In this study, a finite element analysis was used to design composite drive shafts incorporating carbon and glass fibers within an epoxy matrix. A configuration of one layer of carbon-epoxy and three layers of glass-epoxy with 0°, 45° and 90° was used. The developed layers of structure consists of four layers stacked as [+45glass°/-45glass°/0carbon°/90glass°]. The results show that, in changing carbon fibers winding angle from 0° to 90°, the loss in the natural frequency of the shaft is 44.5%, while, shifting from the best to the worst stacking sequence, the drive shaft causes a loss of 46.07% in its buckling strength, which represents the major concern over shear strength in drive shaft design.

An automotive suspension system is designed to provide both safety and comfort for the vehicle occupants. In this study, finite element models were developed to optimize the material and geometry of the composite elliptical spring based on the spring rate, log life and shear stress parameters. The influence of the ellipticity ratio on the performance of woven roving-wrapped composite elliptical springs was investigated both experimentally and numerically. The study demonstrated that composite elliptical springs can be used for light and heavy trucks with substantial weight reduction. The results showed that the ellipticity ratio significantly influenced the design parameters. Composite elliptic springs with ellipticity ratios of a/b = 2 had the optimum spring parameters.

This work examines the effect of controlled shot peening (CSP) treatment on the fatigue strength of an ASTM A516 grade 70 carbon steel welded joint. Metallurgical modifications, hardness, elemental compositions, and internal discontinuities, such as porosity, inclusions, lack of penetration, and undercut found in treated and untreated fusion welded joints, were characterized. The fatigue results of as-welded and peened skimmed joints were compared. It was observed that the effect of the CSP and skimming processes improved the fatigue life of the fusion weld by 50% on MMA-welded, 63% on MIG-welded, and 60% on TIG-welded samples.

Al-Mg-Si (AA6061) Al alloy plates were joined by the method of gas metal arc welding using Al-5Mg (ER5356) filler metal and were subjected to the oxidation test in flowing air environment at600∘Cfrom 8 to 40 hours and the weight gain was measured. The characteristic of oxide grown on welded zone surface was examined by SEM/EDS, XRD, and XPS. Oxide was observed to grow on the fused metal surface suggesting the possibility of modifying the oxide chemistry under high temperature environment. It was found that the oxidation behavior of fused metal affected by the nature of their oxide growth and morphology, was influenced by their welding process and the difference in the chemical composition.