Abstract
Aluminium alloy wheels are increasingly popular for their light weight and good thermal conductivity. Cooling Holes (CH) are introduced to reduce their weight without compromising structural integrity. Literature is sparse on the effect of aspect ratio (AR) of CHs on wheels. This, work, therefore, attempts to undertake a parametric study of the effect of aspect ratio (AR) on the mechanical response of an aluminium alloy wheel with triangular, quadrilateral and oval-shaped CHs. Three-dimensional wheel models (6JX14H2ET42) with triangular, quadrilateral and oval shaped CH (each with CH area of 2229 mm2) were generated, discretized, and analyzed by FEM using Creo Elements/Pro 5.0 to determine the mechanical response at the inboard bead seat at different ARs of 1, 0.5, 0.33 and 0.25, each for quadrilateral-CH and oval-CH, at a static Radial Load of 4750 N and Inflation Pressures of 0.3 and 0.15 MPa, respectively. The study shows that the magnitude of stress and displacement is affected by shape and AR of CH. From the results, it could be established that oval-shaped-CH wheel at AR of 0.5 offers greater prospect in wheel design as it was least stressed and deformed and, that the CH combination with highest integrity was the oval-CH and quadrilateral-CH at AR of 0.5.
Highlights
Aluminium alloy wheels are increasingly popular for their light weight and good thermal conductivity
Three-dimensional wheel models (6JX14H2ET42) with triangular, quadrilateral and oval shaped Cooling Holes (CH) were generated, discretized, and analyzed by FEM using Creo Elements/Pro 5.0 to determine the mechanical response at the inboard bead seat at different aspect ratio (AR) of 1, 0.5, 0.33 and 0.25, each for quadrilateral-CH and oval-CH, at a static Radial Load of 4750 N and Inflation Pressures of 0.3 and 0.15 MPa, respectively
The AR was terminated at 0.5 because it was observed that beyond the equilateral triangular-CH, an AR of 0.5 and beyond lead to greater stress and displacement values and overlapping of CHs leading to snapping-off of the web or arm of the wheel, resulting to an open ended cylinder
Summary
The effect of various materials and detailed fatigue life of the automotive wheel rim by using finite element analysis and radial load testing was reviewed. For a simulated rotary bending fatigue test at different stress levels on aluminium alloy (Al) A356.2, cracks were initiated at the joint between the arm and the hub, while the wheel mounting face lug region of the wheel experienced most stress [12] [13]. The through process methodology includes: 1) casting, 2) heat treatment, 3) machining, 4) in-service loading, and 5) performance prediction. Both the cyclic elastic strains measured and crack initiation for predicted cycle were in agree-. Literature is sparse on the effect of aspect ratio (AR) of CHs on wheels, an attempt is made on this sturdy
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