Structural Optimization for Roof Crush Test Using an Enforced Displacement Method

Abstract

A roof crush test has been utilized to reduce passengers’ injuries from a vehicle rollover. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 216 and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) perform actual vehicle tests and evaluate the vehicle’s ratings. Nonlinear dynamic response structural optimization can be employed not only for achievement of a high rating but also minimization of the weight. However, the technique needs a huge computation time and cost because many nonlinear dynamic response analyses are required in the time domain. A novel method is proposed for nonlinear dynamic response structural optimization regarding the roof crush test. The process of the proposed method repeats the analysis domain and the design domain until the convergence criteria are satisfied. In the analysis domain, the roof crush test is simulated using a high fidelity model of nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis. In the design domain, a low fidelity model of linear static response structural optimization is utilized with enforced displacements that come from the analysis domain. Correction factors are employed to compensate the differences between a nonlinear dynamic analysis response and a linear static analysis response with enforced displacement. A full-scale vehicle problem is optimized with a constraint on the rigid wall force from the analysis in the design domain.