Use of FEA Concept Models to Develop Light-Truck Cab Architectures with Reduced Weight and Enhanced NVH Characteristics

Modeling Abstractions of Vehicle Suspension Systems Supporting the Rigid Body Analysis

“…Because of its simplicity and efficiency, the concept model has been extensively applied in vehicle design and analysis. Prater et al successfully developed methodology of concept modeling for vehicle structure and applied it for vehicle architecture assessment and optimization [1,2]. In the developed concept models, beam elements are used to model the components whose lengths significantly greater than the cross sectional area and subject to axial, bending, and torsion loads, such as pillars, rails, etc.…”

A study of the effect of elastic instability on stiffness-based gauge sensitivity indices for vehicle body structure assessment

“…Edmans [2] and Mariano et al [3] mention the unsuitability of aluminum autobody architectures for high volume production. The availability of high-strength steel (HSS) with yield strengths of 275 MPa or greater [4][5][6], as well as an array of new manufacturing technologies (e.g. laser welding technology [7], hydroforming [8], and tailor-welded blanks [9]) are being adopted by the automotive industry, giving designers the option of incorporating more thin-walled components in their vehicles.…”

Experimental Validation of Structural Gage Sensitivity Indices for Vehicle Body Structure Optimization

“…Among the strategies employed are material substitution, 1,2 vehicle architecture refinement, 3 and manufacturing process improvement 4 . One of the most successful approaches has proven to be thickness or “gage” optimization of the thin‐walled components that make up the majority of a vehicle’s primary structure 5,6 …”

“…4 One of the most successful approaches has proven to be thickness or ''gage'' optimization of the thin-walled components that make up the majority of a vehicle's primary structure. 5,6 We have developed a family of gage sensitivity indices that provide quantitative measures of the BIW structural performance as a function of component thickness. 7 These indices permit estimation of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) parameter changes (stiffnesses, fundamental natural frequencies, and modes) in response to material substitutions or same material gage changes.…”