Multi-Discipline gauge Optimization of Automobile BIW

Brahmendra S Dasaka
Senior Engineer: CAE - Body & Exteriors General Motors Technical Center- India

$othilingam Chennia%%an
Group Leader: CAE - Body & Exteriors General Motors Technical Center- India

2nd Floor, Creator building, International Tech Park Ltd, Bangalore 5 ! ! brahmendra"dasaka#gm"com

2nd Floor, Creator building, International Tech Park Ltd, Bangalore 5 ! ! &othilingam"chennia%%an#gm"com

'bbre(iations) *D+ *ulti disci%line o%timi,ation, BI-. Bod/ in -hite" 0e/1ords) *ulti disci%line o%timi,ation, 2auge o%timi,ation, Discrete o%timi,ation, Torsional sti33ness, *odal %er3ormance

A stract:

The need 3or more 3uel e33icient and cost e33ecti(e cars has gro1n ra%idl/ in the %resent da/ automoti(e market" This has

intern ga(e rise to more e33ecti(e use o3 materials 3or the automoti(e %arts 1hich can reduce the mass o3 the (ehicle at the same time enhance the %er3ormance" This %a%er e4%lains the use o3 the o%timi,ation techni5ues 3or multi.disci%line gauge o%timi,ation o3 %assenger car BI- 6Bod/ in -hite7" *ost mass contributing and load bearing %anels 1ere considered 3or the gauge o%timi,ation" The thicknesses o3 these %anels 1ere considered as the design (ariables and the sti33ness and 3re5uenc/ %er3ormances o3 BI- 1ere considered as the design constraints" The %ractical thicknesses 3or the gauges 1ere gi(en as discrete (alues 1hich can be readil/ a(ailable" This stud/ 1as carried out in +%tistruct 1ith its o%timi,ation ca%abilities and the results 1ere com%ared 1ith that o3 8astran" The sco%e o3 this anal/sis is limited to the load cases mentioned earlier"

999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
!"# M$% Introduction: *ulti disci%line o%timi,ation can be de3ined as :+%timal design o3 com%le4 engineering s/stems 1hich re5uires anal/sis that accounts 3or interactions amongst the disci%lines 6or %arts o3 the s/stem7 and 1hich seeks to s/nergisticall/ e4%loit these interactions;" The general o%timi,ation %roblem can be modeled mathematicall/ as, Find 6<7 Sub&ect to g)&* + #' h)&* , # &' That, *inimi,es ()&*

'nd,

&l + & + &u

-here ( is an ob&ecti(e, & is a (ector o3 design (ariables, g is a (ector o3 ine5ualit/ constraints, h is a (ector o3 e5ualit/ constraints, and &l and &u are (ectors o3 lo1er and u%%er bounds on the design (ariables" 'n/ engineering s/stem needs to satis3/ the re5uirements o3 one or more disci%lines" For e4am%le, an engine air intake mani3old design has to satis3/ thermo.mechanical anal/sis, modal anal/sis, acoustic anal/sis and also other re5uirements like cost, %rocess, CFD, etc" =ach indi(idual disci%line gi(es an o%timi,ation solution 1hich ma/ or ma/ not be o%timal o(erall" It re5uires a lot o3 iterations to com%lete the o(erall o%timi,ation i3 a decou%led o%timi,ation is carried out" >ence it calls 3or a robust cou%led o%timi,ation scheme 1here in the constraints o3 all the disci%lines are taken together at the same time 1hich gi(es a uni5ue %areto o%timalit/ 3rontier" >ence, a multi disci%linar/ o%timi,ation includes constraints o3 t1o or more disci%lines" Such kind o3 multi disci%linar/ o%timi,ation %roblems can be sol(ed b/ e(olutionar/ algorithms, gradient methods, 8e1ton methods and res%onse sur3ace methods, etc" The %resent stud/ is carried out in +%tistruct using gradient methods to sol(e the linear multi disci%linar/

