Importance of Hardness in Crankshaft – RA Power Solutions

The hardness of crank pin and main journal of crankshaft is of great importance for the satisfactory performance of the crankshaft. In case of low RPM diesel engine, the crankshafts are not hardened and the hardness is achieved by the metallurgical properties. In case of high RPM engine, crankshafts are hardened. The most common process followed by the manufacturers of crankshaft grinding machine is to go for induction hardening.

CRANKSHAFT

Due to seizure of bearings, the temperature goes high and the hardness increases. The increase in hardness makes the crankshaft brittle resulting to the development of crack.

RA Power Solutions Pvt. Ltd. suggests that whenever seizure of bearings takes place it is important that crankshaft hardness is checked and presence of crack should also be checked either by dye penetrant process or Magnaflux.

In cases of this form of failure, it is typically seen that hardening occurs, which results in the development of hard spots and hard areas next to the soft sections, even up to the scale of 700 HB. According to the manufacturer’s specifications, the extraordinarily high increase in the crankpin journal hardness is not desirable so the crankshaft is heated up and annealed.

Onsite Crankshaft Grinding in a Power Plant
Onsite Crankshaft Grinding in a Power Plant
Crankpin After Repair by Crankshaft Grinding Machine
Crankpin After Repair by Crankshaft Grinding Machine

In order to reduce the hardness and bring it to the limits specified by the manufacturers, RA Power Solutions has undertaken the annealing process in-house and have also availed the services of leading well-known European companies offering annealing services.

Author is Managing Director of RA Power Solutions Pvt. Ltd. having almost four decades of hands on experience in providing consultancy, repair and supply of new and reconditioned crankshafts for high capacity diesel engine. More than 2000 crankshaft have been successfully repaired all over the world, some of which were even rejected by reputed engine manufacturers.

For more information on onsite crankshaft grinding, grinding of crankshaft, crankshaft repair of high-capacity diesel engine email us at rajshahani@rapowersolutions.com, or info@rapowersolutions.com, or call us at +91 9582647131 or +91 9810012383.