Title: Three-phase optimisation design of an electric car body at conceptual design stage

Authors: Dafeng Jin; Jin Chen; Weiwei Qiao

Addresses: State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ' State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ' State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Abstract: A three-phase optimisation design method is proposed in the paper. It is composed of two steps of topology optimisation and one step of size optimisation, and used for design of a mini electric car Body In White (BIW) at conceptual design stage. The method provides an opportunity to comprehend performances of the body construction under different load conditions in detail. Final result of the optimised BIW achieves 31% weight reduction with improved stiffness, strength and the first-order frequency compared with previous design.

Keywords: topology optimisation; size optimisation; lightweight design; conceptual design; electric cars; vehicle design; body in white; BIW; car body construction; load conditions; weight reduction; stiffness; strength; first-order frequency.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2011.044721

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2011 Vol.57 No.2/3, pp.196 - 211

Received: 30 Aug 2009
Accepted: 12 Feb 2010

Published online: 15 Apr 2015 *

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