Analysis of Axle Tie Rod using Finite Element Analysis

International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 2017

A tie rod is a slender structural rod in the automobile steering system and it is capable of carrying tensile and compressive loads. Tie rod may fail due to compressive loads through buckling. Instability of vehicle may be caused due to failure of tie rod. So it’s important to check the strength of tie rod. The load on tie rod is mostly compressive. In this paper we are going to do the finite element analysis of the existing tie rod of the tractor and will compare those with the FEA results of optimized tie rod. All the measures will be taken to improve the strength of the tie rod. 3D modeling of a tie rod is done in CATIA V5R19. Further, meshing and analysis is done on HYPERMESH (preprocessor) and ANSYS (postprocessor). Optimization of the tie rod will be carried out in iteration with topological changes. Optimized tie rod will be analyzed through FEM. After getting satisfied results a prototype will be fabricated and tested. The two results i.e. FEA and experimental results will b...

Structural performance of any mechanical component is measured basically in terms of its natural frequency, deformation, stiffness, maximum stress level, fatigue life etc. In case of vehicle suspension system; however tie rod is mainly under compressive and fluctuating forces encounter from steering and bumping of vehicle. When steering acts to turn the vehicle, tie rod comes under compressive load. And when vehicle running on rough road condition, fluctuating forces

Today's world is competitive. The necessity of market demand for the advanced technology is in lower price. It reflects in making the technology cheaper. Hence, every organization striving for cost effective product at a lower price and within minimum period of time to market. That keeps pressure on engineers to consistently strive to design the most effective products at, the lower price. The work is focus on functioning of the tie rod, the methods of its performance evaluation its optimization. The tie rod end job is to ensure the wheels are well aligned. It provides the adjustment of wheel alignment that keeps the inner and outer edges of the tires from wearing out. Hence, the tie rod functioning is crucial for steering as well as suspension performance of vehicle. Hollow Tie rod with 11.0mm ID is select after analysis, and further material analysis is done using 11.0 mm as ID. It gives 13.80% less weight than solid tie rod, without failure. Aluminum is suggested as applicable material after analysis.

A vehicle tie rod manufactured with materials that can resist the vertical, lateral and horizontal forces acting on the suspension system when the car is in operation may last for a longer period of time provided the operating condition of the vehicle is such that, the tie rod material does not exceed its elastic limit. CES EduPack 2013 database level 2 was used in material selection of the tie rod which showed possible materials such as Nickel alloys, titanium alloy, aluminium alloy, low alloy steel etc. but low alloy steel was chosen based on the low cost, stiffness and yield strength. In terms of material properties, a tie rod requires high value of modulus of elasticity for stiffness, high fracture toughness against cracks and wear, and high yield strength against fatigue, and these properties were found in low alloy steel which conventional tie rods are manufactured from. The tie rod was designed using SOLIDWORKS 2012 version and static analysis was carried out to determine buckling displacements of a vehicle tie rod with a force of 18,563.7102N acting from each ends under pinned-pinned and fixed-pinned condition. Under the influence of this force, the tie rod in pinned-pinned position gave a maximum buckling displacement of 0.0156133mm whereas, tie rod under the influence of the same force buckled with a maximum displacement of 27.5852mm. This is because the pinned ends of the tie rod were sliding and exhibiting instability when the load (18,563.7102N) was applied from one end whereas, the fixed-pinned ends behavior of the tie rod was fixed and stable under the applied force from the pinned-end. The 18,563.7102N force load is the bump, braking and cornering force generated when a vehicle is in motion and was obtained from ADAMS simulation model of McPherson Subaru suspension system. Hence, the tie rod ends should be taken into consideration during manufacturing and installation, as buckling with low deflection can still carry more loads before the critical load is reached.

This paper focuses on the study of buckling load on the Tie rod of steering system that undergoes an axial compression. Because of the external factors like road condition, different driving situations, different road adhesion, traffic conditions, vibrations and sudden jerks are sets up in tie rod. Tie rod generally buckle under the action of compressive force due to the large ratio of tie rod length to its radius of gyration. When it becomes worn out, steering will become more difficult and the vehicle will also typically be pulling or dragging to either side. Thus the aim of the project is to analyze tie rod for to improve the mass and buckling load of tie rod and to find out maximum deformation and stress. Present research is divided in two parts. First, to conduct survey amongst the buses, examine the causes of failure and second is to design and analysis to recommend best possible alternatives of Tie Rod with the aid of advanced design tools like CAD. Tie Rod failure is one of the major problems facing for MSRTC workshop supervisor.

