Simulation of Static Loading of Electric Tricycle Frame

Abstract

Electric vehicles are growing to replace petroleum-fuelled vehicles because of environmentally friendly. The manufacture of electric tricycle must consider the planning of frame construction that is able to support all loads such as passenger loads, engines and other equipment components. Therefore, it must be ensured that the strength of the frame is able to withstand static loads. In this study, a simulation of static load on the frame of an electric tricycle was carried out by varying the size and thickness of the frame pro-file. The frame used is a hollow square with a size of 40x40 with a thickness of 0.8mm, 1.0mm and 1.2mm and a size of 40x60 with a thickness of 1 mm. This study uses Fusion 360 software to simulate static loading with a load of 500 Kg. The recommended safety factor is 3.5. So, based on the simulation results, the eligible frames are hollow steel 40 x 40 with a thickness of 1 mm and hollow steel 40x60 with a thickness of 1 mm. Both of these materials have the same frame weight. Both of these materials have almost the same Von Misses stress, it is 51.34 MPa and 50.37 MPa respectively. The 40 x40 hollow steel has a larger displacement of 0.84 mm while 40x60 hollow steel with a thickness of 1 mm only has a displacement of 0.44 mm. Therefore, 40x60 hollow steel with a thickness of 1 mm is more recommended to be used as a frame for this electric tricycle.