Development of a Finite Element Model for the study of the contact between a cam and a roller applied in a real conjugated cam mechanism.

Abstract

At the Ecole des Mines de Douai, the internships in companies are an important part of the students' schooling. Students have to do an internship in the company of their choice at the end of each year in order to get experience in a professional context. For the last six months, I have done my last internship (Final Year Project) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (ETSEIB) where I have been working in the scope of a Thesis realized by PhD candidate, Pau Català Calderón. The main subject of my work has been to develop a Finite Element Model to study the contact between the cam and the roller applied in a real conjugated cam mechanism. In order to realize the study, firstly a CAD model has been realized. The results obtained with the FEM models agree with the analytical results obtained via the Hertz Contact Theory. Also an additional study that compares two different types of rollers in case of a misalignment between the axis of rotation of the cam and the roller has been realized. I had to get familiar with new concepts, such as cam mechanism, the Hertz Theory and finite element method (FEM). Most of all, I had to learn to use the FEM software ANSYS v13 which has been in the center of my work here. Globally, this internship has confronted me to a research position, which has been very interesting. Besides, this internship has been for me the occasion to discover a new city and its culture, Barcelona. It was for me the first time living abroad, and it has been for sure a great experience.