Structural evaluation by a stiffness line derivation system using the gradient of the index Ustar

Abstract

In the structural design of vehicle body, weight reduction and high rigidity are important. Understanding load transfer in a structure is useful method for designing lightweight and rigid structure. The index Ustar (U*) expresses load transfer in structures. In this study, stiffness decay vector based on Ustar at each point was devised. The system was developed to derive highly accurate stiffness lines and it is not affected by element size using stiffness decay vector calculated with any coordinates. The stiffness lines were applied to a plate model with a circular hole and compared to previous study. In addition, the system was applied to floor panel of a vehicle body FE model, and stiffness lines were derived. As a result, it was shown that the system is effective for strictly and speedily identifying multiple stiffness lines in complex structure like vehicle body model.