Failure Investigation of a Wheel Type Ride

Authors

  • Muhammad Rizwan Shad Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Central Punjab, Lahore
  • Furqan Ahmed Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.
  • Ahmad Mahmood Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Central Punjab, Lahore
  • Faiz ul Hasan Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Central Punjab, Lahore

Abstract

A Rotating Giant wheel ride at an amusement Park in Lahore went through an accident and fell on the ground, resulting into three casualties and injuries of two school kids. It was noted that the ride failed just two weeks after its installation. The central shaft which was acting as a cantilever was broken into two pieces. Onsite visual inspection along with hardness measurements was carried out within few days after the accident. It was observed by examining the broken shaft that fatigue failure occurred due to the sudden step made on peripheral of the shaft during manufacturing. This step which was machined to fit the size of bearing caused enough stress concentration to develop on the outer surface of the shaft. It was also noted that the nominal load was exceeding the maximum allowable load. It was shown by detailed calculations that the shaft itself was not able to withstand full load even in the absence of any stress raiser, and the cross-section of the axle was ‘just sufficient’ to withstand the bending force applied on the axle (shaft) when the giant wheel ride was under full load. The shaft was modeled and analyzed later on by using ANSYS workbench to simulate and verify the theoretical calculations.

Author Biography

Furqan Ahmed, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore.

Professor

Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department UET Lahore. 

References

[1] Crosky, A. (2003). Failure of a fairground ride. Practical Failure analysis, 3(1), 48-54.

[2] Human Factors Review of Restraint Failures on Mobile Amusement Rides. (2005).

[3] Ferris wheel's shaft broke, but cause still unknown. (2018). Retrieved from http://journaltimes.com on 2018/01/26.

[4] Kerdal, D., & Nethercoat, D.A. ((1984). Failure modes for castellated beams. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 4(4), 295-315.

[5] Pawar, S., Sahoo, S., & Mukhopadhyay, G. (2019). Failure analysis of weld joint of high strength quality steel sheets in cold rolling mill. Engineering failure Analysis, 103, 392-399.

[6] Jovičić, R., Sedmark, S., Cvetković, R.P., Popović, O., Bubalo, K.J., & Milošević, N. (2018). Effects of welding technology on the occurrence of fracture in welded joints. Procedia Structural Integrity, 13, 1682-1688.

[7] Deadly accident at Ohio State Fair caused by corrosion. (2018). Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com on 2018/01/26.

[8] Suess, S.J. (2002). Recognition and Analysis of Corrosion Failure Mechanisms. Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, 4(1), 73-79.

[9] Truman, C.E., & Booker, J.D. (2007). Analysis of a shrink-fit failure on a gear hub/shaft assembly. Engineering Failure Analysis, 14(4), 557-572.

[10] Fuller, R.W., Ehrgott Jr, J.Q. (2008). Failure analysis of AISI 304 stainless steel shaft. Engineering Failure Analysis, 15(7), 835-846.

[11] Pavlina, E.J., Van Tyne, C.J. (2008). Correlation of Yield Strength and Tensile Strength with Hardness of Steels. Journal of Material Engineering and Performance, 17(6), 888-893.

[12] Pilkey W.D. Peterson’s Stress Concentration Factors. 2nd Ed. Willey & Sons (1997). Chart 3, p. 164.

Downloads

Published

2021-01-19

Issue

VOLUME 28 JANUARY 2021

Section

Polymer Engineering and Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics