Damage Assessment and Fatigue Life Prediction in Exhaust Manifolds Through a Unified Method Using the FEM and XFEM
Source abstract
Abstract
This study investigates the structural and fracture behavior of an automotive exhaust manifold with a predefined semi-elliptical surface crack under realistic thermo-mechanical loading. A combined FEM–XFEM workflow was applied; the FEM identified the critical stress concentration zone, where the maximum Von Mises stress reached 165.6 MPa at 700 °C, and the XFEM was used to model crack growth with a refined mesh. The computed Mode I stress intensity factors ranged from 21 to 24 MPa√m, remaining below the temperature-dependent fracture toughness of AISI 321 stainless steel, which confirmed stable crack behavior under service conditions. Fatigue life was assessed using the Smith–Watson–Topper (SWT) parameter. Two scenarios were considered: a quasi-pulsating case, giving a predicted life of 3.8 × 108 cycles, and a fully reversed case, reducing the life to 6.7 × 107 cycles. These results confirm that the manifold operates within the high-cycle fatigue regime, while also demonstrating the strong sensitivity of life predictions to the applied stress ratio. This combined FEM–XFEM methodology provides a reliable numerical framework for assessing crack driving forces and guiding durability-based design of exhaust manifolds.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Fatigue and fracture mechanics · Engineering Applied Research · Non-Destructive Testing Techniques
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Laboratory of Science Engineering and Applications (LISA), National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, BP 72 Route d’Imouzzer, Fez 30000, Morocco
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brașov, Romania
Department of Mechanics “Radu P. VOINEA”, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Funding
Transilvania University of Brasov
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