US007497361B2

(12) United States Patent (10) Patent N0.: US 7,497,361 B2

Guirgis (45) Date of Patent: *Mar. 3, 2009

(54) PROCESS TO FRACTURE CONNECTING (56) References Cited

RODS AND THE LIKE WITH
RESONANCE-FATIGUE U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
2,304,926 A * 12/1942 Juvinall ....................... .. 225/2
(76) Inventor: Sameh Guirgis, 4259 Tumbleweed 3,384,279 A * 5/1968 Grechus ...................... .. 225/2
Crescent, Windsor, Ontario (CA) N9G 3,751,080 A * 8/1973 Bailey et al. ......... .. 29/888.092
3B9 3,994,054 A * 11/1976 Cuddon-Fletcher
et al. ..................... .. 29/888.09

Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 4,458,555

4,009,606 A * 3/1977 HoltZberg
7/1984 Clebant et et
al.al. ...... .. 29/888.09
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
4,478,295 A * 10/1984 Evans ........................ .. 175/56
U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. 4,484,412 A * 11/1984 IshikaWa ..... .. 451/28
4,530,246 A * 7/1985 Pitman et al. .. ....... .. 73/799
This patent is subject to a terminal dis 4,569,109 A * 2/1986 Fetouh ........ .. 29/888.09
claimer. 4,585,152 A * 4/1986 Sager ... .. . . . . . . . . .. 225/1

4,693,139 A * 9/1987 Mukaietal. 29/888.09

(21) Appl. N0.: 11/4s7,593 4,768,694 A * 9/1988 Fabris et al. ....... .. 225/94
4,860,419 A * 8/1989 Hekman ...... .. 29/888.09
(22) Filed: Jul. 17, 2006 4,993,134 A * 2/1991 Hoag et a1. 29/888.09
5,105,538 A * 4/1992 Hoag et a1. ............ .. 29/888.09
(65) Prior Publication Data
US 2006/0289593 A1 Dec. 28, 2006
(Continued)
Primary ExamineriStephen Choi
Related US. Application Data
(57) ABSTRACT
(62) Division ofapplication No. 10/751,817, ?led on Jan. 6,
2004, noW Pat. No. 7,143,915, Which is a division of A process to fracture connecting rods and the like, that are
application No. 10/643,910, ?led on Aug. 20, 2003, made of high strength materials, comprises of the following
noW abandoned, Which is a division of application No. mechanisms: (a) Fatigue: ?uctuation of stresses in a pre
09/599,409, ?led on Jun. 22, 2000, noW Pat. No. 6,644, notched connecting rod due to the use of harmonic excitation
529. Will extend the notch tip in the connecting rod and Will
Weaken the predetermined fracture plane by creating micro
(30) Foreign Application Priority Data cracks, (b) Resonance: resonance occurs When the frequency
Oct. 13, 1999 (CA) .................................. .. 2287140 of the used harmonic excitation matches a natural frequency
of the connecting rod, idealized as a structural system, (c)
(51) Int. Cl. Pre-stressing forces: by applying pre-stressing forces acting
B23P 1 7/02 (2006.01) in the same loading mode, the stresses in the connecting rod
B26F 3/00 (2006.01) due to several force components can be superimposed, (d)
(52) US. Cl. ........................... .. 225/2; 225/94; 225/101; Dynamic force: applying a dynamic force Will raise the stress
29/888.09 intensity factor, exceeding the fracture toughness of the mate
rial.
(58) Field of Classi?cation Search ................... .. 225/ 1,
225/2, 93, 94, 96.5, 100, 101; 29/888.09
See application ?le for complete search history. 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets
 US 7,497,361 B2
Page2

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 5,503,317 A * 4/1996 Jones et a1. ............... .. 225/103

