Structure-material integrated multi-objective lightweight design of the front end structure of automobile body

This study deals with the multi-objective lightweight optimization of the front end structure of an automobile body, as the main assembly to withstand impact force and protect occupants from injuries in frontal collision, based on entropy-based grey relational analysis (EGRA). First, basic noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) models of the automobile body and crashworthiness models of the vehicle are established and then validated by corresponding actual experiments; hence the lightweight controlling quotas are extracted. Next, the contribution analysis method determines the final parts for lightweight optimization, for which both continuous thickness variables and discrete material variables are simultaneously taken into account. Subsequently, design of experiment (DoE) using the optimal Latin hypercube sampling (OLHS) method is carried out, considering the total mass and the torsional stiffness of the automobile body, the maximum intrusion deformation on the firewall, the maximum impact acceleration at lower end of the B-pillar, and the total material cost of the selected optimization parts as five competing optimization objectives. After that, the optimal combination of thickness and material parameters of the optimization parts is determined using EGRA and confirmed by technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Finally, a comparison between the original design and the post-lightweight design, namely the optimized design, further confirms the effectiveness of the lightweight optimization. According to the outcomes, the automobile body is lightweight optimized with a mass decrease of 4.98 kg on the basis of well guaranteeing other relevant mechanical performance. Accordingly, the EGRA could be well employed to the multi-objective lightweight optimization of the automobile body.

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Study on application of MSOT method for lightweight design of automobile body structure

Advances in Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.1177/1687814020965049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 168781402096504

Author(s):

Li Jixiong ◽

Wang Daoyong

Keyword(s):

Weight Reduction ◽

Lightweight Design ◽

The Body ◽

Body Structure ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Pareto Solution ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Automobile Body ◽

Collision Safety ◽

Side Collision

In this study, the integrated MSOT (M-Multi-dimensional factor autobody model, S-Screening autobody component, O-Optimization of plate thickness, T-Testing, and validation) integration method is adopted to optimize the automobile body structure design for weight reduction. First, a multi-dimensional factor body model is established, then components of the vehicle are screened for the most important targets related to weight reduction and performance, and a multi-objective optimization is performed. Virtual experiments were carried out to validate the analysis and the MSOT method were proposed for lightweight design of the automobile body structure. A multi-dimensional performance model that considers stiffness, modality, strength, frontal offset collision, and side collision of a domestic passenger car body structure. Components affecting the weight of the vehicle were identified. Sheet metal thickness was selected as the main optimization target and a multi-objective optimization was carried out. Finally, simulations were performed on the body structure. The comprehensive performance, in terms of fatigue strength, frontal offset collision safety, and side collision safety, was verified using the optimized Pareto solution set. The results show that the established MSOT method can be used to comprehensively explore the weight reduction of the body structure, shorten the development process, and reduce development costs.

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Multi-Objective Lightweight Optimization of Parameterized Suspension Components Based on NSGA-II Algorithm Coupling with Surrogate Model

Machines ◽

10.3390/machines9060107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 107

Author(s):

Rongchao Jiang ◽

Zhenchao Jin ◽

Dawei Liu ◽

Dengfeng Wang

Keyword(s):

Ride Comfort ◽

Lightweight Design ◽

Dynamic Performance ◽

Vehicle Dynamic ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Original Design ◽

Dynamic Simulations ◽

Nsga Ii ◽

Torsion Beam ◽

Multi Objective

In order to reduce the negative effect of lightweighting of suspension components on vehicle dynamic performance, the control arm and torsion beam widely used in front and rear suspensions were taken as research objects for studying the lightweight design method of suspension components. Mesh morphing technology was employed to define design variables. Meanwhile, the rigid–flexible coupling vehicle model with flexible control arm and torsion beam was built for vehicle dynamic simulations. The total weight of control arm and torsion beam was taken as optimization objective, as well as ride comfort and handling stability performance indexes. In addition, the fatigue life, stiffness, and modal frequency of control arm and torsion beam were taken as the constraints. Then, Kriging model and NSGA-II were adopted to perform the multi-objective optimization of control arm and torsion beam for determining the lightweight scheme. By comparing the optimized and original design, it indicates that the weight of the optimized control arm and torsion beam are reduced 0.505 kg and 1.189 kg, respectively, while structural performance and vehicle performance satisfy the design requirement. The proposed multi-objective optimization method achieves a remarkable mass reduction, and proves to be feasible and effective for lightweight design of suspension components.

