Abstract
Welding is often used to join automotive components during production. Deformation may occur during welding,
which leads to increased production costs. Therefore, prediction of welding deformation is highly demanded in
automobile production. To predict the welding deformation of real automotive components, it is necessary to
conduct a numerical simulation within a reasonable computing time. In this study, an efficient simulation was
achieved with a large-scale thermal elastic plastic analysis method, called the idealized explicit finite
element method (IEFEM), to predict deformation of a side rail, which is a component of the rear suspension
member of a car. In addition, the analysis method was also applied to the prediction of deformation in a
front suspension member having more than 2 million degrees of freedom. The accuracy of the analyses was
evaluated by comparison with experimental measurements. The results indicated that the IEFEM can accurately
predict welding deformation and can be used to conduct simulations within a reasonable computing time.