5,507,093 A * 4/1996 Wittenstein etal. 29/88809
5,115,564 A * 5/1992 Miessen etal. ........ .. 29/88809 5,699,947 A * 12/1997 Cavallo etal. ............ .. 225/101
5,195,410 A * 3/1993 Young ......................... .. 225/1 5,740,953 A * 4/1998 Smith etal. .................. .. 225/2
5,208,979 A * 5/1993 Schmidt ................ .. 29/88809 6,142,115 A * 11/2000 Haasetal. 123/1921
5,263,622 A >1 11/1993 Henzleretal, ____________ __ 225/103 2003/0019100 A1* 1/2003 Hoffmann .............. .. 29/88809
5,320,265 A * 6/1994 Becker ..................... .. 225/104 * cited by examiner
US. Patent Mar. 3, 2009 Sheet 1 of5 US 7,497,361 B2

18

ICL 1C

\{4__ . I» / R 15

m/
@FIG.1
US. Patent Mar. 3, 2009 Sheet 2 of5 US 7,497,361 B2

U R=O

FIG.2

FIG. 5
US. Patent Mar. 3, 2009 Sheet 3 of5 US 7,497,361 B2

FIG. 3
US. Patent Mar. 3, 2009 Sheet 4 of5 US 7,497,361 B2

1A
ICL
FIGJ.

