Lightweight Design Optimizaton of An Urban Eco Car Prototype Using Topology Optimization Based On Finite Element Analysis

Reglerentwurf zur Synchronisation einer hybriden
Aktuatorkonguration
Diplomarbeit

Diplomarbeit

Strungsmanagement in Unternehmen mit einer
kundenindividuellen Produktgestaltung

Bearbeiter: Max Muster
Matrikelnummer: 0815
Studiengang: Produktentwicklung
Erstprfer: Prof. Dr.-Ing. D. Krause
Zweitprfer: Zweitprfer (nur bei Diplomarbeit)
Betreuer: Betreuender Assistent

Hamburg, 01. Juli 2009
ulplomarbelL
LlghLwelghL deslgn opumlzauon of an urban eco car
proLoLype uslng Lopology opumlzauon based on
nlLe elemenL analysls
8earbelLer: 8alf Seemann
MaLrlkelnummer: 20322603
SLudlengang: rodukLenLwlcklung
LrsLprufer: rof. ur.-lng. u. krause
ZwelLprufer: rof. ur.-lng. 1. SchuppsLuhl
8eLreuer: ulpl.-lng. 8enedlkL laumann
Assoc. rof. ur. lan Clbson
Pamburg, 13.06.2011

Aufgabenstellung der Diplomarbeit von
Herrn Ralf Seemann, Matr.-Nr. 20522605

Thema:
Lightweight design optimization of an urban eco car prototype using
topology optimization based on finite element analysis

Steigende Rohstoffpreise sowie ein wachsendes Umweltbewusstsein in der Bevlkerung im Zuge der
weltweit zunehmenden Umweltbelastung haben dazu gefhrt, dass die Autoindustrie mehr denn je
versucht elektrisch angetriebene Fahrzeuge in groen Stckzahlen zu vermarkten. Der groe
Nachteil von Elektroautos ist die eingeschrnkte Reichweite bedingt durch die limitierte
Energiespeicherkapazitt von herkmmlichen Batterien sowie der hohe Preis fr diese
Energiespeicher. Fr die praxistaugliche Umsetzung eines elektrischen Antriebkonzeptes eignen sich
daher vor allem kleine Stadtautos, welche ausschlielich auf kurzen Distanzen in einer urbanen
Umgebung mit guter Infrastruktur genutzt werden. Aufgrund des stark limitierten sowie kostspieligen
Energiespeichers ist es von entscheidender Bedeutung den Energieverbrauch zu minimieren.
Zur Untersuchung verschiedener elektrischer Antriebskonzepte wird an der National University of
Singapore ein Prototyp eines elektrischen Stadtautos entwickelt. Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit ist es
zunchst den Einfluss des Gewichts auf den Energieverbrauch sowie die Reichweite
anwendungsspezifisch fr diesen Prototypen zu untersuchen. Darauf aufbauend wird eine geeignete
Komponente zur Gewichtsoptimierung ausgewhlt. Fr diese Komponente ist eine
Topologieoptimierungsberechnung durchzufhren. Die Ergebnisse der Topologieoptimierung sollen
dann in einem optimierten Designvorschlag umgesetzt werden. Der entwickelte Designvorschlag ist
daraufhin entsprechend der ermittelten Lastflle mittels einer FEM-Rechnung auf Lastfhigkeit zu
untersuchen. Diese Diplomarbeit wird im Rahmen eines studentischen Austauschprogrammes an der
National University of Singapore als Beitrag zum NUS City Car Projekt angefertigt.
Die Arbeit gliedert sich in folgende Abschnitte:
1. Erfassung des Stands der Technik und Einarbeitung
Literaturrecherche im Bereich elektrische Fahrzeuge, Modellierung des Energieverbauchs
von Fahrzeugen
Einarbeitung in rechnergesttze FEM-Berechnung und Topologieoptimierung
2. Entwicklung eines Parametermodells fr den Energieverbauch des Prototypen

Institut fr Produktentwicklung
und Konstruktionstechnik
Prof. Dr.-Ing. D. Krause

Modellierung der verschiedenen Einflussfaktoren
Durchfhrung einer parametrischen Sensisitvittsanalyse
3. Ermittlung einer geeigneten Komponente fr eine Topologieoptimierung
4. Durchfhrung einer Topologieoptimierung fr ausgewhlte Komponente
Topologieoptimierungsrechnung entsprechend ermittelter Lastflle
Berechnung der Lastfhigkeit des optimierten Designs

Hinweise zur Durchfhrung der Arbeit:
Nach Einfhrung durch den Betreuer legt der Bearbeiter nach einer Einarbeitungsphase von maximal
einem Monat einen Arbeitsplan vor, der mit dem Betreuer abgestimmt wird; die Bearbeitungszeit
betrgt maximal 4 Monate nach Ausgabe der Aufgabenstellung.
Nach der Einfhrungsphase kann die Aufgabenstellung entsprechend dem Stand der Erkenntnisse
modifiziert werden. Die Modifikation ist vom Betreuer zu besttigen.
Der Bearbeiter berichtet regelmig, mindestens im Abstand von einem Monat, ber den Fortgang
der Arbeit; zu Beginn des Zusammenschreibens ist mit dem Betreuer ein Inhaltsverzeichnis abzu-
stimmen. Das Ergebnis der Arbeit ist in Form einer schriftlichen Fassung in drei Exemplaren zu doku-
mentieren und im Rahmen des Assistentenseminars im Institut fr Produktentwicklung und
Konstruktionstechnik vorzustellen. Die verwendeten Hilfsmittel (z.B. Literatur) sind vollstndig
anzugeben.
Alle im Rahmen der Arbeit gewonnenen Erkenntnisse und Ergebnisse sowie zugnglich gemachte
Informationen sind vertraulich zu behandeln und gelten im Rahmen der studentischen Arbeit als
hochschulffentlich; sie bleiben Eigentum des Instituts fr Produktentwicklung und
Konstruktionstechnik (PKT) und drfen ohne dessen Erlaubnis weder Dritten zugnglich gemacht
noch in irgendeiner Form gewerblich genutzt werden.

Ausgabe der Aufgabenstellung am: 15. Februar 2011

Abgabe der Arbeit bis: 15. Juni 2011

Betreuer der Arbeit: Prof. Dr.-Ing. D. Krause
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ian Gibson
Dipl.-Ing. Benedikt Plaumann

