Topology and Classical Shape Optimization of a Lower Control Arm: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper addresses the design of a lower control arm of a sport utility vehicle. Four worst load cases were identified and for each of them the forces and moments at each of the three ends of the arm were obtained as input. There was also some space constraint within which the arm had to be designed. A finite-element based methodology is presented here to design a lower control arm. First Topology optimization is applied to get an overall approximate shape within the design space. This process is similar to finding out a load path for the structure to withstand the loads. This shape is then sized to withstand all the loads using classical shape optimization techniques. Shape vectors, which are the most important inputs for shape optimization, are generated for the different regions of the control arm. This case study illustrates the complete process of topology and shape optimizations to get a final design of the lower control arm.