OPENING SLIDING TEARING

MODE MODE MODE
US. Patent Mar. 3, 2009 Sheet 5 of5 US 7,497,361 B2

MO D E

MODE 2

MODE 3

FIG. 6
 US 7,497,361 B2
1 2
PROCESS TO FRACTURE CONNECTING Fracture may take place under one of tWo conditions,
RODS AND THE LIKE WITH namely, plane stress or plane strain, depending on the thick
RESONANCE-FATIGUE ness of the element. In general, connecting rods are thick
enough to sustain plane strain fracture. In the presence of a
RELATED APPLICATIONS V-notch or a crack, fracture occurs under essentially elastic
conditions With a limited plasticity Zone at the tip of the crack.
This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. The stress intensity factor (K), is the characterizing param
10/751,817, ?led on Jan. 6, 2004 now US. Pat. No. 7,143,915 eter for crack extension. For each stress pattern, there is a
Which is a divisional of Ser. No. 10/643,910 ?led Aug. 20, corresponding value of the stress intensity factor. When the
2003 noW abandoned, Which is in turn a divisional of appli stress intensity factor reaches a certain value, crack propa
cation Ser. No. 09/599,409, ?led on Jun. 22, 2000, now US. gates and collapse by fracture occurs. That critical value of
Pat. No. 6,644,529 issued Nov. 11, 2003. the stress intensity factor under plane strain conditions, called
the Plane Strain Fracture Toughness (K16), can be considered
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION as a material property characterizing the crack resistance.
Thus, the same value of K16 should be obtained for a given
(I) PriorArt Background material While testing specimens of different geometric
Many methods have been used in fracturing connecting shapes and siZes.
rods, that include: LoWer temperature and faster strain rate decrease the plane
(i) Passing an electron beam along a desired splitting plane as strain fracture toughness for a speci?c material, While
in US. Pat. No. 3,751,080. 20 increasing the length of a pre-existing crack or decreasing the
fracturing area Will increase the stress intensity factor, if all
(ii) Providing holes in the fracturing plane through Which the other factors remain unchanged.
fracturing force is introduced as in US. Pat. No. 3,994,054
(iii) Using heat treatment or freeZing to embrittle the fracture (B) Resonance of a Structural System:
area as in US. Pat. No. 4,768,694 The connecting rod, With all movement and rotation con
25
(iv) Applying a static or an impulsive force acting perpen straints imposed on it during the fracturing process, can be
dicular to the fracture plane as in US. Pat. Nos. 4,860,419; vieWed as a structural system. Before explaining hoW to
5,115,564; and 5,320,265. achieve and make use of a resonance condition in this frac
(v) Actuating expanding mandrels using a Wedge arrange turing technique, it is helpful to introduce the folloWing de?
ment as in US. Pat. No. 5,503,317. nitions pertaining to an idealiZed structural system With ?nite
30
HoWever, most of the knoWn methods for fracturing the number of degrees of freedom:
connecting rods are based on the same principle: application Degrees of freedom: the number of independent displace
of an “outWard pressure” to the crank bore till the generated ments required to de?ne the displaced positions of all the
stresses are high enough to fracture the connecting rod. Some masses relative to their original positions is called the number
of these methods attempted to overcome the dif?culty of 35
of degrees of freedom (DOFs).
fracturing such high strength material by reducing or Weak Natural mode of vibration: a multi-degree-of freedom sys
ening the cracking area, by using techniques, such as, the tem (MDOF) Would undergo simple harmonic motion, With
cryogenic cooling and the electron beam hardening, Which out a change of the de?ected shape, if free vibration is initi
have a deleterious effect on material performance. ated by appropriate distribution of displacements in various
DOFs. In other Words, for some characteristic de?ected
Since connecting rods are made of high strength materials, 40
the fracturing force is required to be of big magnitude. The shapes, the system Would vibrate in simple harmonic motion,
and the initial shape Would be maintained through out the
use of big force has a negative effect on the quality of the
motion. Each characteristic de?ected shape (C1)”) is called a
fractured connecting rod, especially, With large siZe connect natural mode of vibration of the MDOF system.
ing rods in a high production environment. Despite the
improvements, some disadvantages still exist such as: plastic 45
Natural vibration properties: the time (Tn) required for a
system to complete one cycle of the simple harmonic motion
deformation, lack of ?exibility in adapting the same tech
in one of its natural modes is called the natural period of that
nique to different siZes of connecting rods, repeated breakage
of force exertion elements of the machine, and poor quality of
particular vibration mode. The corresponding natural cyclic
the fractured connecting rod. Moreover, some techniques are frequency of vibration is f”, and the natural circular frequency
of vibration is on”, Where:
sloW, costly, and technically very elaborate. 50
Before presenting the idea of the current invention, it is
necessary to discuss the engineering principles on Which the
invention stands. A vibrating system With N number of DOFs has N natural
(II) Technical Background vibration frequencies 00” (n:1, 2, . . . , N), arranged in
55 sequence from smallest to largest (uul<u)2< . . . <uuN), With
(A) Fracture Mechanics: corresponding natural periods T”, and natural modes CI)”.
Strength failures of load bearing elements can be either of The excitation frequency: the frequency of a harmonic
the yielding-dominant (ductile) or fracture-dominant (brittle) force applied to a system is called the excitation frequency or
