International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

This study presents a mesh-converged finite element assessment of functionally graded spur gears. Two gear models are studied: a fully graded gear and a half-metal/half-graded gear. The material properties vary gradually from aluminum alloy to zirconia according to power-law distribution. The modal analysis is carried out in ANSYS using SOLID187 elements and the Block Lanczos method. A mesh-convergence study is performed, and a 0.25 mm mesh is adopted for the results. The study compares the natural frequencies and normalized mode-shape profiles of the two models. The results show how the material layout influences the vibration behavior of the gear.

This paper presents a comparative finite element assessment of the thermo-mechanical severity of automotive brake discs for Mercedes-Benz A180, E220 and E350 under intensive and repeated braking cycles. Transient thermal and structural simulations were evaluated for 27 cases covering high-speed, interurban and urban braking profiles. Gray cast iron EN-GJL-250/G3000 was used as the disc material, while heat flux, convection and radiation were considered as thermal boundary conditions. Maximum temperature, heat flux, total elastic deformation and von Mises stress were normalised and combined through several severity-index scenarios. The results show that the repeated 120-0-120-0 km/h braking cycle is the governing condition for all vehicles. A180 reached the highest raw temperature, stress and deformation, while the equal-weight severity indices confirmed the same critical braking profile within each vehicle group. All cases remained below the selected thermal and mechanical limits.