Torsional Stiffness Analysis of a Tubular Space-frame Chassis

Torsional Stiffness is required in an automotive whenever there is a biased lateral load on the vehicle as it happens during a turn. A torsionally stiff chassis would provide better stability and uniform load transfer in an automobile. The current trends in research aim at increasing the torsional stiffness and optimizing mass for the same and thus increasing the stiffness to mass ratio. This is validated with the help of various FEA softwares . The different cases involved in real world scenario are simulated and then the stiffness is optimized accordingly. This FEA analysis is further validated using experimental analysis. An experimental jig is fabricated and setup for every condition. Static conditions are used for both FEA and experimental analysis. A list of error reducing measures has been put in place and unavoidable errors have been taken into account. The deviation of the experimental stiffness has been plotted along with the results in FEA and the possible reasons have been taken into account. The variations present in the fabricated chassis lead to the deviation from the designed model. The objective of this paper is to design, analyze and optimize the torsional stiffness of a prototype automotive chassis.