Material Selection process for wheel hub assembly

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted for the course: Technical Answers for Real World

Problems (MEE3999)
SLOT –TF2
Name of faculty- Prof. Anthony Xavior M.

By Group 9
REG. NO. NAME

16BME0587 DHRUVIN VORA

16BME0041 AGNI KANTI BANDYOPADHYAY

16BME0441 DIVIK BHARGAVA

16BME0752 ANJALI SHAH

16BME0336 ANKUSH KUMAR SINGH

16BME0483 IVAN DAS

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CERTIFICATE

This is hereby to certify that the project “Material Selection process for wheel
hub assembly” is an original and genuine project work carried out to work under
the subject “Technical Answers for Real World Problems” under the guidance
of Prof. Anthony Xavior M. The project has been successfully completed by -

REG. NO. NAME

16BME0587 DHRUVIN VORA

16BME0041 AGNI KANTI BANDYOPADHYAY

16BME0441 DIVIK BHARGAVA

16BME0752 ANJALI SHAH

16BME0336 ANKUSH KUMAR SINGH

16BME0483 IVAN DAS

Signature of the guide:

(Prof. Anthony Xavior M.)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost we would like to thank Prof Anthony Xavior M. for giving us
an opportunity to showcase our project and has encouraged us to expand upon
our ideas through his years of research and expertise in this field. He has been a
constant motivator.

We would like to thank our team for giving their best input ideas for our project
and burning out the midnight candle for making it possible. We would like to
take this opportunity to thank the university management and our school dean for
giving us this opportunity to carry out our studies at the university.

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 INDEX

S. No. Title Page No.

1. Abstract 5
2. Introduction 6
3. Engineering Tools to be used in the 7
project
4. Literature Review 8
5. Methodology 9
6. Material Selection 10
7. Modelling 12
8. Force Calculations 13
9. Simulation 14
10. Theoretical stress calculation 16
11. Cost Analysis 16
12. Advantages 17
13. Conclusion 22
14. References 22

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ABSTRACT:

Utilizing the Concept of Product Design and Development in order to

Design, Analyse, Manufacture and test a wheel hub for an All Terrain
Vehicle (ATV). Using ANSYS as a method for reduction of cost in terms of
material and manufacturing, we compared the results of different designs
with different materials and selected the optimum combination for
manufacturing. Commercial vehicle industry is focusing on bringing quality
products at competitive costs. While product weight has got a direct impact
on the cost of the component, it also has an impact in the operating profits
in case of a commercial vehicle. This project explains the use of the design
and development of hub, the result of this project is that proposed hub
which uses aluminium Al 7075 T6 as the material of choice compared to
AISI 4340 steel hub. This optimized material resulted in weight saving of
the wheel hub without affecting the functional requirement.

Keywords— Wheel hub; steel AISI 4340; aluminium Al 7075 T6

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INTRODUCTION:

Product design is conceptualization of an idea about a product and

transformation of the idea into a reality. To transform the idea into reality a
specification about the product is prepared. This specification is prepared
by considering different constraints such as production process, customer
expectation, etc. In product design stage every aspects of the product are
analyzed. Also, the final decision regarding the product is taken on the basis
of the analysis. This decision can be any aspect related to the product, e.g.
dimension and tolerances, type of material for every components etc. The
weight and dimension of the hubmust be as small as possible because of the
unsprung weight which further reduce the rotational mass. Engineering
component with optimum use of material and easy manufacturability is a
direction where prior simulation through finite element method is found to
be very useful. Wheel hub of car is one of the major and very important
components and needs very good material and design in low cost and
avoids failure. The three basic elements of a wheel are the hub, the spokes
and the rim. Sometimes these components will be one piece, sometimes two
or three. The hub is the center portion of the wheel and is the part where the
wheel is attached to the suspension through the wheel carrier (or knuckle).
The spokes radiate out from the hub and attach to the rim. The rim is the
outer part of the wheel that holds the tyre. A hub assembly contains the
wheel bearing and hub to mount the wheel to vehicle. It is located between
the brake rotor and axle.

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ENGINEERING TOOLS TO BE USED IN THE PROJECT:

1. Modeling and Simulation using Solidworks and Ansys

2. Engineering Failure Analysis (EFA)
3. Cost Analysis

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LITERATURE REVIEW:
A. What does a hub assembly do?
First and foremost, the wheel hub assembly keeps your wheel attached to your
vehicle and allows the wheels to freely turn enabling you to safely steer.
The wheel hub assembly is also critical to your anti-lock braking system (ABS)
and the traction control system (TCS). Besides bearings, hub assemblies contain
the wheel speed sensor that controls your vehicle’s ABS braking system. The
sensor constantly relays to the ABS control system how fast each wheel is
turning. In a hard braking situation, the system uses the information to determine
if anti-locking braking is needed.
Your vehicle’s traction control system also uses the ABS wheel sensors to
operate. Consider an extension of the anti-lock braking system, the TCS system
and ABS system work together to help you keep control of your car. If this
sensor fails, it can compromise your anti-lock braking system and your traction
control system.
The brake disc as well as the caliper is mounted on the hub so if the wheel hub
undergoes any wreckage the braking system gets compromised.

