• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 2015

In this study, the lightweight design of a brake bracket for a composite bogie was studied by considering two brake bracket models with thicknesses of 12t and 9t, respectively. For achieving this goal, finite element analysis and topology optimization were conducted. Firstly, the largest cross-sectional areas of the vertical and horizontal plates of the brake bracket were selected as the design variables. As the constraint, the Z-axis displacement of the brake bracket was increased by 2.5 units from the initial displacement value. The minimum volume fraction of the design regions was chosen as the objective function. The full model comprised a composite bogie frame and brackets attached together. However, to reduce the analysis time, 1D beam elements were used instead of the composite bogie frame by ensuring its equivalence with the full model. The result revealed that the weights of the 12t and 9t models of the brake bracket were reduced to 60 kg and 31 kg, respectively.