Autodesk Inventor®

Tutorial Exercise

SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise.

Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis
Optimization

OBJECTIVE:
To create simulations of various pedal designs that focus on
reducing the mass of the current design. The exercise involves
adding machined pockets on both sides of the pedals and
validating the design change in the Stress Analysis environment.
SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

Contents
TOPIC .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
OPTIMIZING THE MASS OF A BRAKE PEDAL .............................................................................. 3
OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................................................................ 3
DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................... 3
DATASET ............................................................................................................................................ 4
DESIGN CRITERIA ............................................................................................................................... 4
KEY TERMS ........................................................................................................................................... 4
EXERCISE .................................................................................................................................................. 6
DESIGN CRITERIA ............................................................................................................................... 6
Create a New Simulation ...................................................................................................................... 6
Review the Materials ............................................................................................................................. 7
Add Constraints ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Add Loads ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Run a Simulation .................................................................................................................................... 9
CONCLUSION: ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Create an Extrusion ............................................................................................................................. 10
Run the Second Simulation ................................................................................................................ 11
CONCLUSION: ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Create a Second Extrusion ................................................................................................................. 12
Run the Third Simulation..................................................................................................................... 12
CONCLUSION: ..................................................................................................................................... 13

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

TOPIC
OPTIMIZING THE MASS OF A BRAKE PEDAL

OBJECTIVE
To create simulations of various pedal designs that focus on reducing the mass of the current
design. The exercise involves adding machined pockets on both sides of the pedals and
validating the design change in the Stress Analysis environment.

DESCRIPTION
The current design of the pedals is overbuilt and the new designs are focused on maintaining
the design specifications of the current design, while reducing the mass of the part.

Using Autodesk Inventor, Stress Analysis will be used to determine the stress, displacement
and safety factor of the design. The work flow will be repeated until the mass of the pedal
design is optimized against the design criteria. The initial mass of the brake pedal is 0.311 kg.
The optimized mass is 1.51 kg, a reduction of 51%. The design changes include:

1. Add a machined pocket to each side of the brake pedal.

2. Add a machined cut-out.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

DATASET
brakes_pedal_tray.iam

The part to be analyzed is brakes_brake_pedal.ipt.

DESIGN CRITERIA
YIELD STRENGTH (MPa) DEFLECTION (mm) SAFETY FACTOR
276 (AL 6061) 1.25 2.0

KEY TERMS
KEY TERM DESCRIPTION
assembly Two or more components (parts or subassemblies) considered as a single
model. An assembly typically includes multiple components positioned
absolutely and relatively (as required) with constraints that define both size
and position. Assembly components may include features defined in place
in the assembly. Mass and material properties may be inherited from
individual part files.

The brake pedal is the part being analyzed. It is a part within the brake tray
assembly.
Stress analysis An analysis showing that the model is statically and dynamically stable and
free from divergence on application of external loads and frequencies.

In this optimization, we are using stress analysis to ensure that the material
and geometry of the pedal can handle the loads without deforming and
failing.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

Simulation In the context of Autodesk Inventor, the term Simulation has grown to be an
equivalent term to analysis.

The analysis of the brake pedal uses Stress Analysis to optimize the mass
of the pedal. Stress Analysis is used to analyze the material at the point of
maximum load on the pedal.
von Mises Stress Three-dimensional stresses and strains build up in many directions. A
common way to express these multidirectional stresses is to summarize
them into an Equivalent stress, also known as the von-Mises stress. A
three-dimensional solid has six stress components. Sometimes a uniaxial
stress test finds material properties experimentally. In that case, the
combination of the six stress components to a single equivalent stress
relates the real stress system.
displacement Displacement is the amount of stretching that an object undergoes due to
the loading.
For this simulation a maximum deflection of 1.25 mm is allowed.
safety factor All objects have a stress limit depending on the material used, which are
presented as material yield or ultimate strengths. If aluminum has a yield
limit of 276 MPa, any stresses above this limit result in some form of
permanent deformation. If a design is not supposed to deform permanently
by going beyond yield (most cases), then the maximum allowable stress in
this case is 276 Ma.

The safety factor is how much stronger the system is than it needs to be for
a given load. You can calculate a factor of safety as the ratio of the
maximum allowable stress (Yield Strength) to the equivalent stress (von-
Mises) under the maximum load..

In the final design iteration of the end cap, the Yield Strength of the material
is 276 MPa and the von Mises value is 70.34 MPa. This gives a minimum
safety factor of 3.91.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

EXERCISE
In this exercise, you review a design for the
brake pedal in the Formula SAE race car
built by the Oklahoma University Sooner
Racing Team. The objective is to reduce the
mass of the pedal which is currently 0.311
kg.

