[01] Ikpe Aniekan Essienubong, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. [02] Owunna Ikechukwu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. [03] Patrick O. Ebunilo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.

The theory of durability and reliability was investigated on vehicle tie rods and it was found out that buckling is the major failure mode that hampers its longevity during braking, cornering and both compressive and tensile load acting on the vehicle while going through speed bumps. To determine the maximum load required for a typical tie rod material to buckle, low alloy steel was selected using CES EduPack 2013 software and this was done on the basis of the required material attributes and the loading conditions of tie rod during operation. Using CATIA software, both ends of the tie rods (inner and outer) were subjected to different load case scenarios obtained from ADAMS software. The load cases were analysed to find the maximum loads in both directions, capable of causing the tie rod to buckle or yield in operation and the analysis showed a maximum load of 18,563N. CATIA software was used to model several designs and analyse possible areas of stress concentrations on the tie rod. The hollow design was chosen as it meets the design objectives with a mass of 4.7kg which is not too different in real life and may not result in the performance of the design being compromise.

Automobile, Brake, Cost, Failure, Load, Reliability, Safety, Suspension System

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