direction of the maximal principal stress of the defect. When the shrinkage cavity type of element i is spherical,
area can be calculated based on element volume via Eq. (8):
2 2
9 i Vi
area = 6
16 (8)
where Vi is the volume of element i.

2.3. The predication of mechanical and fatigue properties considering casting defect and mean stress

Cast with SDAS varying with height were obtained by sequential solidification of wedge in Ref. [19], tensile specimens were cut
from different heights of the cast. The mechanical property of these specimens were measured and the results were treated by linear
regression. The relationship between the yield stress and the SDAS is given in Eq. (9):

2
s = 0 exp
0 (9)
For A356 aluminum alloy [19], 0 = 244 μm, 0 = 278 MPa.
In the static calculation, the linear relation is satisfied in the elastic phase. According to the theory of damage mechanics, when
the shrinkage cavity appear in the material, the damage variable can be expressed by the shrinkage porosity , and defined as the
ratio of the shrinkage cavity area to the original area. Therefore, the elastic modulus can be expressed as:
E = E0 (1 ) (10)
where E0 is the elastic modulus without consider shrinkage cavity, is the shrinkage porosity. The constitutive equation of the elastic
phase can be expressed as:
= E0 (1 ) s (11)
The yield stress at the end of elastic phase is calculated by Eq. (9). The hardening curve beyond the yield point is simplified as a
straight line. This paper focuses on the high cycle fatigue behavior of the cast aluminum alloy, and the stress inside the part is
relatively small, therefore, we assumed that the hardening rate is independent of the material micro-structure. The constitutive
equations of the plastic phase expressed as:

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

= s + D( s) s (12)
where s is the strain corresponding to the yield point, and s = s/ E .
From Eqs. (9) and (12), the constitutive equation of the plastic phase is obtained as:
= 0 exp( 2/ 0) + D( s) s (13)
According to Ref. [19], the microstructure of tensile specimens cut from different heights of the wedge cast is observed by
scanning electron microscopy. SDAS is measured by averaging the distance between adjacent side branches on the longitudinal
section of a primary dendrite. area of internal defects (distance from surface greater than area ) is calculated by projecting a best-fit
ellipse, and area of a near-surface defects (distance from surface less than area ) is calculated by adding up interpolated ligaments
to the free surface. High cycle fatigue test at R = −1 is carried out to the tensile specimen, the fatigue limit is measured by step tests
method, when a step test reached 106 cycle at a given amplitude loads, steps with = 10 MPa are loaded successively until failure,
the determination of the fatigue limit is carried out by Eq. (14):

(14)
= Nf × ( 6
D n n 1)/10 + n 1

where n and n - 1 are the amplitude loads that caused failure and before failure, and Nf is the number of cycles at the current load
step to failure. Assumed that fatigue limit D is a quadratic function of SDAS and area , and response surface method is used to fit
correlation coefficients of this function. The relationship between fatigue limit and microscopic parameters is shown as Eq. (15):

D = A × SDAS 2 + B × area 2 + C × SDAS × area + D (15)

A, B, C and D are the coefficients of the material which need to be determined. They will be fitted by the experimental data. For A356
aluminum alloy, the experimental data are refer to Ref. [19].
The mean stress has a significant effect on the fatigue life. The relationship between mean stress and fatigue limit is described
based on Goodman curve. The Goodman curve equation is shown as Eq. (16):
Sa S
+ m =1
S 1 Su (16)
S 1 is the fatigue limit of the material with the stress ratio R = −1. Under the condition of different SDAS and shrinkage cavity defect
size, S 1 = D . Su is the fracture strength of the material. Sa represent the fatigue limit under mean stress Sm condition. The re-
lationship between stress ratio R and mean stress Sm is shown as Eq. (17):
Sm = (1 + R) Sa/(1 R) (17)
Substitute Eqs. (17) into (18), stress ratio R is obtained as:
Sm S 1 + S 1 Sm/ Su
R=
Sm + S 1 S 1 Sm/ Su (18)
Suppose the S-N curve of the material is in the form of power function, it is expressed as Eq. (19):
SmN = C (19)
Two coefficients of the power function can be obtained by substituting two coordinate points (Sa, 106) and (Su, 1) of S-N curve into
Eq. (19):
6
m=
log10 (Su ) log10 (Sa ) (20)

C = Sum (21)
The yield stress and elastic modulus of the material at different SDAS and shrinkage porosity can be obtained by the method, and
also the S-N curves under different SDAS, shrinkage rate and R. Then the S-N curve and the mechanical properties will be used to
predict the total life of one part.

