Bob,
On Friday I had proposed (off list to Jack D.) sending an axle, with the
wear pattern he noticed, to Duke University (my alma mater) to have them
examined. The engineering program at Duke has a failure analysis course
(great course) in which the undergrads find or are assigned component
failures. The object of this project is to determine the cause and
possible remedies for the particular failure.
Conversely, having them reviewed by a professional at CAT would be far
quicker and possibly more accurate. Learning what is causing the pattern
Jack D. has seen on several axles may lead us to the failure mechanism.
I'd say go for it. Every failure leaves tracks to it's cause. We just
need the right equipment and expertise to identify the clues. I will
contact Duke in September, when they are back in session, to see if I they
will accept an axle for use in this course, but if we have a viable contact
at a major corporation, we may have answers much more quickly.
Regards,
Jack Brooks
1960 TR3A
1974 Norton 850 Commando
Hillsdale, NJ
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bownes [mailto:bownes]On Behalf Of bob bownes
> Sent: Monday, August 07, 2000 10:31 AM
> To: Jack W. Drews
> Cc: Bill Babcock; Jack Brooks; Friends of Triumph
> Subject: Re: TR axle breakage - my theory
>
>
>
> Hey, if we can assemble a few broken hub/axle assemblies, I
> have a friend
> (who is a flagger)who does failure analysis for Cat. Perhaps we
> could have
> them looked at to see if there is a pattern.
>
> Bob
>
>
> > Bill Babcock wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > I really doubt that is happening guys--if the bearing housing was
> > > flexing that much it would crack the bearing race, and I don't think
> > > we've ever seen that.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Jack Brooks [mailto:brooks@belcotech.com]
> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 10:54 AM
> > > To: Jack W. Drews
> > > Cc: Friends of Triumph
> > > Subject: RE: TR axle breakage - my theory
> > >
> > > > Every hub / axle assembly that I've taken apart has exhibited a
> > > puzzling
> > > > thing. The surface appearance of the axle on the inboard third of
> > > the
> > > > mating surface has been different than the outer 2/3 or so.
> > >
> > > Jack,
> > >
> > > If the problem is caused by flexing and "bell mouthing", as you
> > > suspect,
> > > the different appearing surface of the axle may hold the answer. Do
> > > you
> > > (or other FOT) have access to high magnification microscope or a SEM
> > > (scanning electron microscope)? I am wondering if the difference in
> > > the
> > > appearance on the taper might be fretting or some other surface
> > > condition
> > > which would reveal the mechanism causing difference in
> appearance and
> > > possibly the failure too.
> > >
> > > Please keep us informed of what other clues you may find. Maybe we
> > > can
> > > help.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Jack Brooks
> > > 1960 TR3A
> > > 1974 Norton 850 Commando
> > > Hillsdale, NJ
> > >
> > >
> >
> > I'm not talking about the bearing housing. It's the HUB. The
> portion of
> > the HUB inboard of the flange where the wheel bolts on. And
> most of the
> > axles are breaking about 1/2" down inside the HUB -- at the end of the
> > keyway.
> >
> > In fact, want to buy my old bearing? I need the money.
> >
> > Of course, this theory, like the last one, may not be valid.
> >
> >
>
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