Optimization of crossmember of tactical wheeled vehicle chasis in terms of mechanical design

In this study, the design of the hump traverse on the gearbox, which is an important structural element of a tactical wheeled vehicle chassis, will be optimized. The effects of this new geometry on strength and chassis stiffness will be examined. In the study, a chassis assembly was designed for an 8x8 tactical wheeled vehicle. The hump traverse of the chassis, which was designed as a first case study, is modeled with 8 mm thick S420 steel material in a simple geometry. Finite element analysis was carried out in the ANSYS program by the rear spring bracket rotation axis fixed and applying a torsion moment of 5000 Nm from the front axle pads. With this analysis, the maximum displacement of the entire chassis, which will allow us to calculate the torsional stiffness value, has been determined. In addition, the Von Mises stress distribution of the traverse was obtained under this loading condition. In the first case, as a second study, natural frequency modes up to 500 Hz frequency were extracted. The extracted natural frequency modes are matched with random vibration profiles determined by NATO military standard MIL STD-810 G. The maximum Von Mises stress values in the respective modes were found. For the second case, an improved traverse with the necessary reinforcements is designed. In this design, 5 mm thick S420 steel material is used. Static analysis which with a torsional moment of 5000 Nm applied for the first case, and random vibration analysis repeated. The effects of optimization studies on the traverse on the chassis torsional stiffness, strength improvement under torsional moment, strength improvement in random vibration modes and traverse mass gain were evaluated.