Multilevel vehicle–dummy design optimization for mass and injury criteria minimization

Abstract

A vehicle–dummy multidisciplinary design optimization problem is treated as a multilevel system composed of structural and occupant restraint system design elements. The vehicle-based responses and the dummy-based responses are obtained from nonlinear transient dynamic finite element simulations of full frontal impacts and side impacts. The wall thicknesses of a set of energy-absorbing components together with the occupant restraint system control parameters associated with the seat belt and the airbag are treated as design variables and used to optimize the multilevel system to minimize both the structural mass and the selected injury criteria. Each element optimization problem is modeled using the augmented Lagrangian with exponential penalty function formulation. A single-loop coordination strategy is used to solve the multilevel optimization problem. To maximize the computational efficiency, surrogate models are used to approximate the vehicle-based responses and the dummy-based responses. The results of the vehicle–dummy design problem are used to examine the computational efficiency and the accuracy of the decomposed multilevel optimization methodology.

Crashworthy structures for future vehicle architecture of autonomous pods and heavy quadricycles on public roads: A review

“…The optimization succeeded by ascertaining a 14.2% reduction in vehicle component mass and an 11% reduction in occupant injury. 69…”

“…Similarly, a surrogate model-based optimization had been conducted by Ganikota et al 69 However, this optimization aimed to reduce the injury severity of the occupant as well as reducing the mass of the vehicle. These are very important parameters for L7e vehicles and pods alike.…”

A Comparative Study of Non-traditional Methods for Vehicle Crashworthiness and NVH Optimization

“…Besides safety, Noise-Vibration-Harshness (NVH) attribute is needed to be included in the vehicle structure design [2,[6][7][8][41][42][43][44]. Improving the NVH characteristics enhances the ride quality experienced by the occupants.…”

“…In this study, three fundamental frequencies in bending, torsion, and combined bending-torsion are taken into account as the vibration responses. To evaluate these three mode frequencies, Body-In-White (BIW) model of Dodge Neon was developed for vibration analysis by MSC NASTRAN by Kiani co-authors [2,[6][7][8]42], Fig. 6.…”

“…Genetic Algorithm (GA) [2], Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) [3], Simulated Annealing [4], and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) [5] are the typical algorithms that are used for searching the global optimum point. Besides the global optimization algorithms, local optimization algorithms such as Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) have been used by some automotive researchers to design car body structures [6][7][8]. Unlike global search algorithms, local search algorithms converge fast but may get stuck in local minima.…”