Career Episode 2

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Background

2.2.1 Overview
The wheel rim is one of the components of the vehicles that are circular in design and mainly
utilized for holding the tire. The wheel rim grasps the tube and the tire. The rim makes a circular
design where the rim is deep and shallow at the outer boundaries. The rim is one of the most
significant discoveries in the present era that plays a key role in the transportation industry. In
the present generation, the wheel has evolved many times and is made up of various materials
over the decades. The wheel rims are mainly utilized to transfer the torque during acceleration
and braking. It also conserves the potential energy and supplements the mass for comfortability
and easiness during the driving of automobiles.
The project was focused on the structural and thermal analysis of the wheel rim utilizing the two
parameters as the selection criteria. Stainless steel and aluminum materials were selected for the
design of the model. All the necessary journals, books, and research works were carried out to
understand the behavior and the nature of the rim. Software like SOLIDWORKS was employed
for the execution of the model with a wider range of applications. Further, the ANSYS software
was employed for the simulation and the examination of the created model, and the results were
obtained from the software based on different considerations like strain-stress, flow of
temperature, deformation, & heat flux to complete the model and make a conclusion.

2.2.2 Objective
The major goal of the work was to carry out the structural and thermal analysis of the wheel
model considering different parameters. The minor aims of the project were highlighted below:
 To supplement the strength of the wheel rim considering the structural and thermal
examination.
 To increase the working performance ensuring the durability of the wheel rim used in the
automobile.
 To minimize the failure by improving the stability of the wheel rim & enhancing the
functioning ability of the model.
2.2.3 Nature of work
As the responsible leader for the team, I wrote the proposal report with my team members about
the wheel rim project. I researched all the necessary investigations to support the preliminary
study to gain knowledge about the application and the working mechanism. I also played a key
role to operate to comparative analysis of the model based on different materials. I mentored the
team members by managing all the meetup sessions and discussions to seek advice and
consultation from the supervisor to eliminate the issue that persisted during the implementation
of the project work. I was responsible to examine the work performed by the teammates to
extract the results and make a proper conclusion about the model.

2.2.4 Organization Chart

2.2.5 Duties

2.3 PEA

2.3.1
I gathered several case studies, research papers, and books to import the knowledge from the
study materials regarding the conception theory of the wheel rim used in vehicles. I invested my
time to gather the preliminary study to explore the application of the rim. I also examined the
various resources used for the designing work of the wheel rim such as steel, aluminum, etc.
Further, I researched the software used for the implementation of the modeling works and the
simulation works such as SOLIDWORKS, ANSYS, etc. moreover, I also explored the working
mechanism of the wheel rim before executing the project work. I achieved knowledge of the
various useful commands of the software essential for the design and analysis part.

2.3.2
I selected the components of the wheel rim in the second stage of the project after the review. I
decided to use two different materials as the design parameter for the wheel rim such as stainless
steel and structural aluminum. In the case of stainless material, I adopted the modulus of
elasticity as 200GPa, shear modulus as 80.0Gpa, and poisons ratio as 0.25. Further, I also
consider the thermal properties to carry out the thermal analysis. I adopted the sp. Heat capacity
of 0.47 J/g-°C. Moreover, I chose the thermal conductivity value of 48 W/m-k. For aluminum, I
considered the modulus of elasticity as 68.00Gpa along with the shear modulus as 25.0Gpa. I
adopted the poisons ratio as 0.36. I adopted thermal conductivity of 210 W/m-k with a specific
heat capacity of 0.90J/g-°C.
2.3.3
I initiated the modeling of the wheel rim subsequently selecting the essential components. I
chose the SOLIDWORKS software for the design part. I opened the new file in the software and
named the model. I clicked on the plane selection for the model and chose the respective right
plane. I clicked on the “circle” command from the option on the menu tab. I plotted the circular
geometry and drew four holes using the pocket option to make the hollow portion. Further, I use
the Extruded boss command to pull the object into the 3D structure. I provided the offset of the
circle at the edge and extruded to the outer part from both sides. I also used the trim, and fillet
commands to make the surface of the model smoother. I applied the spline and chamfer
commands to make the complex curve and maintain the required angles to create the final
realistic model.

2.3.4
I employed the ANSYS software program for the operation of the model created. I began the
analysis of the wheel rim in the fourth stage of the project. I introduced the file into the ANSYS
format. Next, I defined the material for the model and assigned their respective properties. I
declared the stainless material for the wheel rim model and started to assign the default meshing
to the object to generate the meshing of the model. I provided fixed support to the model at the
center. I made the model constrained at holes by the entire DOF where the bolts were to be
placed. I ran the solver mode from the menu after applying the circumferential load of 250Kpa. I
observed various results obtained from the operation. I performed the structural and thermal
analysis for the wheel rim considering all the essential parameters such as stress, strain,
deformation, temperature, overalll heat flux, and directional heat flux. I applied the same
procedure for the model changing the material with aluminum assigning their respective thermal
engineering properties and running the simulation to extract the outcomes.

2.3.5
I gathered the outcomes obtained from the analysis works on the basis of different criteria such
as stress, deformation, strain, directional & overall heat flux, temperature flow, etc. For stainless
steel, I recorded the supreme value of the stress as …….N/m 2 with the maximum strain as …..
and the highest deformation as ….mm. Further, I found the utmost value for the …. °C
temperature with the maximum directional heat flux ….. W/m2 and the highest total heat flux as

….. W/m2 respectively. For the aluminum, I witnessed the highest value of strain and stress as
…. and … N/m2 respectively. I found the maximum deformation value as …mm. Furthermore, I

noted the maximum directional & total heat flux value of ….. W/m2 and ….. W/m2
respectively for the … °C temperature. Therefore, I declared the model with the ……… material
performed better.
2.4
I faced several problems during the execution of the project during the simulation and the design
works. I found a larger value of the stress and deformation during the extraction of the results
obtained from the simulation works. I went through research on several online platforms and also
studied the old research paper to gain the knowledge to mitigate the problems. I also organized a
meeting with to supervisor for the consultation. I gained knowledge and guidance from the
experts to review the model and followed the same path. I noticed the delayed result with the
failure of the model and the major reason behind the failure was insufficient modeling work. I
used the fillet and spline tools to make the complex curve smoother. I re-simulated the model
and obtained the outcomes within the precision.

2.5 Creative works

I improved simulation speed and geometry making the model more accurate using the commands
like fillet, chamfer, spline, etc. I carried out the analysis of the project model considering various
factors to examine the best model.

2.6 Team management

I did all of my duties to fulfill my responsibilities given by the department. I created the division
of the work to assign equally to all the team members. I divided the work into different phases
and provided it to the respective members to carry out the work. Further, I ensured the creation
of a friendly and healthy environment with the team for coordination and cooperation to execute
the utmost work. I also examined the work done and evaluated it to find out the possible errors. I
also arranged a meeting with the controller to consult and receive guidance to solve the technical
problems. I also created the proper work schedule to implement the work and complete the
project on time successfully.

2.7 Codes

2.8 Summary

2.8.1

2.8.2