Fatigue tests and numerical analyses of the PAWO autonomous electric vehicle

Abstract

The following article presents fatigue testing and FEM numerical analysis of an autonomous electric vehicle, PAWO autonomous operational support platform. The purpose of the study, which was carried out in the ŁUKASIEWICZ – Automotive Industry Institute, was to verify the structure of the platform by forcing in three axes on the position: a table with six degrees of freedom "MAST", as well as conducting fatigue numerical analyses, allowing to determine places critical for fatigue endurance. This will be the starting point for the modification of the structure, and also will allow you to identify places that you need to pay attention to during tests and subsequent operation. The results of these tests allow us to determine critical places due to fatigue strength and possible intervention before starting field tests with a complete vehicle, as well as to detect places that should be noted during tests, inspections and tests, and in development versions of the vehicle.