The Naval Postgraduate School's Rotor Spin Research Facility experienced a failure in the Spring of 2005 in which the rotor dropped from the drive turbine and caused extensive damage. A failure analysis of the drive turbine spindle shaft was conducted in order to determine the cause of failure: whether due to a material or design flaw. Also, a dynamic analysis was conducted in order to determine the natural modes present in the system and the associated frequencies that could have contributed to the failure of the shaft. It was concluded that the failure was due to low cycle fatigue, a possible stress concentration was identified, and a torsional mode was found near the speed at which failure occurred.

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http://archive.org/details/analysisoffailur109452079