Failure Analysis and Performance Improvement of a Lower Wishbone Using FEA - Results and Discussion

The Wish bone control arm is an independent type of suspension used in motor vehicles. The general function of control arms is to keep the wheels of a vehicle from the uncontrollably swerving when the road conditions are not smooth. The control arm suspension normally consists of upper and lower arm. The upper and lower control arms have different structures which depends up on the model and purpose of the vehicle. The lower control arm is the better shock absorber than the upper arm because of its position and load bearing capacity. It has an “A� shape on the bottom so it is known as wishbone shape that carries most of the load which received from the shock. The lower control arm takes most of the impact that the road puts on the wheels of the motor vehicle. It either stores that impact or sends it to the coils of the suspension depending on its shape. During the working condition, the maximum load is transferred from upper wishbone arm to the lower arm which creates the possibility of failure of arm. Similarly, impact loading produces the bending which is not desirable. Hence, it is essential to focus on the stress and strain analysis study of lower wishbone arm to improve and modify the existing design. In this project we have contributed in this problem by using finite element analysis approach.