Vehicle accelerator pedal development using CAE analysis

In the competitive automotive market, industries are looking to reduce the product cost and its launch time.

This work presents a vehicle accelerator pedal development using CAE tools to evaluate the design proposal and also a unique physical test performed in the final design.

The objective of CAE analysis is to simulate the fatigue loading of the accelerator pedal bracket and dash area due to the accelerator pedal duty cycle. The simulation goal is to predict the likelihood of a fatigue failure and its severity in the accelerator dash mount with an estimative of the fatigue life.

After the CAE design evaluation, it was performed a rig test and vehicle durability test, in order to approve the accelerator pedal new design. This job allowed saving engineer and physical test cost in a short development cycle.