International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT) ISSN: 2249 8958, Volume-2, Issue-4, April 2013

Structural Analysis of Truck Chassis Frame and Design Optimization for Weight Reduction
Hirak Patel, Khushbu C. Panchal, Chetan S. Jadav
Abstract- Automotive chassis is an important part of an automobile. The chassis serves as a frame work for supporting the body and different parts of the automobile. Also, it should be rigid enough to withstand the shock, twist, vibration and other stresses. Along with strength, an important consideration in chassis design is to have adequate bending stiffness for better handling characteristics. So, maximum stress, maximum equilateral stress and deflection are important criteria for the design of the chassis. This report is the work performed towards the optimization of the automotive chassis with constraints of maximum shear stress, equivalent stress and deflection of chassis. Structural systems like the chassis can be easily analyzed using the finite element techniques. A sensitivity analysis is carried out for weight reduction. So a proper finite element model of the chassis is to be developed. The chassis is modeled in PRO-E. FEA is done on the modeled chassis using the ANSYS Workbench. Index Termsoptimization, sensitivity, deformation, stress

=24.19N/mm Design for Main/Side Cross Member P1 = Equivalent point load due to UDL on main long member = 9071.25 N l1 = 900mm Maximum bending moment which occurs at end of the span,

= 17962000 Nmm. Allowable bending stress,

= 100 N/mm2. Modulus of section required is,

I. INTRODUCTION The major challenge in todays ground vehicle industry is to overcome the increasing demands for higher performance, lower weight, and longer life of components, all this at a reasonable cost and in a short period of time. The chassis of trucks is the backbone of vehicles and integrates the main truck component systems such as the axles, suspension, power train, cab and trailer. Since the truck chassis is a major component in the vehicle system, it is often identified for refinement. There are many industrial sectors using this truck for their transportations such as the logistics, agricultures, factories and other industries. II. CALCULATION FOR CHASSIS FRAME Widths of the members are assumed to be 200 mm. Total loading area, A = 8.76 106 mm2 As per standard, permissible axle weight is 18 Ton per axle. So, Gross laden weight for trailer having six axles is F = 108 tone = 1059480 N Load intensity,

= 179620 mm3

Average shear stress,

=17.13 N/mm2 Allowable shear stress,

As

, Design is safe in shear.

Check for deflection, Allowable deflection is,

= 0.12094 N/mm. UDL acting on beam,

=2.769 mm Maximum deflection occurs at free end

Manuscript received on April, 2013. Hirak Patel, PG student Mechanical Department, Shri Sad Vidya Mandal Institute of Technology, Bharuch, India. Khushbu C. Panchal, Assistant Professor Mechanical Department, Shri Sad Vidya Mandal Institute of Technology, Bharuch, India. Chetan S. Jadav, Assistant Professor Mechanical Department, Shri Sad Vidya Mandal Institute of Technology, Bharuch, India.

Design for Side Long Member P1= 36285 N l1= 750 mm Design for bending stress, Maximum bending moment which occurs at end of the span, =34017187.5 Nmm Modulus of section required is,

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Structural Analysis of Truck Chassis Frame and Design Optimization for Weight Reduction =340172 mm3 Check for shear stress Effective area of web, = 1600 mm2. Average shear stress, = 17 N/mm . Allowable shear stress, As =57.7 N/mm , Design is safe in shear.
2 2

== 680377.5 mm3 Check for shear stress Effective area of web, = 2800 mm2 Average shear stress, = 5.5 N/mm2 Allowable shear stress, As =57.7 N/mm2 , Design is safe in shear.

Check for deflection Allowable deflection is, = 2.3076 mm Maximum deflection occurs at free end, = 21.79 mm Design for End Cross Member P4= 43542 P5= 72570 l1 = 1500 mm l2 = 600 mm Design for bending stress, Maximum bending moments are found near to extreme supports a and e, Ma = Me = 136068750 Nmm Modulus of section required is, = 5124865 mm3 Check for shear stress Effective area of web, = 12600 mm Average shear stress, = 4.6 N/mm2 Allowable shear stress, As =57.7 N/mm2 , Design is safe in shear
2