3. Verification of fatigue life prediction algorithm by uniaxial tensile test

In order to verify the correctness of the method, the cast model shown in Fig. 5 is established. The cast is a wedge block. The upper
part of the mold cavity is wide and the lower part is narrow, so different solidification time can be obtained in the direction of the
wedge height, and different SDAS values can also be generated. Tensile specimens are cut from different positions in the direction of
the wedge block height. There are 8 specimens from the bottom to the top, numbered as 2–9 respectively, as shown in Fig. 5. The
experimental data of the specimens numbered 2–9 in Table 1 were referenced Ref. [19]. The specimen numbered 1 was cut out from
the spoke position of the wheel in the subsequent analysis, and the experimental data was obtained through scanning electron
microscope and fatigue test. ProCAST is used to simulate the casting process of wedge, and the results are in good agreement with
Ref. [19]. The nephogram of SDAS is shown in Fig. 6(a). The specific height and correspond SDAS are shown in Table 1. The
shrinkage porosity does not change much at different heights, therefore, no additional numerical comparison is given in Table 1.
The simulation results shows that the SDAS value of cast increases with the increasing of the distance to the wedge bottom. The

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2

Fig. 5. The location of fatigue specimens extracted from a wedge casting.

Table 1
Comparison of tensile test results and simulated data.
Family Number Distance to the top Experiment SDAS Predicated SDAS Experiment fatigue limit Predicated fatigue limit Error %
(mm) (μm) (μm) (MPa) (MPa)

From wheel 1 N/A 39 ± 9.2 39.5 ± 2.6 91.939 90.913 1.12

Wedge bottom 2 28 39.5 ± 7.6 35.2 ± 5.9 91.779 91.253 0.57
3 58 39.7 ± 9.1 37.6 ± 6.9 91.714 90.062 1.80
4 88 47.6 ± 14.1 44.1 ± 5.7 88.891 88.010 0.99
Wedge middle 5 118 57.2 ± 17.9 51.5 ± 4.5 84.744 85.306 0.66
6 144 58.5 ± 21 64.8 ± 5.6 84.122 77.761 7.56
7 174 59.7 ± 21.2 75.5 ± 2.4 83.536 73.131 12.46
Wedge top 8 204 62.6 ± 21.6 78.6 ± 1.7 82.067 71.549 12.82
9 234 72.2 ± 28.2 79.2 ± 2.1 76.693 70.875 7.59

(a) Predicated SDAS contours of the wedge casting (b) Predicated shrinkage porosity contours of the wedge casting
Fig. 6. Predicated SDAS and shrinkage porosity contour results for the wedge casting

shrinkage porosity changes little and show in Fig. 6(b). The uniaxial tensile model and uniaxial tensile fatigue life prediction model
with microscopic data are obtained by mapping the SDAS and the shrinkage porosity at different locations. The results of uniaxial
tensile fatigue test and simulation prediction are shown in Table 1, the maximum prediction error of fatigue limit is 12.82%.

4. Verification of fatigue life prediction algorithm by the aluminum alloy wheel test

4.1. Establishment of cast model and prediction of casting defect

In the actual casting process of a wheel, a certain gas pressure is applied to the alloy liquid surface in the sealed furnace. Under the
pressure, the molten metal is filled into the mould through the lift tube at bottom, as shown in Fig. 7. After the metal in the cavity is
completely solidified, the lateral die is opened and the top die is lifted vertically, then the mandril will push the formed wheel out
from the bottom die to complete a casting cycle. ProCAST is used to simulate the metal filling process, the gas pressure and pouring

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

Fig. 7. Cast mould for the aluminum alloy wheel with different convective heat transfer settings.

speed are consistent with the actual pouring process at the inlet in the simulation.
In order to ensure the orderly solidification of the cast, different convective heat transfer coefficient are applied to different parts
of the mould. The following optimal heat emission condition were adopted in the factory. The convective heat transfer coefficient
5000 W/(m2k) used for water cooling condition was applied at 1, the convective heat transfer coefficient 600 W/(m2k) used for wind
cooling condition was applied at 2, 3, 8 and 10 respectively, the convective heat transfer coefficient 10 W/(m2k) used for air cooling
condition was applied at remained outside surfaces. The SDAS distribution of cast part is shown in Fig. 8(a). In the process of cast, the
heat dissipation area at the rim is bigger, so the solidification time is shorter, thus the SDAS is smaller. The spokes near the center of
wheel contains contains more heat and has poor cooling conditions, so the solidification time of it is longer and the dendrites grows
fully in it, so the SDAS is large. The contours of shrinkage porosity greater than 1% are given by the post processing program, as
shown in Fig. 8(b). According to the heat dissipation and solidification process of the wheel, it is found that the spokes and rims are
solidified firstly, the connection area between spoke and rim and between spoke and the center of wheel cannot reach the critical
solid fraction at the same time. This area forms a closed liquid-phase area and cannot be feed by materials from other area. According

(a) Predicated SDAS contours of the wheel (b) Predicated shrinkage porosity contours of the wheel

(c) Metallographic photo of the wheel center (d) Metallographic photo of the wheel rim
Fig. 8. Predicated SDAS and shrinkage porosity contour results for the wheel.

