SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF AN FSAE WHEEL UPRIGHT USING FINITE ELEMENT METHODS

Abstract

This paper explores and records the series of steps involved in the design, analysis, and optimization of a wheel upright that is an integral part of the wheel assembly of a Formula Student vehicle. These vehicles are powerful and are optimized to have the lowest possible weight while maintaining and meeting the performance requirements, to allow maximum speed in the corners. A step in this process of weight reduction is optimizing the upright of the vehicle for reliable and lightweight mounting and integration of components of the wheel assembly while preserving adequate strength for load transfer. The component was conceptualized and designed on SolidWorks, and topology-optimized on Altair Inspire. Structural, Modal, and Fatigue analyses were performed on ANSYS, whose results were above acceptable limits, indicating a successful design of the upright.