A Multiple Cross-Sectional Shape Optimization Method for Automotive Body Frames

Abstract

Automotive body frames, which profoundly affect automotive performance such as crashworthiness, are generally formed using pressed metal sheets, and the assembled cross-sectional shapes govern the frame characteristics. This paper proposes a cross-sectional shape generating method for achieving the cross-sectional properties assigned by design engineers. The cross-sectional shape-generating problem for pressed metal sheets is formulated as a multiobjective optimization problem that involves a marriage of continuous variables, such as shape dimensions, and discrete design variables, such as types of material and their thicknesses. Genetic algorithms are applied to solve the optimization problem.