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In passenger cars, exterior damage due to external objects is a common and repetitive problem for the costumer. A vehicle running over an unpaved or granular road undergoes such damages where the tyre picks up stones (Figure 1) [1] and ejects them towards the vehicle exterior surfaces. These stones cause mechanical damage to the vehicle: affecting aesthetics, accelerating corrosion, and reducing safety. This mechanical damage is more severe in case of electrical vehicles as batteries are placed at the underside of the vehicle. Figure 2 [2] shows an example damaged caused by stone chipping. Induced erosion due to chipping cause corrosion propagation on the peeled surface, Figure 2 shows an example of such corrosion. So far, physical testing and analytical mathematical methods are the most common ways to evaluate damages. However, there is a need of computationally inexpensive, repeatable, and accurate method, which can account for the complex system.

The automotive world is progressing fast towards autonomous vehicles making sensors one of the critical components. There is a requirement for constant exchange of information between the vehicle and its surrounding environment, which is assisted by sensors such as Camera, LiDAR, and RADAR. However, exposure to harsh environmental conditions such as rain, dirt, snow, and bird droppings can hamper the functioning of the sensors and in turn interrupt accurate vehicle maneuvers. Sensor-cleaning mechanisms are required to be tested under various weather conditions and vehicle operating situations. Besides wind tunnel tests, digitalizing this whole process becomes important to take decision on design changes in early vehicle development stage. This work presents a digital methodology to test the LiDAR cleaning system in the advent of mud clearing at different vehicle speeds. The cleaning mechanism consists of a telescopic nozzle placed above the LiDAR translating back and forth.

The emergence of metal forming simulation tools provides an excellent opportunity for forming engineers to analyze an existing or proposed design without having to experience the long and costly lead times associated with the traditional build and test process. Furthermore, this added flexibility allows the engineer to compare several different designs and select one based on some strategic criteria rather than simply selecting the first design that appears to meet the functional requirements of the part. This paper presents a study in which three different tool designs for a common automobile component are analyzed using metal forming simulation. Specific pre and post processing methods were developed to select the best design based on a specific design criteria. The results of the analysis and a discussion of future trends in metal forming simulation are presented.