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Lightweight design is a key factor in general engineering design practice, however, it often conflicts with fatigue durability. This paper presents a way for improving the effectiveness of fatigue performance dominated optimization, demonstrated through a case study on suspension brackets for heavy-duty vehicles. This case study is based on random load data collected from fatigue durability tests in proving grounds, and fatigue failures of the heavy-duty vehicle suspension brackets were observed and recorded during the tests. Multi-objective fatigue optimization was introduced by employing multiaxial time-domain fatigue analysis under random loads combined with the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II with archives.

Wheel hubs with drum brakes of heavy-duty vehicles rarely broke, but some suddenly cracked in the 2000s. The cause of damage was said to be a lack of hub strength. However, the case was suspicious because the hubs were produced according to the design guidelines by the JSAE. In the 1990s, brake shoe-lining materials were changed from asbestos to non-asbestos for people’s health. The brake squeal and abnormal self-lock frequently occurred because of the increased friction coefficient between drum and shoe lining in the case of the leading–trailing type. The mechanical friction coefficient changes with the material and the contact angle, which varies with the wear of shoe lining and the drum temperature. In the previous report, the deformation of the wheel hub under the abnormal self-lock was verified by observing the change of hub attitude in model test equipment.

Abstract The use of appropriate loads and regulations is of great importance in weld fatigue assessment of rail on-track maintenance equipment and similar vehicles for optimized design. The regulations and available loads, however, are often generalized for several categories, which proves to be overly conservative for some specific categories of machines. EN (European Norm) and AAR (Association of American Railroads) regulations play a pivotal role in determining the applicable loads and acceptance criteria within this study. The availability of track-induced fatigue load data for the cumulative damage approach in track maintenance machines is often limited. Consequently, the FEA-based validation of rail track maintenance equipment often resorts to the infinite life approach rather than cumulative damage approach for track-induced travel loads, resulting in overly conservative designs.

When a specialty tractor is operated by mounting the front loader or backhoes, the loads are distributed proportionately to the front and rear axles. The maximum load and fatigue life were identified as the main parameters in predicting fatigue failure. This paper mainly focuses on predicting front axle loads and fatigue life in front loader applications. To design a new front axle for the loader application, an existing front axle assembly that was designed for orchard, sprayer, and small farm application is selected for study and to extend it for front loader application with minimal design modifications. The major challenge is to estimate the dynamic loads coming to the front axle due to the front loader application and validate it for a different set of load cases as per the design verification plan. Hence a methodology was framed to estimate the actual loads using MBD, validate with field measurements, and verify the new front axle design using those loads in FEA.

The Heavy Duty live rear axles in commercial vehicle helps to transmit the drive to the rear wheels and also carries vehicle load. The rear axle along with wheel assembly consists of axle casing, differential unit, half shafts, wheel hub, brake drum, brake chamber and wheels. It is one of the major safety critical element in any commercial vehicle. Based on the suspension type, rear axle housing also carries V rod & radius rod mountings & Spring Seat /Wear pad / Rubber Bolster (in case of bogie suspension). This paper abbreviates the contribution of bogie suspension seating configurations & V-rod Forces on life of heavy duty bogie rear axle casing. In-service DRT hot spot observations were reported on heavy duty rear axle on few models with bogie suspension. In order to find the root cause, devising a proper testing and analysis method is of prime importance. An extensive effort was made to device test methodology based on customer application and field visits.

Improvements in component/system design is a daily challenge these days, always looking for high performance, reduced mass and low costs. The source for the best fit between these factors, coupled with adequate durability performance, is crucial to the success of a given product and this is what motivates engineering teams around the world. The demand for efficient projects with short deadlines for validation and certification is huge and simulation tools focused on accelerated durability and virtual validation are increasingly being used. When developing a new spring for commercial vehicles, lessons learned from the actual loads applied to the suspension are the “key” to a successful project. The loads/stresses from the ground (vertical loads, lateral loads, longitudinal and braking loads) are quite high and, consequently, relevant to the proper definition of the design of the suspension components.

Abstract The lightweight structure of a semitrailer composite leaf spring is designed and manufactured using glass fiber composite to replace the conventional steel leaf spring. The sliding composite mono leaf spring was designed based on the conventional parabolic spring design theory. The composites product design (CPD) module of CATIA software is used to create the lamination of the composite leaf spring. Using finite element analysis of the position and proportion of ±45° biaxial layer by OptiStruct software, it is found that a certain proportion (nearly 5%) of a ±45° biaxial layer can effectively reduce the shear stress under the condition of keeping the total number of layers fixed. Then, the natural frequency, stiffness, and strength of the composite leaf spring are simulated by the finite element method. Finally, the stiffness, fatigue, and matching of the designed spring are tested by experiments.

