Fatigue Analysis of a Formula SAE Suspension Control Arm - Lesson 1

Formula SAE suspension control arms are used to connect the car to the wheels via the wheel hub and upright and transmit nearly all the experienced load of the racecar to the ground. Suspension arms experience various cyclic loads that often lead to fatigue failure over time. By performing a structural fatigue analysis using Ansys Mechanical, students can get a better idea of whether their design is more or less likely to fail over time due to fatigue. Students can use these insights from simulation to optimize their design accordingly.

The video demonstration goes over how to perform a fatigue analysis of a Formula SAE suspension control arm. The lesson starts by touching on design force considerations such as braking, cornering, and bump forces. Next, a walkthrough of the model setup is performed that touches on understanding the engineering data, generating a mesh, applying boundary conditions, and instructing you how to interpret results using the stress tool and fatigue tool safety (factor and life, respectively).

Download the simulation files here to follow this lesson.