Check for deflection Allowable deflection is, = 5.54 mm Maximum deflection occurs at free end, = 5.2414 mm III. OPTIMIZATION OF CHASSIS FRAME Optimization is define as a maximization of wanted properties and minimization of unwanted properties. In case of structural optimization the chassis: Desired Properties are: Strength Stiffness Deflection etc Undesired Properties: Material Cost Weight etc In the case of chassis we can reduce the weight of chassis frame by reducing its thickness, but it will increase the deflection as well as the shear stress. To omit this problem the sensitivity analysis will be helpful to reduce thickness of cross section of chassis frame. Sensitivity analysis To analyze the sensitivity of frame web height to the change in thickness and viceversa. For the approximately same section modulus and flange width. Case 1: Changing height and width. Cross section of the frame in case 1 MEMBER 1A W 100 100 100 100 H 500 600 300 800 W 200 200 200 200 1B H 900 1000 700 1400 W 180 180 180 180 1C H 610 720 450 1050

Check for deflection, Allowable deflection is, = 27.69 mm Maximum deflection occurs at free end, = 27.66 mm Design for Main Long Member

Main cross P1= 18145 N l1 = 1800 mm l2 = 600 mm Design for bending stress, Maximum bending moment which occurs at end of the span, =68037750 Nmm Modulus of section required is, Side long End cross Main long

Case 1A: Results Stress

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International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT) ISSN: 2249 8958, Volume-2, Issue-4, April 2013

Deformation

Deformation

Case 1B: Results Stress

Result Table for Case 1 Cases Case 1A Case 1B Case 1C Stress 21.733 20.64 23.296 Deformation 0.22656 0.13861 0.17526 Weight 2.64 4.98 3.732

Case 2 : Changing in height. Cross section of the frame in case 2. Member Main cross Side long End cross Main long Case 2A: Results Stress 2A 600 700 400 1100 2B 800 900 600 1300 2C 750 750 500 1300

Deformation

Case 1C: Results Stress

Deformation

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Structural Analysis of Truck Chassis Frame and Design Optimization for Weight Reduction Result Table for Case 2 Cases Stress Case 2A 30.336 Case 2B 20.818 Case 2C 18.974

Deformation 0.32706 0.000116 0.18072

Weight 3.86 4.61 4.249

IV. CONCLUSION The truck chassis design is done analytically and the weight optimization is done by sensitivity analysis. In sensitivity analysis different cross section are used for stress analysis and we find a 17% weight reduction in the truck chassis. The stress and deformation are also compared for the different cross section. REFERENCES (1) Fui T.H. and Rahman R.Abd. Static and dynamics structural analysis
of a 4.5 ton truck chassis. Jurnal Mekanikal, No. 24, pages 56{67, 2007}. (2) Y. M. Xie and G. P. Steven. Optimal design of multiple load case structures using an evolutionary procedure. Engineering computations, vol 11, 295-302 (1994). (3) A. D. M. Chauhan, B. Prof. S. B. Soni and C. Prof. A. M. Gohil. Parametric Optimization of Hydraulic Modular Trailer Frame using ANSYS (APDL). Institute of technology, nirma university, ahmedabad 382 481. (4) Sairam Kothari, V.Gopinath. Static and dynamic analysis on tatra chassis. QIS College Of Engineering &Technology ,Ongole,Andhra Pradesh. (5) Shimoda, Toshihide Shibuya and Hirofumi Miwa. Development of kinematical analysis method for vehicle. Nomatsu technical, 2004. (6) Ashutosh Dubey and Vivek Dwivedi. Vehicle Chassis Analysis: Load Cases & Boundary Conditions for Stress Analysis. 2008 (7) Han Quan-li,Tian Lin-Hong ,Qu Ling-Jin . Research on Optimization Design of Heavy-duty Truck Frame Based on the Sensitivity. 2010 IEEE. (8) J.M. Biradar, B.V. Vijay, Kailash Jat. Automotive Chassis Sizing Optimization for Modal and Distortion Criteria. Sastech, Volume 7, Issue 2, September 2008. (9) I. Kutay YILMAZOBAN, Yasar KAHRAMAN. Truck chassis structural thickness optimization with the help of finite element technique. TOJSAT: The Online Journal of Science and Technology July 2011, Volume 1, Issue 3. (10) Marco Cavazzuti, Dario Costi, Andrea Baldini and Patrizio Moruzzi. Chassis topology optimization. World Congress on Engineering 2011 Vol III, London 2011. (11) Vijaykumar V. and Prof. R. I. Patel .Structural Analysis of Automotive Chassis Frame and Design Modification for Weight Reduction. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT). 2012. (12) Jeffrey W. Herrmann. Evaluating Design optimization Models. ISR Technical report 2007-11.

Case 2B: Results Stress

Deformation

Case 2C: Results Stress

Deformation

(13) G. N. Vanderplaats. Structural Design Optimization Status and

(14) Rajput, R. K., Strength of Material, S. Chand & Company LTD.

Authors Photo

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