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Skid a full vehicle against a curb in lateral and longitudinal direction are two out of several tests to proof the strength of a suspension. Knowing the internal forces acting on suspension components during such an event is extremely important for being able to dimension safety critical parts correctly. Measuring these loads is an elaborate task, because the use of wheel force transducers is not possible due the risk of damaging them. It is necessary to apply strain gauges and force cells instead.

In this study, carried out by fka, the hood of the VW Golf V is taken as an example to analyze the potential of a hybrid construction of aluminum and steel. Structural stiffness, oil canning and dent resistance behavior are analyzed using Abaqus/Standard. With the objective of reducing the total hood weight, the performance of the hood is compared to reference values of the series production steel hood.

Fatigue life prediction has reached a high level in respect to practical handling and accuracy in the last decades. As a result of insecure or lacking input data deviations between numerical results and test results in terms of cycles till crack initiation are possible. On the one hand, the accuracy of Finite Element results gets better and better because of greatly increasing computer power and mesh density. Whereas on the other hand, the situation is much more critical regarding load data and especially regarding local material properties of the components.

In 2006 BMW made a decision to use Abaqus/Explicit for all issues concerning passive safety in the virtual design process. Code quality and reliability of simulation results were identified as the primary reasons to change, and from that decision point forward, all product development teams began migration activities to switch to Abaqus/Explicit.

An analysis of bridge roller bearings was performed using Abaqus as part of a failure investigation. Finite element analyses were conducted to gain an understanding of the stresses caused during operation and explain the possible cause of failure. Models of the bearings were required to represent the contact between the roller and plates, daily movement of the load and the non-linear behaviour of the material.

Fatigue is the main in-service failure mode for automotive chassis & suspension parts,

Over the past three years, BMW has undertaken a significant project to first investigate,

then proceed with migration from its present crash simulation software to ABAQUS. This project

has been motivated by a growing recognition within BMW that, in order to advance its crash

General Motors, in conjunction with SIMULIA Great Lakes, have developed a studio of

Transient dynamic simulations gain importance in the automotive industry and modern fatigue postprocessors are apt to evaluate the fatigue damage. However, additional insight into a structure’s behaviour may be obtained from observing the displacements. Displacement patterns are important for design engineers in order to improve the structure. With proportional static loads it is trivial to display and understand the displacements, but the displacements in dynamic simulations are often very complicated.

MAHLE Powertrain (MPT) is constantly exploring new ways to improve the efficiency and

performance of engines to meet the demanding objectives Automotive OEM’s are faced with

today, i.e. to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. MPT’s key expertise lies in the development of high performance engines with low emissions and excellent fuel economy through the optimisation of gas exchange, combustion, friction and durability.