Topology Analysis and Structural Optimization of Air Suspension Mechanical-Vibration-Reduction Wheels

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper designs an air suspension vibration reduction wheel for mining vehicles. Using Workbench finite element analysis software, topology analysis and structural optimization of the inner and outer rims were performed. Various improved designs were compared and verified, with the best one assembled for final analysis. The optimized wheel meets load-bearing requirements, is lighter, and has ideal topology analysis results.

The research was meaningful and enriching, but there are still some minor issues that need to be improved.

 

1. The introduction of the paper lacks sufficient background information and context regarding the study. It would benefit from a more detailed discussion of the background and significance of the study, including a review of related research work in the field of air suspension systems, vibration reduction technologies, and their applications in mining engineering vehicles.

2. The language of the article is not well-organized and contains several instances of unprofessional terminology (e.g., "grid division"," "cells", "raw data," and "stress broken line"). It is recommended that the article be revised by a native English speaker with a professional background to enhance the technical accuracy and overall readability.

3. As a research article, theoretical concepts and principles related to air suspension systems, vibration reduction, topological analysis, and finite element analysis should be discussed.

4. The analysis and discussion of the optimization results should preferably be based on finite element analysis.

5. The authors state on pages 335-337 of 12 that "From the previous results, it can also be found that the maximum stress of the wheel is concentrated in the connection between the pneumatic spring and the transverse brake and the outer rim", but I can't come to that conclusion.

6. The effectiveness of the optimization is not clearly represented in the article, and the structure should be analyzed before and after optimization separately. The effectiveness of the optimization should be illustrated by the rate of change of mass, displacement and stress.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English is fine.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/ supplement in the re-submitted files.

Comments 1: The introduction of the paper lacks sufficient background information and context regarding the study. It would benefit from a more detailed discussion of the background and significance of the study, including a review of related research work in the field of air suspension systems, vibration reduction technologies, and their applications in mining engineering vehicles.

Response 1: This article mainly focuses on the topology analysis and structural optimization of the inner and outer rims of wheel. In the Introduction part, the research status of topology optimization is also discussed. Therefore, the air suspension system, vibration reduction technology and their application in mining engineering vehicles are not the focus of discussion in this article, and the topology optimization is further discussed in detail in the article.

Comments 2: The language of the article is not well-organized and contains several instances of unprofessional terminology (e.g., "grid division"," "cells", "raw data," and "stress broken line"). It is recommended that the article be revised by a native English speaker with a professional background to enhance the technical accuracy and overall readability.

Response 2: In this article, grid has been changed to mesh, cells to elements, Raw data to Original data, broken line to trend line.

Comments 3: As a research article, theoretical concepts and principles related to air suspension systems, vibration reduction, topological analysis, and finite element analysis should be discussed.

Response 3: This article only studies the topology analysis and structural optimization of the inner and outer rims of wheel, so the air suspension system and vibration reduction that are not related to this article are not discussed, and the concept and principle of topology analysis are discussed in the new section 2.2.

Comments 4: The analysis and discussion of the optimization results should preferably be based on finite element analysis.

Response 4: The analysis and discussion in this article are carried out by comparing the numerical results of finite element analysis of various states of inner and outer rims.

Comments 5: The authors state on pages 335-337 of 12 that "From the previous results, it can also be found that the maximum stress of the wheel is concentrated in the connection between the pneumatic spring and the transverse brake and the outer rim", but I can't come to that conclusion.

Response 5: I'm very sorry, this is caused by my unclear expression. This conclusion is based on my previous static analysis of the whole wheel, and is not included in this topology optimization part. It is only mentioned here to express that the optimization result of the inner rim has little influence on the stress result of the whole wheel. In this article, it has been changed to” From my early static analysis of the whole wheel, it can also be found that the maximum stress of the wheel is concentrated in the connection between the pneumatic spring and the transverse brake and the outer rim (this article does not reflect this conclusion, but only plays an emphasis role)”.

