Title: Corner meshing effect on component axial impact simulation

Authors: Shen R. Wu

Addresses: Safety Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI 48124, USA

Abstract: In engineering practice of finite element analysis, a corner area with a small radius is sometimes meshed as a sharp corner. Alternatively, more elements with smaller sizes can be placed to form a rounded corner. In order to evaluate these two different meshing approaches, two components subjected to dynamic axial impact are studied, as an effort to assess the modelling and analysis quality of finite element crashworthiness analysis. Deformation and energy absorption from these two meshing approaches are compared. Subsequently refined meshes are used for the comparison study with respect to the geometry approximation and element size. Effects of design parameters are also studied.

Keywords: axial impact; corner meshing; crashworthiness analysis; explicit finite element; non-linear finite element; validation; verification; finite element analysis; FEA; deformation; energy absorption; simulation; axial buckling; thin walled structures; vehicle safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2005.007535

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2005 Vol.1 No.1/2/3, pp.22 - 34

Published online: 03 Aug 2005 *

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