Abstract
Since most tricycles are driven on rough roads, a static analysis of the frame with a constant load and a specific boundary condition is insufficient to assess whether the lightweight design satisfies the strength requirements. A flexible multibody dynamics approach is used to assess the dynamic stress of a tricycle frame in five driving conditions to determine the positions where material can be removed. The five driving conditions, including high-speed driving, turning, climbing, braking and driving on a bumpy road, are established according to two national standards. An electric tricycle prototype is modeled using the rigid-flexible coupling method, and experiments are conducted to adjust the center of mass and stiffness of the suspension. The frame stress results obtained from the simulation are in good agreement with the loading test results. Subsequently, the dynamic stress of the frame is analyzed, and a steel plate with a suitable thickness is selected according to the stress distribution and the allowable stress. The modified frame is about 19.1 % lighter, and the maximum stress is only 2.8 % larger than that of the prototype. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is suitable for the lightweight design of one component in a system operating under various working conditions.
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Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51909145); the Foundation for Young Scholars of Shandong University and Rizhao Intelligent Manufacturing Institute; and the Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University. The license file of RecurDyn provided by FunctionBay Inc. is appreciated.
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Pan, L., Zhu, X., Li, Y. et al. Lightweight Design of an Electric Tricycle Frame Considering Dynamic Stress in Driving Conditions. Int.J Automot. Technol. 22, 1075–1085 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-021-0096-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-021-0096-1