Research of design and analysis integrated information modeling framework for multibody mechanical system: with its application in the LHD design

Many complex mechanical products can be considered as multibody systems; 3D computer-aided design (CAD), multibody dynamics, finite element-based strength and fatigue analyses, optimization, and other CAE tools, are often used to develop this kind of product. But design is difficult and challenging because of information inconsistence among different engineering domains, and isolated information model islands exist. Lots of research are attracted to design and analysis information integration, but attentions are mainly focused on integration of CAD–finite element analysis (FEA), supporting the bottom-up design principle, while multibody dynamics analysis for analyzing global performance of a mechanical system is rarely considered, which follows the top-down design principle. In this paper, a novel multilevel system representation modeling framework for supporting both bottom-up and top-down or mixed design methods is proposed. It can integrate the product design CAD models with multibody dynamics, finite element-based strength and fatigue analyses, realizing a CAD–dynamic–FEA–fatigue analysis integration. It can also support data exchange and transfer in multidomain analyses. The framework is illustrated with a case study of a load haul dump (LHD) design using currently available software tools. Furthermore, a design case study of the working unit of the LHD is given to highlight the applicability of the modeling framework for multibody mechanical systems. It has been demonstrated that the framework can describe information exchanging and integration among CAD, FEA-based strength and fatigue analyses, and multibody dynamics analysis during a multibody mechanical product design process.