Design improvement by topology optimization of forged the suspension control arm and ball joint assembly

Within the scope of this thesis, it is aimed to reduce the mass of the suspension control arm and ball joint assembly manufactured by the aluminum forging method by maintaining the stress values under the same load values by topology optimization. The static analysis results obtained were verified by fatigue analysis and test setup. In the light of the data obtained from the analysis results, two models with the best results were manufactured and tested, and the results were compared with the simulation results in terms of life. The maximum stress values and critical regions were determined by performing a static analysis in ANSYS 18.0 program under the boundary conditions accepted by the company for the existing part. In line with the analysis results, the part was subjected to topology optimization in order to reduce the mass by 35%. The necessary arrangements were made by transferring the data obtained from topology optimization to ANSYS SpaceClaim software. The optimized part was redesigned to make it manufacturable in the Solidworks 2019 environment, and final test parts were created as 2 different models. 2 different designs were subjected to static analysis under the same boundary conditions with the main part and the results were compared. In addition, fatigue and life analyzes were performed with the finite element method on existing parts and designed as a result of topology optimization. The results obtained are compared with the data in the experimental studies applied to the part available in the company. As a result of the work carried out, 2 different suspension control arm and ball joint assembly designs with the same strength but with a weight reduction of approximately 10% were obtained.