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A new wheel end concept was designed and developed to allow sport utility vehicles (SUV) and light trucks the possibility of achieving a negative scrub radius. This paper will compare a production vehicle with a scrub radius of 54.8 mm with the same vehicle modified with several alternate scrub radii. The vehicle changes are completed in a way that still packages the brake components and meets the component durability needs of a light truck wheel end load cycle. Quantitative vehicle computer analysis and actual instrumented vehicle performance data will be compared and correlated to analyze the effects of scrub radius.

Traditional methods often lead to truck component designs that are overly conservative. The ever-increasing need to reduce operational costs demands innovative means for producing parts that are light, durable and capable of carrying more loads. This paper discusses the far-reaching advantages of shape-optimization, beyond the fundamental stipulation of weight reduction. A suspension link is considered to demonstrate the benefits of an optimally shaped component.

A nano-composite high strength (NCHS) steel was tested and evaluated in this work. Monotonic tension, strain controlled fatigue and fracture toughness tests were conducted at ambient temperature. Chemical composition, microstructure and fractography analysis were also performed. The NCHS steel showed excellent combination of high strength, high ductility and high fracture toughness with relatively low alloy content, compared with a S7 tool steel. Fatigue performance of the NCHS steel was also better than that of S7 tool steel. With the exceptional combination of high strength and high fracture toughness, the nano-composite high strength steel may have potential applications in gears, shafts, tools and dies where high fatigue performance, shock load resistance, wear and corrosion resistance is required.