With the rapid development of the road transport industry, trucks with semi-trailers have become the main means of transporting goods by road. High quality, durability and reliability of the construction are the main requirements for the production of trailers. Trailer and semi-trailer axles are one of the main and most important components of a truck. Due to the fact that semi-trailer axles are subjected to additional static and dynamic loads during operation, their proper construction is extremely important, therefore they should be carefully designed and tested. The durability of the suspension components refers to the duration of the onset of fatigue. This article presents an analysis of damage to the rear axle of the semi-trailer using macroscopic observations of the damage site and dynamic FEA of stress distribution in the axle material. In order to identify the probable cause of the damage, eight cases of loading the semi-trailer axle were considered. Analytical solutions have shown that in various cases the yield point is exceeded and the strength limit of the modeled semi-trailer axle is reached. The risk of damage to the vehicle's suspension system components increases on poor roads (bumps and winding road sections).
Keywords: FEA; failure analysis; fracture mechanics; macroscopic research; semi-trailers.