Modelling, FEA analysis and Optimization of Mono Composite Leaf Spring Using ANSYS

Conventional leaf spring made up of conventional materials like plain carbon steel are heavy and add weight to vehicle which reduces mileage. This necessitates new material which is light in weight and could provide adequate strength to leaf spring along with higher strain energy absorption to absorb shocks. The current research is intended to study the structural and vibrational characteristics of leaf spring made of P100/6061 Al, P100/AZ 91C Mg and structural steel materials. The investigation is carried out using ANSYS FEA software. The FEA results have shown that P100/AZ/ 91C generated lower stresses as compared to P100/6061 Al and structural steel material. The modal analysis of leaf spring aided to determine mass participation factor and mode shapes corresponding to each frequency. Keywords: Leaf Spring, Energy Absorption, Structural Steel Materials, ANSYS FEA, Frequency.

Development of a Low-Cost Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing System

Due to their unique advantages over traditional manufacturing processes, metal additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have received a great deal of attention over the last few years. Using current powder-bed fusion AM technologies, metal components are very expensive to manufacture, and machines are complex to build and maintain. Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a new method of producing metallic components with high efficiency at an affordable cost, which combines welding and 3D printing. In this work, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is incorporated into a gantry system to create a new metal additive manufacturing platform. Design and build of a simple, affordable, and effective WAAM system is explained and the most frequently seen problems are discussed with their suggested solutions. Effect of process parameters on the quality of two additively manufactured alloys including plain carbon steel and Inconel 718 were studied. System design and troubleshooting for the wire arc AM system is presented and discussed.

Visible Domain Photocatalysis Performance of Ti-Si Thermal-Sprayed Coatings

Cost and performance-effective materials used in advanced oxidation processes such as photocatalysis have obtained widespread attention in recent years. In this study, thermal spraying was used as a one-step method to obtain thick visible-light-active photocatalyst coatings on two types of substrates, namely, plain carbon steel and copper. A mixed metallic titanium–silicon powder bearing 10% wt. Si was used as feedstock. The optical bandgaps of the coatings were close to 1.000 eV, allowing good photodecoloration efficiencies (>89%) and mineralization efficiencies (>67%) for methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation process could be successfully modelled by the Langmuir–Hinshelwood pseudo-first-order kinetic model, with reaction rate constants k between 0.16 and 1.06 h−1.

Characterisation of the Microstructure of Plain Carbon Steel Formed during Isothermal and Continuous Cooling Following Austenitisation

The present study has been undertaken to compare the microstructure of the plain carbon steel, containing 0.65 carbon, which was formed during varying isothermal and continuous cooling conditions following austenitisation at the same temperature and soaking time. After austenitisation, one set of samples was subjected to isothermal treatment which was carried out at a temperature varying in the range of 650–400 °C, and the other one was continuously cooled to ambient temperature using different cooling rates ranging from 500 to 1.4 °Cs–1. The metallographic examination of the samples was fulfilled using light and TEM microscopy. Additionally, Vickers hardness measurements were performed.

Mechanical Properties of Hot Rolled Ribbed and Plain Steel Rods

This study focuses on microstructure and mechanical behaviour of 3PS (Semi-killed mild steel) hot rolled ribbed and plain carbon steel. 3PS billet steel samples and hot rolled ribbed and plain steel rods of different heat numbers and profiles were characterized for its chemical composition, microstructure, and tensile behaviour. The composition analysis of 5 (five) 3PS billet samples shows that there was no appreciable variation in chemical composition of the hot-rolled plain and ribbed steel rods. The microstructures of as-received steel billet (3PS) examination revealed large grains of ferrite and pearlite while those of hot-rolled 3 PS mild steel samples of different heat numbers contain smaller grains of ferrite and some amount of pearlite. The results also indicated that yield and ultimate tensile strength reach maximum values (492 and 361 N/mm2) at 0.31% elongation for heat number 43 while maximum values for heat number 56 (478 and 362 N/mm2) at 0.33 % respectively. The ribbed steel rod of the same diameter as plain steel exhibit slightly better mechanical properties with higher values of yield and ultimate tensile strength. There is consistency in the chemical composition of the as-received billet and the hot rolled products.

Fracture failure analysis on drive shaft component of diesel locomotive

Failure analysis is a systematic method of investigation to find the cause of the failure mechanism of a component or equipment. This research describes the fracture analysis of driveshaft components in a diesel locomotive. The drive shaft which is a connecting component around the compressor in the locomotive engine has failed. The methods used in this study include literature studies, visual observations, data collection, material characteristics through chemical composition tests, hardness tests, tensile tests, microstructure observations, fractographic observation, data processing, and analysis of test results. Based on the results of chemical composition testing and mechanical testing shows that the drive shaft is classified as plain carbon steel, specifically AISI 1025 steel. Visual observations and microstructure observations show that the driveshaft failure occurred at the connection part, which is the connection around the welded region. From the fractography results show a visible pattern of deformation plastic that showing the fracture occurred since the connection cannot bear the load given.

Data Analysis of the Effect of Onion, Glycine and Cassava Additives on the Coating Performance of Zn Electrodeposition on Plain Carbon Steel

Data analysis of the coating performance of Zn electrodeposited plain carbon steel in 0.5 M HCl solution at specific volume addition (5 ml, 10 ml and 15 ml) of onion, glycine and cassava (ON, GY and CS) distillate additives, and at plating time of 15 and 18 mins with respect to 538 h of observation time was performed. Analytical outputs showed ON distillate most effectively improved the Zn electrodeposited by 14% at 10 ml volume and plating time of 15 mins. GY and CS distillate generally improved the Zn electrodeposited at all volumes and plating time with optimal values of 42.7% and 45.7% at 15 ml and plating times of 15 and 18 mins. Generally, coating performance varied significantly with observation time, but marginally with plating time and additive volume. The standard deviation values for onion additive showed significant variation from mean values due to relative thermodynamic instability of it coating performance with respect to observation time. This contrast the output observed for GY and CS additives which signifies thermodynamic equilibrium. The proportion of coating performance data above 10% improvement for the additives are (ON, GY and CS) are 32%, 85% and 78% at margin of error of 11.8%, 9.04% and 10.42%. Analysis of variance showed ON and GY additive volume only, influenced the coating performance output of the additives at 64.56% and 74.67% while CS additive volume and observation time influenced the coating performance output of CS at values of 91.18% and 3.27%.

Residual Stress Measurement in Heat Treated Cylindrical Components

Heat treatment processes can generate steep residual stress (RS) gradients and plastic deformation in metal components due to differential cooling and other effect such as phase transformation. The magnitude of residual stresses generated, and how quickly they vary spatially, will depend upon the material itself and the temperature gradients introduced during the heat treatment process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques can be used to characterize residual stresses, as well as microstructural changes, including dislocation density and particle size in heat treated components. Plain carbon steel cylinders were heat treated, quenched and characterized using these methods. Residual stress measurements were performed via XRD using the Sin2Ψ technique and microstructural characterization was evaluated using the associated peak widths. Measurements were carried out both at the surface and through depth using electropolishing. The results indicate triaxial stress gradients exist in all samples investigated, with concomitant varying microstructural characteristics.