Structural Evaluation Technique Based on RWUP for Scooter Using RLDA 2014-01-0749

Scooter segment growth is tremendously increasing in India. The increased competition challenges automotive manufacturers to deliver the high quality and high reliable product to the market. Higher reliability involves increased durability testing which involves time and cost. Stress testing a part of durability is initially conducted on prototype vehicles for structural design validation and then later on production units to ensure its structural integrity. The obtained data from the tests can be used for future structural design improvements. Scooters with small tires, suspension limitations transfers more loads to structure, challenges engineers to design robust structure without compromising on weight much. It is necessary to look at Real World Usage Pattern (RWUP) and to create a stress life cycle block for simulation of accelerated testing, thereby optimizing the testing time and the development costs.

The aim of this paper is to provide a procedure for deriving an accelerated stress test cycle for evaluation of chassis based on Road Load Data Acquisition (RLDA). This analysis challenges engineers to arrive at meaningful results for best representation of customer usage to minimize the total test time and also to determine best combinations of different typical road surfaces in India. This approach includes the experiment-based predication technique based on data collected from sensors like strain gauges, accelerometers, potentiometers and Global Positioning System (GPS). This methodology is useful in predication of fatigue life by analyzing damage sensitivity of different road surfaces. Finally arrived accelerated stress test cycle block for a laboratory simulation to validate fatigue life of chassis structural during its service life.