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

Fig. 9. All contact pairs between the tire and the wheel.

to the forming conditions of shrinkage cavity, casting defects such as shrinkage cavity are likely to be produced in this area. Ac-
cording to Fig. 8(b), the area of the spokes closed to the the center of wheel has the highest shrinkage porosity, and small defects also
occur at the rim. Compare with metallographic photo of the wheel rim and the center of wheel, the position of shrinkage porosity is
accurate, micro-shrinkage is dominated, these are in good agreement with the experimental results.

4.2. Establishment of radial loading static model

The wheel radial fatigue test platform is mainly composed of drum and installation shaft. The drum is driven by electric motor, the
installation shaft can be moved in the radial direction of the drum to provide a radial force, the wheel is driven by the friction
between the drum and the tire. In order to accelerate the life evaluation, the radial load in the actual test is scaled according to Eq.
(22):
Fr = Fv K (22)
where Fv is the rated load of the wheel, Fv = 22175. K is the strengthening coefficients, K = 2.0.
In the simulation of radial fatigue test, the radial load is transferred to the wheel through the tire. The tire mounted on the wheel
can disperse the applied radial load. In order to ensure the accurate prediction of the stress field, the same model as the actual is used.
Hyper elastic material is used to establish the tire, bead wire is established by linear elastic material on the edge of the tire. The
contact between tire rim wire and tire rubber is established, and the contact relationship between the wheel hub and the tire assembly
is also established. The contact surfaces of the two group contacts are shown in Fig. 9. The internal pressure is applied on the inner
surface of the sealing cavity formed by the tire and rim.
The wheel and drum continuously rotate under the specified load. In order to realize the discrete calculation of the FEM, the
continuous process is simplified as 12 discrete loads sequentially loaded. In the Abaqus model, 13 load steps are set, and a loading in
one direction is finished by 2 load steps, the previous load step is used for loading, and the latter load step is used for unloading. The
loading diagram is shown in Fig. 10.
Loading and unloading are executed in the order of F1–F12. For example, while the wheel is rotating between F1 and F2, the force
at rotated angle is Fr . This constant amplitude force at any angle can be constructed by adjusting the magnitudes of force at
direction of F1 and F2. The magnitude parametric equations of load applied in the direction of F1 and F2 are shown as Eq. (23):

Fig. 10. Load schematic diagram for radial fatigue test.

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Y.-c. Duan, et al. Engineering Failure Analysis 118 (2020) 104903

Fig. 11. Sequence diagram of amplitudes for different loads direction.

t3 = / + 2
A1 = sin /cos
A2 = sin( )/cos (23)

where A1 and A2 are amplitudes of load in F1 and F2 direction respectively.

When the wheel is rotating between other load pairs, the corresponding load amplitude can be obtained in the same way. The
amplitude curves applied by the model in different load directions are shown in Fig. 11. Step-1 is used for apply Fn and tire internal
pressure P. Step-2 and step-n have periodicity, a cycle is composed of step-2 to step-n.

4.3. Establishment of radial fatigue model

The static analysis results from Abaqus software are imported into Fesafe. 12 datasets are imported as a data group into the
“Elastic Block” in Fesafe. The fatigue algorithm calculates the fatigue life of each node by the fatigue software. The inherited
microscopic data need to be converted into fatigue data by TCD software at each node. The S-N curves with different defect sizes,
different SDAS and different mean stresses can be constructed by the above algorithm. The stress amplitude surface can be obtained
by superimposing the family of curves under different conditions, it is shown in Fig. 12. In order to facilitate the analysis, the number
of cycles is taken as logarithmic coordinates. Fig. 12(a) is the stress amplitude surface under different number of cycles, different
SDAS values and different mean stresses while the area is set at 450 μm. The three surfaces are stress amplitude surfaces with the
mean stress is 0, 30 and 60 respectively. As show from the figure, with the increase of the mean stress, the stress amplitude surface
moves down, and the offset distance is almost same. From the contours in the figure, it can be concluded that the fatigue life decreases
with the increase of SDAS. Fig. 12(c) shows the influence of SDAS on stress amplitude with the same life, as SDAS increases, stress
amplitude decreases gradually. Fig. 12(b) is the stress amplitude surface under different number of cycles, different area and
different mean stresses while the SDAS value is set at 50. The three surfaces are the stress amplitude surfaces with the mean stress is 0,
30 and 60 respectively. From the isoheight line in the figure, it can be concluded that when area is less than 400 μm, the stress
amplitude decreases with the increases of area , but the decrease is small. When the area value is more than 400 μm, the stress
amplitude shows a large nonlinear reduction. Fig. 12(d) shows the influence of different shrinkage cavity sizes on stress amplitude
with the same life. With the increase of shrinkage cavity size, stress amplitude gradually decreases, and the decreasing trend is similar
to the life. Through the above analysis, we can see that the SDAS of cast aluminum alloy material is greatly affected by the solidi-
fication time. In order to improve the fatigue life of the parts, the cooling rate of different parts should be adjusted as large as possible.
Micro shrinkage is inevitable in casting process. When area is less than 400 μm, the fatigue life of the material is reduced slightly,
but the material is sensitive to macroscopic shrinkage defects exceeding 400 μm. The surface data are discretized as the fatigue
database file of each node, and imported into Fesafe to complete the property setting of the fatigue model.

