Application of Computational-Experimental Methods for Designing Optimized Semitrailer Axle Supports:

摘要

Computational and experimental methods were applied to the design and optimization of a semitrailer axle support subjected to fatigue loads. Numerical results based on the finite element method (FEM) were correlated with extensometric tests to assess the accuracy of the computational method. This paper is focused on the “minimum radius manoeuvre.” This situation represents the highly critical load case occurring in a semitrailer operation where the tractor vehicle pulls the semitrailer's kingpin at approximately 90° with respect to its longitudinal axis, and high stress and strain phenomena take place in the axle supports’ structure. Loads and boundary conditions that correspond to this load case were first adjusted by means of experimental tests and could be later applied to each semitrailer axle support in the numerical model. In this analysis, the stress-strain elastic-plastic curves of the base material, the welding, and the HAZ have been incorporated to the numerical models. Fatigue S-N curves combin...