MECHANICAL RESISTANCE AS A FUNCTION OF LOCAL PROPERTIES

The present study makes an estimation of an automotive engine piston mechanical properties and fatigue life based on some characteristics of metallurgical microstructure. Because it is intended to assess the properties in specific locations of the component it is made a local microstructure approach. The critical points of the engine piston were metallurgical analyzed (amount of phases and SDAS) and these were related to ultimate tensile strength and fatigue life. The conclusion of the work is that in an engine piston the mechanical and fatigue properties are very dependent of local metallurgical properties (amount of the eutectic phase). As a consequence the component may fail in an unexpected area that may change the local assessment expected results.