Experimental Determination of the Manson−Coffin Curves for an Original Unconventional Vehicle Frame

Abstract

This article is divided into two parts—in the first part, authors inform about their testing device that enables the acquisition of results from uniaxial and multiaxial fatigue tests (the bending−torsion combination). We present the approaches used during designing and building the testing device. The direct implementation of the research in the second part will concentrate on implementing the acquired results for the frame design of a vehicle worked out by the authors. The three-wheeled vehicle has the front steered wheel suspended in an unconventional way. This original design can cause an increased load on the vehicle’s frame. This can be apparent mainly during driving through curves. Therefore, the fatigue curves of the tested material (EN AW 6063) will be implemented from the point of view of its usability in operation. A vehicle frame is most often loaded by bending and torsion. The authors assess the influence of welding on the fatigue life of this unique unconventional vehicle by determining the fatigue curves of the material for its production. The stresses achieved on the test specimens fully correspond to the load of the frame (in welds) during its operation.

Symmetric Nature of Stress Distribution in the Elastic-Plastic Range of Pinus L. Pine Wood Samples Determined Experimentally and Using the Finite Element Method (FEM)

“…In the samples subjected to compression, the influence of the forces is hardly noticeable, therefore it has not been presented. A similar nature of the stress distribution in tested materials samples is available, for example, for composite materials [83], steel [84], wood [28,85]. Additionally, the symmetrical stress distribution is noticeable in the tested structures, e.g., frames of: road bridges [86], bicycles [87], vehicles [88], bridges [89] or machine parts: gears [90,91], turbine blades [92], and furniture connections [93].…”

Dynamics and Strength of Circular Tube Open Wagons with Aluminum Foam Filled Center Sills

“…Aluminum foams are a new class of materials with promise of an improvement of vehicle crashworthiness, combining the properties derived from the cellular structure, in particular the lightness, with the typical behavior of metals [ 23 ]. With comparable mechanical properties, it is two-thirds lighter than steel [ 1 , 5 ]. The use of high-strength aluminum alloys for the load-bearing structures of freight wagon bodies will reduce the tare of the wagon to 50% [ 24 , 25 ].…”

“…This can be reached by applying energyabsorbing materials in the carrying structures of rail cars. It should be mentioned that the aluminum foam used as a structural material for a long time in the mechanical engineering all over the world has proved its efficiency [1][2][3][4][5]. Article [6] (p. 11) suggests that it is advantageous to use the studied foam for the development of energy absorber elements to improve vehicle crashworthiness during low-speed impact.…”

Geometric Specification of Non-Circular Pulleys Made with Various Additive Manufacturing Techniques

“…Another example of the use of non-round geometry of the non-linear gear actuators can be a bicycle gear drive. Features of this type of drive can be used in the construction of devices described by Branowski [ 9 ], Wieczorek [ 10 , 11 ] and Saga [ 12 ].…”