FE analysis of refrigerator drop test and the optimization of lower hinge geometry using equivalent static load method

Abstract

To accurately predict deformations caused by an impact when a refrigerator is dropped during transport, the material model should consider the strain rates in the lower half of the refrigerator (particularly its hinges and cushions). However, dynamic finite element (FE) analysis is computationally expensive, especially when optimization schemes to minimize deformations are operated. This study reveals that, by applying the equivalent static load method, it is possible, with only one FE analysis, to obtain the load distribution that can be obtained via dynamic analysis. Based on the equivalent static load method, an optimization method is established and used to minimize hinge deformations. Comparing the results obtained by using the proposed method with the actual drop test results, we observe that the minimum hinge deformations are similar. This indicates that, by applying this FE-based optimization approach, computational costs can be reduced drastically.