Static Structural Analysis of Checking Fixture Frame of Car Interior Using Finite Element Method

An inspection is the most important step for the manufacturers producing their cars. This ensures the seamless compatibility of each car part, as even minor errors can lead to user discomfort during operation. To achieve that goal, the utilization of inspection tools, such as a checking fixture is essential. In this research, we will study the structure analysis of a checking fixture with Ansys software. This study aims to examine the structural strength by analyzing the impact of various design variations on the overall strength outcomes. The requirement for checking fixture is that it must meet the datum tolerance of the car with value of ± 2mm. Due to that factor, a rigid checking fixture is needed for inspecting the part without experiencing significant deformation. In static loading, the result of the first variation frame has a stress of 5.71 MPa and deformation of 0.051 mm, the second variation frame has a stress of 6.16 MPa and deformation of 0.049 mm and the third variation frame has a stress of 5.63 MPa and deformation 0.042 mm. In terms of weight, the first variation structure has 2470.48 kg, the second variation structure has 2179.93 kg and the third variation structure has 2210 kg. The second variation frame has the highest stress but it has the lightest weight, and the third variation frame has lower stress and deformation but it has a heavier weight than the second variation model. The study results that the second variation model is superior because it has the lightest weight while the three designs have small stress and deformation that still satisfy the requirement of the fixture

Reinforced Polymer Composites

This book, consisting of 21 articles, including three review papers, written by research groups of experts in the field, considers recent research on reinforced polymer composites. Most of them relate to the fiber-reinforced polymer composites, which are a real hot topic in the field. Depending on the reinforcing fiber nature, such composites are divided into synthetic and natural fiber-reinforced ones. Synthetic fibers, such as carbon, glass, or basalt, provide more stiffness, while natural fibers, such as jute, flax, bamboo, kenaf, and others, are inexpensive and biodegradable, making them environmentally friendly. To acquire the benefits of design flexibility and recycling possibilities, natural reinforcers can be hybridized with small amounts of synthetic fibers to make them more desirable for technical applications. Elaborated composites have great potential as structural materials in automotive, marine and aerospace application, as fire resistant concrete, in bridge systems, as mechanical gear pair, as biomedical materials for dentistry and orthopedic application and tissue engineering, as well as functional materials such as proton-exchange membranes, biodegradable superabsorbent resins and polymer electrolytes

Development of Recycled tyre-bale and Recycled tyre Crumb Sandwich Panels

This research largely focused on investigating the structural behaviour of recycled tyre-bale and recycled tyre crumb sandwich panels with an aim to promote the reuse of waste tyres in structural engineering applications. Experimental, numerical and theoretical methodologies are implemented to establish the best performing sandwich panels and verified their static and dynamic load capacities. The research findings encourage the use of recycled tyre-bale and crumb sandwich panels as structural and non-structural members in infrastructure projects

The Design, Analysis, Development, and Test of a High-Energy Trauma Prevention Safety Device

The continued development of modern-day vehicles has allowed innovators to shape their design to meet the consumer’s requirements. Vehicles have become faster and larger to accommodate more passengers and their belongings. The increased popularity of Light Trucks or Vans (LTVs) and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) elevated their sales to approximately 50% of all vehicles sold in the United States by 1999 [1]. These advancements have created a high-energy world, which poses a serious threat to the ever-growing population. Unprotected pedestrians come in all too frequent contact with these vehicles creating the potential for high-energy blunt force trauma. This thesis aims to prevent the deadly result of pedestrians suffering LTV impact from the rear through the design, analysis, development, and test of a protective wearable device. The metrics of evaluation of the impact scenario were average acceleration and spinal hyperextension. This work employed analytical analysis, finite element analysis, and experimental testing methods to develop the device. Elements of the design and its association with advanced materials gave the proposed device novelty. Experimental testing was accomplished through a drop test series using a mock human model. Full height testing simulated a vehicular collision at 20 miles per hour. Data were collected through acceleration measurements and high-speed video analysis. Statistical analysis of the impacting event showed an appreciable decrease in acceleration and a significant reduction in dynamic hyperextension. The average acceleration during initial impact was decreased by 14% and hyperextension was reduced by 81%. The resulting peak acceleration surpassed the NHTSA’s Thoracic Injury Criteria (TIC) criteria of 60 G’s but not the suggested Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) level of 85 G’s [2] [3]. These criteria are identified as exceeding the set level for a time interval longer than 3 ms. Reducing peak acceleration to within these limits was found in literature to reduce the probability of severe internal damage [3]. The significant decrease in hyperextension reduced the deflection to an acceptable range of the human spine and would prevent the pedestrian’s head from impacting the hood of the vehicle. These results combined with an ergonomic functional design supports the proposed device as a feasible and capable protective measure against high-energy blunt force trauma