The Tractors are inevitable in the world due to its remarkable contribution majorly in farming process and other applications. the farming equipment needs to perform multiple applications to enhance the productivity and increased horsepower demands all-wheel drive (Refer fig. 1) or four-wheel drive option in the tractor. So, it is becoming a mandatory feature. The main objective of this study is, improving the torsional fatigue life in front axle spindle shaft by modifying the spline design and optimizing induction hardening heat treatment process in such a way that the other part of the system will have a minor or no design change. It helps us to reduce the part count variability, lower manufacturing cost and development time.

Leaf springs are used for vehicle suspension to support the load. These springs are made of flat sections of spring steel in single or in stack of multiple layers, held together in bracketed assembly. The key characteristics of leaf spring are defined as ability to distribute stresses along its length and transmit a load over the width of the chassis structures. The most common leaf spring steels are carbon steels alloyed with Cr and micro-alloyed with Ti, V and Nb. The specific thermomechanical process and alloying elements result in specific strength and fatigue properties for spring steels. The unique properties which facilitate use of spring steel in leaf spring suspensions are ability to withstand considerable twisting or bending forces without any distortion. The microstructure of these steel determines the performance and reflects the process of steel manufacturing. The performance is mainly determined by evaluating fatigue life durability.

The thermal and mechanical loads of the engine rise dramatically with the increase in engine power density, which places higher demands on the design of the piston. In this paper, the design development of a steel piston for a marine diesel engine belonging to 190 series heavy-duty diesel engines was studied. The design methods including material selection and structural design were used to finished the preliminary design. In the meanwhile, the design philosophies of the aluminum alloy piston and composite piston for the 190 series diesel engines were used for reference in the design process. The designed steel piston was tested in the engine durability bench test and simulated for reliability. The results showed that the failure of the steel piston occurred at the same position in both the test and the simulation. The cause of cracking in the steel piston was analyzed, and the insufficient strength of the local structure led to high-cycle fatigue failure.

In this paper, an equivalent conversion method is proposed to apply the six-dimensional force road spectrum of the four-axle vehicle on the same platform to the three-axle through the axle load comparison. Further, the feasibility of the devolved equivalent conversion method is verified, and the fatigue performance improvement of the wishbone support structure of a commercial vehicle is finally achieved. Specifically, firstly, the load spectrum at each attachment point of the suspension for the three-axle vehicle is obtained through the iteration of the multi-body dynamic model. Furthermore, the finite element model of the suspension for the three-axle vehicle is established; the analysis of fatigue life for the suspension structure is performed by extracting stress amplitude through the multi-axis cyclic counting method and calculating equivalent force amplitude through McDiarmid’s criterion, combined with the SN curve of the material.

The displacement of the shaft head fails to be accurately measured while the three-axle heavy-duty truck is driving on the reinforced pavement. In order to obtain accurate fatigue load spectrum of the suspension bracket, the acceleration signals of the shaft heads of the suspension obtained by the reinforced pavement test measurement are virtually iterated as responses. A more accurate model of the rigid-flexible coupled multi-body dynamics (MBD) of the whole vehicle is established by introducing a flexible frame based on the comprehensive modal theory. Furthermore, the vertical displacements of the shaft heads are obtained by the reverse solution of the virtual iterative method with well-pleasing precision. The accuracy of the virtual iteration is verified by comparing the simulation results with the vertical acceleration of the shaft head under the reinforced pavement in the time domain and damage domain.

With the growing prosperity of the long-distance freight and urban logistics industry, the demand for cargo trucks is gradually increasing. The connecting bracket is the critical connecting part of the truck chassis, which bears the load transmitted by the road excitation and reduces the damage to the frame caused by the load. However, the occurrence of rough road conditions is inevitable in heavy-duty transportation. In this paper, road durability tests and fatigue life analysis are carried out on the original structure to ensure the safety of the vehicle. Based on the known boundary and load constraints, a lightweight and high-performance structure is obtained through size optimization, as the original structure cannot meet the performance requirements. Firstly, the road test was conducted on the truck where the original bracket structure is located.

