Title: A response surface approach to heavy duty truck rear underrun protection device beam optimisation

Authors: Berna Balta; H. Ali Solak; Onur Erk; Numan M. Durakbasa

Addresses: Ford Otosan, Product Development Department, Kocaeli, Gebze 41470, Turkey ' Ford Otosan, Product Development Department, Kocaeli, Gebze 41470, Turkey ' Ford Otosan, Product Development Department, Kocaeli, Gebze 41470, Turkey ' Department Interchangeable Manufacturing and Industrial Metrology, Institute for Production Engineering and Laser Technology, Vienna University of Technology, Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Wien, Austria

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to optimise the rear underrun protection device (RUPD) beam design for heavy duty trucks in the interest of impact loading by using correlated finite element analysis. RUPD design is ought to obey the safety regulative rules and shall successfully pass several test conditions. The relation between the RUPD design parameters and the ECE-R58 Regulative Forces is found via the response surface methodology (RSM). Afterwards, the optimum design parameters are determined using a design optimisation procedure. To validate the response surface curve, further analysis is conducted based on arbitrary operating conditions and the calculated and predicted values of ECE-R58 P1 load case forces are compared. In conclusion, the predicted model looks reasonably accurate based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Using the response curve, one may estimate the degree of P1 load case forces for similar RUPD beam designs using design conditions within the range suggested in the present study.

Keywords: rear underrun protection device; finite element analysis; FEA; RADIOSS; RUPD testing; ECE-R58; response surface methodology; RSM; design optimisation; analysis of variance; ANOVA; heavy duty trucks; heavy vehicles; beam optimisation; beam design; impact loading; safety regulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2016.078762

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2016 Vol.71 No.1/2/3/4, pp.3 - 30

Received: 08 Nov 2014
Accepted: 14 Jul 2015

Published online: 02 Sep 2016 *

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