Design optimization of Composite Bicycle frame using HyperMesh and OptiStruct

Plinio Guzman
107885638
MEC 540
In this paper I explore the theory of mechanics of structures and composites and couple it with
techniques of Finite Element Analysis in order to study the parameters that come into play in
the design of a bicycle frame. The research uses a bicycle frame as a focal point for the
knowledge to gravitate around, but the learning and results of this project can be generalized
to have a wide range of applications in fields relating to the optimization of structural design
using composite materials. Thinking in terms of bicycles gives me a more tangible feel for these
topics and helps me better understand them. I hope you as a reader have a similar experience.
Introduction
Bicycles are a mainstream means of transportation and recreation. They are found amid busy
streets of dense urban centers, on seemingly endless roads that stretch out alongside
breathtaking sceneries, and across remote mountaintops that only some dare to ride. As a
result of the various disciplines, terrains, riders and riding styles that exist, there is no universal
truth to what makes the perfect bicycle. In this paper I will incorporate theoretical principles
with computational techniques with the intention of designing a bicycle frame.

More than any other part, the frame is what gives a bicycle its distinct feel. It determines the
handling of a bike and the way it behaves in corners and at high speeds. Up to the beginning of
the last decade, bicycle design used to be a trial and error process in which new models were
made based on a combination of what had worked in the past and heuristics. With the
development of new materials and computational tools, engineers are now able to fine tune
design parameters of their choosing in an attempt to make the best bicycle possible.
Finite Element Analysis integrates the theoretical understanding of the behavior of materials
with computational techniques to create an interactive visual environment to analyze
performance. This allows engineers to know how particular design is going to behave before
having to actually build it. This is a time and money saving technique, as it allows designers to
quickly and inexpensively go through several iterations of ideas while searching for an optimal
design. It has become a standard methodology for pre-production analysis.
Altair HyperWorks is a high-performance Finite Element Analysis software used in the
engineering industry to model, visualize, analyze and optimize design problems. It offers
modules directed toward the study of structures, motion, composites and optimization, which I
use throughout this study.
Bicycle Design
The ultimate goal of bicycle design is to maximize how much of the rider's input energy is used
to promote forward motion. That is to say, to make bicycles that can be ridden faster and for
longer, not to mention, that are comfortable and less prone to breaking. Bicycles must meet
safety and performance requirements as well as in some cases comply with design regulations
set by authorities such as the Union Cycliste International.
Owing to improvements in the field of composites, industries ranging from aeronautics to naval
have adopted these improved materials to make lighter, stronger and more durable
components that are better apt to meet the needs of specific applications. The use of
composites in these industries can be traced back as far as 1940. More recently, the bicycle
industry has began to use composite materials to replace heavy steel and aluminum tubing in
the making of frames; notably carbon fiber.
Traditionally bicycle frames have been made out of aluminum and steel but, thanks to advent
technological advances in composite manufacturing, the cycling industry has been shifting its
focus into implementing composite materials into the manufacturing of components. For
example, a carbon/epoxy bicycle frame can be made to weigh less than a kilogram, compared
to the average aluminum frame weighing around 5 kilograms.
In addition to shaving weight, composite materials allow bicycles to have improved elastic
properties. Based on how you manufacture composites you can customize how much they
bend and how much they resist bending; these properties are called compliance and stiffness,
respectively, and are opposites of each other. Because energy is most efficiently transferred

