Parametric Design Study of McPherson Strut to stabilizer bar link bracket weld fatigue using Taguchi (DFSS) Approach FCA Engineering India Pvt, Limited

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Pilla, Sashanka, author.

Contributor:

Appana, Kameshwara rao

Datta, Sandip

Conference Name:

SAE WCX Digital Summit (2021-04-13 : Live Online, Pennsylvania, United States)

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource cm

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 2021

Summary:

Vehicle suspension parts are subjected to variable road loads, manufacturing process variation and high installation loads in the assembly process. Assembly of different parts can be done using bolts, welding, rivets, interference fit, adhesives et cetera, seam welding can be considered as such a process to connect more components and parts. Typical McPherson suspension system connects the strut assembly and the anti-roll bar using a stabilizer bar link (drop link) as an aid. Stabilizer bar link is connected to the strut assembly thru ball stud and clamped to a bracket which is welded to the outer strut tube. Testing's at system level and vehicle level (RTS and Proving ground) are being conducted for fatigue assessment. Frequent cracks are observed in stabilizer bar link bracket welds in multiple vehicles affecting the functionality of the suspension system. Typically, a fillet (T) weld is created between the bracket and outer strut tube. The failure of the stabilizer bar link bracket can result in the losing the anti-roll resistance because of the collapse of connection between the strut assembly and anti-roll bar assembly. Also it might affect the damper functionality if the crack is propagated along the depth of the fusion material of the outer strut tube resulting in leakage of the damping fluid. CAE aids to assess and predict the fatigue performance of the strut assembly against road load data. If the stabilizer bar link bracket does not meet the fatigue targets, enabler studies are carried out in an iterative approach to meet the targets. Various design variables (control factors) can be considered to carry out the iterations. The design changes at various stages of the vehicle development can also affect the fatigue performance of the stabilizer bar link. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) and Taguchi methods approach are used to carry out a parametric design study of the weld attachment to quantify the effect of various control factors over fatigue life. This can quantify the relation and weight factor of each control factor or variables affecting the fatigue life. A study performed using Taguchi method can provide an optimized design solution which can provide better durability performance against higher road loads.Keyword: Parametric design, Taguchi method, McPherson Strut, weld attachment

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Publisher Number:

2021-01-0235

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license