Mechanical Control Cable Modeling and Simulation to Predict the Load Loss and Deformation

Mechanical control cables or Bowden cables are widely used in various applications for push-pull actions of mechanical systems. In mid-segment tractors, the linkage systems are designed along with control cables to actuate controls such as throttle, braking, transmission shift, position control, etc. due to its design flexibility. Output force and travel efficiency are two major performance parameters that depend on the routing, cable design composition, friction material, load transfer, etc. Virtual simulations can be used to predict cable performance and efficiency. There are different methodologies currently used to model the cable. These available methods can accurately predict either performance or travel efficiency. There is no method available in-house to predict both these parameters.

In this paper, a new cable modeling method is proposed by authors using multi-body simulation (MBS) software MSC ADAMS. Outer composite cable sheath and translating wire are modeled using flex-body model neutral file (*mnf) generated from Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software ABAQUS. These flex-bodies are uniquely connected to represent the entire cable. This modeling method is used for predicting cable performance.

To validate this method, the U-Bend test and tractor-level tests are performed to study cable force and travel on input and output ends. The correlation between measured and virtual simulation results is above 85%. This method can be used to model and analyze cable efficiency and performance.