The use of thermoelastic stress analysis for stress distribution evaluation of an industrial equipment under regular operating conditions

Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) is an experimental technique enabling the determination of stress pattern and level. Because of the dependence of the technique on a temporally changing load on the target structure, it is mainly considered as a technique suited to the laboratory, and therefore there is a dearth of real-world industrial applications. An experimental study of TSA applicability in determining the stress level distribution in a heavy industrial equipment joint (a bucket wheel excavator joint) under ordinary operating conditions was conducted. In the research, TSA and strain gauge measurements were validated with numerical computations. As the first step of validation, a numerical finite element analysis (FEA) was implemented. The authors then introduced an innovative approach to calibrating TSA results, which implements Rainflow decomposition of strain gauge measurements. Furthermore, a numerical validation approach based on modal frequency response analysis was implemented. Both the experimental and numerical approaches gave remarkably similar results, thereby confirming the possibility of effective use of thermoelastic stress analysis in industrial applications outside the laboratory.