Ultrasonic characteristics of contact stress of small interference fitting parts

Abstract

Press-fit assembly is one of the traditional methods for assembly of interference fitting parts, but the assembly quality cannot be acquired directly from this method. At present, the press-fit curve is employed for quality estimation, and thickwalled cylinder theory (TCT) is used for standard press-fit curve prediction. However, the evaluation results cannot predict the stress concentration occurred on the mating surface, and most interference fitting parts fail due to this reason. This paper aims to explore ultrasound as a tool for non-destructive evaluation of contact stress, and then acquire the contact stress distribution eventually. Therefore, it is more convenient and intuitive to evaluate the assembly quality based on this method.