International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET), 2023

This report is about the optimization of a tie rod, which is a crucial part of a car's steering system. The tie rod is typically made of cast iron, but in this study, we also used aluminum to make the tie rod. We analyzed the performance of the tie rod using different methods such as theoretical calculations, experiments, and computer simulations. We compared the results of the aluminum tie rod with the traditional cast iron tie rod, and evaluated them based on cost and weight. Our calculations showed that aluminum tie rod is a better option as it is lighter and cheaper than the cast iron one. The experiments and computer simulations confirmed these findings and showed that the aluminum tie rod is a good alternative to the traditional one.

Journal of Low Frequency Noise, Vibration and Active Control, 2012

The paper presents and reviews the results of the analysis of vibrational loads of the steering system's tie-rod for passenger car in characteristic exploitation conditions. Experimental data are acquired using the left tie-rod's relative deformation sensor, vertical acceleration sensors at the centres of all four wheels, vertical acceleration sensor at the connecting point between the left front shock absorber and the vehicle body, longitudinal vehicle speed sensor, steering wheel angular displacement sensor and steering wheel torque sensor. Tests are performed during straight line drive and vehicle cornering, with constant and variable vehicle speed and on different types of the roads. On the basis of acquired experimental data, the influences of the inputs from the road roughness (type of the road), the steering wheel torque, the steering wheel angular displacements and vehicle speed on vibrational loads of the steering system's tie-rod loads are analyzed.

A tie rod is a slender structural rod that is used as a tie and capable of carrying tensile and compressive loads. As the ratio of its length to the radius of gyration of its cross section is normally quite large, it would likely buckle under the action of compressive forces. When it becomes worn out, steering will producing clunking noise and also the vehicle will typically be pulling or (dragging) to either side (left or right) it will cause the accident which is not safe for passenger life in the car. Thus the aim of the project is to analyze tie rod for active to improve the mass and buckling load of tie rod. This paper is aimed to assess buckling strength and compare buckling performance of Tie rod for different dimensions. Theoretically calculate the critical buckling load of Tie rod for taking different diameter of it and keeping the same material and length. Experimentally test the same Tie rod on UTM machine. Based on the experimental test results, theoretical calculation results the critical buckling load for different dimensions of tie rod were compared and it validated by checking its performance on quarter car test rig for suspension system of car.

The theory of durability and reliability was investigated on vehicle tie rods and it was found out that buckling is the major failure mode that hampers its longevity during braking, cornering and both compressive and tensile load acting on the vehicle while going through speed bumps. To determine the maximum load required for a typical tie rod material to buckle, low alloy steel was selected using CES EduPack 2013 software and this was done on the basis of the required material attributes and the loading conditions of tie rod during operation. Using CATIA software, both ends of the tie rods (inner and outer) were subjected to different load case scenarios obtained from ADAMS software. The load cases were analysed to find the maximum loads in both directions, capable of causing the tie rod to buckle or yield in operation and the analysis showed a maximum load of 18,563N. CATIA software was used to model several designs and analyse possible areas of stress concentrations on the tie rod. The hollow design was chosen as it meets the design objectives with a mass of 4.7kg which is not too different in real life and may not result in the performance of the design being compromise.

A vehicle steering is connected to the steering gear to enable the steering wheel rotate the wheels, while a tie rod is part of the steering mechanism that serves as linkage between the steering gear and the wheels. The tie rod functions by ensuring proper alignment of the wheels, such that the inner and outer edges of the tires are protected from wear. A vehicle exposed to rough terrains, potholes, speed bumps or minor accident is subjected to horizontal, vertical and lateral loading conditions acting on the suspension system and distributed to other linkages including the tie rod. Under such condition, a vehicle tie rod can under compressive or tensile force characterised by buckling. Consequently, tie rod ends can also wear out, causing misalignment of the wheels and putting the lives of passengers and drivers in jeopardy. The various causes of tie rod failure and factors affecting the tie rod performance were investigated in this paper. Moreover, to determine the severity of tensile and compressive forces acting on a vehicle suspension system, McPherson suspension model was simulated in ADAMS software and the result showed a maximum tensile load of-13,340.3838N and a maximum compressive load of 18,563.7102N respectively. In some cases, the compressive load which often results in buckling failure of the tie rod may not need to be as high as 18,563.7102N before the tie rod fails, as other several factors (fatigue, corrosion, poor manufacturing route, misalignment, service loading) considered in this paper were found to operate in sequence with compressive and tensile loads transferred to the tie rod from the suspension system until failure occurs. Hence, vehicle tie rod is the life line of the steering wheel and should be given proper consideration during manufacturing and inspected frequently while in operation to avoid sudden failure.