types. In case of a cracked element, it may fail due to reaching the forcing frequency.
the plastic collapse or fracture condition. Collapse and frac 60 Damping: the process by Which vibration steadily dimin
ture are competing conditions, and the one satis?ed ?rst Will ishes in amplitude is called damping.
prevail.
High-strength materials are more likely to fail in fracture SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
mode before attaining the plastic collapse strength. Since
connecting rods are made of high-strength materials, they 65 The present invention employs a novel approach to fracture
generally fail under tensile forces due to reaching the fracture connecting rods. In this process, several factors are used to
limit state. raise the stress intensity factor in the connecting rod up to the
 US 7,497,361 B2
3 4
fracture point. Consequently, the use of single big force has cation, giving more rigidity to the system. Eliminating the
been avoided With the application of several small magnitude compression Zones is favorable, since they deviate the frac
forces. That eliminates many problems associated With the ture from predetermined plane.
use of big forces. It also gives better control over the fractur The secondary pre-stressing forces are tWo static forces,
ing process, since the contribution of each factor is optimized equal in magnitude and acting on the same straight line in
to achieve the best results. For this process, a stress-riser opposite directions, toWard the bore axis. The same mecha
should be provided in a prior process, using any of the knoWn nism used to apply the harmonic forces can be used to apply
methods, in order to predetermine the fracture plane. these forces. Firstly, the tWo contacts advance till they slightly
The present invention utiliZes the folloWing factors: press the part applying the secondary pre-stressing forces,
(a) Fatigue: if the stresses in a pre-notched connecting rod and secondly, they move forWard and backWard applying the
?uctuate due to the application of harmonic forces (or any harmonic forces.
time varying forces), the pre-existing crack (stress-riser) Will These forces have clamping and damping actions. HoW
extend incrementally depending on the range of ?uctuation in ever, since they act in the same opening loading mode as the
the stress intensity factor. It is important to notice that the primary force, the stresses due to all of them can be superim
crack groWth relates to the change of the stress intensity posed. This Will facilitate further reduction of the high mag
factor, not to its absolute value. Moreover, as the crack groWs, nitude fracturing forces.
the absolute value of stress intensity factor Will increase. Under the effect of the external forces, the deformed shape
(b) Resonance: during the fracturing process, the connect of the connecting rod changes With time. HoWever, during
ing rod Will be in contact With many elements of the machine. each cycle, it passes through maximum and minimum defor
These elements impose movement constraints, called geo 20 mation positions at time instants Tmax and To, respectively.
metrical boundary conditions, to the connecting rod. The The stress intensity factor corresponding to the harmonic
connecting rod, With these boundary conditions, represents a forces has a maximum value at the maximum deformation
distributed mass structural system, With an in?nite number of position. Both of T0 and Tmax can be determined analytically
degrees of freedom. HoWever, it can be idealiZed and ana by knoWing the characteristics of the forces.
lyZed as a system With ?nite number of degrees of freedoms 25 (d) Dynamic force: a dynamic force is ?nally applied at a
by using the ?nite element method. time instant Tf, by increasing the primary pre-stressing force
If a MDOF structural system is subjected to an external suddenly as an impulsive force at Tf, or at a sloWer rate Within
force system, Where the spatial distribution of the force com a period centered on Tf The time instant Tfto be determined
ponents is independent of time, it takes a certain deformed by performing several simple tests, by applying the fracturing
shape. This shape does not necessarily resemble any of the 30 force during different cycles at different time instants such as
natural vibration modes of the system. HoWever, it has the T0 (minimum deformation) or Tmax (maximum KI) and com
same con?guration as one of these natural modes, and With paring the quality of the fractured connecting rods.
judicious selection of the external forces, the forced deformed For example, if TO comes after 0.10 seconds from the
shape can present a better approximation to that mode (Dr, beginning of each cycle, and the natural vibration period is
Which has a natural frequency 00,. In most cases, (I), is one of 35 0.25 second, a test canbe performed by applying an impulsive
the ?rst feW natural modes. force at T0 during the cycle 101 after 25.10 seconds from the
If the force components have the same sinusoidal time beginning of the harmonic excitation. In another test, a
variation, With a frequency that is the same as or close to the dynamic force is applied during a period starting from the
natural frequency (Dr, a resonance condition occurs. Conse instant 25.05 seconds, and ending at the instant 25.15 sec
quently, the ?uctuation range of the stress intensity factor and 40 onds, measured from the beginning of the excitation. Similar
its maximum value increase substantially. The crack extends, tests are performed by applying the fracturing force during
and fracture may occur, depending on the relative magnitudes different cycles, and at different time instants, and by com
of stress intensity factor and material fracture toughness. paring the quality of the fractured connecting rods, Tfis iden
