In today's market, there are two different design principles for semi-trailer chassis commonly used: Those using large rubber bushes to provide the necessary elasticity and those using leaf springs. In the latter design, the spring provides both the elasticity and the guidance in the longitudinal axis. The most commonly used variant for long distance semi-trailers is a set of three nine-ton, disc braked axles. The axles and the suspension system account for about 20 % of the overall mass of the semi-trailer. So it is one of the most important design targets to minimize this mass to achieve the best possible payload. In the market, especially for silos and tankers that can be loaded on a weigh budge up to the last kilogram of legally accepted gross combination weight, a mass-saving design is rewarded by a higher price level. A study should find a design for a spring made from glass fiber reinforced plastic. A slightly higher price tag was accepted from the beginning. To achieve this challenging target, BPW Bergische Achsen KG, an engineering company specializing in advanced high-tech plastic design, teamed up. Polyamide was selected as the plastic material of choice because of the cost advantage. The plastic spring provides a significant reduction in mass, however the design of the clamping elements holding the axle to the spring needed to be taken into consideration because of the differing requirements of the plastic material compared to steel, and this also contributed to some of the mass savings. Using FEM analysis, the elements were designed to provide both an appropriate force distribution in the spring and minimize mass. During the course of the study, manufacturing concepts for both small scale and high volume production were considered. The manufacturing trials were performed at BPW's Denmark-based subsidiary HBN Teknik A/B, an experienced manufacturer of plastic parts for the truck and trailer markets such as fenders and parts for air bellows. Comparison tests done on an axle suspension sub-assembly, consisted of applying a high number of extreme bending cycles to a sample axle. The results of these test are comparable with those used to monitor the manufacturing process of the steel springs in today's production.


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    Titel :

    Highly loaded chassis components in polymer composite design. Trailing arm of a heavy duty vehicle trailer axle made of continuous glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic


    Beteiligte:
    Sager, Frank (Autor:in) / Walter, Bernhard (Autor:in) / Steffens, Markus (Autor:in)


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2010


    Format / Umfang :

    12 Seiten, 12 Bilder, 7 Quellen



    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Konferenz)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Englisch




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