Prof. Dr.-Ing. D. Krause Ralf Seemann
-
Eidesstaliche Erklrung
lch erklare hlermlL, dass dle vorllegende ulplomarbelL ohne fremde Pllfe selbsLsLandlg
verfassL wurde und nur dle angegebenen Cuellen und Pllfsmluel benuLzL worden slnd.
WrLllch oder slnngema aus anderen Werken enLnommene SLellen slnd unLer Angabe der
Cuelle kennLllch gemachL.
uleseulplomarbelL wurdeblsher kelnemanderenrufungsamL lnglelcher oder verglelchbarer
lorm vorgelegL oder verenLllchL.
Pamburg, ________________________
- 8alf Seemann
Contents
List of Abbreviaons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
List of Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI
1 Introducon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 1hesls Cb[ecuves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 1hesls SLrucLure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Theorecal Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 LlecLrlc vehlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.1 LlecLrlc ropulslon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.2 LlecLrlc Lnergy SLorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2 1hree Wheeled vehlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.1 1llung 1hree Wheeled vehlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2.2 non-1llung 1hree Wheeled vehlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 vehlcle Lnergy Consumpuon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.1 Lnergy Losses and 1racuve LorL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.2 Lnergy uemand ln AcLual urlvlng Condluons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4 LlghLwelghL ueslgn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 SLrucLural Cpumlzauon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.1 8aslc rlnclple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.2 1opology Cpumlzauon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.3 1opology Cpumlzauon uslng AlLalr Pyperworks . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3 Parameter Study for the Vehicle Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.1 arameLer Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.1 Modellng of LlecLrlc ComponenLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.2 Model uevelopmenL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.3 Cul lnLerface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 SensluvlLy Analysls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.3 Summary and Concluslon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
ConLenLs lll
4 Determinaon of a Component for a Topology Opmizaon . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.1 lmplemenLauon of Lhe Selecuon Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.2 vlsuallzauon of CollecLed uaLa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.3 Summary and Concluslon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5 Structural Opmizaon of the Chassis Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.1 ldenucauon of Load Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.1 SLauc and uynamlc Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.2 Crash SlLuauons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2 Modellng Conslderauons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.2.1 unconsLralned SLrucLures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.2.2 Suspenslon Modellng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2.3 ueslgn Space uenluon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2.4 Cpumlzauon roblem lormulauon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.3 llnal 1opology Cpumlzauon SeLup and 8esulLs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.3.1 llnal ueslgn Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.3.2 Load Case lmplemenLauon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.3.3 Cpumlzed 1opologles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.4 Slze Cpumlzauon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.4.1 loregolng Conslderauons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.4.2 llnal Slze Cpumlzauon SeLup and 8esulLs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.3 new ueslgn Suggesuon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6 Structural Analysis of the New Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.1 SLrengLh Analysls 8ased on Lhe ueveloped 8eam Model . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.2 8ecalculauon of Crlucal lrame Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.3 1orslonal Suness Comparlson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
7 Summary and Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Appendix 109
A Dynamic behvaiour of Three Wheeled Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
B Validaon of the Parameter Model through PSAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
C Component Weight and Opmizaon Aptude Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
D Center of Mass and Dynamic Stability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
u.1 ueLermlnauon of prellmlnary CM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
ConLenLs lv
u.2 Check of uynamlc SLablllLy CrlLerla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
E Summary of the Applied Forces in the Preprocessor Model . . . . . . . . . . . 122
F Complementary HyperWorks Illustraons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
l.1 Comparauve SLudy - lnerua 8ellef. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
l.2 Consldered Load Cases ln Lhe 1opology Cpumlzauon SeLup . . . . . . . . . 124
l.3 Comparlson of 1opologles from Lxamlned Cpumlzauon lormulauons . . . . 123
l.4 Comparlson of ulerenL Approaches Lo Modellng lrame nodes ln lLA . . . 126
l.3 SLress ConLours of non-Crlucal Load Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
l.3.1 SLeel lrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
l.3.2 Alumlnum lrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
List of Abbreviaons
AC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AlLernaung currenL
8LSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8l-dlrecuonal evoluuonary sLrucLural opumlzauon
CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CompuLer alded englneerlng
Clu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CompuLauonal uld dynamlcs
Cl8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbon bre relnforced plasucs
CM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CenLer of mass
uC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ulrecL currenL
uCu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . uepLh of dlscharge
uS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ueslgn space
LSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lvoluuonary sLrucLural opumlzauon
Cul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Craphlcal user lnLerface
lCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lnLernal combusuon englne
l8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lnerua 8ellef
