Abstract

Fatigue failure, often caused by repeated loading and unloading, is a critical concern in the operation of vehicles and machinery, often leading to more severe consequences than other types of failures. This study aims to enhance the fatigue life of an air disc brake (ADB) caliper through simulation using the finite element method (FEM). Software tools such as ANSYS and an Excel-based fatigue analysis tool were employed to calculate fatigue life and maximum principal stress. Key parameters evaluated include the factor of safety and maximum principal stress, which were used to identify weak regions in the caliper geometry. The results indicate that regions high stress (HS2), HS3, and HS4 exhibit structural weaknesses. Specifically, the factor of safety at HS4 in the baseline design, as determined by finite element analysis (FEA), was 0.91—lower than the 0.95 observed for the present caliper. This reduced factor of safety indicates a higher risk of fatigue failure in the baseline design. Following design modifications to regions HS1, HS2, HS3, and HS4, the factor of safety improved to 0.98, demonstrating enhanced performance in these critical areas. Comparative analysis between the baseline and modified designs shows a significant improvement in the caliper’s fatigue life. Geometric refinements, especially those that improved stress flow lines, played a key role in extending fatigue life. Changes in the caliper's topology directly influenced stress distribution and fatigue performance in critical regions.

Keywords

Finite element analysis, Air disc brake caliper, Fatigue life, Stress distribution, Factor of safety, Design optimization.

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