Rashed - Ph.D. Candidate in Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, and Lecturer in Petroleum University of Technology, Ahvaz, Iran.
Ghajar - Associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Hashemi - Associate professor, Petroleum University of Technology and Islamic Azad University-Ahvaz Branch, Iran

The objective in this paper is to predict the fatigue crack initiation of two automotive connecting rods. Strain energy density criterion to predict fatigue crack initiation in high-cycle fatigue regions is employed to estimate the fatigue crack initiation of the two connecting rods. Three-dimensional finite element analyses are performed on the two different connecting rods to calculation of local stresses and strains. The calculated stress-strain response parameters are, then, used to predict the fatigue crack initiation based on energy density is that the fatigue crack starts to initiate at the critical location where maximum energy density is observed. The obtained results showed that the II-Rod fatigue life is about six times greater than the I-Rod life.

Crack initiation – Connecting rod – Finite element – Strain energy density