LC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Load case
LWu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LlghLwelghL deslgn
M8S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mulu body sysLem
nlMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nlckel meLal hybrlde bauery
nS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . neuLral sLeer polnL
nuS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nauonal unlverslLy of Slngapore
n?CC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . new ?ork ClLy cycle
k1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lnsuLuL fur rodukLenLwlcklung und konsLrukuonsLechnlk
SA1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . owerLraln SysLems Analysls 1oolklL
SM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SLauc margln
SoC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SLaLe of charge
1uPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1echnlsche unlverslLaL Pamburg-Parburg
1Wv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1hree wheeled vehlcle
uuuS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . urban dynamomeLer drlvlng schedule
List of Symbols
Symbol Unit Descripon
C Compllance
C
0
Ah 8aLed bauery capaclLy
C
p
Ah nomlnal bauery capaclLy (eukerL correcLed)
C
r
Ah Charge removed from bauery
F
ad
N Aerodynamlc reslsLance force
F
hc
N Plll cllmb reslsLance force
F
la
N Accelerauon reslsLance force
F
rr
N 8olllng reslsLance force
F
trac
N 1oLal Lracuon force of Lhe vehlcle
F
r
N Wheel load (fronL, rlghL)
F
l
N Wheel load (fronL, le)
K uynamlc facLor for sLauc loads
K
T
Nm
deg
1orslonal suness of vehlcle body
I
0
A 8aLed bauery dlscharge currenL
I
dis
A AcLual bauery dlscharge currenL
I
2
A 8auery currenL ln equlvalenL clrculL
L
v
N verucal bump load
L
h
N PorlzonLal bump load
M kg vehlcle sprung mass
P
b
W 8auery power (lnpuL or ouLpuL)
P
trac
W 1oLal Lracuon power needed
P
mot, in
W MoLor lnpuL power
P
ac
W ConsLanL accessory power
R N Wheel load (rear)
R
i
lnLernal reslsLance of bauery
Q Ah Charge
ConLenLs vll
T Nm MoLor Lorque
U
oc
V Cpen clrculL volLage of bauery
U
2
V 1ermlnal volLage of bauery
a
m
s
2
vehlcle accelerauon
a
to
m
s
2
1lp over accelerauon
h mm PelghL of CM above road surface
h
b
mm Maxlmum bump helghL
k eukerL CoeclenL
k
c
,k
i
,k
w
LlecLrlc moLor eclency consLanLs
l
f
mm ulsLance from fronL axle Lo CM
l
h
mm ulsLance from rear axle Lo CM
nCells number of bauery cells
p enalLy facLor
r mm Wheel radlus
t
0
h 8auery hour raung
tr mm 1rack wldLh of Lhe vehlcle
v
m
s
vehlcle veloclLy
wb mm Wheel base
deg Plll cllmb angle
deg 8oad bump angle
x,y
1lre frlcuon coeclenLs
mot
MoLor eclency
gear
Cear eclency (belL drlve)
recup
Lclency of recuperauon sysLem
llnlLe elemenL denslLy
v
N
mm
2
LqulvalenL Lenslle sLress
1
s
Angular veloclLy of Lhe moLor
deg ueformauon angle resulung from pure Lorslon
1 Introducon
1he rsL decade of Lhe 21sL cenLury has seen a Lremendous lncrease ln Lhe lnLeresL ln
elecLrlc vehlcle Lechnology by boLh Lhe lndusLry and pollucs. 8y now, almosL all ma[or
auLomoblle manufacLurers made large lnvesLmenLs ln elecLrlc vehlcle programmes whlle
several governmenLs around Lhe world subsldlze Lhe purchase of elecLrlc cars or lmpose
oLher measures Lo promoLe Lhe ownershlp of elecLrlc vehlcles. 1he reasonlng behlnd
Lhls developmenL ls oen relaLed Lo Lhe llmlLed fossll fuel reserves of our planeL as well
as Lhe lncreaslng envlronmenLal lmpacL, along wlLh Lhe resulung rlslng envlronmenLal
consclousness of our socleLy. ln Lhe general publlc oplnlon, elecLrlc vehlcles are oen
seen as Lhe fuLure of auLomoblle LransporLauon. Powever, Lhere are numerous serlous
challenges LhaL come wlLh elecLrlc vehlcle Lechnology. MosL noLably, Lhere ls Lhe lack of
sulLable energy sLorage sysLems. Avallable bauerles are very cosLly and heavy, have a
low energy denslLy and requlre a conslderable recharglng ume, wlLh no comprehenslve
charglng lnfrasLrucLure lmplemenLed yeL. 1he sum of Lhese facLs resulLs ln a low range,
llmlLed exlblllLy yeL hlgh prlce of elecLrlc vehlcles, whlch sull makes Lhem an excepuon on
Lodays roads. uue Lo Lhe omnlpresenL dlsadvanLage of llmlLed range, elecLrlc propulslon
ls especlally sulLed for small clLy cars LhaL are mosLly operaLed on shorL dlsLances ln urban
envlronmenLs. Powever, furLher research ls requlred Lo keep lmprovlng Lhe performance
and reduclng Lhe cosL of elecLrlc vehlcles, ln order Lo make Lhem more compeuuve. Cne
cruclal aspecL ln Lhls conLexL ls Lhe consequenL appllcauon of aordable llghLwelghL deslgn.
1he ueparLmenL of Mechanlcal Lnglneerlng of Lhe nauonal unlverslLy of Slngapore (nuS)
lnluaLed Lhe nuS ClLy Car, a research pro[ecL lnLended Lo sLudy elecLrlc vehlcle Lechnology
wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of bulldlng and renlng a small urban elecLrlc car proLoLype. uurlng Lhe
work on Lhls Lhesls, Lhe nuS ClLy Car was ln Lhe manufacLurlng sLage of Lhe rsL deslgn
lLerauon. Pence, Lhe maln ob[ecuve was Lo bulld Lhe rsL funcuonlng proLoLype. 1he
currenL deslgn of Lhe ClLy Car ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 1.1. 1he car ls lmplemenLed as an
open Lhree wheeled plauorm based on a welded Lubular sLeel space frame wlLh encloslng
Cl8 body shell. 1he allgnmenL of Lhe drlveLraln ls derlved from moLorcycle Lechnology
and conslsLs of a slngle rear wheel whlch ls mounLed onLo a suspenslon swlngarm and
drlven by a belL drlve. Convenuonal deep cycle lead acld bauerles serve as energy sLorage
whlle Lhe elecLrlc propulslon ls generaLed by a brushed serles wound uC moLor.
1he presenL work orlglnaLes from an unlverslLy exchange programme beLween Lhe nuS
and Lhe 1echnlsche unlverslLaL Pamburg-Parburg (1uPP) . Whlle Lhls Lhesls was supervlsed
by researchers from boLh nuS and 1uPP, Lhe work on Lhe Lhesls Look place prlmarlly ln
1.1 1hesls Cb[ecuves 2
Slngapore where Lhe ClLy Car pro[ecL ls based. ln Lhe followlng secuons, Lhe ob[ecuves
and Lhe workscope of Lhe presenL work ls brley summarlzed.
Belt Drive
Brushed
DC Motor
Rack &
Pinion
Steering
Lead Acid
Battery Pack
Doublewishbone
Suspension
Swingarm
Suspension
+ -
Figure 1.1: nuS ClLy Car pro[ecL, currenL deslgn lLerauon
1.1 Thesis Objecves
1he ob[ecuve of Lhls Lhesls was Lo merge Lhe auLomouve experuse of Lhe nuS ueparLmenL
of Mechanlcal Lnglneerlng resulung from several successful paruclpauons ln Lhe Shell
Lco-MaraLhon, wlLh Lhe llghLwelghL deslgn experuse of Lhe lnsuLuL fur rodukLenLwlcklung
undkonsLrukuonsLechnlk(k1) orlglnaungfromLhelongumelnvolvemenL lnLhedevelopmenL
of llghLwelghL alrcra cabln sysLems. 8educlng Lhe welghL of a vehlcle LranslaLes dlrecLly
lnLo a reducuon of Lhe vehlcles energy consumpuon and Lhus range. uue Lo Lhe llmlLed
energy sLorage capablllues and Lhe hlgh welghL of Lhe bauerles, llghLwelghL deslgn ls
parucularly lmporLanL for elecLrlc vehlcles. Powever, llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs have
played a mlnor role ln Lhe developmenL of Lhe currenL deslgn. 1hls Lhesls ls lnLended Lo
conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe nuS ClLy Car pro[ecL by lnvesugaung llghLwelghL posslblllues based on
sLrucLural opumlzauon.
1herefore, ln Lhe rsL sLage, Lhe almls Lo performa parameLrlc sensluvlLy analysls LhaL shows
Lhe lnuence of baslc vehlcle parameLers such as mass, rolllng reslsLance, aerodynamlcs
and bauery slze on Lhe energy consumpuon and range of Lhe currenL vehlcle congurauon.
Pere, lL ls especlally of lnLeresL Lo geL an ldea of Lhe range exLenslon poLenual resulung
from opumlzlng Lhe vehlcles mass. ln Lhe second sLage, lL ls lnLended Lo selecL one
componenL LhaL ls sulLable for sLrucLural opumlzauon. And ln Lhe nal sLage, a sLrucLural
opumlzauon process ls Lo be performed wlLh Lhe selecLed componenL and Lhe resulung
new deslgn suggesuon ls Lo be sub[ecLed Lo a sLrucLural sLrengLh analysls.
1.2 1hesls SLrucLure 3
1.2 Thesis Structure
1he presenL documenL reporLs Lhe processlng of Lhe seL ob[ecuves ln ve chapLers, whlch
also reecLs Lhe sequence of Lhe processlng.
3. Parameter
Study on the
Vehicles Range
4. Component
Analysis and
Selection
5. Structural
Optimization of
Selected Component
6. Structural
Analysis of
New Design
2.
Theoretical
Background
Development of a
Parametric Range
Estimation Model
Supportive Side Studies on the
implemented FE-Modeling and
Optimization Setup
Figure 1.2: 1hesls sLrucLure scheme
ln ChapLer 2, fundamenLals and baslc lnformauon are esLabllshed as Lheoreucal
background for Lhe subsequenL chapLers. 1hls lncludes an lnLroducuon Lo elecLrlc
vehlcle Lechnology and an overvlewabouL exlsLenL Lhree-wheeled vehlcles. ln addluon,
baslc concepLs of modellng Lhe energy consumpuon of vehlcles are dlscussed ln
preparauon of Lhe proposed parameLer model. LasLly, llghLwelghL deslgn ls generally
lnLroduced and caLegorlzed, before Lhe concepL of nlLe elemenL based sLrucLural
opumlzauon ls exLenslvely descrlbed.
ln ChapLer 3, Lhe developmenL of a parameLrlc model LhaL esumaLes Lhe range of
Lhe nuS ClLy Car dependlng on baslc vehlcle parameLers ls descrlbed. 1hls model ls
Lhe basls for Lhe followlng sensluvlLy analysls, where lL ls shown Lo whaL exLenL Lhe
dlerenL vehlcle parameLers lnuence Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe range of Lhe
vehlcle ln an urban drlvlng envlronmenL.
ChapLer 4 deplcLs, Lhe analysls of Lhe currenL vehlcle congurauon wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve
of selecung a parucularly promlslng vehlcle componenL for a subsequenL sLrucLural
opumlzauon process.
1he sLrucLural opumlzauon process for Lhe selecLed componenL ls reporLed ln ChapLer
3, whlle Lopology and slze opumlzauon are performed ln cascade. ln addluon, several
slde sLudles, whlch supporL Lhe made lL-modellng and opumlzauon seLup declslons,
are documenLed. Cverall, mosL of Lhe auenuon ln Lhls Lhesls was spenL on Lhe
sLrucLural opumlzauon process.
ln ChapLer 6, Lhe resulung new deslgn suggesuon ls analyzed for lLs sLrucLural
performance ln Lerms of sLrengLh and suness.
2 Theorecal Background
8efore golng lnLo Lhe followlng chapLers, LhaL speclcally address Lhe sLeps Laken Lo fulll
Lhe seL ob[ecuves, Lhls chapLer ls lnLended Lo creaLe a general Lheoreucal background for
Lhe comlng parLs of Lhls Lhesls. llrsLly, elecLrlc vehlcle Lechnology ls brley lnLroduced.
SubsequenLly, an overvlew on recenL Lhree-wheeled vehlcle concepLs ls glven as reference
Lo Lhe lncreaslng lnLeresL ln Lhree-wheelers durlng Lhe pasL decade. 1hls ls followed by
an lnLroducuon lnLo modellng Lhe energy demand of road vehlcles dependlng on Lhe
drlvlng pauern. LasLly, dlerenL llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs are esLabllshed and sLrucLural
opumlzauon as one llghLwelghL deslgn Lool ls ls explalned lnLo more deLall, as Lhls ls Lhe
foundauon of Lhe laLer performed opumlzauon process.
2.1 Electric Vehicles
LlecLrlc vehlcles came lnLo exlsLence LogeLher wlLh Lhelr lnLernal combusuon englne (lCL)
counLerparLs ln Lhe mld-19Lh cenLury. ln Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe 20Lh cenLury Lhey were even
Lhe preferred cholce of commerclally produced auLomoblles, slnce Lhe lCLs of LhaL ume
were unrellable and lnconvenlenL Lo sLarL [Lar03]. Powever, wlLh Lhe advenL of wldely
avallable oll and Lhe self sLarLer for lnLernal combusuon englnes, Lhe lCL proved Lo be
Lhe beuer source of propulslon and replaced Lhe elecLrlc vehlcles almosL compleLely. 1he
reason for Lhls lles malnly ln Lhe exLremely llmlLed range capablllues of elecLrlc vehlcles
lf compared Lo gasollne cars. 1hls resulLs from Lhe low speclc energy of Lhe avallable
bauery Lechnology. lor lnsLance, 4.3 llLres of gasollne wlll glve a Lyplcal lCL car a range of
30km. ln order Lo sLore Lhe same amounL of useful elecLrlc energy, Lhe vehlcle requlres a
lead acld bauery of abouL 270kg. lf one would wanL Lo double Lhe range of a gasollne car,
lL requlres only 4kg addluonal welghL, buL lL would need an addluonal bauery mass of well
over 270kg Lo compensaLe Lhe conslderably lncreased energy demand due Lo Lhe added
bauery. AnoLher ma[or problem LhaL arlses wlLh elecLrlc vehlcles ls LhaL lL Lakes several
hours Lo recharge Lhe bauery, whlle refuellng a gasollne car ls done ln abouL Lwo mlnuLes.
When also conslderlng Lhe hlgh prlce for adequaLe elecLrlc bauerles, lL becomes clear why
lCL powered cars have been Lhe predomlnanL vehlcle concepL for mosL of Lhe 20Lh cenLury.
uesplLe Lhese omnlpresenL dlsadvanLages, elecLrlc vehlcles have always been used ln cerLaln
nlche appllcauons, due Lo some advanLages over lC englnes. Malnly because Lhey do noL
produce dlrecL exhausL emlsslons and Lhey are lnherenLly quleL. [Lar03]. As a resulL,
elecLrlc vehlcles are ldeal for envlronmenLs where nolse and polluuons are noL LoleraLed.
1hls lncludes warehouses, Lhe lnslde of bulldlngs or on golf courses.
2.1 LlecLrlc vehlcles 3
Powever, durlng Lhe laLe 20Lh and early 21sL cenLury, Lhls slLuauon began Lo change. 1hls
resulLs rsLly from Lhe lncreaslng envlronmenLal concerns ln Lerms of boLh Lhe local emlsslon
of exhausL and Lhe overall emlsslons of carbon dloxlde and secondly, from Lechnologlcal
lmprovemenLs Lo elecLrlc vehlcle componenLs. 1hls also lncludes Lhe developmenL of
advanced fuel cells, whlch opened Lhe posslblllLy of uslng hydrogen as alLernauve energy
sLorage for elecLrlc vehlcles. ln addluon, Lhe concepL of hybrld propulslon has been rened
Lo such an exLenL LhaL several hybrld vehlcles are currenLly on Lhe markeL, wlLh Lhelr share
expecLed Lo grow rapldly ln Lhe years Lo come. Cne such example, lL ls Lhe 1oyoLa rlus,
whlch ls by far Lhe mosL successful hybrld vehlcle. 1he rlus uses a 1.3 llLre lC englne
and a 33kW elecLrlc moLor ln comblnauon or separaLely Lo enable Lhe mosL fuel-eclenL
performance dependlng on Lhe drlvlng slLuauon. WlLh Lhe help of regenerauve braklng,
Lhe overall fuel economy of Lhe rlus ls abouL 24km per llLre [Lar03]. AnoLher mllesLone ls
Lhe launch of Lhe nlssan Leaf ln 2010. lL ls Lhe rsL purpose bullL mass-produced all-elecLrlc
car and marked Lhe beglnnlng of several slmllar cars belng lnLroduced ln Lhe comlng years.
