Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109

www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure analysis and optimization design of a centrifuge rotor

Xuan Hai-jun *, Song Jian
Institute of Chemical Process Machinery, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University,
38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China

Received 7 December 2005; accepted 11 December 2005

Available online 9 March 2006

Abstract

Centrifuge rotors are designed for high service life duty and should stand against 2 times the maximum operation speed
in a spin tester in terms of the manufacture’s standard. A centrifuge rotor prototype had burst before reaching 2 times the
maximum operation speed in an over-speed spin testing, therefore, failure analysis was required to determine the cause of
the burst and recommendations for the structure optimization were needed to improve the rotor integrated strength. After
the chemical analysis and the microstructure identity, a finite element model of 1/24 rotor under centrifugal load was
adopted for mechanical stress analysis. The analysis indicated that local stress peaks occurred on the top round between
the receptacle and the hub and on the edges of the tube cavities. By comparing computational and experimental results, it is
revealed that the rotor fractured on two regions one after another when the peak stress exceeded the ultimate strength of
the material. Consequently, some recommendations were made for the structure optimization to improve the rotor safety
performance. The peak stress was reduced below the allowable material strength margin with increasing the fillet radius of
the round and decreasing the depth of the liquid gather groove. The burst of the redesigned rotor was eliminated in the
later over-speed spin testing.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Centrifuge rotor failure; Finite element analysis; Stress analysis; Structure optimization

1. Introduction

High-speed centrifuge and ultracentrifuge are designed to meet the needs of research, medical, bio-indus-
trial and bio-processing communities. Rotors in high-speed centrifuge and ultracentrifuge units are subjected
to high centrifugal loading. The resulting stress can induce structural failures which could have serious con-
sequences. As a special case, a laboratory centrifuge can be an important tool in the university laboratory and
can also be a dangerous instrument. On December 16, 1998, a rotor running in a Beckman L2-65B ultracen-
trifuge at Cornell University failed due to excessive mechanical stress, and the subsequent explosion com-
pletely destroyed the centrifuge [1]. Therefore, one of the major problems in high speed centrifuge is to
assure adequate rotor safety level for the operator. To maintain and even improve the rotor safety, it is often

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 571 87951241.
E-mail address: marine@cmsce.zju.edu.cn (X. Hai-jun).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2005.12.007
102 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109

necessary to over-speed a centrifuge rotor prototype in a high-speed spin tester with 2 times the maximum
operation speed without cracking or burst failure to fulfill the demands of a new design [2].
The present paper reports the investigation of the burst failure of a centrifuge rotor that took place during
spin testing for the examination of safety performance. The principal aim of this investigation was to identify
the root cause of the failure so as to prevent similar failures in the redesign rotor. A complete analysis was
performed with chemical analysis and microstructure observation and mechanical stress calculation to ascer-
tain whether the burst was due to a material related problem or an excessive centrifugal stress. Finite element
analysis technique was used for complex geometry to calculate the detailed stress distribution on the rotor
under high centrifugal loading. The rotor integrated strength was improved with structure optimization for
enduring higher stress at 2 times the maximum operation speed.

2. Rotor burst

Centrifuge rotors are designed to carry a maximum load at a specific speed. The centrifugal force created by
high rotational speed generates the stress on the metal of the rotor, which causes it to stretch and change in
size. Every newly designed high performance centrifuge rotor needs to receive a special ‘‘high stress test’’ to
insure that it will have a long and safe life. This ‘‘high stress test’’ produces stresses that are far greater than
the maximum possible stresses to the rotor when it is used in normal operation. A centrifuge rotor prototype
required over-speed spin testing for bearing 2 times the maximum operation speed. Over-speed spin testing
was conducted using high-speed rotor spin testing facility in High-speed Rotating Machinery Laboratory,
Institute of Chemical Process Machinery, Zhejiang University. The upward vertical axis, flexible shaft spin
tester in the laboratory employs a 45 kW, 0–3000 rpm speed variable DC motor connecting the drive shaft
of a two steps speed increasing gear box, covers an output speed range of up to 60,000 rpm. The test was con-
ducted in vacuum to eliminate the high air friction loss and to reduce the friction heating created if the test was
to be conducted in air. The vacuum was also an important safety feature since it reduced the risk of the explo-
sion of metal dust or oil fog during the rotor bursting. The testing chamber was armored with two lead brick
layers of 100 mm in thickness and a steel containment ring of 20 mm in thickness to protect the safety of oper-
ational members and prevent the damage of the outer structure of the spin tester. The rotor has been required
to slowly accelerate to 46,600 rpm and halt 5 min at this speed, then decelerate to zero speed for flaw inspec-
tion with no occurrence of cracks. However, the rotor was burst at 44,880 rpm before it reached the rotating
speed objective. Pieces of the rotor itself were widely distributed throughout the testing chamber after the
burst. Post-test reassembled rotor fragments are shown in Fig. 1 with the vast majority of the original test
rotor pieces as we could recover. No high speed camera video of the rotor burst event could be reviewed

Fig. 1. Post-test reassembled rotor fragments.

