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The sequence of manufacturing processes involved in the making of truck frame rail sections leave a certain amount of imperfections in the form of plastic deformation and residual stresses in it. These residual stresses along with the externally induced loading stresses together should not be allowed to cross the yield limit of the frame material as it leads to premature failure of frame rail before giving its expected life. One such manufacturing process inducing premature failure is studied in detail using experimental analyses and presented in this paper. The kink bending process employed on the already formed and bolt hole punched C section frame rail, leads to plastic deformation and material crowding around the bolt hole located near the kink bend area of the frame flange.

Bogie-type suspensions for trucks are comprised of two axles and a central spring pack on each side of the truck chassis. Bogie suspensions have a good load distribution between the axles and are used for severe applications in trucks, in off-road conditions thereby subjecting them to extreme stain and load. In today’s competitive market scenario, it of utmost importance to minimize down time in commercial vehicles as it directly corresponds to loss in business which leads to customer dissatisfaction. It is therefore essential to optimize and select the right material for each component in the bogie suspension system. This paper deals with the material selection and testing of one such component - Bogie Wear Pad. The bogie wear pad undergoes sliding friction throughout its lifetime during loading and unloading of bogie suspension. Three different materials are selected and their wear is measured under the same conditions of loading.

The automotive industry needs sustainable seating products which offer good climate performance and superior seating comfort. The safety requirement is always a concern for current seating systems. The life of the present seating system is low and absorbs moisture over a period of time which affects seat performance (cushioning effect). Recycling is one of the major concerns as far as polyurethane (PU) is concerned. This paper presents the development of an alternative material which is eco-friendly and light in weight. Thermoplastic Polyolefin (PO) materials were tried in place PU for many good reasons. It is closed cell foam which has better tear and abrasion resistance. It doesn't absorb water and has excellent weathering resistance. Also it has a better cushioning effect and available in various colours. Because of superior tear resistance, it is possible to eliminate upholstery and would reduce system level cost.

In mining tippers, rear suspension plays a major role in defining vehicles ride and handling characteristics, stability and load carrying capacity. Bogie type of suspension is well suited for these applications. Bogie suspension mainly consists of bogie bracket, leaf springs and radius rods. Nonlinear static analysis is performed for a bogie bracket assembly considering bolt pretension and contacts to evaluate the static strength of bogie bracket. Since bogie bracket is connected to frame with several bolts, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the effect of bolt loosing on bogie bracket. The surface contact interaction (stick-slip) behavior between frame and bogie suspension mounting bracket is also studied. Good correlation is achieved with testing results.

Automotive sheet metal components involve complex geometry and large surface areas. In addition to complex geometry, thrust for reduction of the new product development cycle demands for virtual simulation before prototyping. However in order to validate the simulation parameters, the numerical model needs to be experimentally verified. Conventional strain measurement techniques like Mylar tape, Traveling microscope are tedious and error prone for sheet metal forming analysis. Recently, optical strain measurement techniques are being used in sheet metal forming industry. Through this, strain measurement is more accurate, less time consuming and repeatable. This paper discusses a case study in which the analysis results of an automotive sheet metal component are experimentally validated by circular grid analysis using an optical strain measurement method. The circular grids are marked in the sheet metal blanks by screen-printing.