Finite Element Analysis and Optimal Design of Commercial Vehicle Drive Axle Housing

In order to solve the heavy mass problem of the commercial vehicle drive axle housing, the structure of axle housing is optimized with finite element method. At first, the parametric finite element model of axle housing is built by using ANSYS software, and the dynamic response characteristics of axle housing are obtained with transient dynamics analysis. The dynamic analysis results show that strength and stiffness of axle housing can satisfy design criteria very well. Then the fatigue life of axle housing are predicted based on the dynamics analysis, and results show that the fatigue dangerous regions occur on the spring seats. Finally, the structure optimization of axle housing is done aimed at lightweight with goal drive optimization method, and the fatigue life of optimized axle housing are verified with FEA and bench test. The results of verification by both FEA and test show that the optimized axle housing has apparent lightweight effects with its fatigue life meeting design requirements.