 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109 103

to aid in the failure analysis. Therefore, it is not easy to find any additional information from post-test frag-
ments for failure analysis.

3. Failure analysis

3.1. Chemical analysis

The rotor material was 7A04 aluminum alloy with T6 solution heat treated and then artificially aged state.
This material possesses excellent mechanical strength and high strength-to-weight ratio with less expense and,
is widely used in the centrifuge industry. Determination of chemical composition is very important for under-
standing material quality. Therefore, a quantitative chemical analysis of a fragment material sample obtained
by standard alloy identification technique is given in Table 1 with a comparison of standard material. The
composition of the rotor material conformed to the Chinese standard specification for high strength 7A04 alu-
minum alloy.

3.2. Microstructure

A low magnification photo of a fracture surface of a rotor fragment is shown in Fig. 2. Here, coarseness of
the fracture surface indicates that it was a typical brittle fracture surface with little plastic deformation. Similar
features were observed in fracture surfaces of randomly selected fragment. The homogeneity of the fracture
surfaces verifies that no initial defects were formed in the rotor before spin testing. A scanning electron micros-
copy (SEM) fractography of the fracture surface is shown in Fig. 3. There is no evidence of material micro-
structural change or degradation in the broken rotor. Therefore, the possibility of rotor burst due to the
material degradation is ruled out by the chemical analysis and the microstructure observation.

Table 1
Chemical composition details of 7A04 (in wt%)
Material element Zn Cu Mg Mn Cr Si Fe Ni Ti Zi Al
Fragment material 6.03 1.45 1.86 0.24 0.15 0.11 0.36 0.007 0.03 0.002 Remainder
Standard material 5.0  7.0 1.4  2.0 1.8  2.8 0.20  0.60 0.10  0.25 60.5 60.5 – 60.1 –

Fig. 2. Photo of fractured surface.

104 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109

Fig. 3. SEM micrograph of fractured surface.

3.3. Mechanical analysis

It could be assumed from the metallurgical analysis that there must be an insufficient structure strength
resulting in locally high stress which exceeded the ultimate tensile strength of the material and caused the rup-
ture of the centrifuge rotor. Therefore, a mechanical analysis capable of predicting stress on the rotor under
centrifugal loading is needed to find the root cause of the rupture and to increase the safety performance with
structure optimization. Finite element method was selected in the subsequent analysis because of the complex
geometry of the centrifuge rotor.

3.3.1. Geometry and material properties

Geometry data for the rotor are necessary for finite element modeling. All geometry data were obtained
from a 2-dimensions drawing supplied by the manufacturer. The rotor has 170 mm maximum outer diameter
and 52 mm height, and a 21 mm diameter central through hole called as connect–disconnect receptacle, and 24
angled tube cavities with 11 mm diameter and 37 mm depth in the rotor rim with substantially equal circum-
ferential distance between two cavities. Material, physical and elastic properties were obtained for 7A04-T6
aluminium alloy from Chinese standard. Table 2 gives the required properties used to carry out the stress anal-
ysis of the centrifuge rotor. The minimum ultimate tensile strength of this material is 530 MPa.

3.3.2. Finite element model

A 1/24 section model has been generated with one tube cavity for a cyclically symmetric structure of the
centrifuge rotor during this study. If the model repetitively patterns 24 times around the center axis, a com-
plete model will be yielded. A parameterized solid 3-dimensions model was generated in the Unigraphics pro-
gram and read into MSC.Nastran, whereupon the finite element mesh was defined, and the symmetric
boundary conditions and the centrifugal load were applied. The solid model was meshed using ten-node tet-
rahedral elements due to the complexity of the geometry. Each node has six degrees of freedom with three
translation displacements and three rotation angles. Most of the significant geometric features were modeled

Table 2
7A04-T6 material’s physical and elastic properties data [3]
Young’s modulus (GPa) Poisson’s ratio Yield strength (GPa) Ultimate strength (MPa) Density (Kg/m3)
71 0.33 430 P530 2800
 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109 105

and relatively finer meshes were used for the regions of rounds and cavities. The global mesh density was cho-
sen to improve the calculation performance. Fig. 4 shows a finite element model for a 1/24 section of the rotor.
Some 34,762 elements and 48,912 nodes were employed in this analysis. Cyclically symmetric conditions were
maintained for the rotor by imposing appropriate displacement constraints on both symmetrical sectional sur-
faces. Centrifugal force under the rotor bursting speed of 44,880 rpm was simulated by applying an angular
velocity to elements in the model. The developed model has been used to determine the stress distribution on
the rotor. The finite element analysis was performed by using linear elastic material properties which were not
influenced by the loading history.

3.4. Stress calculation results and failure analysis

The centrifuge rotor experienced large centrifugal force at the burst speed. Results for stress and strain are
all not shown here for the purpose of brevity, however the Von Mises stress contour profile of the complete
model at the burst speed is presented in Fig. 5. It is observed that the first highest stress occurs at the root of

Fig. 4. Finite element model of a 1/24 centrifuge rotor.

