Advanced structure methodologies for next-generation ground vehicles. Part 2: Case study

Abstract

In the first paper of this two-part study, basic theories were introduced for several new methodologies developed in the Automotive Research Center (a US Army TACOM Center of Excellence for Modelling and Simulation of Ground Vehicles at the University of Michigan) for the simulation and design of advanced structures and materials for next-generation ground vehicles. These new methodologies include: (1) an advanced topology optimisation technique for innovative conceptual design of vehicle structures and materials; (2) a systematic design optimisation process with efficient analysis and sensitivity analysis capabilities for detailed design modifications to improve the vibration and noise characteristics of a complex vehicle structure; (3) a reduced-order modelling technique that can be used to systematically generate low-order models for the prediction of vehicle vibration, power flow, and the effects of parameter uncertainties; and (4) an efficient and accurate energy boundary element analysis method for high-frequency noise analysis outside the vehicle. In this second paper, an extensive case study is presented to demonstrate how the methodologies presented in the first paper can be applied to a vehicle system. A pick-up truck equipped with an advanced hybrid propulsion system is considered in this paper, and various example design and prediction problems are discussed, which provide proof-of-concept for the methodologies developed.