The aforementioned principle is applied in the present ti?ed. HoWever, a longer period before applying the dynamic
invention, Where tWo harmonic forces, With the same ampli 45 force, increases the fatigue effect.
tude and a phase angle of 180°, are applied simultaneously to All of the external forces used in the aforementioned fac
tWo sides of the connecting rod. The tWo forces act along a tors are in the same loading mode and, generally, stress the
straight line parallel to the predetermined fracture plane and connecting rod Within the linear elastic regime. Thus, the
perpendicular to the axis of the bore cylindrical surface. stress intensity factor due to their collective effect, 2 K, is
Moreover, the clamping arrangement alloWs free deformation 50 obtained by adding the values of K, that correspond to each
of major part, centered on the V-notch, of each of the tWo one of them, if applied individually. Fracture occurs When 2
Webs de?ning the bore. KIIKIC.
A suggested method, to apply the tWo harmonic forces, is The ?exibility of the external force system used in the
to transform the rotary motion generated by a hydraulic motor current invention, makes the technique suitable for the Wide
to a couple of rotary motions, one clockWise and another 55 variety of connecting rods types and siZes, starting from those
anti-clockwise. These rotary motions can be transformed to intended for light duty applications such as laWnmoWers and
linear motions using cam means, Which transfer the pressure outboard marine engines, up to the most poWerful combus
to the connecting rod through tWo contacts. The use of a tion engines.
single motor Will guarantee that there is no time lag betWeen
the tWo equal but opposite forces. 60 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(c) Pre-stressing forces: three pre-stressing forces are
applied in the present invention. The primary one is applied FIG. 1 shoWs the integrally formed connecting rod 1. It also
by moving an upper jaW, Which is part of the clamping shoWs the arrangements and the force exerting elements of
arrangement, in a direction perpendicular to the predeter the machine; Where 2 is the upper jaW; 3 is the loWerjaW; and
mined fracture plane and aWay from it. This force Works to 65 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; are other clamping elements.
eliminate the compression stress Zones created by the har FIG. 2 shoWs an idealiZation of a connecting rod as a
monic forces and to decrease the deformation due to its appli structural system.
 US 7,497,361 B2
5 6
FIG. 3 shows the external force system used to fracture the Secondly, the pre-stressing force F, is applied, by moving
connecting rod, Where F1 is the primary pre-stressing force; the upper jaW aWay from plane 1E.
FZL, FZR are the secondary pre-stressing forces; F3L, F3R are Thirdly, the tWo contacts 4 and 5 advances, in opposite
the harmonic forces; and F41, F4D are the impulsive and the directions, to contact the sides 1DL and 1DR applying the
sloW rate dynamic force, respectively.. secondary pre-stressing forces FZL and FZR. Fourthly, the tWo
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional vieW taken along line 5 of FIG. contacts 4L and 4R move forWard and backWard, simulta
3. neously, applying the tWo harmonic forces F3L and 133R, With
FIG. 5 shoWs the deformed shape of the connecting rod a phase angle of 180°, While their frequency is as close as
under the effect of the pre-stressing forces and the harmonic practically possible to the selected natural frequency of the
forces. The deformed con?guration is exaggerated for clarity. system.
FIG. 6 shoWs the ?rst three natural vibration modes of the Fifthly, an impulsive fracturing force P41 is applied at the
idealiZed structural system. Notice hoW the ?rst mode (Mode time instant Tf, causing a sudden increase of F1 and, thus,
1) has the same con?guration of the deformed shape of the fracturing the connecting rod. Tfis determined ?rst, by per
structure shoWn in FIG. 5. forming the tests that Were described earlier.
FIG. 7 shoWs the different modes of loading a cracked An alternative to execute the last step is to apply a sloW rate
structural element, all forces used in this structural system are dynamic force Within a period centered on the same time
in the opening mode. instant.
Although the preferred mode for carrying out this inven
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION tion has been set forth in this speci?cation, it is obvious that
20 there are several alternative modes. One of them for instance,
The folloWing is a description of the tWo parts of the is to apply a harmonic force to the cap, in a direction that is
process, the stress analysis, and the process implementation: perpendicular to the predetermined fracture plane.
While the present description of the process incorporates
(I) Stress Analysis all of the aforementioned factors, eliminating the pre-stress
A stress analysis shouldbe performed once for each type of 25 ing forces or either of them should not be construed as a
connecting rods, using any appropriate computer softWare departure from the scope of this invention. This is a valid
package according to the folloWing steps: option, especially, for small siZe connecting rods. In this case,
(a) Creating a three dimensional solid model of the connect the procedure that Was described earlier should be folloWed,
ing rod. With an exception that is to skip the steps related to the omitted
(b) IdealiZing the connecting rod as a structural system, using 30 force or forces.
the solid model With the movements and rotation con While particular embodiments of the invention have been
straints that represents the geometrical boundary condi disclosed, it is evident that many alternatives and modi?ca