3
Fig. 5. Von Mises stress contour at speed 44,880 rpm (10 MPa).
106 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109

the round on top surface between the receptacle core and the hub and the second peak stress appears on the
top edge of the tube cavities in radial direction. Figs. 6 and 7 show the stresses along the round in radial direc-
tion and on the top edge of the cavity. These stresses could contribute to the type of failure and caused the
rotor burst at two regions one after the other. Re-examination of the assembled rotor fragments indicate that
excessive stress exceeded the ultimate tensile strength of the material and caused a circumferential crack at the
root of the round as the first region of the failure, subsequently the stresses caused cracks on the top edges of
the cavities in the radial direction as the second region of the broken, therefore the rotor flew apart at rota-
tional speed 44,880 rpm. As shown in Fig. 7, two stress peaks occurred on the top edge of the cavity at the
farthest and nearest points in radial direction from the rotor center, caused the outer rim of the rotor to split
apart in radial sections. The stress on the farthest point is larger than that on the nearest point.
Therefore, the rotor safety will benefit from the reducing of the maximum stress at two regions with the
local geometry modification by which the rotor can stand larger centrifugal loading under 2 times the maxi-
mum operation speed. Increasing the fillet radius of the round and reducing the depth of the liquid gather
groove on the rim flange may reduce the peak stresses at two regions within allowable margin and eliminate
the rupture of centrifuge rotor in the later over-speed spin testing. The following section will present the pro-
cess of structure optimization for the centrifugal rotor.

Fig. 6. Von Mises stress on round at speed 44,880 rpm.

Fig. 7. Von Mises stress on tube cavity top edge at speed 44,880 rpm.
 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109 107

It is also noted that lower stresses are present on the top portion of the receptacle and this should not raise
high concentrated stress in detailed structure to cause the rotor separation failure, therefore, the receptacle
remained on the top end of the flexible shaft of the spin tester after the rotor burst. It is also justified on
the other side that the screw thread on the top portion of receptacle can be ignored in the finite element model
for a simplified analysis.

4. Structure optimization

The specific objectives are to reduce the maximum stress on the centrifuge rotor under 2 times the maxi-
mum operation speed rotating condition and to control the maximum stress as low as possible for the
improvement of safety performance by structure optimization with geometry consideration. Fig. 8(a) and
(b) illustrates which dimensions of the centrifuge rotor resulted from the structure optimization has been opti-
mized. The fillet radius of the round is increased from 5 mm to 10 mm and the depth of the liquid gather
groove is decreased from 5.5 mm to 4.5 mm with the modification of the correlative dimensions. The optimi-
zation work was done under centrifugal loading at rotating speed 46,600 rpm of 2 times the maximum oper-
ation speed larger than the burst speed of the pre-optimized rotor. As shown in Fig. 9 compared with that
shown in Fig. 5, the maximum stress on the rotor is decreased from 541 MPa to 514 MPa more below the
required minimum ultimate tensile strength of the material in the standard. Furthermore, the position of
the maximum stress occurring is translated from the round to the top edges of the cavities. The peak stress
at the round is decreased from 541 MPa to 504 MPa, and the peak stress at the top edge of the cavities is
decreased from 530 MPa to 514 MPa, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 compared with that shown in Figs. 6
and 7.

Fig. 8. Effect of structure optimization at two regions.

108 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109

3
Fig. 9. Von Mises stress contour at speed 46,600 rpm on optimized centrifuge rotor (10 MPa).

Fig. 10. Von Mises stress at speed 46,600 rpm along the round after optimization.

Fig. 11. Von Mises stress at speed 46,600 rpm on cavity top edge after optimization.
 X. Hai-jun, S. Jian / Engineering Failure Analysis 14 (2007) 101–109 109

5. Results and conclusions

Chemical analysis and microstructure observation were used for material inspection. It was identified that
the material of the rotor was as per specified grade of high strength aluminum alloy and there was no material
degradation. Therefore, mechanical stress analysis using finite element method was carried out for failure
analysis after the metallurgical examination. It was found that the rupture was due to insufficient integrated
strength of the rotor as maximum centrifugal stress exceeds the ultimate strength of the material. Further
works were done for the structure optimization of the rotor standing centrifugal loading at 2 times the max-
imum operation speed. The rotor dimensions have been changed at two regions and the maximum centrifugal
stress was reduced to a relative low level with an improved safety performance. The structure optimized cen-
trifuge rotor was machined by the manufacturer and stood 2 times the maximum operation speed of
46,600 rpm with 5 min in the later over-speed spin testing. It can be concluded that 3-dimensions stress anal-
ysis and structure optimization based on finite element method are essential for the safety performance
improvement of centrifuge rotors.

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge Shanghai Lishen Science Instruments Limited Company for their financial sup-
port during the course of this work.

References

[1] Available from: <http://www.ehs.cornell.edu/lrs/centrifuge/centrifugeDamages.htm>.

[2] State Food and Drug Administration. High speed refrigeration centrifuge (Chinese Standard). YY91100-1999.
[3] Standardization Administration of China. Extrusion rods and bars of aluminium and aluminium alloy (Chinese Standard). GB/T
3191-1998.