Abstract
Keywords: Structural joint, Car body, Finite element simulation
The automotive body is an assemblage of sheet metal stampings used for creating box channel structures and panel structures. Thin-walled beams with non uniform section, such as pillars, roof rails and rockers, serve as major load-carrying members. In vehicle structures of this type, joint defined like a region of the structure, which contains the intersection or junction of two or more load - carrying members, has the main influence on static and dynamic characteristics of the car body. An analysis of the influence of geometry variations of thin-walled T-shaped joints with square cross section, on their structural behaviour (stiffness and maximum stress), is presented in this paper.
Very detailed finite element models are commonly used to analyse static and dynamic response of car body. In the initial phase of the body design it is reasonable to deal with simplified structures and to develop essential finite element concept model of joints for vehicular structures. In this paper we are analyzing finite element model of a subassembly that consists of a B - pillar to rocker joint and the attached branches.
Results of numerical analysis are here presented to illustrate the dependence of the force, applied at one characteristic node of the joint model, on the displacement of that node. The sensitivity of joint structural response to some joint design variables are put in evidence. Final results, which have been got by numerical calculations by using finite element analysis, are compared with some available numerical, theoretical and experimental solutions for the case of thin-walled T-shaped joints with circular cross section.