The project goal was to take something in real life and use the skills learned in the class to perform a finite element analysis on the object. This was a solo project and I chose to do a rollercoaster wheel assembly and analyze the stresses that occur under various loading situations. The program used to do the finite element analysis is FEMAP, and the rough calculation drawings were done in CorelDRAW with mathematical typesetting in MathCAD. The project received a 48/50 points.

1. Finite Element Analysis of a
Rollercoaster Wheel Assembly
ME406A-01
Lorenzo Gutierrez

2. Object to Analyze – Roller Coaster Wheel Assembly

3. Modeling in FEMAP

4. Mesh

5. Front View

6. Side View

7. Back View

8. Underside View

9. Loads – 5 Scenarios

10. Main Wheels Only – 6000 lb

11. Main and Guide Wheels – 3000 lb each

12. Guide Wheels Only – 6000 lb

13. Guide and Upstop Wheels – 3000 lb each

14. Upstop Wheels Only – 6000 lb

15. Verification – Top area when the main wheels
are the only load bearing components

16. Simplify to a C-Channel

17. Model as a Seesaw beam with a Pin support

18. FBD

19. Bending Stress Calculation
Roughly matches the
stress around the center!