Optimised Design and Structural Simulation of a Quad Cycle Chassis Using Finite Element Methods

Abstract

Automotive chassis is the most essential part of an automobile. The chassis serves as a framework for supporting the body and different parts of the quad cycle, so it should be rigid enough to withstand the shock, twist, vibration and other stresses. Manufacturers consider many criteria when designing a chassis structure, including their requirements for its characteristics and established engineering design principles. As a result, strength and stiffness are two essential criteria for the design of the quad-cycle chassis. Also, the weight of the chassis is a critical consideration for chassis design due to its direct relationship with the amount of fuel consumption and the emissions rates emitted to the surrounding atmosphere. This project analyses the structural design of a specific vehicle chassis by using the theory of finite element method (FEM), which is performed by simulating the chassis model into frontal car crash tests using the ANSYS Workbench program. This project aims to achieve analytical results by recommending the following chassis design criteria. The structure's cross-bridges significantly mitigate the collision's effect on the rest of the vehicle's body. The objective of this project is to design and analyse quad-cycle chassis; this will avoid any possibility of structure failure and thus provide enough supporting members to strengthen the region in terms of deformation. Finite element analysis enables the predict the area that tends to fail due to loading. Besides that, there is a need to utilise the feature of CAE software named FEMPRO to get the distribution of stress and strain on the chassis, as well as both component and material costing. The main objective is to study the effect of load on driver weight, the car body and the equipment.