Journal of Mechanical Engineering Vol 17(1), 49-62, 2020

Design and Development of the

Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain
Vehicle (ATV)

Himanshu Verma, Sandeep Kumar, Rabinder Singh Bharja, Rajan Kumarb,*

Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology,
Jalandhar, 144011, India
[email protected], b,*[email protected]

ABSTRACT

An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is a single seat, open cockpit, and open wheel
off-road vehicle in which the engine is located behind the driver. The present
paper discusses the important aspects of designing and development of the
front wheel hub of ATV. This study discusses the design of the front wheel
hub while considering that it should be of light weight and high strength.
This paper discusses the material selection for the hub from the two different
types of material. This study includes the improvement in the design of the
hub with the help of various analyses of the hub. The hub is analyzed in the
various loading conditions to obtain the appropriate factor of safety with the
help of a static structural module of ANSYS software.

Keywords: All-Terrain Vehicle; Hub; Failure Analysis; Development; Static

Structural Analysis

Introduction

A front wheel hub is a component whose main purpose is to connect the

wheel to other suspension components via stub axle and to keep the free
spinning of the wheel on the bearing while keeping it attached to the vehicle.
It is located between the disc and the stub axle of the ATV as shown in
Figure 1. In older vehicles, front wheel bearings have been built to be
serviced with repair kits because individual parts can be disassembled,
washed and re-packed with grease. Generally, new vehicles are designed
with front wheel assemblies comprising axle, bearing assembly, installation,

___________________
ISSN 1823-5514, eISSN2550-164X Received for review: 2018-07-13
© 2020 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Accepted for publication:2019-12-05
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Published:2020-04-01
Himanshu Verma, et al.

and rim flange incorporated into one unit known as a wheel bearing and hub
assembly.

Figure 1: Wheel hub assembly [1]

BÖNAA [1] integrated the brake rotor and wheel hub in a single unit
for use on automobiles and other vehicles. Conventional ATV uses different
hubs and rotors are normally made as two separate parts bolted together to
allow replacement of worn-out brake rotors. The disk's life span is relatively
short compared to the hub which usually requires no replacement. This
model results in more machining and thereby some possibilities of unbalance
and misalignment during construction. Today's approach for the manufacture
of hub and rotor as two separate parts requires additional material for bolt
flanges, thereby increasing the overall size. Shrivastava [2] used the crash
pulse scenario standard which is used for impact time to calculate the radial
forces using Newton laws of motion on the hub in the worst-case scenario.
Kumar et al. [3] discussed the use of aluminum composites in automobile and
aerospace industries for various high performing components that are being
used for varieties of applications owing to their lower weight excellent
thermal conductivity. Among several series of aluminum alloys, aluminum
possesses very high strength, higher toughness and is preferred for in the
aerospace and automobile sector.
As the use of ATV is limited to only BAJA SAE 2018 events only
thus, the hub design, material selection and structural development of the hub
must choose accordingly. Baja SAE is made up of contests that represent
projects in real-world engineering design and associated obstacles.
Engineering students are responsible for designing and building an off-road
vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. The goal of
each team is to design and build a sporting single-seat, all-terrain vehicle
with the driver's structure. The vehicle is to be a model for a robust,

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

functional, ergonomic and inexpensive production vehicle that meets a niche

for recreational users.The semi-trailing or trailing arm suspensions are
usually used in the rear of a vehicle while the MacPherson strut and double
wishbone models can be used both in the front and rear [4]. Often recognized
as a single control arm suspension is the MacPherson strut, comprising of a
strut or shock unit, wheel hub and one control arm [5]. The strut as well as
the control arm is connecting directly to the vehicle's chassis. Then the
control arm attaches to the bottom of the wheel hub, while the strut connects
to the top.
The reduction in the rotational mass of the hub and reduction in the
overall weight of ATV lead to an increase in the acceleration. Furthermore,
hub experiences the continuous stresses and impact stress due to the motion
of ATV such as during braking, cornering and six feel fall. Therefore, the
hub should be designed so that it should be of minimum weight and higher
strength.

Methodology of Designing

Designing is one of the most important and thoughtful processes. At different

design stages, the various problems occurred that need to be sought out using
the following five steps which are given in Figure 2 [6]:
1. Define the problem
2. Gather pertinent information
3. Generate multiple solutions
4. Analyze and select a solution
5. Test and implement the solution

Figure 2: Design stages [6]

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Himanshu Verma, et al.

Selection of Material
In the present study, the material is selected on the basis of the following
properties:
1. The material should have a low density or cheap or a combination of
both.
2. The material should have enough strength values to carry the load with a
sufficient factory of safety (FOS).
3. It should be easily machinable.

The two materials considered for the wheel hub are Aluminium 7075-
T6 and EN8 Mild Steel. Table 1 illustrates the different properties of these
materials [7, 8]. The material is selected on the basis of strength to weight
ratio.

