Benchmarking, Modeling and Analysis of Driveline Elements and CNG Cylinder Mounting Arrangement

Abstract

The greatest challenge for any automotive company is to come out with a product having a competitive edge that requires acceptable performance but at a lower cost in the shortest possible time. Reducing development time and cost are thus a priority for all the companies to improve their competitive edge. Product optimization methods are continuously being improved to reduce the cost of the product and also reduce the development time & effort. This dissertation is aimed at reducing the development time & effort for driveline elements. In earlier days design evaluation was done using prototype testing. But it has many disadvantages like high cost, longer lead time and limited scope of modification. Nowadays Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) is used for virtual prototyping and analysis. Sufficient confidence level is made using CAE software for the product performance, prior to prototype testing. This dissertation is aimed at reducing the cost of the selected elements by checking its stress level, in its early stage of development. Selected driveline elements will be modeled using Pro/Engineer, and analyzed using Pro/Mechanica. The results will be then validated with the renowned software i.e. MSC NASTRAN. Basic aim for this, is to regularize the easy, fast, integrated, & importantly the cheapest option for CAE i.e. Pro/Mechanica; so that the cost & time involved for the development can be reduced drastically. Centre Mounting Bracket, Spring Hanger Bracket, Rear Axle, CNG Above Floor & Below Floor, are the selected components for modeling & analysis. Depending upon the analysis results, these parts will be re-designed & then again analyzed in Mechanica & Nastran. Keywords: Driveline, Finite Element Analysis, Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), Pro/Mechanica Analysis, Rear-wheel Drive Vehicle.