Finite Element Analysis for Impact Test of Aluminum Rim

For the safety sake and for the regulation requirements, the structural strength of rims has to be examined via a series of tests. However, it is time consuming and expense costly in the development of a product to pass the tests. In order to save time and cost, the CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) technology is usually adopted to design rims.his thesis aims to investigate the CAE technology for the strength analysis of aluminum rims. The CAE simulation models were developed to calculate the rim strength using the dynamic/explicit finite eminent code LS-DYNA and the static finite element code ABAQUS/Standard, for the dynamic and static analyses, respectively. The CAE models were constructed to simulate the 13 degree and 90 degree rim impact tests. The dynamic analysis was preformed first to evaluate the validity of the boundary conditions imposed in the CAE models. The load data and strains in the deformed rims were measured in the actual tests and the validity of the CAE models was confirmed. The boundary conditions were then converted to an equivalent load condition for the static analysis using various approaches. In addition, a failure criterion was also established form both the actual tests and the dynamic CAE simulations.n equivalent failure prediction mode was developed as well in the present study for the static stress analysis for the rim impact test. In the equivalent mode, the failure of the rim in the impact test can be predicted by using the elastic static analysis. The developed equivalent failure mode was validated by the actual impact tests and can be used in the rim design.