Search Results

In automobiles, there are various multiphysics (specifically fluid structure interaction) events taking place which are very important from vehicle operations. Examples are - oil splashing in engine, water spraying on the windscreen, fuel sloshing in a tank etc. The simulation of such events becomes important in the design stage in order to study their proper functioning before the prototypes are made. This paper enlightens the systematic procedures developed for the simulation of such events using coupled Euler-Lagrangian method available in commercial finite element explicit codes. These simulations are very time consuming because of very small time steps and very large cycle time. To overcome this problem an attempt is made to use rigid bodies and a low bulk modulus fluid to speed up the simulation exponentially. These quick simulations can be used for early design iterations and final designs can be revalidated with flexible bodies and correct bulk modulus.

Spot weld connections are used extensively in the automotive industry to join panels of automotive structures. Spot weld connections play a very vital role in the overall structural rigidity and integrity of the Body in White. The spot weld connections and layout have direct impact on functionability of automotive structure and capital investment for robots, guns and operators. There is continuous pressure on automotive engineers to reduce the number of spot weld connections in a structure without compromising on the structural performance across various disciplines such as crash, NVH & durability. Hence the need is felt to develop a generic and systematic CAE simulation procedure which will guide the designer towards arriving at an optimum design, with minimum number of spot weld connections, which meet all the performance requirements of the structure.