In recent years, the removal of lead (Pb), which is an environmentally hazardous material often used in bearings for automotive engines, has been continuously promoted. Bismuth (Bi) is attracting attention as a substitute for lead, and it is currently being used mainly for passenger cars and trucks as a lead replacement. However, lead has not been replaced for motorcycles where the bearings are exposed to high temperatures at high rotation speeds, and trucks and generators where high loading capacity, long lifetime and good corrosion resistance are required. It has been difficult to achieve both high load and corrosion resistant for a bearing overlay material. The purpose of this development is to improve the corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance of bismuth overlay by developing a bismuth- antimony alloy overlay in which antimony (Sb) is added to the bismuth matrix.

This SAE Standard describes a laboratory test procedure for comparatively evaluating the durability and fatigue life qualities of a complete seat cushion by submitting the seating surface of the cushion to repetitive compressive and rotational loading with a simulated human buttocks.

This paper presents the development of a validation criteria method for designing of spring brackets, wear pads and equalizers of a leaf spring suspension of a semi-trailer from the perspective of durability and peak loads. The method consisted of the application of a finite element model from strain data collected in the application test. The results obtained in the components during the trailer’s operation were converted into load through calibration curves. The stress-life method was adopted, correcting the mean stress by the Goodman criterion and with the calculation of accumulated damage using Palmgren-Miner with cycle counting by rainflow in the structures during the data acquisition path. The relation between damage accumulation and the life expectancy of the components, defined in a specific distance (mileage) was established. Basquin´s equation was also used.

Unfavorable climates, fatigue, safety & deprived sleep of driver’s leads to use of AC system for their quick thermal comfort during night with engine ON. This scenario is very critical from a human’s safety & vehicle functionality point of view. This also consumes an additional 10-15% of fuel requirements in AC running conditions. So, to address the social problems of driver’s sleep and pollution-free environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels, there is a need for alternative techniques for air cooling which work during engine OFF condition. Various alternative options for air cooling have been reviewed. Accordingly, the packaging flexibility of phase change material (PCM) technology makes it easy to implement, yet effective usage of large quantity stored PCM, needs optimization. This paper proposes a design of a hybrid air conditioning system for sleeper commercial vehicles using a combined conventional compression and phase change material.

Lift axles of heavy commercial vehicles are deployed to handle increased payload. These axles of Commercial vehicles are made of low alloy carbon steel materials. Lift axles are designed in hollow condition for weight reduction opportunity. Two types of tube materials are used for the manufacturing of lift axles. These are either Cold Drawn Seamless (CDS) tubes or Hot Finished Seamless (HFS) tube material. The vanadium micro-alloyed steel grade, 20MnV6 is an excellent choice for the manufacturing of lift axles. The 20MnV6 has favorable mechanical properties for lift axles and also offers good weldability. However, lift axles made of 20MnV6 when manufactured in hot-finished condition, shows significant scatter in terms of durability performance. This requires further heat treatment of 20MnV6 to be deployed for reducing the scatter in the material properties to reduce scatter in durability performance and thus increasing the reliability of the lift axles.

Overloading of trucks can easily cause damage to roads, bridges and other transportation facilities, and accelerate the fatigue loss of the vehicles themselves, and accidents are prone to occur under overload conditions. In recent years, various countries have formulated a series of management methods and governance measures for truck overloading. However, the detection method for overload behavior is not efficient and accurate enough. At present, the method of dynamic load identification is not perfect. No matter whether it is the dynamic weight measurement method of reconstructing the road surface or the non-contact dynamic weight measurement method, little attention is paid to the difference of different vehicles. Especially for different vehicles, there should be different load limits, and the current devices are not smart enough.

The boundary load of the light truck cab fatigue analysis is the force of the cab mounting system, which cannot be directly measured. In the absence of a physical prototype, the fatigue load of the cab cannot be extracted through virtual iteration. Aiming at the problem of fatigue analysis in the early stage of the car-free cab, the virtual proving ground technology is used to extract fatigue load and do fatigue analysis in this paper. Using the virtual road as the excitation, the simulation analysis of the whole vehicle virtual proving ground is carried out, and the wheel center load and the cab mounting force are obtained. Comparing the simulation load with the signal required on the proving ground, it is found that the extracted virtual load is consistent with the actual vehicle load in the time domain and frequency domain. The retention of pseudo-damage of the six-component load of the wheel center can meet the precision control requirements of the vehicle load decomposition.