Table 1: Material property chart

Property Aluminum 7075-T6 EN-8 Mild Steel

Density 2.81 g/cm3 7.85 g/cm3
Brinell Hardness Number 150 BHN 201 BHN
Ultimate Tensile Strength 572 MPa 650 MPa
Tensile Yield Strength 503 MPa 415 MPa
Poisson’s Ratio 0.33 0.33
Fatigue Strength 159 MPa --
Strength to Weight Ratio 203.56 MPa∙cm3/g 83.22 MPa∙cm3/g

Designing of Hub
The main objective of designing the hub is to be reliable, durable and light
weight to overcome the failure of last years. In order to satisfy these
requirements, AL-7075 T6 material is selected, from the two material options
i.e. Al-7075-T6 and EN8, based on material strength to ratio. Prior to
designing a thoroughly study is done on the previous year's design,
experiences, and failures. Considering the facts and following design
considerations, parameters, and last year’s failure data, the preliminary
design is made on CATIA software as shown in Figures 3 and Figure 4.

Design considerations
Several design considerations are proposed before the CAD modeling of hub:
1. The pattern of bolt connected to the wheel and brake rotor is determined
by the type of rim and disc respectively.
2. The size and pitch circle diameter of the rim should be considered.
3. Pitch circle diameter of the brake disc.
4. Hub length is decided by the caliper dimension constraint.
5. The material should opt accordingly as strong enough to take the weight
of the car and variable stresses.

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

6. Wheel bearing in the hub depends on internal and external diameters of

stub axle coming out of the hub.
7. Bolt size should be considered.

Design parameters of the hub

Following design parameters of the hub are considered in the present study:
1. Loading condition.
2. Manufacturing process.
3. Material behaviour on the application of load.

Figure 3: Final CAD model

Side View Front View Back View

Figure 4: Different views of the hub

After several iterations as shown in Figure 5, the tapered cross-section

with the fillet model is finalized for the analysis to evaluate the stressed area,
deflections and life cycle of the designed component.

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Himanshu Verma, et al.

Figure 5: Improvement in the design of the hub

Results and Discussion

For the analysis of the hub, a 3-D model is generated in CATIA and imported
into ANSYS. Material specifications of Al7075-T6 shown in Table 1 are
assigned in engineering data in ANSYS. To observe maximum stress
produced in the hub model is subjected to extreme conditions and static
analysis is carried out in ANSYS. Mesh model of the hub is shown in Figure
6, having 75420 nodes and 44464 total elements.

Loading Conditions

Breaking torque
As the brakes are used frequently in the ATV so the hub comes under the
frequent stresses, therefore, it requires to be analyzed properly in braking
conditions. The hub experiences shear stress due to braking torque.
Constraints are applied on the two end faces of the hub which are fixed on
the disc side along with the application of torque 243 N-m (calculated in
Appendix A) on the rim side face as shown in Figure 7.
As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the maximum stress comes near the disc
mountings. Therefore, the fillet is provided at this place, however, the value
of stress is very less hence the chances of failure will insignificant here.

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

Figure 6: Mesh model of the hub

Figure 7: Loading condition in case of breaking torque

Figure 8: Von-Mises stress distribution

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Himanshu Verma, et al.

Figure 9: Maximum shear stress distribution

Six feet fall

This is the harsh condition that can occur in the ATV especially during the
suspension and traction event. During six feet fall, the hub comes under the
bending condition. The normal and shear stresses both occur during the
bending thus either of these stresses cannot particularly decide the FOS of the
hub, therefore, the Von-Mises Stress criteria is used to decide the FOS of hub
under this loading condition. Constraints are applied on both the bearing
surfaces as cylindrical supports and load of 6130N (calculated in Appendix
B) as remote force is applied on the rim side end face as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Loading condition in case of six feet fall

Figure 11 shows that the maximum stress occurs near the end of
flanges towards the stub-axle side due to the bending of flanges, hence,
failure can take place there. To avoid failure, the tapered cross-section with a
fillet is kept here.

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

Figure 1: Von-Mises stress distribution

Cornering
Particularly in the maneuverability event, the ATV should respond to the
quick turning, therefore due to sudden turns the hub comes under the
cornering forces which cause the bending of the flanges of the hub.
Therefore, the Von-misses stress criteria are used for deciding the FOS of the
hub in this condition. Boundary conditions are applied on both the bearing
surfaces as cylindrical supports and load of 1500 N as remote force is applied
on the rim side end face as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 2: Loading condition in case of cornering

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Himanshu Verma, et al.

Figure 3: Von-Mises stress distribution

In this case of cornering, the chances of failure are maximum because

the maximum stress with the value of 257.13 MPa occurs near the end of
flanges towards the stub-axle side due to the bending of cantilever flanges as
shown in Figure 13. Tapered cross-section with a fillet is provided to avoid
the failure in this case also as described in the case of six feet fall.
After the analysis and improvements in various loading conditions, it
is noted that the maximum stress in the most severe condition is 257.13 MPa
under cornering condition on the flanges as shown in Figure 13, which is
very lower as compared to the yield strength of material i.e. 503 MPa. Table
2 illustrates the maximum induced Von-Mises stress and FOS for different
boundary conditions.

