Design and Fatigue Optimization of Drive Shaft

Abstract

This work aims towards the design and optimization of the drive shaft as there is increasing demand for weight reduction in an automobile vehicle. The drive shaft is basically a torque transmitting element which transmit the torque from the differential gearbox to the respective wheels. In general, the drive shafts are subjected to fluctuating loads as the torque requirement changes according to the road conditions. Due to this, the drive shaft should be designed considering fatigue failure. The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga model is chosen for design and optimization of the drive shaft. For the fatigue life predicting of the drive shaft, the S-N curve approach is used. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the shaft is varied to obtain the optimized diameter of a hollow shaft which can withstand these fluctuating loads without failure. Along with fatigue life prediction, the natural frequency of the hollow shaft is also calculated. Furthermore, the parametric analysis is carried out of fatigue FOS, Von mises stress, weight and natural frequency of the shaft by varying the diameter ratio of the hollow shaft, and the nature of variation of these parameters are plotted in their respective graphs. The design is validated by performing FEA analysis for each case of a hollow shaft using Ansys software. Finally, from the FEA analysis we conclude that the optimized dimensions of the hollow drive shaft are safe.