Mechanical Project of an Automotive Part Using Numerical Analysis-Based Reverse Engineering

Resumo

In the diverse areas of mechanical industry, sometimes it is difficult to find specific reposition parts.
In such cases, it is necessary to manufacture a single part, which must have its mechanical properties similar
to the original one. In this work, we develop a technique to design a replacement part based on finite element
simulations and optimization techniques, seeking to produce a new part with optimal similarity to old one regarding
mechanical properties, even if material, geometry and manufacturing process are not the same as in the original
context. This is done by considering that there is no previous knowledge about the design loads, being known just
the material and geometry. The mechanical analysis is based on triangular isoparametric finite element with cubic
approximation for plane stresses elasticity. In order to perform shape optimization, we employ an evolutionary
algorithm. The developed technique is applied to a lower control arm of a vehicle that is no longer under production
as a replacement strategy.