Studies on modal analysis of aluminium based carbon fibre reinforced optimized alloy wheel used in automotive sectors

Abstract

Abstract Alloy wheels used in automobiles differ from normal steel wheel rims with their increased strength to weight ratio, which improves the steering and overall performance of the system. Stiffness of the wheel rim is an important property of alloy wheels, which also influences the life of the wheel. Natural frequencies obtained from modal analysis can provide useful information about the stiffness of the design. The present study aims at assessing the material options for such wheels, based on their modal characteristics obtained using finite element analysis (FEA). Aluminium 7079 alloy reinforced with 8% carbon fibres (CF) is one of the optimised materials chosen for the study, mechanical properties of which are determined using tension test. Finite element model is developed to obtain the normal modes of alloy wheels which are made from Al7079\xa0+\xa08% CF and other commonly used alloy wheel materials such as Steel Alloy, Forged steel, Magnesium alloy and Aluminium 7079. Modal analysis is carried out extracting the first ten natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes. It is observed that Al7079\xa0+\xa08% CF performs better by exhibiting higher frequencies than other materials.