BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

Preliminary Structural Analysis of a Center Lever Light Passenger Vehicle

Parking Brake Component AISI-1000 Series Low Carbon Steel Using Finite
Element Analysis

Abstract

This report is prepared as a preliminary structural analysis of a center lever light passenger
vehicle parking brake component used for Malaysia made car model. The aim is to determine
the theoretical strength of the parking brake lever component using AISI-1000 series low
carbon steel material using finite element analysis (FEA). The actual brake lever component
was measured to determine its geometrical properties such as length and thickness and 3D CAD
model of the component was developed using CATIA V5R19 CAD software. Later, finite
element analysis was performed using CATIA V5 Generative Structural Analysis module in
linear static bending condition to determine the maximum theoretical stress and maximum
deflection generated at the component due to the given load. Finally, design factor of safety
under the bending load case was calculated using the obtained stress value and the yield
strength of the material. The results from the analysis will be further applied as a reference to
select the appropriate natural fiber polymer composite material for substituting the existing
steel material based component to gain improvement in term of lightweight property.
Keywords: structural analysis, bending load case, parking brake lever component, low carbon
steel

1.0 Introduction

Parking brake is an essential part of a vehicle braking system. The main purpose is to hold the
vehicle in stationary condition safely during stop and when idling. For a rear operated parking
brake system, in general, there are three types of parking brake lever used which are the stick
type, pedal type and center lever type parking brake lever. Among them, the former is more
commonly used for passenger vehicles and is hand operated by the driver. The parking brake
lever is provided with a ratchet locking mechanism to maintain the lever at a position to which
it was set, until released (Figure 1) and is generally made from steel due to strength and cost
requirements (Mansor and Sapuan, 2012).

Figure 1: Sample drawings of the parking brake lever and the operating direction (Anon,
2012a)

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BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

In this report, a Malaysian made car model parking brake design was studied to determine the
existing brake lever component structural performance. The Proton Wira parking brake is based
on the center lever design, where the parking brake assembly consists of six major components,
which are the brake lever, bottom mounting, lock or ratchet, rod, spring and release button, and
the components were connected using rivets as shown in Figure 2.

(a) (b)
Figure 2: Actual center lever parking brake design in (a) assembly view, and (b) exploded
view.

To achieve the objective of the study, based on the available product, measurements were taken
manually using ruler and vernier caliper to determine its geometrical properties such as length
and thickness. Using the gathered information, a 3D CAD model of the actual product was
developed using CATIA V5R19 CAD software as shown in Figure 3.

(a) (b)

Figure 3: 3D CAD model of Proton Wira center lever parking brake design in (a) assembly
view, and (b) exploded view

Later, the developed 3D CAD model was imported as the geometry model and AISI-1000
series low carbon steel material properties was applied to the model in performing structural
analysis using finite element method. The finite element analysis was performed using CATIA
V5 Generative Structural Analysis module. By examining how the brake lever is used, it is

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BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

assumed that the component is dominantly subjected to bending load compared shearing load
occurred on the riveted joining points. Based on that assumption, linear static bending load
case was selected in the finite element analysis to determine the theoretical component
structural performance. Distributed bending load of 400 N was applied at the brake lever hand
grip as suggested in center lever parking brake design performance test by the US National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
(FMVSS) for light passenger vehicle with Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or less than
3,500 kg (Anon, 2012b) as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Location for measuring brake application force (hand brake)(Anon, 2012b)
Fix boundary conditions were applied at each side of the lower mounting holes at the
component. The geometry model was later meshed using OCTREE Tetrahedral linear element
type as the meshing process resulted in 12786 elements produced. The meshed model with the
load and boundary condition locations is shown in Figure 5.

Load

Boundary
Condition

Figure 5: Meshed model of the parking brake lever with locations of the load and boundary
conditions.

2.0 Results and Discussion

Several results were obtained in the end of the finite element analysis which are the stress
distribution, maximum stress value and point of maximum stress location as well as the

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BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

maximum deformation generated on the component. Figure 6 shows the stress distribution on
the component where the maximum stress value found was 138 MPa, and the maximum value
happened at the intersection between brake lever hand grip section and the brake lever bottom
section. The maximum stress value found was below the minimum yield strength of the
AISI1000-series low carbon steel material which is 165 MPa (Anon, 2012c), thus shows that
the component is able to perform safely under the given load. The design factor of safety (FOS)
was also calculated based on available results using Equation (1).

Factor of safety = Material yield strength / maximum stress Equation (1)

Thus the factor of safety for the component is 1.19 (FOS= 165 MPa / 138 MPa).
Results from the structural analysis also shows the predicted deformation of the component for
the given load and the maximum deformation value obtained is 0.552 mm as shown in Figure
7. A part from the structural performance, the theoretical weight of the actual brake lever
component was also determined using the CAD model developed earlier and the predicted
weight of the actual component using AISI-1000 series low carbon steel material having
density of 7860 kg/m3 is approximately 0.451 kg.

Point of maximum
stress

Figure 6: Stress distribution and maximum stress location of the brake lever component

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BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

Figure 7: Simulated deformation of the brake lever component

3.0 Conclusion
The study on the structural performance of the parking brake lever component used for car
model using AISI-1000 series low carbon steel material can be concluded as below:-
i. maximum stress found was 138 MPa, which is below the minimum yield strength of
the AISI-1000 series low carbon steel material (168 MPa) while maximum deflection
found was 0.552 mm
ii. factor of safety of the design is 1.19
iii. component weight based on the CAD model is 0.451 kg
Thus, the obtained theoretical results will be further applied as a reference to select the
appropriate natural fiber polymer composite material for substituting the existing steel material
based component to gain improvement in term of lightweight property in the next project.

References
Anon. (2012a). Parking brake diagram, retrieved online from http://www.autoatlanta.com , on
22 June 2012
Anon. (2012b). Standard No. 135: Light vehicle brake systems, Part 571: Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards, Chapter V: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, US
Department of Transportation, accessed online from
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2010/octqtr/pdf/49cfr/571.135.pdf, on 22 June 2012

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BMCG 3333: MECHANICAL DESIGN CHAPTER 2 FEA CASE STUDY SAMPLE REPORT

Anon. (2012c). AISI-1000 series material properties, accessed online from

http://www.matweb.com/search/datasheet.aspx?MatGUID=81a26031d1b44cbb911f70ab863
281f5, on 22 June 2012.
M.R. Mansor and S.M. Sapuan (2012). Materials selection for lightweight automotive
composite hand operated parking brake lever design with a weighted property index method in
S.M. Sapuan (Ed.), UPM Press: Selangor (under review).