Weight reduction of a carbon fibre composite wheel
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract The wheel of a passenger vehicle must be designed to be safe and light. Despite the tremendous potential of carbon fibre as an automotive material due to high strength and low weight, the prevalence of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRPs) in vehicle wheels is limited. Manufacturing and testing CFRP prototypes is expensive. Thus it is advantageous to develop simulation models for composite weight reduction. The simulation models can provide insight into how lighter CFRP wheels can be designed. This study presents the design development of a CFRP wheel for a high-performance roadster; the CFRP wheel is offered by an automotive manufacturer as a high-performance option instead of aluminium wheels. Finite element (FE) simulations were initially conducted assuming an isotropic material. This initial model was used to eliminate stress concentrations and to design and manufacture an initial CFRP wheel. The CFRP wheel weight is 6.8 kg as compared to the original aluminium wheel which weighs 8.1 kg. This initial design passed the dynamic cornering fatigue test (the most stringent strength test for wheels). Thereafter the wheel was instrumented with strain gauges and a bending moment was applied to the hub using a custom-built test rig. The test rig produced a static load equivalent to the dynamic cornering fatigue test (in which the applied bending moment varies sinusoidally). The test rig allowed for the deflection of the load arm to be measured. The comparison of the experimentally measured strains and an FE model which includes the CFRP laminate properties showed good agreement. Two alternative laminate options were simulated using the FE model. These showed both an increase in stiffness and a calculated weight reduction. This study shows that an aluminium wheel for a high-performance roadster can be redesigned using CFRP to be 16% lighter and using a FE model a further 152 g weight reduction is possible (18% weight reduction in total when compared to the aluminium wheel).
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Mechanical Engineering and Vibrations Research · Soil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics · Mechanical Failure Analysis and Simulation
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
University of the Witwatersrand , 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein , Johannesburg , South Africa
References (20)
Show source-provided references
1. F. Fitz and C. Gadd, “Development of a Light Weight Passenger Car Wheel Using Conventional Steels and Fabrication Techniques,” SAE Tech. Pap. Ser vol. 01, no. 0782, 1999.10.4271/1999-01-0782 ↗
2. X. Wang and X. Zhang, “Simulation of dynamic cornering fatigue test of a steel passenger car wheel,” Int. J. Fatigue vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 434–442, 2010.10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2009.09.00610.1016/j.ijfatigue.2009.09.006 ↗
3. Z. G. Zheng, T. Sun, X. Y. Xu, S. Q. Pan, and S. Yuan, “Numerical simulation of steel wheel dynamic cornering fatigue test,” Eng. Fail. Anal vol. 39, pp. 124–134, 2014.10.1016/j.engfailanal.2014.01.02110.1016/j.engfailanal.2014.01.021 ↗
4. U. Kocabicak and M. Firat, “Numerical analysis of wheel cornering fatigue tests,” Eng. Fail. Anal vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 339–354, 2001.10.1016/S1350-6307(00)00031-510.1016/S1350-6307(00)00031-5 ↗
5. R. Muthuraj, R. Badrinarayanan, and T. Sundararajan, “Improvement In The Wheel Design Using Realistic Loading Conditions – FEA and Experimental Stress Comparison,” SAE Int vol. 28, no. 0106, 2011.10.4271/2011-28-0106 ↗
6. Y.-L. Hsu and M.-S. Hsu, “Weight reduction of aluminum disc wheels under fatigue constraints using a sequential neural network approximation method,” Comput. Ind vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 167–179, 2001.10.1016/S0166-3615(01)00125-710.1016/S0166-3615(01)00125-7 ↗
7. P. R. Raju, B. Satyanarayana, K. Ramji, and K. S. Babu, “Evaluation of fatigue life of aluminum alloy wheels under radial loads,” Eng. Fail. Anal vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 791–800, 2007.10.1016/j.engfailanal.2006.11.02810.1016/j.engfailanal.2006.11.028 ↗
8. J. Stearns, T. S. Srivatsan, A. Prakash, and P. C. Lam, “Modeling the mechanical response of an aluminum alloy automotive rim,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A vol. 366, no. 2, pp. 262–268, 2004.10.1016/j.msea.2003.08.01710.1016/j.msea.2003.08.017 ↗
9. M. Firat, R. Kozan, M. Ozsoy, and O. H. Mete, “Numerical modeling and simulation of wheel radial fatigue tests,” Eng. Fail. Anal vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 1533–1541, 2009.10.1016/j.engfailanal.2008.10.00510.1016/j.engfailanal.2008.10.005 ↗
10. P. Li, D. M. Maijer, T. C. Lindley, and P. D. Lee, “A through process model of the impact of in-service loading, residual stress, and microstructure on the final fatigue life of an A356 automotive wheel,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A vol. 460–461, pp. 20–30, 2007.10.1016/j.msea.2007.01.076 ↗
11. M. Giger and P. Ermanni, “Development of CFRP racing motorcycle rims using a heuristic evolutionary algorithm approach,” Struct. Multidiscip. Optim vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 54–65, 2005.10.1007/s00158-004-0471-310.1007/s00158-004-0471-3 ↗
12. F. Rondina et al “Development of full carbon wheels for sport cars with high-volume technology,” Compos. Struct vol. 192, no. January, pp. 368–378, 2018.10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.02.08310.1016/j.compstruct.2018.02.083 ↗
13. R. A. Ridha, “Fiber-Reinforced Automotive Wheels-Promises and Challenges,” in SAE Technical Paper 1979.10.4271/790432 ↗
14. A. J. Wootton, J. C. Hendry, A. K. Cruden, and J. D. A. Hughes, “Structural Automotive Components in Fibre Reinforced Plastics,” in Composite Structures 3 I. H.Marshall, Ed. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1985, pp. 19–42.10.1007/978-94-009-4952-2_2 ↗
15. Blackstone TEK, “BST Carbon Fiber Car Wheels,” 2017. [Online]. Available: http://blackstonetek.com/bst-best-carbon-fiber-wheels-home/bst-carbon-fiber-car-wheels/
16. D. Hrovat, “Influence of unsprung weight on vehicle ride quality,” J. Sound Vib vol. 124, no. 3, pp. 497–516, 1988.10.1016/S0022-460X(88)81391-910.1016/S0022-460X(88)81391-9 ↗
17. J. Kinstler, “The Science and Methodology of SAE Wheel Fatigue Test Specifications,” SAE Tech. Pap. Ser vol. 01, no. 1826, 2005.10.4271/2005-01-1826 ↗
18. C. P. De Carvalho, H. Jacobus, C. Voorwald, and C. E. Lopes, “Automotive Wheels – An Approach for Structural Analysis and Fatigue Life Prediction,” Sae Pap. 2001-01-4053 no. September 2015, pp. 237–243, 2001.
19. M. B. K, S. Vinothkumar, S. Srinivasan, and A. Nesarikar, “Simulation and Test Correlation of Wheel Impact Test,” SAE Tech. Pap. Ser vol. 28, no. 0129, 2011.
20. TUV, “Guidelines for the testing and inspection of plastic wheels for passenger cars and motorcycles, as at 17 January 2019,” no. January, pp. 1–14, 2019.