Investigation of Dynamic Factors in Different Sections of HVC by Static and Free Vibration Modal Analysis

One of the essential purposes of the automotive chassis is to maintain the vehicle's shape and bear the various loads applied to the vehicle. When a heavy-duty vehicle, e.g., a truck, travels on the road, the chassis is subject to vibrations produced by surface roughness and excitation due to the vibration of body parts. The present study aims to design, model, and perform a static structural & vibrational modal analysis on a commercial vehicle (Truck) chassis considering both conventional Structural steel and P100/6061 Al Metal Metrix Composite (MMC) using ANSYS CFX to determine the strength of chassis with transverse sections. Free vibrational modal analysis determines the mass participation factor and resonance frequency for square section and C section, respectively, for both materials using the finite element technique. It was observed that the use of the C section causes an increase in deformation for all the natural frequencies, which is not preferred. The high mass participation factor along the x-direction signifies that any external excitation along this direction would likely cause resonance and amplitude build-up. The C section profile of the chassis shows 1.69% higher deformation than the square section in both cases; hence it is not desirable for the design.