A new method for crashworthiness optimization of vehicle structures is presented, where an early design exploration is done by the optimization of an “equivalent” mechanism approximating a vehicle structure. An equivalent mechanism is a network of rigid links with lumped mass connected by prismatic and revolute joints with nonlinear springs approximating aggregated behaviors of structural members. A number of finite element (FE) models of the thin-walled beams with typical cross sections and wall thicknesses are analyzed to build a surrogate model that maps a property of nonlinear spring to the corresponding FE model. Using the surrogate model, an equivalent mechanism is optimized for given design objectives by selecting the properties of the nonlinear springs among the values that can be realized by an FE model. After the optimization, the component FE models corresponding to the optimal spring properties are “assembled” into a FE model of an entire structure, which is further modified for final tuning. Two case studies of a vehicle front substructure are presented, which demonstrate the approach can help obtain a better design with far less computational resources than the direct optimization of a FE model.
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