Fretting fatigue fracture of the supporting shaft in a rotary kiln

Abstract The fracture failure of the supporting shaft in a rotary kiln was analyzed to determine the failure mechanism. The rotary kiln was used to heating and mixing nickel ores and was supported by four group riding wheels with two wheels in each group. One of the supporting shafts was found fractured after it was used for about two years. The fracture was located at the interface between the supporting shaft and the sleeve. This location was 100–120 mm far from the transition arc of the supporting shaft where high stress concentration usually occur. A failure analysis was carried out, using characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and so on. Obvious fatigue propagation zone caused by multi-initial cracks were observed at the circle edge of the fracture surface. Adhesive wear and some circumferential cracks were found on the outside surface of the supporting shaft. It was considered that fatigue due to the fretting wear between the shaft and sleeve was the most probable mechanism.