Multidisciplinary System Analysis Design Optimization

A triathlon is one of the few sports that depends on the quality and performance of a device to achieve optimal performance in a competition. The USA Triathlon Association (USAT) has registered more than 200,000 athletes with an annual membership (USAT, 2015), which represents around 35% of the total athletes present in the USAT events each year, this number keeps growing due to this sport is also taken as a personal challenge not just as a lifestyle.

The number of athletes for one-day registration for competition in the USAT goes from 299,030 (USAT, 2015) until 371,988 (USAT, 2011), from 2010 through 2015 demographic registration. The cost for a triathlon bicycle could be from 2000 USD until 15000 USD, where the main differences are weight, frame shape, material, and aerodynamic properties that also have to be within the USAT rules.

The triathlon bicycles that are currently in the market have an average weight of 8 kg (17.5 kg), where the frame represents an average of 1.36 kg (3 lb.) and the primary materials used for bicycle frames are AISI 1060 High Carbon Steel, ASTM A182 Chromoly Steel, Aluminum 6061-T4, Titanium, and Carbon Fiber.

This article analyses the stresses, moments and torques present in an over-constrained frame system and optimizes the design of a customized bicycle frame for triathlon competition using Matlab optimization toolbox to obtain the optimal geometry configuration and material selection and SolidWorks to analyze the integrity of the frame based on the Matlab results. Final Report.