Figure 2.1: 3rd generauon 1oyoLa rlus
[1oy11]
Figure 2.2: nlssan Leaf [nls11]
ln Lhe followlng secuons, dlerenL aspecLs of bauerles and elecLrlc moLors, as Lhe Lwo
ma[or speclc componenLs of elecLrlc vehlcles are dlscussed lnLo more deLall.
2.1.1 Electric Propulsion
LlecLrlc machlnes can be found ln any convenuonal vehlcle as sLarLers or generaLors LhaL
produce elecLrlclLy Lo charge Lhe bauery and Lo supply elecLrlc auxlllary devlces. Powever,
ln elecLrlc vehlcles, elecLrlc machlnes are also Lhe sole provlder of Lracuve force, whlch
makes Lhem one of Lhe key componenLs. LlecLrlc machlnes/moLors can usually work ln
Lwo ways: (1) Lransform elecLrlcal energy from Lhe bauery lnLo mechanlcal energy Lo drlve
Lhe vehlcle, (2) recuperaLe mechanlcal energy avallable aL Lhe powerLraln Lo recharge Lhe
bauery (regenerauve braklng). LlecLrlc moLors can be organlzed ln Lwo maln caLergorles:
dlrecL-currenL (uC) and alLernaung-currenL (AC) moLors. WlLhln Lhese Lwo caLegorles Lhere
are several subLypes whlch are currenLly used ln elecLrlc vehlcles, lncludlng brushed uC,
permanenL-magneL brushless uC, lnducuon moLors and swlLched relucLance moLors. Any
of Lhese machlnes could enable any lmaglnable vehlcle appllcauon. Powever, Lhe quesuon
for Lhe deslgner ls, whaL ls Lhe mosL cosL eecuve-moLor? [Pod01]. A rough comparlson
among Lhese Lypes reveals LhaL uC moLors are generally slmpler and less cosL lnLenslve,
2.2 1hree Wheeled vehlcles 6
slnce Lhey do noL requlre compllcaLed conLrol elecLronlcs. 1helr maln dlsadvanLage ls Lhe
hlgh malnLenance eorL as Lhe brushes wear over ume. AC moLors on Lhe oLher hand
need more sophlsucaLed conLrol elecLronlcs, whlch ralses Lhelr overall cosL. AL Lhe same
ume, Lhey are characLerlzed by hlgher power denslLy and hlgher eclency lf compared
Lo uC moLors [Cuz08]. Powever, aL Lhls polnL lL ls noL lnLended Lo dlscuss Lhe dlerenL
moLor Lypes lnLo more deLall. 1he lnLeresLed reader ls referred Lo publlcauons on elecLrlc
vehlcle deslgn [Lar03, Lel09, WP10].
2.1.2 Electric Energy Storage
1he bauery ls undoubLedly one of Lhe key componenLs of every elecLrlc vehlcle as lL ls usually
Lhe only energy source and Lhe componenL wlLh Lhe hlghesL cosL, welghL and volume [Lar03].
1hus, a baslc undersLandlng of bauery Lechnology ls essenual when deallng wlLh elecLrlc
vehlcles. An elecLrlc bauery generally comprlses Lwo or more elecLrlc cells [olned LogeLher,
where each cell conslsLs of posluve and negauve elecLrodes connecLed by an elecLrolyLe.
A chemlcal reacuon beLween Lhe elecLrodes converLs chemlcal energy lnLo uC elecLrlclLy
and also vlce versa ln Lhe case of rechargeable bauerles. 1here are several dlerenL Lypes
of rechargeable bauerles, lncludlng sealed lead acld, nlckel meLal hybrlde (nlMP) , nlckel
cadmlum, llLhlum polymer and llLhlum lon as well as more recenL developmenLs such as
alumlnum-alr and zlnc-alr bauerles, whlch can be mechanlcally recharged. Powever, up
unul Loday Lhere sull ls no sulLable bauery LhaL allows Lhe unresLrlcLed use of elecLrlc
vehlcles ln Lerms of range and recharge ume [Lar03], whlch furLher supporLs Lhe sLaLus
of Lhe bauery as cruclal componenL. 1he performance of an elecLrlc vehlcle ls closely
llnked Lo Lhe equlpped bauery. lrom Lhe menuoned bauery Lypes, deep cycle lead acld
bauerles are mosL wldely used and known bauerles for elecLrlc vehlcles. 1hls ls a resulL
of Lhelr comparably low cosL and well esLabllshed lnfrasLrucLure for charglng, servlce and
recyclable dlsposal [Pod01]. lL ls Lhese reasons LhaL lL was also Lhe preferred cholce for
Lhe nuS ClLy Car. Powever, Lhey are characLerlzed by a low speclc energy (20-33Wh/kg),
whlch slgnlcanLly llmlLs Lhelr long range capablllues. AnoLher well lnLroduced bauery
Lype ls Lhe nlMP, whlch ls used ln Lhe very successful 1oyoLa rlus. nlMP are Lhe beuer
cholce where range and performance are needed as Lhelr speclc energy ls roughly doubled
compared Lo lead acld (up Lo 63Wh/kg). neverLheless, ln Lhe framework of Lhls Lhesls,
lead acld bauerles are assumed as deslgn consLralnL, whlch ls why Lhls work does noL
provlde a more deLalled dlscusslon on Lhe varlous bauery Lypes and Lhelr performance
characLerlsucs. As for Lhe dlerenL elecLrlc moLor Lypes, lnLeresLed readers are referred
Lo publlcauons on elecLrlc vehlcle deslgn Lo geL more lnformauon on Lhe dlerenL bauery
Lechnologles [Lar03, Lel09, WP10].
2.2 Three Wheeled Vehicles
Applylng Lhe Lhree wheel concepL as plauorm for an auLomoblle ls noL a new approach
conslderlng Lhe facL LhaL Lhe early auLomoblle ploneers sLarLed Lo experlmenL wlLh Lhree
wheeled plauorms [ay01]. Powever, Lhls concepL never really made lLs way as domlnanL
vehlcle deslgn conslderlng Lhelr numbers on Lodays roads. LxcepL for parLs of SouLh and
SouLh LasL Asla where Lhey are Lradluonally wldely used ln publlc LransporL, Lhree wheeled
vehlcles (1Wv) play a mlnor role ln Lhe global volume of Lrac. neverLheless, Lhere has
been an lncreaslng lnLeresL ln Lhree wheel deslgn concepLs durlng Lhe lasL decade. 1hls ls a
resulL of Lhe rlslng envlronmenLal awareness of our socleLy LogeLher wlLh Lhe lncreaslngly
congesLed roads ln Lhe meLropollLan areas due Lo growlng lndlvldual LransporLauon demands.
1he Lhree wheeled vehlcle deslgn has Lhe poLenual Lo achleve a reasonable compromlse
beLween Lhe safeLy and comforL of a sLandard four wheel passenger car and Lhe fuel
economy, slze and cosL of a moLorcycle. 1herefore, conslderable eorL has been puL lnLo
Lhe developmenL of new Lhree wheel concepLs ln Lhe recenL pasL. 1hls chapLer revlews
several concepLs of modern Lhree wheeled vehlcles pumng Lhem lnLo Lwo maln caLegorles.
As a resulL of Lhe llLeraLure revlew on Lhree wheeled vehlcles Lwo layouL concepLs have
been ldenued dependlng on Lhe allgnmenL of Lhe Lhree wheels. naLurally, Lhe Lhree
wheels are allgned ln Lrlangular shape wlLh Lhe slngle wheel placed on Lhe cenLer axls
oseL Lo Lhe Lwo wheel axle. Pavlng Lhe Lwo wheel axle ln Lhe fronL ls oen referred Lo
as Ladpole congurauon, whlle Lhe reverse congurauon wlLh Lhe Lwo wheel axle ln Lhe
rear can be called delLa.
v
Delta
Tadpole
Figure 2.3: uomlnanL Lhree wheeled vehlcle layouLs
lrregardless of Lhe congurauon, recenL Lhree wheel concepLs oen feaLure a ulung
mechanlsm. 1hls mechanlsm allows Lhe vehlcle Lo lean lnLo Lurns slmllar Lo moLorcycles
oerlng an lmproved reslsLance Lo roll over [8ll09]. 1hus, Lhey sLrongly resemble convenuonal
moLorcycles ln Lhelr general appearance as Lhey usually also accommodaLe drlver and
passenger ln Landem. AnoLher approach are non-ulung vehlcles LhaL accommodaLe drlver
and passenger slde by slde. 1herefore, Lhese vehlcles generally feaLure larger dlmenslons
Lhan Lhelr ulung counLerparLs, maklng Lhem appear more llke a car Lhan a moLorcycle.
1hls dlerenuauon beLween ulung and non-ulung Lhree wheelers reecLs Lhe vlew of Lhe
auLhor as a resulL of Lhe llLeraLure revlew ln Lhe frame work of Lhls Lhesls. ln Lhe followlng,
boLh Lypes are brley descrlbed accompanled by a few examples.
2.2.1 Tilng Three Wheeled Vehicles
ln order Lo lmplemenL Lhe ulung mechanlsm, a comparably narrow Lrack wldLh and vehlcle
