Faliure analysis of drive shaft using fea

Drive shaft is a mechanical link of transmission system which is used to transfer the power from engine to the drive wheel. It comprises two main components joints and the actual shaft is almost universally used in front wheel drive (FWD) vehicles. The use of drive shaft as a power transmitter in automobile is more convenience because it is less likely to become jammed or broken as compared to chain-drives assembly. In operation, drive shaft is generally subjected torsional and bending stresses due to which fatigue and fracture failures may occur. Some common causes of failures are design, manufacturing, raw material, maintenance and the user originated faults. In this project the drive shaft of Maruti Alto car was investigated for failures. Considering the system, torque acting on a shaft used to calculate the Stress analysis by using FEA and the results compared with the calculated values. The stress in the shaft was exceeding the endurance limit of 70Mpa, the shaft may have failed prematurely due to fatigue loads before the average life of car. Thus it was important to redesign the shaft so that the induced stress is less than the endurance limit of 70Mpa.