Abstract:
In recent years, with the rapid advancements in automotive engineering and rising demand for lightweight and high-strength vehicles, the frame of three-wheelers has emerged as a vital structural component that significantly impacted the overall stability and integrity of the vehicle. This component is responsible for supporting various loads and maintaining the structural balance under diverse and often unpredictable real-world operating conditions. The frame must withstand a range of complex load types, such as longitudinal bending, lateral bending, and torsional loads while adhering to the stringent design requirements for strength and stiffness. Given these requirements, the frame’s structural reliability is critical to ensuring vehicle safety and performance. Modern computational tools, particularly finite element analysis (FEA), have revolutionized the approach to vehicle design by providing a detailed understanding of how components perform under various conditions. FEA enables precise evaluation of critical parameters such as stress distribution, deformation, and vibration behavior under both static and dynamic loads. Compared to traditional design methods that rely heavily on empirical calculations and experimental prototyping, FEA provides improved efficiency, accuracy, and versatility, allowing engineers to optimize designs more effectively and shorten development cycles. Despite the widespread use of FEA in lightweight and optimization studies, few efforts have been made to systematically verify existing frame designs under standard operating loads. This study addresses this gap by conducting a comprehensive analysis of a side three-wheeler frame using ANSYS Workbench. Initially, a detailed parametric model of the frame was developed using APDL scripting to streamline the creation of a precise three-dimensional representation. During the modeling process, non-load-bearing components were simplified to enhance computational efficiency while maintaining accuracy. Static analysis was then performed to evaluate the stress distribution and deformation of the frame under predefined design loads. The results confirmed that all stress levels remained within the allowable limits of the frame material, thereby validating the strength design and ensuring structural safety. To further investigate the frame’s dynamic behavior, modal analysis was performed to calculate the first six natural frequencies and their corresponding vibration modes. The analysis revealed that the natural frequencies were well-separated from common excitation frequencies encountered during vehicle operation, effectively mitigating the risk of resonance. This result is critical for ensuring stable and reliable performance under dynamic conditions. To validate the computational results, experimental road vibration tests were conducted using a vibration test bench. These tests simulated real-world operating conditions by subjecting the frame to repeated vibration cycles and assessing its stability, durability, and overall performance under harsh conditions. The experimental results demonstrated minimal deformation and no evidence of structural damage, indicating that the frame design is robust and reliable. Time-domain vibration acceleration data, with a fluctuation range of −0.4
g to 0.4
g, supported the vehicle’s dynamic performance. By combining advanced computational methods with experimental validation, this study provides a more holistic and reliable evaluation of the frame’s structural performance. The integration of FEA modeling, static and dynamic analysis, and real-world testing ensures that the frame meets all safety and performance requirements. This systematic approach not only confirms the rationality and safety of the current design but also provides valuable insights for assessing and improving similar load-bearing structures in future vehicle applications. The results of this study contribute to the development of safe, reliable, and high-performance vehicles, highlighting the importance of simulation-driven engineering and experimental verification in advancing modern automotive design practices.