TITLE: DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALLOY WHEEL
ABSTRACT
This project deals with the design of alloy wheel for automobile application which is carried
out for wheel rim stress analysis and optimization of the mass of alloy wheel. Alloy wheels are
wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. They are typically lighter for
the same strength and provide better heat conduction. Lighter wheels can improve handling by
reducing un sprung masses, allowing suspension to follow more closely to improve grip.
Reduction in overall vehicle mass can also help to reduce fuel consumption and alloy wheels
are non-corrosive and can resist the vibrations. However not all alloy wheels are lighter than
their steel equivalents. In this project is to generate the alloy wheel of light weight alloy
materials like magnesium alloy, aluminium alloys, and stainless steel and perform the structural
analysis by applying load is studied, for design Autodesk SOLIDWORKS is used and for
analysis SOLIDWORKS simulation is used.
1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Archaeologists and historians of today see the introduction of the wheel as the
real genesis of any old civilization. The wheel is perhaps the most important discovery
of old times. This discovery capitulated commerce to heights unknown before. The
wheel has developed from nothing more than an over-sized bearing to a fully integral
part of any modern transportation vehicle. The modern vehicle is also seen today a
fashion item to complement people’s individual tastes. Motor vehicles are produced
according to very strict rules to ensure the safety of the passengers. Every component
is therefore designed according to the criticality of the component. Wheels are classified
as a safety critical component and international cods and criteria are used to design a
wheel.
Materials to produce these wheels have become has sophisticated as a design
and materials can range from steel to non-ferrous alloys like magnesium and
aluminium. Automotive wheels have evolved over the decades from early spoke
designs of wood and steel. Carry over from wagon and bicycle technology, to flat steel
discs and finally to the stamped metal configurations and modern cast and forged
aluminium alloys rims of today’s modern vehicles. Historically successful designs
arrived after years of experience and extensive field testing. Since the 1970’s several
innovative methods of testing well aided with experimental stress measurements have
been initiated.
In recent years, the procedures have been improved by a variety of experimental
and analytical methods for structural analysis is (strain gauge and finite element
methods). Within the past 10years, durability analysis (fatigue life predication) and
reliability method for dealing with variations inherent in engineering structure have
been applied to the automotive wheel.
Nowadays, many types of wheels are used in automotive industry which
commonly divided in two main material groups, aluminium alloy and steel wheels.
Aluminium alloy wheels are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium which
usually lighter that helps to reduce fuel consumption. Other than that, aluminium alloy
wheels offer better heat conduction that improves braking performance in more
demanding driving conditions affect braking failure due to overheating. In addition,
alloy wheel enhanced cosmetic appearance over steel wheels. Meanwhile, steel wheels
are made of steel and physically heavier than aluminium, so when you put steel wheels
on a car that has had aluminium alloy wheels, you tend to find that the extra weight
dampens acceleration and agility. So, this can be unwanted for summer performance
applications, but in the winter the effect can be important physical and psychological
advantage. Heavier wheels will make tires bite the snow tougher, and when driving in
snow, having a car with reduced acceleration and speed can be a very good thing
Type
Aluminium alloy wheel
Steel wheel