through stiff members, a torsionally stiff bottom bracket and head tube are desirable. although
it may not be noticeable, if a frame has a tendency to twist from side to side with each pedal
stroke the rider will expend unnecessary energy. In addition to conserving energy, lateral
stiffness also provides better handling. Improved in-plane vertical compliance means that the
bicycle can flex up and down a little in order to absorb sudden shocks and vibrations for the
road, ultimately resulting in a more comfortable and stable ride.
Composite Materials
Several materials can be combined in different configurations to create composite materials
which can be given enhanced properties than those found in each one of the composing
materials individually. Such is the case with carbon fiber, which is made by bounding a series of
long thin fibers of carbon with epoxy to create a lamina. By themselves, epoxy and carbon are
rather weak materials, but by strategically combining them they can be given properties that
surpass those of common metals.
When manufacturing composites using unidirectional fiber composites, each lamina can be
arranged with a different orientation. The overall fiber layup can therefore be tailored to
optimize the behavior of the structure it composes.
Using HyperWorks I find optimal the fiber orientation and layer thickness to better respond to
the loading conditions.
Force Analysis
The frame of the bicycle is the main structure designed to support the main external loads. A
pedaling force from the rider is transmitted through a chain mechanism and is made to rotate a
rear wheel thus propelling the bicycle and rider forward. Doing a simplified analysis of the
transmission of power the bicycle experiences it can be seen that forces come from the rider at
five key locations: two at the handlebar, one on each pedal and one on the saddle. As the rider
shifts position . A rider may alternate between sitting and standing positions effectively shifting
his weight between the front and read of the bicycle, as well as vary the application of forces
from side to side. During intense pedaling a left pedal stroke is couple with a downward and
upward force on the left and right end of the handlebar respectively.
An often overlooked point noted by L Maestrelli in [] is that due to the standard placement of
the chain on the right side of the bicycle causes that the loading conditions associated to the
push of the right and left pedal are asymmetric.
There is a contact point at the location where each wheel meets the ground. At each of these
contact points the play of forces aboard the bicycle is countered by a normal force and a
traction force perpendicular to the direction of travel of the wheel. The balance of forces and
its relationship to the geometry of the bicycle determines the direction of travel or whether the
bicycle is able to stay up or go around turns.

Structural Analysis
It is important to overstate the importance of structural analysis of the frame when designing a
bicycle. The strength and stiffness of a bicycle can be predicted and modified by coupling the
theoretical understanding of mechanics of composites and structures with the use of computer
modeling techniques such as Finite Element Analysis.

Motivations

Design lighter bikes that can be ridden faster and for longer.
Optimize performance, minimize weight.
Flexing of rear triangle to absorb shock.

Hypermesh
The bicycle frame model was designed on SolidWorks based on the general dimensions of a
Rocky Mountan Blizzard bicycle.

Each tube that composes the frame was considered as an individual section.

Based on the paper by Maestrelli loading is considered to be asymmetric about the main axis
due to the chain being located on the right hand side of the bicycle.

Bottom bracket concentrated loading from riders weight as well as a moment

Material

The material used for this simmulation is AS4/3502-6 carbonn fiber, and its properties are as
follows:
AS4/3502-6
t=0.005
E1=20.6e6
E2=1.42e6
V12=0.3
G12=0.87e6
XT=330e3
XC=-180e3
YT=7.5e3
YC=-35e3
S=14e3

Deflection analysis

Optimization
Finite Element Structural Optimization methods are ways of applying traditional optimization
algorithms to structural design problems using Finite Element Analysis. Compared to standard
mathematical techniques these methods have the advantage of being able to analyze
otherwise cumbersome numerical problems and of providing a visual representation of the
optimal results. [Marco Cavazzuti]
Common optimization methods in mechanical engineering

Topology optimization
Topometry optimization
Topography optimization
Size optimization
Shape optimization

As with the numerical methods, necessary elements used for structural optimization are:

Design space (mesh)

Variables (thickness, angle, mass)
Optimization constraints, measurement (stiffness, displacement, stress, strain, failure
(hill, etc))
Objective function(min/max/minmax/maxmin) Minimize mass, maximize vertical
compliance, maximize lateral stiffness, etc
Optimization Algorithm (gradient based, mma)
In the case of topology, topometry, topography(2D or shell elements), and size
optimization the element density can vary between 0 (void) and 1 (present)

Optimization
Objective: Minimize Volume (mass) of chain stay

Constraint: Displacement
Lower bound=1.4
Upper bound=2.4

Variables: thk1, thk2, thk3, thk4

The 7 layers are symmetric about the middle axis. This results in there being 4 different ply
orientations, 3 of which have a corresponding match about the mid-plane. This allows for the
use of only 4 design variables, which simplifies calculations.

Optimization results
Through the OptiStruct Module the objective function was minimized throughout 15 iterations.
The volume of the chain stay can be seen to go from around 1.3 to 0.626 cm^3.

It can be seen that in iteration 4 and 8 the maximum constraint on displacement was violated.
The thickness was reduced too much which caused the displacement to go over the constrain
limit.

The following image shows the final thickness of each set of layers. The results show that the
mid plane should be the thickest layer.

Conclusion
The analysis shows results that are numerically off to those that would apply to a real life
model, but give insight to how much effect each variable has in the behavior of the frame.
There is more work and learning to be done in order to improve the modeling and optimization.

