Rollover crashworthiness analysis and optimization of bus frame for conceptual design

摘要

At the conceptual design stage, utilizing the detailed model to determine the rollover crashworthiness of bus structure would need long design cycle. Currently, rectangular thin-walled beams (RTWBs) are extensively used to create the real bus because of the excellent manufacturability. Remarkably, dual rectangular thin-walled beams (DRTWBs) can generate higher bending resistance. Therefore, this paper presents a rollover crashworthiness analysis and optimization method of bus frame using the RTWBs and DRTWBs. The bus frame with tire, suspension and platform structures is created in the CarFrame software. Analysis numerical example verifies that the frame model, which reduces the modeling and computational costs, is in excellent agreements with the detailed model, and optimization numerical example verifies that the frame model can obtain high rollover crashworthiness and lightweight bus structure. Therefore, the frame model can effectively replace the detailed model for the rollover crashworthiness analysis and optimization.