Bead pattern design for car body structures using topography optimisation

ATA 2001 - The role of experimentation in the automotive product development process
Florenz, 23. - 25. Mai 2001

Dipl.-Ing. D. Schwarz (ika, Aachen)
Dr.-Ing. L. Patberg (fka, Aachen)

Abstract:

At first the priority tasks of beads in sheets will be described in this paper. Different design regulations for the positioning of beads in structural sheet metal parts will be explained. Afterwards the basic methods for designing bead patterns using topography optimisation are shown. The field of application and the limits of the optimisation of the topography, using the commercial optimisation software OptiStruct®, will be discussed. In this context, a bead pattern optimisation of a simplified un-beaded body platform is shown. According to the main criteria as bending stiffness, torsional stiffness and eigenfrequency, several single optimisations have been performed, to get an optimised bead pattern design. The improvements, which have been achieved by the optimisation, are listed in tables. After that, an optimisation with combined static and dynamic objectives has been performed. The result of this optimisation has been converted to a manufacturable bead pattern design. Finally, the static and dynamic properties of the body platform with the optimised bead pattern design have been evaluated.




Figure 1: Topology optimisation for a floor panel