Purpose: Use of aluminium alloys in critical parts of a vehicle is common since they can
combine the two important properties of a material those are being strength and lightweight.
The aim in this research is to guide to design process of a wheel with taking example of an
electric race vehicle implementation.
Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the fatigue strengths of wheels produced
for a two-person racing electric vehicle (Demobil09) are evaluated by calculating maximum
distortion energy criterion (Von Mises) with Finite Element Analysis.
Findings: Aluminium alloy wheels are crucial safety related components and are subjected
to static and dynamic loads directly. Using FEA results, the weight and equivalent stress
of the wheel are both reduced. So, the energy consumption is also decreased. Modal
frequencies of the wheel models are determined.
Research limitations/implications: In this paper, the materials analysed are AL6063 T6
and Al5083 aluminium alloys. Different materials can be analysed in future works.
Practical implications: This paper is focusing on how to reduce the energy consumption
of a two-person electric vehicle concentrating on reducing the weight of vehicle wheels.
The vehicle is more technological than mass production cars since it is an electric race
car which uses a hub motor, the body and chassis are produced using carbon polymer
composites and all electronic units are designed and produced. Although its specialities it
has homologated safety equipment like seats and safety belts.
Originality/value: All boundary conditions must be analysed in details and a strength
analysis must be conducted during design of the wheels for different load cases to ensure
the strength of a wheel while keeping the weight as low as possible. In this complex process,
this paper can give some clues to designers for strengths and weights of the designs since
three different wheel forms are evaluated for reducing energy consumption of the vehicle.
Static strength analysis of dragonfly inspired wings for biomimetic micro aerial vehicles