B. Where is it located?
On each wheel, you’ll find the wheel hub assembly between the drive axle and
the brake drums or discs. On the brake disc side, the wheel is attached to the
bolts of the wheel hub assembly. While on the side of the drive axle, the hub
assembly is mounted to the steering knuckle either as a bolt-on or press-in
assembly. To see the wheel hub assembly, you’ll need to remove the wheel and
then remove the brake caliper and brake rotor. On most late-model vehicles
manufactured since 1998, there is a wheel hub assembly in each wheel. When
the assembly goes bad, it is removed and replaced with a new assembly. On
cars made before 1997, front wheel drive cars use wheel hub assemblies at each
wheel and rear wheel drive vehicles use two individual bearings and seals in
both front wheels. Unlike a wheel hub assembly, bearings can be serviced.

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METHODOLOGY:
i. Material Selection Process
ii. Modeling using Solidworks software
iii. Force calculations will be carried out manually that will be
applied to the wheel hub assembly.
iv. Simulation using Ansys software
v. Theoretical stress calculations to validate our result
vi. Cost analysis

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i) MATERIAL SELECTION:
The first and prior process is the material selection process. Selection of proper
materials for a diverse mechanism is one of the hardest tasks in the design and
product improvements in various industrial applications. Materials play a vital
and important function during the entire design and manufacturing process. The
wrong selection of materials often leads to huge prices and ultimately results in
product breakdown. Hence, the designers need to identify and select suitable
materials with specific functionalities in order to attain the preferred output with
the minimum cost concern and specific applicability. We will be testing two
material grades of aluminum and steel. Material selection is done by comparing
their mechanical properties like Ultimate strength, Tensile strength, Elongation
at break, Fatigue or endurance limit etc. Hence we have compared the following
grades of Aluminum and Steel listed below:

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Aluminum Grades:

S. Name Tensile Machinability Fatigue Price

No. Yield Strength per kg
Strength

1. Al 6061 276 MPa 50% 96.5 MPa Rs. 450

2. Al 5052 193 MPa 50% 117 MPa Rs. 375
3. Al 7075 503 MPa 70% 159 MPa Rs. 501

Steel grades:

S. No. Name Tensile Machinability Tensile Price

Yield Strength per kg
Strength

1. AISI 415 MPa 65% 655 MPa Rs. 80

4140
2. AISI 470 MPa 50% 745 MPa Rs. 100
4340

On studying these two material grades we reached on a conclusion that among

Aluminum, Al 7075 SN-T6 series is the best and in Steel, AISI 4340 is the best.

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 ii. MODELLING:
In this phase we have developed a prototype of the model using Solidworks
software. The dimensions chosen are standard as per the wheels . We have made
the same model using aluminum as well as steel .The model is designed by
taking into consideration the manufacturing parameters so as to keep the overall
cost minimum.

STEEL(weight: 808gms)

ALUMINUM (weight:263 gm)

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iii. FORCE CALCULATIONS:
At first we need to calculate the forces acting on the hub during its
motion.
The forces calculated are as follows:
1. Cornering Force: When a vehicle corners or turns in its due
motion along its travel it experiences a pulling force towards the
center .
Calculation:
1. Mass of the vehicle: 215 kg ;
2. Maximum velocity of the vehicle: 36kmph
3. Turning radius of the car: 2.8metres
Cornering force: m*v^2/r = 215*(10^2)/1.95
=7678N
2. Bump Force: When a vehicle travels along a path it undergoes
various bumps and droops and hence experiences a bump of
1500N.
3. Brake Torque: Whenever a vehicle deaccelerates the wheel
experiences a retardation torque.
Calculation: F. r = 450Nm.
There are still calculations to be performed using all the stress
equations which we have studied during our course of Strength
of Materials as well as Design of Machine Elements.

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 iv. SIMULATION:
For simulation static structural methodology has to be carried out.
Following this we will do a simulation using the software ANSYS
importing these two materials. The force calculations carried out will
be used while simulating in the ANSYS. Prior to the force calculations
a mesh will be generated. With the help of this software we will be
emphasizing on three major constraints namely:
A) Factor of safety (F.O.S)
B) Total deformation
C) Maximum-Equivalent stress
Forces obtained from the above steps will be applied in this software.

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v. THEORETICAL STRESS CALCULATION:

Yield strength = 450MPa

In accordance with the endurance limit, the factor of safety = 2
Maximum equivalent sress = 450/2 = 225 MPa

vi. COST ANALYSIS:

Now any material which is to be used should not only be mechanically
strong but also cost efficient. Hence for this purpose we will carry out
the cost analysis taking into consideration the economics. Taking all
these factors into account we finally conclude which material is the
most suitable for this purpose.

