Double-Shear Control Arm Mount for Bolt Shear Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle suspension systems with single-shear components are prone to failure in moderate to extreme suspension scenarios, leading to potential bolt shearing and degradation, which affects safety, ride quality, and handling.
Innovation Solution
A double-shear control arm mount design that affixes to a vehicle frame using a base with cantilevered arms and angled mounting surfaces, allowing for a bolt-on connection that distributes forces across two shear planes, enhancing stability and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If single-shear suspension components are used, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is easier, but the reliability and strength deteriorate due to bolt shearing in extreme scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The control arm mount is divided into a base portion that attaches to the vehicle frame and arm portions that extend to receive control arms. This segmentation allows the mount to distribute loads across multiple attachment points, transforming a single-shear connection into a multi-shear configuration that improves reliability without excessive complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The mount structure transitions from a single-plane (single-shear) connection to a multi-plane (double-shear) connection by extending arms in multiple directions from the base. This dimensional change allows forces to be distributed across two separate shear planes, significantly improving reliability while maintaining reasonable structural complexity
2Strength
If single-shear mounting is used, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the strength and durability worsen under extreme suspension loads
Solution Approach 1:
The mount is segmented into a base and multiple arms, each serving specific structural functions. This segmentation enables the design to achieve higher strength through distributed load paths while maintaining manufacturing simplicity by using standard fabrication processes for each segment
Solution Approach 2:
The base and arms are merged into a single integrated component that provides both attachment functionality and structural strength. This merging eliminates the need for multiple separate parts and complex assembly operations, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving superior strength through the double-shear configuration
3Stress or pressure
If double-shear configuration is implemented, then load distribution improves and stress concentration reduces, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mount structure is segmented into distinct base and arm portions that create separate shear planes. This segmentation naturally distributes stresses across multiple planes without requiring complex stress-management mechanisms, achieving improved stress distribution with moderate structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The mount design applies local quality by concentrating structural complexity only where needed - at the base-arm junction where stress distribution is critical - while keeping other portions simple. This localized approach improves stress distribution without unnecessarily increasing overall device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A double-shear control arm mount is described that includes a base configured to affix to a vehicle portion, and arms extending from the base defining mounting regions positioned between the arms and the vehicle portion. The mounting regions can be below the arms in some implementations. The arms can include first and second arms positioned on opposing sides of the base. The first arm includes a first arm member and a first arm mounting surface angled relative to the first arm member, and the second arm includes a second arm member and a second arm mounting surface angled relative to the second arm member. The mounting regions include a first mounting region positioned between a first side of the vehicle portion and the first arm mounting surface, and a second mounting region positioned between a second side of the vehicle portion and the second arm mounting surface.