o%timi,ation %roblem" In our anal/sis, the constraints include torsional sti33ness as 1ell as modal 63re5uenc/7 %er3ormance" -"# $e.inition o. the pro le/: The automobile BI- %ro(ides su33icient sti33ness and strength to di33erent kinds o3 loads 1hile %ro(iding room 3or the %assengers" The BI- members ha(e to take the loads, %ro(ide strength 1hile not com%romising on the crash re5uirements" The contradicting re5uirements o3 strength and sa3et/ ma/ o3ten lead to o(er designing o3 the %anels" The best design 1ould be the one 1hich o33ers good strength and sa3et/ 1hile kee%ing the o(erall mass as lo1 as %ossible" The reduction on the mass not onl/ hel%s the econom/ but also hel%s in 3uel e33icienc/" >ence the need to use o%timi,ation techni5ues 1ould arise in the de(elo%ment o3 the (ehicle design" Com%lete BI- 1ithout trim bod/ is taken 3or the anal/sis" T1o load cases 1ere considered 3or torsional sti33ness and modal %er3ormance" Torsional sti33ness load case is done b/ constraining the BI- at the s%ring seats and middle %oint o3 the 3ront bum%er" The torsion load, an e5ual and o%%osite t1ist is a%%lied at both the strut to1ers" The torsional sti33ness (alue is com%uted 3rom the dis%lacement (alues o3 the long members 1ith res%ect to the s%ring seats" Dis%lacement o3 strut to1ers and sti33ness (alues are taken as constraints 3or sti33ness load case in o%timi,ation" For modal %er3ormance, basic 3ree.3ree modal anal/sis is done 3or 3irst 3e1 mode sha%es" The 3re5uenc/ (alues 3or rear t1ist, global torsion and global bending modes 1ere considered as o%timi,ation constraints" 0"# 1rocess 2lo3: The %rocess 3or multi disci%line o%timi,ation that is 3ollo1ed 3or the current %ro&ect is as sho1n in the diagram belo1" It gi(es an o(erall %icture o3 the 1ork carried out in this %ro&ect"
Start

*odal Load case

Torsion Sti33ness Load case

De3ine) +b&ecti(e 3unction and (ariables

+%timi,ation constraints) Fre5uenc/ 6(alues 3or Bending, Torsion and rear t1ist7 ? Torsional sti33ness (alues 6Shock to1er dis%lacement7

Continuous +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) *odal

Continuous +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) Torsional Sti33ness

Continuous +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) Combined *odal ? Torsional Sti33ness

Discrete +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) *odal

Discrete +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) Torsional Sti33ness

Discrete 8astran +%timi,ation @un) *odal

Discrete 8astran +%timi,ation @un) Torsional Sti33ness

Discrete +%tistruct +%timi,ation @un) Combined *odal ? Torsional Sti33ness Com%arison o3 results 3or +%tistruct ? 8astran runs

Discrete 8astran +%timi,ation @un) Combined *odal ? Torsional Sti33ness

Figure <) Flo1 chart 3or %rocess 3lo1 4"# $e.inition o. opti/i5ation para/eters: The ob&ecti(e 3unction 3or the %resent stud/ is to minimi,e the 1eight o3 the BI-" This is de3ined b/ D=S+B$ 6Design +b&ecti(e7 card in +%tistruct" In the %roblem de3inition, the (ariables are the thicknesses o3 < ! %anels" These are de3ined b/ D=SA'@ 6Design Aariable7 cards and are related to the PS>=LL %ro%erties b/ DAP@=L 6Design Aariable to Pro%ert/ @elation7 cards" The s/mmetric %anel thicknesses are linked b/ DLI80 6*ulti%le Design Aariable Linking7 cards, 1hich 1ill ensure the same thickness 3or similar %anels on L> and @> sides" The discrete (alues 3or the %anels are de3ined b/ DDA'L 6Discrete Design Aariable Aalues7 card 1hich is re3erred in the D=SA'@ cards" The dis%lacements at the strut to1ers and torsional sti33ness o3 BI- are constraints 3or sti33ness load case, 1hereas 3re5uencies o3 modes B, C and <! 3or rear t1ist, global torsion and global bending res%ecti(el/ are constraints 3or modal load case" These modes need to be tracked throughout all the o%timi,ation runs" This is done b/ de3ining *+DT@'0 6*ode Tracking Parameters7 o%tion in P'@'* cards" The res%onses 3or modal and strut to1er dis%lacements are de3ined b/ D@=SP 6Design Sensiti(it/ @es%onse Duantities7 cards and the constraints are de3ined b/ DC+8ST@ 6Design Constraints7 cards" The sti33ness is calculated 3rom strut to1er dis%lacements b/ D=DE'T8 6Design =5uation De3inition7 card 3or torsional sti33ness" 'll the constraint cards are added 3or each load case b/ DC+8'DD 6Design Constraint Set Combination7 and are re3erred in the res%ecti(e subcases b/ D=SSEB 6Design Constraints @e5uest at the Subcase Le(el7 cards" De3ault design o%timi,ation %arameters can be o(er 1ritten b/ D+PTP@* 6Design +%timi,ation Parameters7 card" For the %resent anal/sis, ma4imum number o3 o%timi,ation runs is 2! and de3ined in D=S*'F 6*a4imum 8umber o3 Design C/cles7 %arameter in D+PTP@* card" The design (ariables 3or discrete anal/sis are rounded o33 to the nearest design (ariable b/ de3ining DISC+D 6Discrete Processing *ethod7 %arameter in D+PTP@* card"