body ls favored. A wlde body may conLacL Lhe ground already aL small lean angles, whlle a
larger dlsLance beLween Lhe slde-by-slde wheels requlres a greaLer overall wheel movemenL
aL equlvalenL lean angles. 1he ulung mechanlsm furLhermore generally compllcaLes Lhe
accommodauon of Lhe sLeerlng and suspenslon sysLems [8ll09]. 1he ulung of Lhe vehlcle can
be conLrolled by Lhe drlver (free leanlng) as wlLh ordlnary moLorcycles or lL ls conLrolled by
an acuve ulL conLrol sysLem. 1he acuve ulL conLrol ls accompllshed by acLuaLors operaung
accordlng Lo slgnals from several sensors. 1hese sensors monlLor relevanL facLors such as
Lhe laLeral accelerauon, vehlcle yaw and lean angle or Lhe sLeerlng angle [8ll09].
1he Mercedes l 300 Llfe !eL ls an example for an acuve ulL conLrol Lhree wheeler. 1hls
concepL car from 1997 feaLures a Ladpole congurauon wlLh a Mercedes A-Class combusuon
englne drlvlng Lhe slngle rear wheel [M811].
Figure 2.4: Mercedes 8enz l 300 Llfe !eL ConcepL Car [M811]
AnoLher approach Lo ulung Lhree wheelers has been lmplemenLed ln Lhe CLLvL8 pro[ecL.
CLLvL8 sLands for CompacL Low Lmlsslon vehlcle for urban 1ransporL and refers Lo
a research pro[ecL performed ln cooperauon by several Luropean unlverslues as well as
lndusLry parLners under Lhe Lechnologlcal managemenL of Lhe 8MW Croup [8MW09]. 1hls
Lhree wheel concepL feaLures Lhe delLa congurauon whlle only Lhe slngle fronL wheel ls
leanlng Lhrough an acuve ulL conLrol sysLem. uue Lo Lhe sLrong unlverslLy lnvolvemenL ln
Lhls pro[ecL, several research papers regardlng Lhe deslgn of Lhe vehlcle sysLems are openly
avallable (e.g. [Pol07] [8er08]).
Figure 2.5: CLLvL8 ConcepL vehlcle [Pol07]
2.2.2 Non-Tilng Three Wheeled Vehicles
1he second esLabllshed caLegory of modern Lhree wheelers comprlses non-ulung vehlcles
wlLh passenger and drlver slLuaLed slde by slde. 1he nuS ClLy Car whlch ls belng consldered
ln Lhls work falls lnLo Lhls caLegory. As wlLh Lhe ulung Lhree wheelers revlewed above,
non ulung vehlcles can be lmplemenLed on boLh, Lhe Ladpole and Lhe delLa congurauon.
Powever, Lhe performed llLeraLure revlew lndlcaLes LhaL recenL developmenLs are oen
based on Lhe Ladpole layouL. 1hls may be explalned by Lhe beneclal aerodynamlc
characLerlsucs of Lhls congurauon. 1he Ladpole layouL convenlenLly enables a body shell
modeled ln sLreamllned dropleL shape. lurLhermore, lL enables a slngle rear wheel drlve,
whlch slgnlcanLly slmplles Lhe drlve Lraln, maklng lL more eclenL and less cosLly. As a
resulL of Lhls, lL ls also Lhe preferred congurauon for paruclpanLs of Lhe varlous solar car
challenges [SLa06].
A commerclal example for Lhls caLegory ls Lhe Campagna 1-8ex 148. As a derlvauve from
formula raclng Lechnology, Lhls hlgh performance vehlcle powered by a 1400cc four-cyllnder
combusuon englne opposes Lhe general Lrend of energy eclenL urban LransporLauon.
Powever, lL ls a good demonsLrauon of Lhe performance capablllues of Lhe Lhree wheel
deslgn.
Figure 2.6: Campagna 1-8ex 148 [Cam10]
A fuel-eclenL represenLauve of non-ulung 1Wvs ls Lhe currenLly developed ApLera 2e.
1he ob[ecuve of Lhls pro[ecL ls Lo markeL a super fuel-eclenL elecLrlc vehlcle based on
exLenslve llghL welghL deslgn and superb aerodynamlcs, whlle maklng no compromlses
regardlng Lhe safeLy of Lhe passengers.
Figure 2.7: ApLera 2e, super fuel-eclenL vehlcle. [ApL09]
2.3 vehlcle Lnergy Consumpuon 10
Slnce Lhe nuS ClLy Car ls also based on a non-ulung 1Wv plauorm, lL shares many baslc
deslgn feaLures wlLh Lhese Lwo examples.
2.3 Vehicle Energy Consumpon
SLudylng Lhe mechanlcal energy demand of a vehlcle ls a cruclal sLep ln Lhe vehlcle deslgn
process. uynamlc performance characLerlsucs such as Lop speed, maxlmum grade and
maxlmum accelerauon are oen used as deslgn speclcauons. ln addluon, Lhe over all
energy consumpuon and for elecLrlc vehlcles also Lhe vehlcle range have become lncreaslngly
lmporLanL deslgn speclcauons. ulmenslonlng Lhe powerLraln so LhaL lL meeLs Lhe seL
LargeLs requlres accuraLe knowledge of Lhe presenL drlvlng reslsLances and Lhe resulung
energy losses. ln Lhls conLexL, Lhe presenL work focuses on sLudylng Lhe lmpacL of baslc
vehlcle parameLers such as welghL and aerodynamlcs on Lhe range of Lhe nuS ClLy Car.
1herefore, Lhls secuon serves as background for Lhe laLer ln Lhls work developed range
esumauon model as basls for Lhe proposed parameLer sLudy. 1he followlng paragraphs
revlew Lhe varlous drlvlng reslsLances acung on a vehlcle ln mouon as well as Lhe lnuence
of Lhe drlvlng pauern on Lhe over all energy consumpuon and Lhus on Lhe range of a
vehlcle.
2.3.1 Energy Losses and Tracve Eort
1he LoLal Lracuve eorL needed Lo keep a vehlcle ln a parucular drlvlng condluon ls equal
Lo Lhe sum of all presenL drlvlng reslsLances [Pel08]. llgure 2.8 lllusLraLes Lhe maln energy
losses of a vehlcle ln mouon ln form of longlLudlnal forces acung on Lhe vehlcle body.
v
F
rr
F
hc
F
ad
F
trac
F
la
Mg
Figure 2.8: LonglLudlnal forces acung on vehlcle ln mouon
1he lllusLraLed drlvlng reslsLances are respecuvely:
8olllng reslsLance F
rr
Aerodynamlc reslsLance F
ad
Plll cllmb reslsLance F
hc
Accelerauon reslsLance F
la
whlle F
trac
represenLs Lhe LoLal Lracuve eorL supplled aL Lhe drlvlng axle. 1he followlng
paragraphs are concerned wlLh Lhe four consldered drlvlng reslsLances.
2.3.1.1 Rolling Resistance
8olllng reslsLance ls a resulL of Lhe conunuous elasuc deformauon and reLurn of maLerlal ln
Lhe conLacL zone beLween road surface and ure. 1he energy used Lo deform Lhe ure and
surface cannoL be compleLely recovered due Lo Lhe lnLernal damplng of Lhe maLerlal. 1hls
energy loss causes rolllng reslsLance [Cen09a]. 1herefore, lL becomes apparenL LhaL Lhe
rolllng reslsLance lncreases as Lhe elasuc deformauons lncrease. ln Lhe case of pneumauc
ures rolllng on concreLe, Lhe deformauons are almosL enurely locallzed on wheel slde,
whlle Lhe deformauon of Lhe surface are neglecLed. ln addluon, oLher eecLs such as
aerodynamlc drag on Lhe dlsc or frlcuon ln Lhe wheel bearlngs conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe overall
rolllng reslsLance. Powever, Lhese eecLs are only ln Lhe order of a few percenL [Cen09a].
1he rolllng frlcuon force ls oen modeled as
F
rr
(v,r,...) = c
r
(v,r,...) M g, v > 0 (2.1)
where M ls Lhe vehlcle mass and g Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon [Cuz08]. 1he rolllng
frlcuon coeclenL c
r
ls a funcuon of many varlables, whlle Lhe mosL lmporLanL facLors are
Lhe vehlcle speed v, Lhe ure pressure and Lhe road surface condluons. lor approxlmaung
purposes lL ls oen assumed LhaL mosL of Lhese facLors are consLanL, wlLh Lhe vehlcle
speed belng Lhe only value LhaL conslderably changes durlng normal drlvlng condluons.
1herefore, Lhe rolllng frlcuon force ls oen modeled as funcuon of Lhe veloclLy only
[Cen09a]. 1he vehlcle speed generally lnuences Lhe rolllng reslsLance Lo a smaller exLend
aL lower values. Powever, lLs lnuence slgnlcanLly lncreases when lL reaches a crlucal
value, where vlbrauon phenomena sLarL Lo Lake place ln Lhe ure [!az09]. 1hls relauonshlp
