Macrographic and Analytical Evaluation of the Fracture of a Fertilizer Conveyor Belt Stretcher Drum Shaft Willy Ank de Morais, Lorranny Borges Oliveira Cruz

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the fracture occurred in a drum axle used as a stretching set of a fertilizer conveyor belt, located in a port facility. The analysis has visual observations of the fracture, aspects of the asset maintenance strategy and critical crack size determination for this specific application, using the principles of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM). It can be concluded that the existence of a radius of curvature and surface corrosion condition significantly raised the stress concentration at the breaking point, making the shaft diameter a critical variable for the project. It is also noticed the importance of measuring the critical crack size, enabling more assertive decision making for the immediate stoppage of the conveyor, based on data obtained during the application of shaft scanning inspection methodologies, such as ultrasound.