Figure 2) Panels considered 3or gauge +%timi,ation 6"# Solution 7 %ptistruct: Initiall/, base runs are %er3ormed 3or both modal as 1ell as torsional sti33ness load cases" These load cases are necessar/ as to kno1 1hat the base %er3ormance o3 the gi(en BI- is" *odal %er3ormance sho1s 3re5uencies o3 G5"CC >, 3or mode B, 55"G2 >, 3or mode C and 5C"< >, 3or mode <!, 1hich are rear t1ist, global torsion and global bending modes res%ecti(el/" Dis%lacements at both the strut to1ers and torsion sti33ness 3or the torsional sti33ness load case are <"5H! mm, <"5HG mm and B"H<G 08mIdeg res%ecti(el/" These %er3ormance (alues are then taken to be design constraints 3or the o%timi,ation runs" The %anels 1hich are most mass contributing and are load carr/ing members are taken to be design (ariables" In this stud/, a total o3 < ! %anels 1ere considered and are sho1n in the 3igure 2" Some %anels in the BI- are s/mmetric and should %osses same thickness, and it is ensured b/ linking those %anel thicknesses" The o%timi,ation runs are carried out in +%tistruct sol(er 3or the gi(en loading conditions in t1o ste%s" In the 3irst ste% a continuous o%timi,ation is carried out 3or the s%eci3ied load cases" +%timi,ation 3or indi(idual load cases 3or modal and sti33ness cases sho1 a reduction o3 <!" < kg and <G"JG kg is %ossible

res%ecti(el/" -ith both load cases taken together a continuous o%timi,ation sho1 a reduction o3 B"B! kg mass" But the gauges obtained 3rom continuous o%timi,ation 1ere not %racticable" >ence, second set o3 o%timi,ation cases 1ere run 1ith discrete thickness (alues" -ith these (alues, indi(idual load cases 3or modal and sti33ness cases sho1 a reduction o3 C" 5 kg and C"5 kg res%ecti(el/" +(erall, a reduction o3 B" G kg is %ossible 3or combined load case" The mass sa(ings 3or (arious o%timi,ation runs are tabulated in table I" Though indi(idual load cases gi(es (er/ di33erent results 3or continuous and discrete o%timi,ation runs, a combined load case gi(es nearl/ same mass sa(ing 3or the gi(en model" The obser(ation o3 modal (alues suggests a good agreement 1ith base %er3ormance (alues 3or the BI-" These mode sha%es are %lotted in 3igure G and are tabulated in table IA" It can also be obser(ed that the 3irst 3re5uenc/ is slightl/ im%ro(ing 3or the o%timi,ed run com%ared to the base run" Torsional sti33ness results 3or base run, discrete +%tistruct o%timi,ation run as 1ell as discrete 8astran o%timi,ation run are %lotted in the 3igure H and are tabulated in table II" It can be obser(ed 3rom the gi(en (alues that the torsional sti33ness %er3ormance is actuall/ im%ro(ing 3or the o%timi,ed BI- model" >ence o%timi,ation not onl/ reduces mass o3 the ob&ect but also im%ro(es the %er3ormance"
T'BL= I *ass o%timi,ation results 3or Continuous and Discrete o%timi,ation schemes Continuous +%tistruct *odal Sti33ness *odalKSti33ness <!" < <G"JG B"B! Discrete +%tistruct C" 5 C"5 B" G