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Multi-objective Lightweight Design for the Forearm of a Palletizing Robot

10.1007/978-3-030-89092-6_28 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 302-315

Author(s):

Ying He ◽

Han Gao ◽

Chao Ma ◽

Yihui Xiao ◽

Dan Wang

Keyword(s):

Lightweight Design ◽

Multi Objective

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Lightweight Design of a Brake Caliper

Volume 1: 15th International Conference on Advanced Vehicle Technologies; 10th International Conference on Design Education; 7th International Conference on Micro- and Nanosystems ◽

10.1115/detc2013-12431 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Federico Maria Ballo ◽

Massimiliano Gobbi ◽

Giampiero Mastinu ◽

Amir Pishdad

Keyword(s):

Cross Sections ◽

Lightweight Design ◽

Optimal Solution ◽

Element Model ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Structural Topology ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Beam Elements ◽

Starting Point

As lightweight design assumes greater importance in road vehicles development, the present paper is mainly devoted to the structural optimization of a brake caliper. In the first part of the study a simplified finite element model based on beam elements of a brake caliper has been developed and validated. By using the developed model, a multi-objective optimization has been completed. The total mass of the caliper and the deformations at some critical locations have been minimised. The considered design variables are related to the shape of the caliper and the cross sections of the beam elements. The obtained optimal solutions are characterized by an asymmetric shape of the caliper. Optimised symmetric shapes currently used have been compared with the asymmetric ones in terms of performance. In the second part of the study, a detailed analysis on the optimal caliper shape has been carried out by performing a structural topology optimization. The minimum compliance problem has been solved using the SIMP (solid isotropic material with penalization) approach and the optimal solution has been compared with the ones obtained by applying the multi-objective optimization on the simplified model (beam elements). The obtained design solutions represent a good starting point for future developments in actual industrial applications.

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Lightweight Design and Multi-Objective Optimization for a Lower Control Arm Considering Multi-Disciplinary Constraint Condition

10.4271/2019-01-0822 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jing Chen ◽

Zhen Liu ◽

Shuming Chen ◽

Bo Peng ◽

Aotian Tang

Keyword(s):

Lightweight Design ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Constraint Condition ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Lower Control Arm

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A Hybrid Multi-Objective Optimization Method Based on NSGA-II Algorithm and Entropy Weighted TOPSIS for Lightweight Design of Dump Truck Carriage

Machines ◽

10.3390/machines9080156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 156

Author(s):

Rongchao Jiang ◽

Shukun Ci ◽

Dawei Liu ◽

Xiaodong Cheng ◽

Zhenkuan Pan

Keyword(s):

Optimal Design ◽

Lightweight Design ◽

Dump Truck ◽

Strength Analysis ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Pareto Solutions ◽

Entropy Weight ◽

Nsga Ii ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Entropy Weighted

The lightweight design of vehicle components is regarded as a complex optimization problem, which usually needs to achieve two or more optimization objectives. It can be firstly solved by a multi-objective optimization algorithm for generating Pareto solutions, before then seeking the optimal design. However, it is difficult to determine the optimal design for lack of engineering knowledge about ideal and nadir values. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimization procedure combined with the NSGA-II algorithm with entropy weighted TOPSIS for the lightweight design of the dump truck carriage. The finite element model of the dump truck carriage was firstly developed for modal analysis under unconstrained free state and strength analysis under the full load and lifting conditions. On this basis, the multi-objective lightweight optimization of the dump truck carriage was carried out based on the Kriging surrogate model and the NSGA-II algorithm. Then, the entropy weight TOPSIS method was employed to select the optimal design of the dump truck from Pareto solutions. The results show that the optimized dump truck carriage achieves a remarkable mass reduction of 81 kg, as much as 3.7%, while its first-order natural frequency and strength performance are slightly improved compared with the original model. Accordingly, the proposed procedure provides an effective way for vehicle lightweight design.

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