Modal Analysis and Comparison of Composite Materials and Mild Steel for Dump Truck Chassis Frame
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Abstract
This paper elaborates on the modal analysis and comparison of truck chassis frames made of composite materials (Carbon/Epoxy and E-glass/epoxy) and mild steel using the finite element method (FEM). All the specifications of the vehicle were taken from Bishoftu Automotive Industry, Ethiopia. Weight reduction has been achieved by 79.48% and 66.67% for carbon/epoxy and E-glass/epoxy respectively. The modal analysis shows that the first six natural frequencies of carbon/epoxy, E-glass/epoxy and mild steel are in the ranges from 56.8Hz to 134.8Hz, 27.22Hz to 64.59Hz and 31.97Hz to 75.88Hz respectively. The first two natural frequencies for carbon/epoxy and all-natural frequencies for E-glass epoxy and mild steel are in the engine excitation range. The main disturbance is due to the road excitation which ranges from 0 to 100 Hz, which is even greater than the engine excitation. Carbon/epoxy is the best candidate that some of its natural frequencies are above the engine and road excitations as compared to steel and E-glass epoxy chassis frames.
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