A Research on the Forward Concept Design of Car Body for Frontal Crash.

A procedure of forward concept design of car body for frontal crash is proposed. First of all, topology optimization is conducted on the original styling surface of a car to get a better topology structure, with its effectiveness quickly verified by a simplified beam element model built. Then size optimization is performed for quasi-static loading conditions, and the initial dimensions of the main components of car body are obtained as the basis of frontal crash simulation. Finally, with a rectangular thin-walled straight beam as the objective of study, crashworthiness concept design for frontal impact is carried out with an equivalent beam element model. As a result, the preliminary dimension of car body is determined as the base of detailed structural design. The results show that the procedure is feasible and easy to implement, being able to lay a foundation for car body to achieve all expected performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]