Simulation Driven Car Body Development Using Property Based Models 2001-01-3046

A method for the development of car bodies, from conceptual to detailed design, is presented. The conceptual design is broken down to a numerical property-based model (PBM) representing the mechanical behavior of the concept. In the PBM, the local properties are balanced to fulfil the global stiffness requirements. The main topology is defined and the structural components i.e. joints, beams and sheets are connected in predefined nodes and represented in a finite element (FE) model as super elements, beam elements and thin shell elements. In the realisation of the car structure, the performance of the PBM components are used as requirements in the detailed design. Different technologies, materials and manufacturing processes can be considered as long as the properties of the component agree with the ones stated by the PBM. The detailed design of each component is made by design engineers, supported by single purpose tools. The design engineers iterate the design until only a small difference between target and component performance exists.