tions, and determining the ?rst feW natural vibration fre tions Will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the
quencies and mode shapes of the system, using the ?nite forgoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to cover all
element method. 35 such alternatives and modi?cations as fall Within the spirit
(c) Determining the characterizing deformed shape of the and broad scope of the appended claims.
system under the effect of a couple of harmonic forces With What is claimed is:
amplitude equal to unity, a primary pre-stressing force, and 1. A process for the fracture separation of a part having a
a couple of secondary pre-stressing forces, each With mag cylindrical bore passing therethrough into a ?rst portion and
nitude of unity, applying all simultaneously. 40 a second portion, the cylindrical bore having a central axis,
(d) De?ning the natural mode shape Or that has the same the part having tWo opposed sides proximate to the intersec
con?guration as the deformed shape determined in step (c), tion of a predetermined fracture plane passing through the
and its corresponding natural frequency 00,. cylindrical bore and the part, the process including the step of
(e) Determining the deformed shapes of the system under the applying at least one fatigue force to at least one of the ?rst
effect of the forces described in step (c) applying each 45 portion and the second portion, said at least one fatigue force
individually. being applied to fracture the part into the ?rst portion and the
(f) Using the results of step (e), an optimum combination of second portion so as to separate the ?rst portion from the
the harmonic and pre-stressing forces is determined that second portion substantially along said predetermined frac
produces a deformed shape closely resembling the modal ture plane, said at least one fatigue force being selected from
shape (Dr. 50 the group consisting of:
(g) Determining the time instants TO and Tmax, measured from i) a longitudinal cyclic force applied to one of the ?rst
the beginning of any harmonic cycle, Where T0 is the time portion and the second portion relative to the other of the
instant at Which the deformed shape of the connecting rod ?rst portion and the second portion, said longitudinal
is the closest to its original shape, Tmax is the time instant at cyclic force being applied in a direction substantially
Which the stress intensity factor, corresponding to the har 55 perpendicular to said predetermined fracture plane, and
monic forces, has a maximum value. ii) a lateral cyclic force applied to each of the opposed sides
of the part, each of said lateral cyclic forces being
(II) Process Implementation: applied along a substantially straight line that is substan
Firstly, the connecting rod is clamped in position on the tially parallel to the predetermined fracture plane and
upper jaW 2, Which is movable in direction perpendicular to 60 substantially perpendicular to the central axis, Where at
the predetermined fracture plane, and on the loWer jaW 3, any time instant, each of said lateral cyclic forces being
Which is stationary. Both jaWs are in contact With the inside substantially equal in magnitude and acting opposite in
cylindrical surface of the bore, While other elements 6, 7, 8, direction to one another; and
and 9 are pressing the connecting rod surface against the tWo applying a dynamic force to one of the ?rst portion and the
jaWs. It is supported at points 10 and 11 as shoWn in FIG. 3. 65 second portion relative to the other of the ?rst portion
HoWever, the exact locations of these points depend on con and the second portion in a direction substantially per
necting rod con?guration and manufacturing requirements. pendicular to said predetermined fracture plane.
 US 7,497,361 B2
7 8
2. A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one 5. A process as claimed in claim 1, Wherein said part is a
fatigue force is a harmonic force, the frequency of the har connecting rod, said ?rst portion is a cap portion and said
monic forces is selected so as to achieve a resonance condi second portion is a rod portion.
tion in said part. 6. A process as claimed in claim 1, Wherein said at least one
fatigue force is said longitudinal cyclic force applied to one of
3. A process as claimed in claim 1, including the step of the ?rst portion and the second portion relative to the other of
applying a longitudinal pre-stressing force to one of the ?rst the ?rst portion and the second portion, said longitudinal
portion and the second portion relative to the other of the ?rst cyclic force being applied in a direction substantially perpen
portion and the second portion, said longitudinal pre-stress dicular to said predetermined fracture plane.
ing force being applied in a direction substantially perpen 7. A process as claimed in claim 1, Wherein said at least one
dicular to said predetermined fracture plane. fatigue force is said lateral cyclic force applied to each of the
4. A process as claimed in claim 1, including the step of opposed sides of the part, each of said lateral cyclic forces
applying a lateral pre-stressing force to each of the opposed being applied along a substantially straight line that is sub
sides of the part, each of said lateral pre-stressing forces being stantially parallel to the predetermined fracture plane and
applied along a substantially straight line that is substantially substantially perpendicular to the central axis, Where at any
parallel to the predetermined fracture plane and substantially time instant, each of lateral cyclic forces being substantially
perpendicular to the central axis, Where at any time instant, equal in magnitude and acting opposite in direction to one
another.
each of lateral pre-stressing forces being substantially equal
in magnitude and acting opposite in direction to one another.