Project Blue Ocean report

A project was undertaken for Synlait Milk Limited in partial fulfilment of the Master in Engineering Management degree at the University of Canterbury. Project Blue Ocean aimed to discover opportunities for new technology adoption to improve the business operation. The project was initiated to drive the Manufacturing Excellence framework which contains three strong pillars: Safety, Reliability and People. The project began with the discovery of the current issues, mainly focused on manual handling (critical risk activities), repetitive and low-value tasks. The technology solutions were generated respectively to each issue and a high level concept study was developed for each of the top three technology solutions. Design Thinking methodology was applied throughout the project to understand the problems, define the underlying issues, generate unconstrained technology ideas, and prototype the most feasible solution. Justification methods such as the NTCP Diamond Model, the Total Application Model and the Technology Category Model were combined to create an evaluation matrix to find out the top three technology solutions: Vacuum System at Fluid Bed, Collaborative Robots and Fob Key Integration. Preliminary economic evaluation and recommendation plans were made, based on a high level concept study of each solution

Configurable Seat Track Latching Mechanism

The reconfigurable seating system is a flexible seating solution for transit vehicles that allows operators to change the configuration of the floor plan in a timely manner in order to accommodate change in needs. This project consists of three senior project teams each working on a component of the design: system, track & latch, and articulation. Descriptions of the responsibilities of each team will be discussed below

Mechanical and thermal properties of kenaf/polypropylene nonwoven composites

textThe objectives of this research are to characterize the mechanical and thermal performance of natural fiber nonwoven composites and to predict the composite strength and long-term creep performance. Three natural fibers: kenaf, jute, and sunn hemp as potential candidates were compared in terms of physical, thermal and mechanical properties. In order to see the effects of fiber surface chemical treatment, sunn hemp fiber was treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) agent. Kenaf fiber was selected for the following study due to the higher specific modulus and the moderate price of kenaf fiber. After alkaline treatment, the moisture content, glass-transition temperature, and decomposition temperature of sunn hemp fiber increased but not significantly. The mechanical performance of kenaf/polypropylene nonwoven composites (KPNCs) in production of automotive interior parts was investigated. The uniaxial tensile, three-point bending, in-plane shearing, and Izod impact tests were performed to evaluate the composite mechanical properties. The thermal properties were evaluated using TGA, DSC, and DMA. An adhesive-free sandwich structure was found to have excellent impact resistance performance. Based on the evaluation of mechanical and vii thermal properties, manufacturing conditions of 230 C and 120 s for 6 mm thick sample and 230 C and 60 s for 3 mm thick samples were selected. The open-hole and pin filled-hole effects on the tensile properties of KPNCs in production of automotive interior parts were investigated. Three specimen width-to-hole diameter (W/D) ratios of 6, 3 and 2 were evaluated. A preliminary model by extended finite element method (XFEM) was established to simulate the composite crack propagation. Good agreement was found between experimental and simulation results. Mechanical properties of the KPNCs in terms of uniaxial tensile, open-hole tensile (OHT), and pin filled-hole tensile (FHT) were measured experimentally. By calculating the stress concentration factor Kt for brittle materials, the net section stress factor Kn for ductile materials, and the strength reduction factor Kr, it was found that KPNC was relatively ductile and insensitive to the notch. The strain rate effects on the tensile properties of KPNC were studied. The strain rate effects confirmed the time-dependence of KPNCs. Afterward, the creep behavior of KPNC and PP performed by DMA was investigated extensively. The linear viscoelastic limit (LVL) was found to be 1 MPa in this study. The long-term creep behavior of KPNC compared to virgin PP plastic was predicted using the time-temperature superposition (TTS) principle. Three-day creep tests were also conducted to verify the effectiveness of TTS prediction. It was found that the master curve for PP fit better with the three-day creep data than KPNC, due to the multiphase thermo-rheological complexity of KPNC. The creep recovery, stress effects and cyclic creep performance were also evaluated. Two popular creep models: the four-element Burgers model and the Findley power law model were used to simulate the creep behavior in this study. It was found that KPNC had higher creep resistance and better creep recoverability than virgin PP plastics.Materials Science and Engineerin

