Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
APPLICATION OF TSAI’S THEORY FOR THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A CARBON/EPOXY STRUCTURE FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENCY PROTOTYPE VEHICLE
Submission Author:
Eyder Ferreira Augusto , MG , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Eyder Ferreira Augusto, Carlos Alberto Cimini Junior
Presenter: Eyder Ferreira Augusto
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-1771
Abstract
The growing public concern about the rising of fossil fuels prices and the emission of pollutant gases, in addition to recent laws that seek to reduce CO2 emissions, has increased the demand for energy-efficient vehicles. Since the mass of the vehicle has an important impact on its fuel consumption, fiber-reinforced composite materials with high specific stiffness and strength become viable alternatives when compared to the commonly used structural metals, such as steel and aluminum. On the other hand, structural design with composite materials can be expensive and laborious. In the academic environment, energy efficiency competitions such as Shell Eco-Marathon, aim to develop automotive prototypes that can travel a predetermined distance using the least possible amount of fuel. In the current study, the design and analysis of a monocoque structure using a carbon/epoxy composite material system was performed for the prototype of the Milhagem Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) team, aiming at reducing the mass of the vehicle. A novel design approach − Prof. Stephen Tsai’s “master ply” method and “unit circle” failure theory − was adopted for both obtaining the properties of the composite material system and designing using maximum strain failure criterion. Deformation and buckling analyzes were performed for different loading conditions for the proposed geometry, respecting the established failure criterion. A reduction of 21.5% in the equivalent mass was obtained in comparison to the previous design of the team, which is compatible with similar studies previously carried out.
Keywords
Composites, analysis and design, master ply, unit circle, prototype vehicle, fuel-efficiency
