A substructure method is presented for reducing the weight of vehicles by means of creating optimum component structural topologies. The methodology developed is based on a double iterative computational scheme which includes both outer structural analysis and inner design optimization loops. The outer loop is concerned with the estimation of the displacement field of the full vehicle by performing a finite-element analysis. The target panel is then removed and treated as an independent structure with predetermined displacements. Our objective is therefore the maximization of the substructure's stiffness for a given reduction in volume. The concept of optimal material distribution is based on homogenization of a unit microstructure and sequential linear programming is used to perform the optimization task. Following convergence of the inner design loop, the optimized panel is placed back in the vehicle model and the iteration process continues. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by analyzing a simple automobile structure and performing topology optimization of the floor panel under bending and torsional loading for a desired reduction in volume. The results are interpreted and the potential of the method is then discussed.
A substructure method incorporating homogenization for finding optimum vehicle body panel topologies
Die Homogenisierung einschließendes Unterstrukturverfahren für die Erzielung der optimalen Topologie von Karosserieblechen
1995
7 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 17 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English