Design, analysis and optimization of chassis for an electric vehicle

The purpose of this study is to design rigid and lightweight chassis for an electric vehicle. Design criteria and constraints are obtained from the TÜBİTAK electromobile racing rules. Various chassis types with different geometries are considered and 18 units of chassis are designed using computer aided design (CAD) software. Designs are analysed using finite element analysis (FEA) software and performance characteristics are parametrically and structurally optimized. Final design has aluminium 5042 H¬-19 space frame structure type and weighs 28.163 kg. Maximum von-Mises stress of the design is 15.465 MPa and the value is far below the material's yield strength of 345 MPa. Torsional stiffness value of the chassis is generated from the result of 2.495 mm maximum torsional deformation and calculated as 1828.289 Nm/deg.