Non-Destructive Disassembly of Interference Fit under Wear Conditions for Sustainable Remanufacturing

Abstract

Remanufacturing has been gaining increasing attention in the last few years as a part of green engineering. It is the process of restoring the original specifications of a given product utilizing a combination of new, repaired, and old parts. The present study investigates non-destructive disassembly of an interference fit pin-hub joint to enable the reuse of worn parts with the same loading capacity. The aim is to reduce the disassembly force while preventing plastic deformation and frictional damage on the contact surface to avoid fretting failure and enable further coating. A finite element model of a shaft/hub interference fit was developed, taking into account two cases of damage to the mating parts: deformation and corrosion. The results indicate that thermal disassembly is effective in reducing breaking force by 50% in deformed joints, whereas vibration waves are more suitable for corroded parts with increased friction. In addition, applying a low-frequency oscillation force to the axis of disassembly reduces the pulling out force by 5% and plastic deformation by 99% due to acoustic softening effects. Furthermore, using a heat flux simultaneously with vibration decreases the breaking force by 85%, indicating the higher effectiveness of thermal-aided disassembly and vibration-assisted disassembly in reducing the breaking force of corroded parts with increased friction. This study provides remanufacturing designers with efficient tools to weaken the interference fit and decrease the disconnecting force, ultimately reducing the cost and time required for the disassembly process.