along wlLh Lhe lnuence of Lhe ure pressure ls shown ln llgure 2.9.
16 2 Vehicle Energy and Fuel Consumption Basic Concepts
v
20 40 60
0.01
0.02
0
0
m/s
c
r -
p = 0. 4 p
0
p =
1. 6 p
0
p
0
[20 C]
[25 C]
[28 C]
minimum
average
Fig. 2.2. Tire friction coecient as a function of the vehicle speed v and variations
of the tire pressure p.
Uphill Driving Force
The force induced by gravity when driving on a non-horizontal road is conser-
vative and considerably inuences the vehicle behavior. In this text this force
will be modeled by the relationship
F
g
() = m
v
g sin() , (2.4)
which, for small inclinations , may be approximated by
F
g
() m
v
g (2.5)
when is expressed in radians.
Inertial Forces
The inertia of the vehicle and of all rotating parts inside the vehicle causes
ctitious (dAlembert) forces. The inertia force induced by the vehicle mass is
included in (2.1) by the term on the left side. The inertia of the rotating masses
of the powertrain can be taken into account in the respective submodels.
Nevertheless, sometimes for rapid calculation, it may be convenient to add the
inertia of the rotating masses to the vehicle mass. Such an analysis usually
considers a prime mover and a transmission with a total transmission ratio .
The total
3
inertia torque of the wheels is given by
3
The inertia w includes all wheels and all rotating parts that are present on the
wheel side of the gear box. The speed of all wheels w is assumed to be the same.
Figure 2.9: 1lre frlcuon coeclenL dependlng on Lhe vehlcle speed v and varlauons of Lhe
ure pressure p
0
. [Cuz08]
lor many appllcauons, especlally when Lhe vehlcle operaLes aL moderaLe veloclues, Lhe
conslderauon of c
r
ls even furLher slmplled by assumlng lL ls consLanL [Cuz08, Lar03].
1hls approach ls also adopLed LhroughouL Lhls work, as Lhe examlned car ls lnLended Lo
be operaLed solely ln an urban envlronmenL wlLh raLher low maxlmum veloclues.
2.3.1.2 Aerodynamic Resistance
1he aerodynamlc reslsLance acung on a vehlcle body ln mouon orlglnaLes from Lhree
sources [k10]:
shape reslsLance due Lo Lurbulences of Lhe alr ow aL Lhe vehlcle rear (83)
vlscous frlcuon of Lhe surroundlng alr ow on Lhe vehlcle surface lLself (10)
lnLernal reslsLance due Lo Lhe alr ow Lhrough Lhe englne and passenger comparLmenL
needed for coollng and venulauon (3)
1he aerodynamlc reslsLance force ls usually approxlmaLed by assumlng Lhe car Lo be a
prlsmauc body wlLh a cerLaln fronLal area A
f
. 1he force caused by Lhe LurbulenL ow ls
Lhen modeled as funcuon of Lhe sLagnauon pressure p
L
muluplled wlLh Lhe aerodynamlc
drag coeclenL c
w
and Lhe fronLal area A
f
.
F
ad
= p
L
c
w
A
f
=
1
2
a
v
2
L
c
w
A
f
(2.2)
Pere, v
L
ls Lhe veloclLy of Lhe alr ow relauve Lo Lhe car and
a
Lhe denslLy of Lhe amblenL
alr. 1he drag coeclenL models Lhe acLual ow condluons and heavlly depends on Lhe body
deslgn and Lhe dlrecuon of Lhe alr ow. lL ls found elLher experlmenLally ln wlnd Lunnels
or evaluaLed numerlcally wlLh Lhe help of compuLauonal uld dynamlcs (Clu) soware.
lor Lhe esumauon of Lhe mechanlcal energy demand of vehlcles lL ls usually assumed LhaL
Lhe aerodynamlc reslsLance only depends on Lhe vehlcle speed, whlle neglecung exLernal
eecLs such as amblenL wlnd veloclues and dlrecuons [Cuz08].
2.3.1.3 Hill Climb Resistance
1he hlll cllmb reslsLance slmply represenLs Lhe force lnduced by gravlLy when drlvlng on a
non-horlzonLal road (see llgure 2.8). 1hls force ls conservauve, meanlng LhaL lL ls sLored
as poLenual energy, whlch makes lL posslble Lo recover a parL of Lhe energy used Lo
overcome Lhe hlll cllmb reslsLance. 1herefore, Lhere ls addluonal energy avallable when
golng downhlll. 1he hlll cllmb force conslderably lnuences Lhe vehlcle behavlour already
aL moderaLe grade levels [Cen09b]. 8ased on slmple geomeLry lL can be modeled as
F
hc
= M g sin() (2.3)
where denoLes Lhe grade level ln arc degrees.
2.3.1.4 Acceleraon Resistance
ln LranslenL drlvlng condluons, Lhe powerLraln has Lo overcome noL only Lhe rolllng,
aerodynamlc and hlll cllmb reslsLances, buL also Lhe lnerua forces resulung from acceleraung
Lhe vehlcle mass from veloclLy v
1
Lo v
2
wlLh Lhe accelerauon a
x
= dv/dt. Along wlLh Lhls
LranslaLory accelerauon of Lhe vehlcle mass, one has Lo conslder Lhe lnerua of all roLaung
masses ln Lhe powerLraln. 1hls lncludes amongsL oLhers Lhe wheels, drlve shas, Lhe cluLch
and Lhe moLor, whlle Lhe presenL gear rauo has Lo be Laken lnLo accounL for Lhe moLor and
cluLch lnerua momenLs. 1hese roLauonal lnerua forces are oen regarded as addluonal
welghL added Lo Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass M
v
based on Lhe roLauonal mass lnerua momenLs
of Lhe consldered componenLs.
M = M
v
+M
rot
(2.4)
1he lmpacL of Lhe roLaung parLs on Lhe vehlcle behavlour can be conslderable, whlch ls
why lL ls usually noL neglecLed. Powever, Lhe problem ls LhaL Lhe acLual mass lnerua
momenLs of Lhe roLaung masses are oen unknown, whlch makes lL dlculL Lo deLermlne
Lhe addluonal welghL M
rot
. ln such a case, Larmlnle and Lowry (2003) [Lar03] suggesL Lo
assume 3 of Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass as addluonal welghL Lo accounL for Lhe roLaung masses
when esumaung Lhe energy consumpuon of elecLrlc vehlcles. WlLh Lhls approxlmauon, Lhe
accelerauon reslsLance ylelds
F
la
= (M
v
+ 0.05 M
v
) a
x
(2.3)
2.3.2 Energy Demand in Actual Driving Condions
ln Lhe prevlous paragraphs, lL was derlved whaL componenLs make up Lhe LoLal Lracuve
eorL necessary Lo malnLaln Lhe presenL drlvlng condluon of a vehlcle. 1herefore, Lhe LoLal
Lracuve eorL adds up Lo:
F
trac
= F
rr
+F
ad
+F
hc
+F
la
(2.6)
1he magnlLude of Lhese componenLs heavlly depends on Lhe presenL drlvlng condluon,
namely Lhe currenL veloclLy, accelerauon and grade. ln order Lo esumaLe Lhe LoLal energy
used Lo cover a cerLaln dlsLance lL ls Lhus necessary Lo assume a reallsuc drlvlng pauern,
whlch lndlcaLes Lhe speed, accelerauon and grade LhroughouL Lhe drlvlng. lor Lhls purpose,
sLandardlzed LesL drlvlng cycles LhaL descrlbe Lhe acLual use of Lhe vehlcle Lhrough a
ume hlsLory of Lhe vehlcle speed, have been lnLroduced. uependlng on Lhe examlned
appllcauon, varlous LesL cycles exlsL ranglng from clLy Lo hlghway cycles, whlle one has Lo
keep ln mlnd LhaL real drlvlng pauerns are oen much more complex due Lo unpredlcLable
drlver behavlour and Lrac condluons [Cen09b]. Commonly used LesL cycles lnclude Lhe
urban dynamomeLer drlvlng schedule (uuuS) , Lhe federal hlghway cycle (lPuS) and Lhe
new ?ork ClLy cycle (n?CC) , all uSA, as well as Lhe Luropean urban drlvlng cycle (LCL).
1hese cycles are someumes comblned or ad[usLed Lo form a LesL procedure sulLed for a
cerLaln examlned appllcauon. 1he homepage of Lhe u.S. LnvlronmenLal roLecuon Agency
[u.S10] provldes a wlde range of drlvlng cycles downloadable as LexL les, whlle llgure
2.10 exemplarlly lllusLraLes Lhe veloclLy prole of Lhe uuuS cycle.
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
0
10
20
30
time [s]
v
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