Note that your results may vary slightly than 3. In the graphics window, right-click the
the figures quoted here. red brake pedal assembly. Click Open.
DESIGN CRITERIA
The following table lists the maximum
allowable stress and displacement values
and the minimum allowable safety factor for
this exercise.

STRESS DISPLACEMENT SAFETY

FACTOR
276 MPa 1.25 mm 2.0
4. In the browser, expand Representations
> Level of Detail: Master. This
representation was created to suppress
the parts that are not required for the
simulation.

5. Double-click StressAnalysis.

The completed exercise

Create a New Simulation

In this section of the exercise, you open the
current version of the pedal assembly.

1. Make Brake Pedal.ipj the active project.

2. Open Brake Pedal Tray.iam.
6. On the Environments tab, Begin panel,
click Stress Analysis.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

7. On the Manage panel, click Create

Simulation.
8. For Name, enter Pedal Simulation 1.
Ensure the default values of Single
Point Design Objective and Static
Analysis are selected.
3. Under the Safety Factor column, ensure
that Yield Strength is selected for all
parts.

9. Click OK.
10. On the Contacts panel, click Automatic.
Since there are no moving parts to be
considered in this assembly, you can
generate contacts automatically.
11. In the browser, expand the Contacts >
Bonded folder and review the contacts.
Note: The Safety Factor is calculated on the
Yield Strength or Ultimate Tensile Strength
of the material. For example, if the Yield
Strength of the material is 276 MPa and the
von-Mises equivalent stress is 138 MPa the
safety factor is 2.0 (276/138 = 2.0).
4. Click Cancel to close the Assign
Materials dialog box.

Add Constraints
In this section of the exercise, you add a pin
constraint and a frictionless constraint to the
pedal.

1. On the Constraints panel, click Pin.

12. Collapse the Contacts > Bonded folder.

Review the Materials

In this section of the exercise, you review 2. Select the face of the hole as shown.
the currently assigned materials.

1. On the Material panel, click Assign.

2. Review the Assign Materials dialog box.

For this simulation the Aluminum 6061 3. Click OK.
is correct. 4. On the Constraints panel, click
Frictionless.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

5. Select the bottom face of the pedal as

shown.
6. Zoom into the area on the pedal as
shown.

6. Click OK. This constraint is required on

the bottom face of the pedal to meet the
requirements of the simulation and
7. On the Loads panel, click Force.
ensure the design is not
underconstrained.

Add Loads 8. Select the face as shown.

In this section of the exercise, you add
loads to the pedal.

1. On the Loads panel, click Force.

2. Select the face of the pedal as shown.

9. In the Force dialog box, for Magnitude,

enter 45.

Note: This force is applied to represent the

resistance force from the brake cylinders as
3. In the Force dialog box, for Magnitude, you apply force to the brake pedal.
enter 450 N.
10. Click Apply.
Note: This value is typical of the force 11. Rotate the assembly and select the
applied to a brake pedal in an emergency same face on the other side of the part,
braking operation. as shown.
4. Click OK. The force load is added and is
displayed as a glyph on the face of the
part.
5. On the ViewCube, click the top-left
corner.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

6. Review the Maximum and Minimum

values. The values are 0.4493 mm and
0 mm respectively. Comparing these
12. Click OK.
values to the supplied design criteria
13. On the ViewCube, click Home.
shows that the design is compliant.
Run a Simulation 7. In the browser, double-click Safety
In this section of the exercise, you run a Factor.
simulation. 8. Review the Minimum value. The value is
3.73. Comparing this value to the
1. On the Solve panel, click Simulate. supplied design criteria shows that the
design is compliant.
9. On the Exit menu, click Finish Stress
Analysis.
2. Click Run.
10. In the browser, right-click
3. In the browser, review the Results
brakes_brake_pedal:1. Click Open. This
folder. By default, Von Mises Stress is
opens the part without the trunion
active.
cages.

4. Review the Maximum and Minimum

values (your results may vary
slightly).The values are 73.81 MPa and
0.04 MPa respectively. Comparing
these values to the supplied design
criteria shows that the design is
compliant. 11. Right click on the part and select
5. In the browser, double-click iProperties.
Displacement. 12. On the Physical tab, click Update.
The mass of the brake pedal is 0.311
kg.

13. Click Close.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

14. Close the brakes_brake_pedal.ipt file.

15. On the Environments tab, Begin panel,
click Stress Analysis. 5. Select inside the sketch profile as
16. In the browser, double-click Von Mises shown.
Stress.
17. On the Result panel, click Animate.

18. On the Animate Results dialog box, click

Play.
19. Repeat the animation for Displacement
and Safety Factor.
20. Close the Animate Results dialog box.
6. Drag the distance arrow to the right to
CONCLUSION: create a cut and until 12 is displayed as
The design results indicate that the depth.
modifications can be made to reduce the
mass of the pedal. The first modification is
to create 2 machined pockets on the upper
part of the pedal.

