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A finite element (FE) approach was conducted for suspension durability analysis with the aid of proving ground and rig tests. First, the displacement and acceleration of spindles were recorded during proving ground tests. The proving ground measurements were reproduced by generating the stroke signals of driving actuators of test rig in laboratory. The stroke histories of test rig are collected as durability road load database. These stroke histories were also used as input for an explicit FE code to capture dynamic behavior of vehicle under durability road load conditions. Comparing the results of experimental measurements and FE analyses, displacement and acceleration of FE results agree with those of proving ground tests. The magnitudes of strain histories from FE results also agree with those from experimental measurements without extra correlation effort. With the sufficient accuracy of FE results, fatigue analysis of suspension component can be conducted by CAE analysis.

To investigate fatigue failure of motorcycle handlebars, fatigue analysis and durability experiments are conducted in this study. The finite element software, MSC.Nastran, was used to obtain the stress distribution of a handlebar subject to loadings in various directions. The results of FEM analysis were compared with those of static test to obtain optimum applied loading direction in the durability test. The strain history of the handlebar was measured when a motorcycle traveled on the Belgium (Pave) Road. The applied loading history in the durability test was obtained with remote parameter control technique. Three methods including “traditional S-N approach”, “BS 5400 approach” and “BS 5400 with Gurney thickness modification approach” were used to analyze the fatigue life of the handlebars. Rainflow cycle counting method and Miner’s damage accumulation rule were applied.