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Title: Advanced computational simulation for design and manufacturing of lightweight material components for automotive applications

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/631244· OSTI ID:631244
; ;  [1];  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
  2. George Washington Univ., Washington, DC (United States)
  3. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, DC (United States)

Computational vehicle models for the analysis of lightweight material performance in automobiles have been developed through collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and George Washington University. The vehicle models have been verified against experimental data obtained from vehicle collisions. The crashed vehicles were analyzed, and the main impact energy dissipation mechanisms were identified and characterized. Important structural parts were extracted and digitized and directly compared with simulation results. High-performance computing played a key role in the model development because it allowed for rapid computational simulations and model modifications. The deformation of the computational model shows a very good agreement with the experiments. This report documents the modifications made to the computational model and relates them to the observations and findings on the test vehicle. Procedural guidelines are also provided that the authors believe need to be followed to create realistic models of passenger vehicles that could be used to evaluate the performance of lightweight materials in automotive structural components.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-96OR22464
OSTI ID:
631244
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-13407; ON: DE98007046; TRN: AHC29813%%116
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Apr 1997
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English