Base ) *ode B . G5"CC >,

Base ) *ode C 55"G2 >,

Base ) *ode <! 5C"< >,

Discrete ) *ode B G "B! >,

Discrete ) *ode C 55"JC >,

Discrete ) *ode <! 5C"GB >,

Figure G) Com%arison o3 *odal %er3ormance 3or Base run As Discrete +%tistruct run
T'BL= II Sti33ness (alues 3or Base run, Discrete +%tistruct run and Discrete 8astran run Parameter L> Torsion 'ngle C"22L Base @un @> C"<GL +%tistruct @un L> J"CHL @> J"J<L 8astran @un L> J"CJL @> J"JHL

Torsional Sti33ness 608mIdeg7

J"J<5

J"CHB

C"!J5

C"22H

C"!5<

C"<C!

TORSION Global Static Torsion Stiffness

10

9.22 8.98 8.94 8

Baserun_Torsion Curve
6

Opistruct_run_Torsion Curve Nastran_run_Torsion Curve

] m [ e g l a n i s r o T

0 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

-2

x-coordinate [mm]

Figure H) Com%arison o3 Torsional Sti33ness 3or Base run, Discrete +%tistruct run and Discrete 8astran run 8"# Co/parison o. results 3ith 9astran results: To (alidate the results obtained 3rom +%tistruct sol(er, a similar kind o3 o%timi,ation is carried out in 8astran sol(er" T1o load cases 1ere carried out 3or torsional sti33ness and modal runs" The 3re5uencies obtained 3or rear t1ist 6mode B7, global torsion 6mode C7 and global bending 6mode <!7 are G "5< >,, 55" H >, and 5C"HC >, res%ecti(el/" The dis%lacements at both the strut to1ers and sti33ness (alues are <"5!5 mm, <"5!C mm and B"5BJ 08mIdeg res%ecti(el/" These (alues are taken as constraints 3or o%timi,ation runs" T1o se%arate discrete o%timi,ation runs 3or modal and torsional sti33ness cases and one combined discrete o%timi,ation run 1ere carried out" The com%arison o3 mass reduction 3or discrete +%tistruct and discrete 8astran sol(ers is tabulated in table III" The indi(idual load cases sho1 <!"5 kg and <!"JH kg 3or modal and sti33ness cases res%ecti(el/" From the table it can be obser(ed that mass reduction 3rom discrete 8astran is e5ual to B"B! kg 3or combined load case" This (alue is almost e5ual to +%tistruct (alue" Torsional sti33ness (alues are %lotted in 3igure H and tabulated in table II" The sti33ness is 3ound to be im%ro(ed in 8astran run 1ith res%ect to base model sti33ness, but is slightl/ lesser than +%tistruct run (alue" The com%arison o3 mode sha%es 3or discrete +%tistruct run and discrete 8astran runs are %lotted in 3igure 5 and tabulated in table IA" The 3irst mode 3re5uenc/ obtained 3rom 8astran sol(er is slightl/ lo1er than the 3re5uenc/ obtained 3rom +%tistruct" >ence, it can be in3erred that the BI- model in +%tistruct beha(es slightl/ sti33er" +(erall, one can conclude that the o%timi,ation results obtained 3rom +%tistruct are in good agreement 1ith that o3 8astran results" BI- model beha(es slightl/ sti33er in +%tistruct com%ared to 8astran" This di33erence can be understood as +%tistruct and 8astran use di33erent element 3ormulations" +%tistruct uses CDE'DH and CT@IG elements 1here as 8astran uses CDE'D@ and CT@I'@ elements"
T'BL= III *ass o%timi,ation results 3or 8astran and +%tistruct discrete o%timi,ation schemes

Discrete 8astran *odal Sti33ness *odalKSti33ness <!"5 <!"JH B"B! +%tistruct C" 5 C"5 B" G