For steel hub:

Dimensions of block needed: Radius= 100mm, length= 35mm

Weight of steel hub = 808 grams

For Aluminum Hub:

Dimensions of block needed: Radius= 100mm, length= 35mm

Weight of Aluminum Hub = 290 grams

It is observed that for 10 % increase in the price we are get 64.1 %
reduction in weight.
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ADVANTAGES

A. ADVANTAGES OF USING LIGHT WEIGHT VEHICLE TO

THE SOCIETY

 Energy Efficiency: Fuel Efficiency of lightweight vehicles is

more than heavy weight vehicles.
 Lighter weight means lesser load and hence easier operation of
engine and lesser emissions.
 Enhanced Safety: Tests have shown that steel bends, folds, and
deforms when absorbing energy, like a crushed soda can. While
on the other hand aluminum alloys have actually been proven
to have better energy absorption while being light weight and
durable.
 Lighter weight helps to increase performance of the vehicle like
better maneuverability, better acceleration etc.
 Use of aluminum makes the parts long lasting. In presence of
oxygen they form an oxide coating and prevent corrosion.
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  Aluminum can be easily colored by anodization and holds paint
extremely well. Aluminum can be finished in various ways.
 Aluminum is 100% recyclable without losing any of its natural
characteristics
 Aluminum has the highest strength – to – weight ratio of any
metal .
CASE STUDY: Shot peening techniques have been initiated on
aluminum alloys to replace in the industrial applications where steel is
not the necessity, thereby reducing weight.

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B. FUEL CONSUMPTION VS WEIGHT

 The heavier the vehicle is the more energy it needs to get moving.
Heavier vehicles have greater inertia and greater rolling resistance, which
both contribute to increased fuel consumption. Reducing weight is a very
effective way to improve a vehicle’s efficiency.

Tests show that for the same model of vehicle, the version equipped with
the larger engine almost always uses more fuel than one with the engine
that has fewer cylinders or less displacement. However, in some SUVs and
pickup trucks tested, the version with the smaller engine averages fewer
miles per gallon. In large, heavy vehicles, a larger engine that doesn't have
to strain as much can turn out to be more fuel-efficient than the smaller
engine choice.
 Reducing weight reduces fuel consumption.
Automakers are achieving weight reduction by substituting lighter
materials, such as aluminium and advanced composites, as well as making
vehicle design changes. These improvements enable additional weight
reductions because other vehicle components can then be made smaller,
ultimately leading to building smaller engines with no sacrifice in
performance – the less weight you have, the less power you need.
 Reducing weight means reducing fuel cost.
Reducing weight means reducing fuel cost. A recent study found that for
every 100-kg reduction, the combined city/highway fuel consumption could
decrease by about 0.4 L/100 km for cars and about 0.5 L/100 km for light
trucks.

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  Weight and safety
Large, heavy vehicles have lower real-world fatality rates than smaller,
lighter vehicles. But it is not possible to simply conclude that size equals
safety. That's because some large vehicles, such as full-size pickup trucks,
have higher fatality rates than some categories of passenger vehicles, such
as full-size sedans and minivans, which are not as large or as heavy. Much
depends on a vehicle's design, the safety features with which it is equipped,
and, not least, its driver demographics.

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 The graph below shows relationships between vehicle weight and
driver death rates (deaths per million registered vehicles) and fuel
consumption (gallons per 100 miles). The highest death rates and
lowest fuel consumption are for the lightest passenger vehicles.
Heavier vehicles have lower death rates and greater fuel consumption.

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CONCLUSIONS

It is observed that for 10 % increase in the price we are get 64.1%

reduction in weight. So, we understand that though the cost increases but in
return we get a light weight material. When we reduce weight we decrease
the fuel consumption and also reducing fuel cost. For a customer, the
implications of this is manifold. In the modern world, when the cost of
living is increasing everyday, little savings like this is very useful.
Though the initial cost may be low but the cycle cost is low and the material
is efficient.

REFERENCES
1) Designing and Optimization of Wheel Assembly of a Formula
Student Car (https://inpressco.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/03/Paper64307-320.pdf)
2) Design and Analysis of Hub and Knuckle of FSAE Race Car
(http://www.ijsrd.com/Article.php?manuscript=IJSRDV4I20645)

3) Simulation and Optimization of wheel Hub and Upright of Vehicle

(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313355188_Simulation_a
nd_Optimization_of_wheel_Hub_and_Upright_of_Vehicle_A_Review)

4) Product Design and Development of Wheel Hub for an All-Terrain

Vehicle (ATV) (https://www.ijert.org/research/product-design-and-
development-of-wheel-hub-for-an-all-terrain-vehicle-atv-
IJERTV5IS080413.pdf)
5) Optimal design and strength analysis of a wheel hub by using
different materials. (http://jtasr.com/latest-articles.php?at_id=97)
6) Design and Analysis of Wheel Hub (http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-
jmce/papers/NCRIME-2018/Volume-8/8.%2035-37.pdf)
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