Joining Techniques Like Welding in Lightweight Material Structures

In order to take more stringent measures in fuel economy and achieve the determined performance targets, the automotive industry needs to reduce the weight of the vehicles it produces. For this reason, all automobile manufacturers have determined their own strategies. Some manufacturers use lighter aluminum, magnesium, and composite components in their cars. In this study, the joining techniques of lightweight materials such as welding and the processes of their industrial use have been examined. There is currently no single technology that can combine all metallic panels in a car body structure. However, it is known that various joining technologies are used together. With the potential to combine certain combinations of steel and aluminum, manufacturers and scientists continue to work to identify technologies with the highest potential for lightweight joining and put them into use in high-volume automobile production. Therefore, it is important to examine the weldability of light materials such as magnesium, titanium, and aluminum.

Lightweight design of car body mechanism based on fatigue life

In order to reduce the fatigue life of the car body caused by the dead weight of the car body, a lightweight design of the car body mechanism based on the fatigue life is proposed. The modal analysis of the car body is carried out by establishing the finite element model of the car body. According to the generated modal neutral file, a rigid-flexible coupling multi-body dynamic model is established, which enables the comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the fatigue life of the car body. According to the analysis results, the topological optimization theory is adopted, and the constraint conditions are established based on the static stiffness characteristics of the car body. Specific design schemes are put forward from two aspects of bending stiffness and torsional stiffness, and these two variables are limited to obtain the optimal value of the car body structure and realize the lightweight of the car body. The test results show that the proposed method can reduce the weight of car body structure, and the variation range of torsional stiffness and bending stiffness is within 5%, which can improve the fatigue life of car body. It shows that the proposed method has certain reference value for lightweight design of side body.

Finite Element Modelling and Simulation of Train Car Body Structure Using LS-Dyna®

This article emphasizes on finite element modeling and simulation of train car body structure in order to ensure a crashworthy structure. Crashworthiness is a principal parameter to be considered to be taken into account in case of design of train car body structure. The present paper deals with the development of virtual prototype with energy absorption capabilities. The train car body structure with trapezoidal core has been modeled using SOLIDWORKS® software. The entire crash simulation in the present study was done by using LS-Dyna® Explicit finite element software. The crash analysis of train car body over a rigid concrete wall was numerically simulated at three different speeds viz. 60 km/hr, 90 km/hr, 120 km/hr. In every crash analysis, the stress plot and history of deformation from the developed virtual prototype. The simulation of the rail vehicle collision presented in this article is based upon the standard specified in crashworthy section of Technical Standards of interoperability. The dynamic numerical simulation of two train car bodies with equal velocities has also performed using LS-Dyna®.