+%tistruct ) *ode B G "B! >,

+%tistruct )*ode C 55"JC >,

+%tistruct )*ode <! 5C"GB >,

8astran ) *ode B G "5< >,

8astran ) *ode C 55" H >,

8astran ) *ode <! 5C"HC >,

Figure 5) Com%arison o3 *odal %er3ormance 3or Discrete 8astran and Discrete +%tistruct runs
T'BL= IA *odal 3re5uenc/ (alues 3or Base run, Discrete +%tistruct run and Discrete 8astran run *ode 8o *ode B *ode C *ode <! Base @un G5"CC >, 55"G2 >, 5C"< >, Discrete +%tistruct @un G "B! >, 55"JC >, 5C"GB >, Discrete 8astran @un G "5< >, 55" H >, 5C"HC >,

:"# Conclusions and re/ar;s: Present stud/ ga(e an insight into the multi disci%line gauge o%timi,ation %roblems" This also %ro(ided a com%arati(e stud/ 3or +%tistruct and 8astran sol(ers" The conclusions deri(ed 3rom the stud/ are as 3ollo1s" *ulti disci%line o%timi,ation %roblems, a s%ecial case o3 o%timi,ation %roblems can be sol(ed in gradient t/%e +%tistruct or 8astran sol(ers 3or linear load cases" 'n o(erall B" G kg mass reduction is %ossible 3or the gi(en BI- and loads considered" +%timi,ation is not onl/ increasing the mass sa(ings 3or the BI-, but also it im%ro(es the o(erall %er3ormance 3or the s%eci3ied load cases" This can be obser(ed 3rom table II 3or sti33ness and table IA 3or modal %er3ormance"

' continuous o%timi,ation sho1s more mass sa(ing, but the (alues obtained 3rom it are not %racticable" >ence, a discrete o%timi,ation is necessar/ 3or %ractical (alues" *ass reduction obtained 3rom +%tistruct is in good agreement 1ith that o3 8astran sol(er" BI- model beha(es slightl/ sti33er in +%tistruct com%ared to 8astran sol(er" Though the BI- in %ractical li3e is sub&ected to (arious other loads such as crash, durabilit/, etc, the sco%e o3 this anal/sis is limited to the load cases mentioned in the abo(e discussion"

<"# Ac;no3ledge/ents: -e o1e our sincere gratitude to1ards *artin @ >a/es, @a(i Desai, 8icholas P *c0innon, Sreekanth De(erasett/ and other 2* India leadershi% 3or their continuous su%%ort, encouragement and guidance throughout this %ro&ect" -e 1ould like to thank Aikas Sharma, 'nand ' Shiragum%i 3or su%%orting the %ro&ect and @anga Chakra(art/ 62*8'7 3or o%timi,ation im%lementation su%%ort" -e 1ould like to thank *ar/ Fortier 62*8'7 3or resource allocation and technolog/ su%%ort 3rom 2*8'" Though this list is small, 1e e4tend our sincere thanks to all those 1ho su%%orted and contributed in e4ecuting this %ro&ect 3rom scratch to 3inal stage" ="# >e.erences: M<N *SC 8astran 2!!H :Design Sensiti(it/ and +%timi,ation EserOs 2uide; M2N +%tistruct +%timi,ation *anual MGN Aesna Sa(ic, :*ulti.+b&ecti(e +%timi,ation using 8on.Linear Load Cases;, 2* 2lobal C'= con3erence, 2!!B" MHN *" Phou, 8" Pagaldi%ti, >"L" Thomas, Q"0" Sh//,; 'n integrated a%%roach to to%olog/, si,ing, and sha%e o%timi,ation;, Struct *ultidisc +%tim 2 , G!JG<B 62!!H7 M5N @amesh Padmanaban, @adha 0rishnan, *alik 0a/u%o(, Sachin 2ogate, 2anesh 0al%undi, 8agesh TumuTim -ehner, @aghu Qarlagadda,; *ulti.Disci%linar/ +%timi,ation o3 a S%ort Etilit/ Aehicle;, Societ/ o3 'utomoti(e =ngineers, 2!!H.!5'=.2B<"