Process design of a ball joint, considering caulking and pull-out strength.

A ball joint for an automobile steering system is a pivot component which is connected to knuckle and lower control arm. The manufacturing process for its caulking comprises spinning and deforming. In this study, the process was simulated by flexible multibody dynamics. The caulking was evaluated qualitatively through numerical analysis and inspecting a plastically deformed shape. The structural responses of a ball joint, namely, pull-out strength and stiffness, are commonly investigated in the development process. Thus, following the caulking analysis, the structural responses were considered. In addition, three design variables related to the manufacturing process were defined, and the effects of design variables with respect to pull-out strength, caulking depth, and maximum stress were obtained by introducing the DOE using an L9 orthogonal array. Finally, the optimum design maximizing the pull-out strength was suggested. For the final design, the caulking quality and the pull-out strength were investigated by making six samples and their tests.

Structural optimization of a knuckle with consideration of stiffness and durability requirements.

The automobile's knuckle is connected to the parts of the steering system and the suspension system and it is used for adjusting the direction of a rotation through its attachment to the wheel. This study changes the existing material made of GCD45 to Al6082M and recommends the lightweight design of the knuckle as the optimal design technique to be installed in small cars. Six shape design variables were selected for the optimization of the knuckle and the criteria relevant to stiffness and durability were considered as the design requirements during the optimization process. The metamodel-based optimization method that uses the kriging interpolation method as the optimization technique was applied. The result shows that all constraints for stiffness and durability are satisfied using A16082M, while reducing the weight of the knuckle by 60% compared to that of the existing GCD450.

Structural safety analysis based on seismic service conditions for butterfly valves in a nuclear power plant.

The structural integrity of valves that are used to control cooling waters in the primary coolant loop that prevents boiling within the reactor in a nuclear power plant must be capable of withstanding earthquakes or other dangerous situations. In this study, numerical analyses using a finite element method, that is, static and dynamic analyses according to the rigid or flexible characteristics of the dynamic properties of a 200A butterfly valve, were performed according to the KEPIC MFA. An experimental vibration test was also carried out in order to verify the results from the modal analysis, in which a validated finite element model was obtained via a model-updating method that considers changes in the in situ experimental data. By using a validated finite element model, the equivalent static load under SSE conditions stipulated by the KEPIC MFA gave a stress of 135 MPa that occurred at the connections of the stem and body. A larger stress of 183 MPa was induced when we used a CQC method with a design response spectrum that uses 2% damping ratio. These values were lower than the allowable strength of the materials used for manufacturing the butterfly valve, and, therefore, its structural safety met the KEPIC MFA requirements.