Optimization of shock response within a military vehicle space frame

Abstract

Space frames are usually used to enhance the structural strength of a vehicle while reducing its overall weight. The space frame of a military vehicle is subjected to significantly different loading than what is experienced in civilian vehicles, such as projectile impact or mine blast. In this work, a finite element (FE) model for the upper half of an armored vehicle with internal space frame is developed. The behavior of the vehicle is studied when subjected to a high impact load that simulates a projectile impact. The objective of this work is to minimize shocks at identified critical locations on the space frame while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the vehicle. Several variables that can affect shock propagation are identified including, the cross-sectional parameters of the internal space frame and outer armor. The optimization problem is solved using the Successive Heuristic Quadratic Approximation (SHQA) technique, which combines successive quadratic approximation with an adaptive random search while varying the bounds of the search space. The entire optimization process is carried out within the MATLAB environment. The results show that a significant reduction in the shock can be achieved using this approach.