Étude expérimentale et numérique des mécanismes d'endommagement ductile et rupture des bords découpés des aciers avancés pour l'automobile

The mechanical properties of automotive structures made of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) is often seen reduced by the presence of cut edges. Here this phenomenon is investigated for ferrite-bainite steel (FB600) and martensite ferrite steel (DP600), the latter having higher work hardening and phase hardness gradient than FB600.Damage micromechanisms for these two base materials were assessed using in situ synchrotron tomography, in situ SEM and SEM on cross sections. It was revealed for the DP600 steel that damage nucleated from particles and ferrite-martensite interfaces. In addition, needle shaped voids, that are consistent with the presence of segregation lines, were seen. For the FB steel, the same observations hold true except that the decohesion on interfaces sets in at higher strains. Quantitative image analysis also showed that the initial number of voids and the number of nucleating voids was higher for DP steel than for FB steel which was also seen to be more damage tolerant.Punched and machined edges made of DP600 and FB600 steel were mechanically loaded during in situ laminography testing. It was found that the fracture zone of the punched edge was rough and that needle-shape voids at the surface and in the bulk followed material flow lines. During mechanical in situ testing the needle voids grew from the fracture zone surface and coalesced with the sheared zone. In contrast, for the machined edge the damage started away from the edge (~ 800 microns) where substantial necking has occurred. Three-dimensional image analysis was performed to quantify the initial damage and its evolution. The FB600 was more resistant to cut edges than the DP600 steel.3D elasto-plastic FE calculations were carried out to investigate mechanical fields, potentially affected by the edge profile and pre-hardening profile. These parameters were not found to substantially modify the mechanical fields. Finally, axisymmetric 2D simulations for hole expansion were carried out for different sheet thicknesses using a post-treated damage evaluation calibrated on in-situ tomography data.La performance mécanique des pièces de structures automobiles fabriquées à partir de tôles d'acier à très haute résistance (THR) est souvent réduite à cause des bords découpés. Ce phénomène a été étudié pour deux nuances d'aciers ferrite-bainite (FB600) et ferrite-martensite (DP600), ce dernier présente un écrouissage et un gradient de dureté entre les phases plus élevés que ceux de la nuance FB600. Les micromécanismes d'endommagement de ces matériaux de base ont été caractérisés en utilisant les techniques de tomographie in situ et MEB in situ. Pour l'acier DP600, la germination de cavités a eu lieu sur les inclusions et aux interfaces ferrite-martensite. De plus, des cavités sous forme d'aiguille ont été observées dans la zone centrale correspondant à la ligne de ségrégation. Les mêmes mécanismes de germination ont été observés dans le cas de l'acier FB en plus de la germination aux interfaces des carbures qui a eu lieu à des déformations élevées. L'analyse d'image a montré que l'acier DP présente une densité initiale de cavités et une densité de cavités germées plus élevées que celles de l'acier FB qui semblait plus tolérant à l'endommagement. Des bords poinçonnés et usinés des nuances DP et FB ont été caractérisés par laminographie in situ lors d'un chargement mécanique. Pour les bords poinçonnés, ces observations ont permis de constater que la zone rompue est rugueuse et qu'un micro-endommagement sous forme d'aiguille initié sur la surface et dans le volume suit les lignes d'écoulement. Lors du chargement mécanique, les cavités sous forme d'aiguilles croissent à partir de la zone rompue et coalescent avec la zone cisaillée. En revanche, pour les bords usinés, l'endommagement s'initie loin de la surface de bords (~800 microns). Une analyse des données 3D a été réalisée pour quantifier l'état initial de l'endommagement et son évolution. L'acier FB600 a été plus résistant aux bords découpés que l'acier DP600. Des simulations 3D par éléments finis ont été menées pour étudier les champs mécaniques potentiellement affectés par le profil du bord découpé et du pré-écrouissage. Cette analyse a permis de conclure que seuls ces paramètres ne modifient pas localement les champs mécaniques. Finalement, des simulations axisymétriques par éléments finis de l'essai d'expansion de trou ont été réalisées pour différentes épaisseurs de tôle en utilisant les critères d'endommagement identifiés sur les résultats expérimentaux de la tomographie in situ