Abstract
To improve the fatigue strength of the splined shaft used for a car's air conditioning compressor, press fit was added to the innermost part of the spline. This shaft connection consisting of a spline and press fit is called a "hybrid joint" in this study. A torsional fretting fatigue test was performed focusing on the effect of the amount of interference on the fatigue strength. The fatigue strength of the splined shaft was drastically increased by the hybrid joint. The fatigue strength of the hybrid joint was at most 8 times higher than that of the conventional spline-joint shaft. The fatigue strength as well as the failure mode of the hybrid-jointed specimens were changed depending on the amount of interference. The reason was that the relative slip was significantly reduced with an increase in the amount of interference. The specimen consisted of a shaft, a boss and a bolt. The hybrid joint prevented loosening of the bolt, while loosening of the bolt was found to occur in the conventional spline-joint shaft.
