FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS FOR FRONT AXLE OF TWO-WHEELER

Abstract

An axle is a shaft for a rotating element like wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. For the present study the existing axle material i.e., mild steel grade (300) was replaced by the composite material glass fiber epoxy resin. Further analysis of both the material was conducted using finite element method. Results obtained through the analysis were studied to make distinguish comparison with respect to various desirable properties which were shown in the form of contour trends and tabulated manner. Conclusions were made from present studies showing the various desirable effects of using composite to replace axle material. Scope for the future work was also included in the subsequent part of this thesis.