You have been tasked with the structural design of a vehicle moment of inertia swing rig
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You have been tasked with the structural design of a vehicle moment of inertia swing rig

Background

You have been tasked with the structural design of a vehicle moment of inertia swing rig. The swing rig is designed to provide a platform to be able to determine the moment of inertia of a vehicle in various orientation. The vehicle is placed on the platform, which is suspended on a frame, and then subsequently swung back-and-forth. The period of oscillation of the swinging frame is measured, and subsequently utilised to determine the moment of inertia of the vehicle parallel to the axis of the swing's rotation.

The important design parameters of the swing rig are its mass and stiffness. In addition to improving the maintainability and serviceability of the system, a low mass reduces the error in the measurement of the vehicle's inertia (the inertia of the rig can be subtracted from the calculation, a larger mass increases the uncertainty of the measurement). A stiffer swing rig will have a larger percentage of its kinetic energy in the swinging mode, thereby increasing the accuracy of the measurement.

You will be provided overall dimensions of the swing rig to be designed, a list of mandatory structures, the details of the proof load case and a list of beam cross sections that may be utilised in the design. You will be required to design a rig that, at the proof load, has a yield stress factor of safety greater than 10 and a static deflection less than 2.00 mm. The rig must have a mass less than 180 kg.


Task

You are to utilise Abaqus to construct the geometry of the rig shown in Figure A1, including both the base and the swing arms. Please note that the structure shown in Figure A2 represents the minimum structure permissible, more structural members may be added to the frame as required.

It is highly recommended that a base analysis is conducted utilising smaller section sizes available as per Table A2, the base geometry shown in Figure A1 and the load case presented in Table A1. The beam cross section profile provided in Table A2 must be adhered to.

Once the initial design has been analysed, you are to adjust the design, such that the design meets the mass, safety factor and displacement requirements provided above.

All tube members must be manufactured from AISI 1010 steel, with material properties found in Table A3. No tube members of the final chassis may intersect the section shown as the 'Exclusion Zone' in Figure A3.

Note that the coordinates of the frame shown in Figure A2 should be adhered to in the analysis.

Please note that the swing arms may be either pinned jointed or fully fixed to the base frame, and that the they may be represented as either truss or beam elements, as per your designed of the rig.

Report Layout

Abstract

A short statement on the problem addressed, the work undertaken and quantification of the final outcomes.

Introduction

Provide a brief overview of the problem. Nominate the objectives and aims of the work, which will be undertaken and addressed in the subsequent sections.

Finite Element Model

The details of your finite element model should be provided in this section. Appropriate engineering reasoning should be given for the analysis and modelling techniques. Topics covered should include: geometry, element types, meshing strategies, material properties, boundary conditions, loads and outputs.

Design Development

The outcomes of your initial FE analysis should be reviewed relative to the system specifications. Potential design improvements should be made to the system and subsequently analysed using the finite element method. Weighting will be given to both your capacity to efficiently and effectively interpret the outputs of the simulations and the methods taken to improve the design.

Results 

Finalise the outcomes of your analysis process. Make appropriate use of figures, tables and graphs. Ensure that all graphical work is meaningful in context and specific.

Describe efforts made to ensure your analysis is reliable and verified.

Discussion

Discuss how validation of the analysis could be achieved. Summarise and formulate the outcomes of your work. Ensure that this section addresses the fundamental problem being studied.

Conclusion

Communicate any potential improvements that could be made beyond the scope of the report.



Hint
ManagementValidation refers to the method of comparing two results. We are required to compare the representation of a conceptual model to the real system. If the evaluation is true, then it is valid, else invalid. Whereas, verification is the process by which two or more results are compared to ensure its accuracy...

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