In the future a large part of the frame will be created using simplified hollow pipe structures
directly on HyperMesh to avoid the meshing complications that file importing brought along.

Literature Review
An early use of Finite Element Methods for bicycle design was done by Paterson and Londry in
1986 [] who represented a tubular frame structure using eulerian beam elements and
measured their respective deflection, von Mises stress and strain energy under various loading
conditions. Their rudimentary study laid down important grounndwork and proved the
usefulness of FEM techniques in the design of bicycle frames. Their findings showed that energy
dissipation in the vertical direction could be increased with minimal negative effect on hill
climbing when pedaling out of the saddle and that the down tube was the greatest ebsorber of
train energy.
In 1994 Lessard et al also modeled tubular frames using beam elements and compared the
analysis of several frame designs to experimental measurements, focusing on maximizing the
vertical compliance and lateral stiffness. He emphasized that in the classical tubular diamond
shape frame structure problems arose at the junction between tubes.. In his study Lessard
studied and identified the boundary conditions that a frame would encounter during realistic
riding conditions, and narrowed them down to three generalized loading cases: braking, front
impact, and stand up peadling. He used arbitrary loads and comments that the choice of load to
apply is arbitrary since he was only studying displacement and the tests are done within the
elastic limit of the material.
He suggests that composite bicycle frames should be composed of a monocoque structure in
which loads are supported through a low mass skin of a large surface area, therefore improving
stiffness characteristics. Because the ideal racing frame should effectively transfer human
energyt hat the rider puts into the pedals and handlebar with minimal losses due to the frame.
He suggests a torsionally stiff bottom bracket and head tube, as energy is most effectively
transfered through stiff members. He adds that the frame should allow for in-plane vertical
compliance to dissipate road surface forces. Lessard comments that there is room for study of
the relationship between quantifiable frame stiffness characteristics and qualitative description
of the experience of the rider.

Derek Covill used parametric finite element analysis of bicycle frame geometries to study the
vertical compliance and lateral stiffness characteristics of 82 existing bicycle frames. His results
showed that smaller frames behave most favourably in terms of vertical compliance and lateral
stiffness, and that a shorter top tube length and larger head tube angle result in
a laterally stiffer frame. He suggests that there is further room for development of the study
regarding a more detailed tube geometry, the use of alternative materials, and analysis of of
other structural characteristics.
Paolo Balisedra used the FEM software HyperMesh to study four different bicycle fork designs
and used eight different quasi-isotrpoic laminates generated using the HyperLaminate module.
He notes that the virtual model represents an ideal component and neglects possible defects

that may occurr during the manufacturing process such as porosity, wavyness or ply drops. The
results were used to validate the use of a manufactured frame which was subsequently used
for races through a total distance of around 500 km. The fork was later submitted to lateral
static load tests and showed no significant redution in stiffness.
Noting the incorrect assumptions that can be made about the location of stresses on a bicycle
during real riding conditions, professional cycling company Cervelo created an instrumented
'strain gage' bike outfitted with sensors and 'ridden hard'. They accounted for different
situations and riding styles in their tests and concluded that bending and torsion loads were
distributed differently than previously believed. Being a private company these results were not
released to the public.
Cervelo's analysis showed that a large 1.2 inch axle increased the stiffness of the bottom
bracket and allowed the seat tube and down tube to be lighter as well, at a lower weight. They
cite that they use carbon/epoxy prepreg of diferent moduli (supplied by Ntwport Adhesives and
Composites and Nippon Graphite Fiber Corp.) in different areas of the frame to tailor the
mechanical properties of each section, and use a fiberglass scrim in the places where the
carbon layup comes in contact with metal components.
Cervelo manufactures the frame's top tube, head tube, down tube, seat tube and bottom
bracket as a monocoque shell, and chain stay and seat stay molded as separate pieces; using
inflatable latex bladders to achieve an accurate fiber architecture and a consistent all thickness.

Xiang introduces in 2011 the principles of biomechanics and ergonomic knowledge, noting that
feature parameters of the rider are often not included in the frame design. He defines the
relative position between the saddle, the handlebar and the central axis as the bicycle's
threepivot and uses it as a main parameter in order to improve rider confort. The optimization
goal of his methods is to keep the rider comfortable by maintaining the back muscles in a
relaxation state and minimizing leg fatigue.