Structural analysis of car chassis design

Abstract

Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) car is a single-seat race car that travels with a high velocity in a short time. A chassis is the skeletal framework of a vehicle on which most of the mechanical parts like tires, axle assemblies and the engine are fastened. It is the most significant part of any vehicle as it is the source of strength and stability for the car under any conditions. A poor chassis design may lead to a failure in supporting loads and endanger the driver. The aim for this study is to improve the existing FSAE car chassis in order to optimize the performance of the car during the competition. A total of eight designs have been proposed and undergo analysis tests which are the main roll hoop test, front roll hoop test, static shear test, and static torsional loading test to obtain the Von-Mises Stress and the total deformation. Both of the processes are conducted in CATIA software. From the results obtained, the newly selected chassis design which is considered as the new improved design had a reduction of 57.315% for static shear stress in terms of Von- Mises Stress. The total deformation reduced more than half for all tests except for the front roll hoop test. The total deformation shows an increment of 6.89% for the front roll hoop test. The results had validated that an improved chassis design was successfully developed.