Metallurgical and Mechanical Examination of Fatigue-Induced Fracture in a Conveyor Drum Shaft

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Abstract
This work investigates the fatigue failure mode of a shaft used in a conveyor system for mining applications through visual inspection, metallographic examination, fracture analysis, and mechanical testing. It was observed that a misalignment of about 5° between the shaft and the conveyor drum system promoted intensive contact with the parts. The combination of misalignment and overload was the leading cause of the localized plastic deformation, which resulted in the shaft fracture. A metallurgical examination revealed ferritic and pearlitic microstructures for an AISI 4140 grade steel. This suggested that the heat treatment on the steel was not adequate for the application. Therefore, it can be inferred that no preventive or corrective maintenance inspections were performed during the shaft's operational production period.

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