4.4. Results and analysis

The result file that can be recognized by commercial software is produced after the fatigue model being submitted for calculation.
In this paper, the fatigue output file is imported into the Abaqus CAE environment for post-processing analysis. The fatigue life
contours of the wheel under radial load is shown in Fig. 13.
From the results of fatigue simulation analysis, it can be seen that the fatigue life of the connection area between spoke and the
center of wheel is the lowest in the radial fatigue test, and the fatigue crack appears first, the area is the dangerous area of the wheel.
In the simulation analysis of radial fatigue test, the predicted locations of the minimum fatigue life are all in the connection area
between the spokes and the center of wheel regardless of whether casting defects are considered. But in the simulation analysis of
fatigue test considering the casting defects, the minimum fatigue life appears on the outside of the two connected spokes, as shown in
Fig. 13(b). The minimum fatigue life is 105.93, which is about 0.84 million. In the fatigue life simulation analysis without considering
casting defects, the minimum fatigue life appeared on the inside of two connected spokes, and the minimum fatigue life is 106.18,

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Fig. 12. Stress amplitude and fatigue life with SDAS and shrinkage cavity size at different mean stress level.

Fig. 13. Predicated fatigue life contours of the wheel radial test considering casting defects.

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Fig. 14. Location of the minimum fatigue life obtained from the wheel fatigue test.

which is about 1.51million. The average fatigue life measured by physical experiments on multiple wheels is 1.00 million, the
location of minimum fatigue life is shown in Fig. 14. By comparing the results of fatigue life prediction considering casting defects, it
can be seen that the influence of microcosmic effect is small on fatigue location prediction, and is larger on fatigue life prediction. The
fatigue life prediction becomes more accurate when the casting defects are taken into consideration, the relative error has been
reduced from 51% to 16%.

5. Conclusions

1. A prediction method considering shrinkage cavity, SDAS and mean stress level of cast aluminum alloy materials is proposed. The
data mapping algorithm between tetrahedral mesh elements is developed, and the unidirectional transmission of microcosmic
data from casting FEM results to Abaqus static model is realized. The integrated coupling of the three software prediction models
is realized based on the self-developed TCD software. And the precise prediction of radial fatigue life of a wheel is realized while
the shrinkage cavity, SDAS and mean stress level are taken into consideration.
2. The fatigue simulation and the fatigue test are proceeded for the uniaxial tensile specimens cut from different heights in the wedge
block. By comparing the simulation results with fatigue test results, the fatigue prediction method is verified. The results show
that the fatigue prediction method has a good accuracy, and the maximum predicated error is 12.82%.
3. Based on the node mechanics properties and fatigue parameter calculation method presented in this paper, it is concluded that the
stress amplitude decreases with the increase of SDAS. When the area is less than 400 μm, the fatigue life slightly decreases.
When the area value reaches about 400 μm, the stress amplitude shows a large nonlinear reduction. The material is sensitive to
macroscopic shrinkage defects exceeding 400 μm.
4. The radial fatigue simulation of an aluminum alloy wheel is established based on the fatigue prediction method proposed in this
paper. Compared with the results of traditional fatigue life prediction method without considering defects and physical experi-
ment, the new results show that the influence of microscopic effect on the fatigue position prediction is small, and the influence on
the fatigue life is larger. Predicated life is more accuratee.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgment

This work is partially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51705448), Hebei Natural Science Foundation
(E2016203198), Doctoral Foundation of Yanshan University (B861) and Youth Teachers Independent Research Foundation of
Yanshan University (15LGB002). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions of the reviewers,
which have improved the presentation.

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