Design and Static Analysis of Carbon/Epoxy Composite Mono Leaf Spring for Light Vehicle Using FE
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Date
2017-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Design and Static Analysis of Carbon/Epoxy Composite Mono Leaf Spring for Light Vehicle Using FEM
Misganaw Abebaw
Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, 2017
In this study, design and static analysis of carbon/epoxy composite mono leaf spring was done by comparing the conventional steel leaf spring which is used by Damas II a four wheeled light vehicle. The main idea behind this work is to replace the existing steel leaf spring material with a mono laminated carbon/epoxy composite leaf spring with same width, thickness and load carrying capacity. In this study, the main investigation of the study is to reduce the weight of product while upholding its strength. Then to solve problem in this regard composite materials are play an important role. The prominence of the paper was to design and analysis of quasi isotropic laminated carbon/epoxy composite material leaf spring suspension system. Then this study seeks to address, improve load carrying capacity and designing less stressed, less deformed and light weight composite leaf spring, which have better performance than that of the existing Damas II car steel leaf spring. The composite material which is carbon fiber with a volume fraction of 60% and the matrix material is epoxy with a volume fraction of 40%, by using the two materials making a quasi-isotropic composite laminate with angle of orientation [450, 00, 00, -450, 900, 900, -450, 00, 00, 450] T. The work also gives focus on the application of FEA concept to compare two materials of the leaf spring. The two materials used for comparisons are; the existing Damas II car conventional steel leaf spring and mono quasi isotropic laminated carbon/Epoxy composite leaf spring. In the present work total deflection and equivalent (Vone misses) stresses induced in the two leaf springs are done on ANSY 16 workbench were compared. The solid modelling of leaf spring was done on CATIA V5 R19 and analysis using ANSYS software. Finally, standing from the static analysis result the study conclude that the newly designed carbon/epoxy mono composite leaf spring has better performance than that of the current conventional steel leaf spring of Damas II car.
Keywords: mono leaf spring, static load, carbon/epoxy, steel leaf, ANSYS 16 workbench, CATIA V5 R19.
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Keywords
mono leaf spring; static load, carbon/epoxy; steel leaf, ANSYS 16 workbench; CATIA V5 R19