Design and Optimization of Steering Upright to Reduce the Weight Using FEA 2018-28-0081

Steering upright is that part of suspension system which contains the wheel hub, and attaches to the suspension components. It is the pivot point of the steering and suspension system, which allows the front wheels to turn & more. Considering it for double wishbone suspension geometry lightweight and low fuel consumption are fundamental demands for a vehicle, especially for a racecar. This paper focuses on design optimization of steering upright (steering knuckle) targeting weight reduction with required strength and stiffness. Optimized design of upright is mandatory with appropriate material selection as well as valid finite element analysis. Optimization was performed considering static analysis of stress, strain and total deformation along with the suitable material selection. Material selection was performed by considering various parameters. In the present work, the design process is accomplished by Solidworks and analysis was performed using Ansys software. As it’s important to know the yield and material limit as well as the Factor of safety, Von Mises stress was used in presenting the stress results. Results were analyzed and design was optimized by considering the stress concentration and maximum deformation zones. To tackle this, zones are modified by either increasing the thickness or removing the material in specific manner to reduce stress concentration. With 5 iterations design was finalized with minimum total deformation and stresses for 3 different materials Al7075-T6, Al 6061-T6 and AISI 1045(Medium carbon steel). With the final design the choice of material selection was finalized by making a decision matrix. Finally, Al7075-T6 was selected as it collected the maximum score in decision matrix resulting in 36.5% increase in factor of safety and 59.4% decrease in weight from the mild steel sample.