Create an Extrusion
In this section of the exercise, you extrude a
sketch to create a pocket on one side of the
pedal.

1. In the browser, if required, expand

brakes_brake_pedal_assm.iam
(StressAnalysis). 7. Click the check mark.

8. On the Pattern panel, click Mirror.

2. Right-click brakes_brake_pedal:1. Click
Open.
3. In the browser, right-click Sketch3. Click
Visibility. 9. In the graphics window, select the
4. On the Model tab, Create panel, click extruded feature you just created.
Extrude. 10. In the Mirror dialog box, click Mirror
Plane.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization
11. In the browser, select the Work Plane
entry.
12. Click OK.
13. Rotate the part to review the mirrored
feature.
14. On the ViewCube, click Home.
15. Save the part and close the file.
Run the Second Simulation
In this section of the exercise, you run the
second simulation by carrying over the
constraints, loads, and contacts that you’ve
already defined.
1. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click
Local Update.
2. On the Solve panel, click Simulate.
3. Click Run.
4. Review the Maximum and Minimum
values. The values are 73.02 MPa and
0.06 MPa respectively. Comparing
these values to the supplied design
criteria shows that the design is
compliant.
5. In the browser, double-click
Displacement.
6. Review the Maximum and Minimum
values. The values are 0.6154 mm and
0 mm respectively. Comparing these
values to the supplied design criteria
shows that the design is compliant.
7. In the browser, double-click Safety
Factor.
8. Review the Minimum value. The value is
3.77. Comparing this value to the
supplied design criteria shows that the
design is compliant.
9. On the Exit menu, click Finish Stress
Analysis.
10. In the browser, right-click
brakes_brake_pedal:1. Click iProperties.
(without opening the part).
11. On the Physical tab, click Update.
The mass of the brake pedal is 0.165
kg. This is a 47% reduction from the
mass of the initial design.
12. Click Close.
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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

13. On the Environments tab, Begin panel,

click Stress Analysis.

Note: You’ll notice that the value of the

maximum stress is lower than the first
simulation. Stress is now more evenly
distributed on the pedal. To view the area of 6. Select Cut from the list.
maximum stress, you can probe for the
maximum value.

CONCLUSION:
The design results indicate that further
modifications can be made to optimize the
design. The next modification is to create a
machined opening around the lower pivot.

Create a Second Extrusion 7. Select Through All from the list.

In this section of the exercise, you extrude
an existing sketch to create an opening
around the pivot.

1. In the browser, if required, expand

brakes_brake_pedal_assm.iam
(StressAnalysis).
2. Right-click brakes_brake_pedal:1. Click
Open.

8. Click the check mark.

3. In the browser, right-click Sketch6. Click

9. Save the part and close the file.
Visibility.
4. On the Model tab, Create panel, click Run the Third Simulation
Extrude. In this section of the exercise, you run the
5. Select inside the sketch profile as third simulation by carrying over the
shown. constraints, loads, and contacts that you’ve
already defined.

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SAE Car Brake Pedal Exercise: Autodesk Inventor® Finite Element Analysis Optimization

1. On the Solve panel, click Simulate. 8. On the Exit menu, click Finish Stress
Analysis.
9. In the browser, right-click
brakes_brake_pedal:1. Click iProperties.
2. Click Run. 10. On the Physical tab, click Update.
The mass of the brake pedal is 0.151
kg. This is a 51% reduction from the
mass of the initial design.
11. Click Close.
12. Save and close the file.

CONCLUSION:
The objective was to reduce the mass of the
pedal and that has been achieved. The
current design is 51% lighter than the
original design. What more can be done to
reduce the mass? In this assembly the
overall dimensions are controlled by 2
design criteria.
3. Review the Maximum and Minimum
values. The values are 70.34 MPa and a. The length of the pedal which is
0.06 MPa respectively. Comparing required for leverage.
these values to the supplied design b. The base of the pedal houses a
criteria shows that the design is number of bearings that permit
compliant. easy rotation of the pedal in
4. In the browser, double-click operation. However, the overall
Displacement. dimensions restrict any further
5. Review the Maximum and Minimum reduction of the pedal in that
values. The values are 0.7225 mm and area.
0 mm respectively. Comparing these
The stress, displacement, and safety factors
values to the supplied design criteria
are all well within the design criteria, but the
shows that the design is compliant.
design criteria prevent and more meaningful
6. In the browser, double-click Safety
reductions in the mass of the pedal. It is
Factor.
now just 0.151 kg and further modifications
7. Review the Minimum value. The value is
would not represent a significant reduction
3.91. Comparing this value to the
for the cost and effort required.
supplied design criteria shows that the
design is compliant.

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