Application of DEAR algorithm in selection of material for making a flexible fixture for ATV control arms

Abstract

Selection of materials for any part in design process requires meticulous effort especially when suitable materials are available more than one. Trade-offs are required to select the best alternative material from the available suitable materials. Suitable materials are the materials which will satisfy all the required design parameters for that part. Data Envelopment Analysis based Ranking (DEAR), one of the multi criterion decision making algorithm is considered in this paper in selecting the suitable material for making a flexible fixture which is then used for making All Terrain Vehicles (ATV) Control Arms. Best material is to be selected for making the fixture to ensure the minimum distortion so that the exact structure of control arms is obtained which directly affects the performance of ATV especially in maintaining the stability. In this paper, mild steel along with die steel, carbon steels, nylon were considered as suitable candidate for making the fixture. Then, the DEAR algorithm is applied for selecting the suitable material for making the fixture whish was found to be Mild Steel. Further, analysis using ANSYS was performed to validate the results of DEAR Algorithm.