Practical approach of durability evaluation for suspension knuckle at different design phases

To assess the fatigue life of a knuckle more accurately by FEM approach, several types of modeling methodologies, including the component level method, the sub-system level method, and the system level method, used to simulate the knuckle stress/strain distribution are investigated. The simulation results of several load cases by these methods are analyzed. A practical approach for evaluating suspension knuckle at different design phases is proposed, which could be used to guide design and durability evaluation for knuckle. Copyright © 2009 SAE International.