Structural optimization of an upper control arm, considering the strength

Abstract

The latest automotive components are lighter than their past counterparts, providing higher fuel efficiency and performance. Following the current trend in vehicle design, this study proposes a structural optimization method for the upper control arm of the vehicle's suspension system. The upper control arm can be designed to be lightweight with application of advanced design and material technology. In this research, the shape of the upper control arm was determined by optimization technology. The aluminium alloy Al6061M6 was developed as the steel-substitute material. Strength performance is the most important design requirement in the structural design of a control arm. In the optimization process of this study, the static strength was considered. Durability analysis was carried out to predict the fatigue life of the upper control arm. The kriging interpolation method was adopted to obtain the minimum weight that would satisfy the strength constraint. Optimum designs were obtained by ANSYS Workbench and the in-house program, EXCEL-Kriging, and the optimization results from both design programs were compared.