Table 2: Von-Mises stress and FOS for braking, six feet fall and cornering
condition

Boundary Conditions
Parameters Unit
Braking Six Feet Fall Cornering
Von-Mises stress MPa 54.91 131.46 257.13
FOS - 9.16 3.82 1.96

Conclusions

The weight of the manufactured hub is found to be approximately equal to

the CAD model of the hub i.e. 314 g. The least weight, higher reliability, and
durability of the hub are achieved through the various structural development
of hub as shown in Figure 4 and with the help of the proper material
selection, i.e. components Al 7075-T6 for the hub. In the various loading
conditions i.e. six feet fall, cornering and braking the stresses come out to be

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

131.46 MPa, 257.13 MPa and 54.91 MPa with the appropriate factor of
safety 3.82, 1.96, and 9.16 respectively. The front wheel hub is rigorously
tested on the track and good performance is achieved.

1. Appendix A - Calculation of the braking torque

Braking force on disc exerted from pedal [9]

Pedal force = 600 N

Pedal ratio = 6.5
Master cylinder bore diameter = 0.75 inch
Caliper bore diameter = 1.12 inch
Ratio of bore areas = 2.23 inch
Caliper pad and disc friction coefficient = 0.35

Braking force = 600 × 6.5 × 2.23 × 0.35 × 2 = 6088.02 𝑁

Vehicle mass considered for calculation (m) = 185 kg

Deceleration (ad) = 0.8 g
Traction coefficient (µ) = 0.8
C.G. height = 17 inch
Wheel base = 54 inch
C.G. height/ wheelbase (γ) = 0.315
Weight distribution = front - 45%; rear - 55%

Therefore,

Static rear axle load

Static axle load distribution (v) = = 0.45
Vehicle weight

Dynamic normal load on the front axle (𝐹𝑧𝐹,𝑑𝑦𝑛 ) = (1 − 𝑣 + 𝛾𝑎𝑑 ) 𝑚 × 𝑔

= (1 − 0.45 + 0.314 × 0.80) × 185 × 9.81 = 1454.05 𝑁

𝐹𝑧𝐹,𝑑𝑦𝑛
Dynamic normal load on each tyre = = 727.02 𝑁
2

Tractive force = 727.02 × 0.80 = 581.62 𝑁

Braking torque = 581.62 × 11 × 0.0254 = 162.50 𝑁𝑚

Factor of safety = 1.50

Braking torque on front wheel = 162.50 × 1.50 = 243.75 𝑁𝑚

2. Appendix B - Calculation of six feet fall force

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Himanshu Verma, et al.

According to third equation of motion [10]

𝑣 2 = 𝑢 2 + 2𝑎𝑠

Here, 𝑢 = 0 𝑚/𝑠, because the velocity in vertical direction the initial

velocity in the free fall is 0.

𝑎 = 𝑔(9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2)
𝑠 = 6 feet or 1.81 meter

so, 𝑣 2 = 0 + 2 × 9.8 × 1.81

𝑣 = 5.97 𝑚/𝑠

Change in momentum ∆𝑚𝑣

Impact force = =
Impact time ∆𝑡

Initial velocity in vertical direction, u = 0 m/s

Final velocity in vertical direction, v = 5.97 m/s

Mass of the vehicle (m) = 185kg

∆𝑚𝑣 = 185 × 5.97 = 1104.45 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚/𝑠

Impact time(∆𝑡) = 0.18 𝑠

1104.45
Impact force = = 6130 𝑁 [2]
0.18

Appendix C - Cornering force calculation for front hub [11]

G = gross weight of vehicle

Fµ1, Fµ2 = Longitudinal and lateral frictional forces respectively
Ns1, Ns2 = Dynamic normal reactions on the front & rear tires
respectively
C.G height (rh) = 0.432 meter
ras = Track width/2
µ = friction coefficient between tire and ground
ka = cornering force
g = gravitational acceleration

Vertical mass considered for calculation (m) = 185 kg

𝐺 = 𝑚 × 𝑔 = 185 × 9.81 = 1814.85 𝑁

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 Design and Development of the Front Wheel Hub for All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)

𝐹𝜇1 = 𝐺 × 𝜇 = 185 × 9.81 × 0.80 = 1451.88 𝑁

𝐹𝜇2 = 𝐹𝜇1 × 𝜇1 = 185 × 9.81 × 0.80 × 0.80 = 1161.50 𝑁

𝐹𝜇1 × 𝑟ℎ + 𝐹𝜇2 × 𝑟ℎ + (𝐺 + 𝐹𝑑𝑒𝑐 ) × 𝑟𝑎𝑠 − 𝑁𝑠1 × (𝑟𝑎𝑠 + 𝑟𝑎𝑠 ) = 0

= (1451.88 + 1161.50) × 0.432 − 𝑁𝑠1 × 1.244

+ (1814.8 + 1451.88) × 0.622 = 0

𝑁𝑠1 = 2540.05 𝑁

𝑁𝑠1
𝐾𝑎 = ( ) × 0.80 = 1016.02 𝑁
2

Factor of safety = 1.48

𝐾𝑎 = 1016 × 1.48 𝑁 = 1500 𝑁

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[8] Metals Handbook, Vol.2 - Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys

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