Comments 6: The effectiveness of the optimization is not clearly represented in the article, and the structure should be analyzed before and after optimization separately. The effectiveness of the optimization should be illustrated by the rate of change of mass, displacement and stress.

Response 6: Figures 12 and 15 in this article respectively show the changing trends of weight, deformation and stress of inner and outer rims under different optimization conditions. In this article, the static analysis results and modal analysis results of inner and outer rims before and after optimization are comprehensively analyzed, and a number of characteristic change data (figures and tables in Chapter 4) are compared, then the optimization results that meet the requirements can be obtained.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article analyzes a wheel designed to reduce mechanical vibrations for a mining machine. The wheel consists of the main elements: the outer rim, the inner rim, the non-pneumatic tire cover, the air springs and the lateral brakes. The authors performed a static analysis and a modal analysis using the finite element method. Two elements with the highest mass were selected for the topology analysis: the outer and inner rims. The structure was optimized using an iterative method under certain constraints. It was proposed to reduce the thickness of the inner rim in places away from the mounting points of air springs and transverse brakes and to introduce a reinforcing ring. It was proposed to optimize the outer rim by making a number of relief holes in it in places away from the mounting points of the air springs and transverse brakes. The final part of the article presents the results of calculations of static displacements and stresses in the complete circle. These calculations confirmed the correctness of the structure with a significant reduction in its weight.

Interesting work, with implementation possibilities.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/ supplement in the re-submitted files.

Comments 1: The article analyzes a wheel designed to reduce mechanical vibrations for a mining machine. The wheel consists of the main elements: the outer rim, the inner rim, the non-pneumatic tire cover, the air springs and the lateral brakes. The authors performed a static analysis and a modal analysis using the finite element method. Two elements with the highest mass were selected for the topology analysis: the outer and inner rims. The structure was optimized using an iterative method under certain constraints. It was proposed to reduce the thickness of the inner rim in places away from the mounting points of air springs and transverse brakes and to introduce a reinforcing ring. It was proposed to optimize the outer rim by making a number of relief holes in it in places away from the mounting points of the air springs and transverse brakes. The final part of the article presents the results of calculations of static displacements and stresses in the complete circle. These calculations confirmed the correctness of the structure with a significant reduction in its weight.

Response 1: This article has made a more detailed supplementary description for the Introduction part, mainly explaining the advantages and significance of wheel lightweight and the research status of topology optimization analysis.

Because the inner and outer rims of this wheel are optimized based on the topological analysis result 2 in this article, and it has been mentioned in this article that the optimization schemes of the inner and outer rims are not unique, this article only chooses one scheme to complete the optimization work. Regarding your valuable optimization suggestions, I will continue to carry them out in the later research work. Thank you for your suggestions and providing me with more optimization schemes.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Your article has great potential, but it is necessary to deepen the connection with relevant sources and expand the introduction. Some researchers have already published articles on similar topics, such as "Topology Optimization of the Clutch Lever," "Rocket Arm," "Scooter Frame," "Bell Crank," "Transtibial Prosthesis Bed Stump," and "Cantilever Bending Beam." Additionally, some have delved deeper into the issues of numerical modeling in topology optimization. It is also essential to better justify the use of holes in the optimized part. Lastly, I wish you much success in your further work.

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions/corrections highlighted/ supplement in the re-submitted files.

Comments 1: Your article has great potential, but it is necessary to deepen the connection with relevant sources and expand the introduction. Some researchers have already published articles on similar topics, such as "Topology Optimization of the Clutch Lever," "Rocket Arm," "Scooter Frame," "Bell Crank," "Transtibial Prosthesis Bed Stump," and "Cantilever Bending Beam." Additionally, some have delved deeper into the issues of numerical modeling in topology optimization. It is also essential to better justify the use of holes in the optimized part. Lastly, I wish you much success in your further work.

Response 1: In this article, the Introduction part has been described in more detail, especially for the advantages and significance of wheel lightweight and the development status of wheel topology optimization, and several references have been summarized in more detail.

The concept and principle of topology analysis are discussed in the new section 2.2, and the mathematical modeling formula of topology analysis is added.