Failure of a diesel engine injector nozzle by cavitation damage

Asi O.

Engineering Failure Analysis, vol.13, no.7, pp.1126-1133, 2006 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 13 Issue: 7
  • Publication Date: 2006
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2005.07.021
  • Journal Name: Engineering Failure Analysis
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1126-1133
  • Keywords: Cavitation damage, Failure analysis, Fatigue, Injector nozzle
  • Uşak University Affiliated: No

Abstract

A failure investigation has been conducted on a diesel engine injector nozzle used in a truck, which is made from 18CrNi8, a case hardening steel. The nozzle has been found cracked after about 400 h in service. An evaluation of the failed injector nozzle was undertaken to assess its integrity that included a visual examination, photo documentation, chemical analysis, micro-hardness measurement, and metallographic examination. The failure zones were examined with the help of a scanning electron microscope equipped with EDX facility. Results indicate that the failure occurred because of cavitation damage in the internal surface of the nozzle followed by fatigue cracking. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.