A ROBUST DURABILITY PROCESS FOR MILITARY GROUND VEHICLES

BAE Systems has departed from traditional design rules of thumb and implemented a full-vehicle durability fatigue life analysis process at the design concept level to support lighter weight component designs. The durability process includes derivation of test duty cycles, generation of virtual loads from vehicle dynamic simulations, cascading of hundreds of channels of suspension attachment loads, and prediction of accumulated damage/fatigue life for both quasi-static and transient responses using a finite element vehicle structural model. The fatigue analysis process is typically deterministic, however the stochastic nature of the loads, material properties, and build variations should also be considered to ensure a robust durability process. The process is demonstrated on a heavy wheeled-vehicle platform using a generic duty cycle with examples shown at each stage of the process. This study additionally demonstrates the effects of variability of loads, materials, and geometry on the overall durability performance of the structure.