[
m
/
s
]
UDDS Test Cycle
Figure 2.10: urban dynamomeLer drlvlng schedule (uuuS), lengLh: 12.07 km, maxlmum
speed: 91.2 km/h, average speed: 31.3 km/h
lor Lhe compuLauon of Lhe energy consumed ln a drlvlng cycle, Lhe reference cycle
ls dlscreuzed lnLo small parLs, whlle Lhe sum of Lhe parual consumpuons ln each parL
approxlmaLes Lhe LoLal energy consumpuon. ln oLher words, Lhe LesL cycle ls subdlvlded
lnLo a serles of shorL ume lnLervals t, where for each ume lnLerval Lhe presenL Lracuve
force ls compuLed wlLh eq. (2.6) uslng Lhe presenL veloclLy, accelerauon and grade exLracLed
from Lhe LesL cycle daLa. 1he presenL Lracuve force ls Lhen muluplled wlLh Lhe dlsLance
s
i
covered durlng Lhe ume lnLerval ln order Lo obLaln Lhe parual energy consumpuon.
E
cycle
=
n
i=1
F
trac, i
s
i
(2.7)
1hls quaslsLauc approach assumes LhaL Lhe vehlcle runs aL consLanL speed v, accelerauon
a and grade for shorL perlod of ume t, whlle lLs accuracy correlaLes Lo Lhe lengLh of
Lhe chosen ume lnLerval. Lxperlence shows, LhaL a durauon of abouL t = 1 s represenLs
an accepLable lnLerval lengLh [Cen09b]. Conslderlng each ume lnLerval ls represenLed by
t
i
= t
i+1
t
i
, Lhe respecuve quaslLsLauc veloclues v
i
and accelerauons a
i
are exLracLed
from Lhe LesL cycle prole as follows:
v
i
=
v
i+1
+v
i
2
a
i
=
v
i+1
+v
i
t
i+1
t
i
(2.8)
1he respecuve power Lo be provlded by Lhe drlve Lraln durlng each ume lnLerval ls Lhen
calculaLed by muluplylng Lhe presenLly needed F
trac, i
wlLh Lhe currenL veloclLy v
i
P
trac, i
= F
trac, i
v
i
(2.9)
1he quaslsLauc meLhod ls well sulLed Lo model Lhe energy consumpuon of complex
powerLraln sLrucLures. lL enables Lhe lncorporauon of Lhe drlvlng pauern and can be
lmplemenLed wlLh relauvely low numerlcal eorL. Powever, one has Lo keep ln mlnd LhaL
Lhls meLhod ls based on a backward formulauon, whlch means Lhe drlvlng prole Lo be
followed has Lo be known beforehand maklng lL lncapable of handllng feedback conLrol
problems [Cuz08].
lL ls worLh noung LhaL dependlng on Lhe value of F
trac
Lhe vehlcle operaLes ln Lhree
dlerenL drlvlng modes [Cuz08]:
F
trac
> 0, Lracuon mode, Lhe englne has Lo provlde propulslon force Lo Lhe wheels
Lo enable Lhe currenL drlvlng condluon
F
trac
< 0, braklng mode, Lhe vehlcle does noL requlre any mechanlcal energy slnce
Lhe aerodynamlc and rolllng reslsLance losses are compensaLed by Lhe klneuc energy
of Lhe vehlcle, whlle Lhe brakes dlsslpaLe Lhe surplus ln klneuc energy
F
trac
= 0, coasung mode, Lhe moLor ls dlsengaged and Lhe frlcuon losses of Lhe
vehlcle exacLly maLch Lhe decrease of lLs klneuc energy
ln elecLrlc vehlcles lL ls comparably easy Lo dlsengage or swlLch o Lhe moLor ln case
of coasung, braklng or sLopplng (v
i
= 0) so LhaL Lhe vehlcle Lruly only uses up energy
ln Lracuon mode. ln case Lhe vehlcle ls equlpped wlLh an energy recuperauon devlce,
Lhe addluonal klneuc energy durlng braklng ls converLed back lnLo elecLrlc energy and
sLored ln Lhe bauery, maklng lL avallable for fuLure propulslve eorL. 1he eclency of
Lhe recuperauon sysLem however, has lLs upper llmlL llnked Lo Lhe powerLraln eclency
[Cuz08]. 1he drlvlng pauern conslderably lnuences Lhe energy consumpuon as well as
Lhe exLenL Lo whlch Lhe dlerenL drlvlng reslsLances conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe over all energy
consumpuon. An urban drlvlng cycle wlLh low average veloclLy and many braklng and
accelerauon phases ls naLurally characLerlzed by a large share of accelerauon reslsLance,
whlle an auLobahn drlvlng cycle mosLly demands energy due Lo aerodynamlc reslsLance as
Lhe aerodynamlc drag lncreases wlLh Lhe square of Lhe vehlcle speed. llgure 2.11 compares
Lhe composluon of Lhe energy consumpuon ln Lwo dlerenL drlvlng envlronmenLs.
Aerodynamics
Rolling Resistance
Transmission
Acceleration
Highway City Average
72%
20%
8%
5%
18%
12%
65%
32%
39%
19%
10%
Figure 2.11: Composuon of Lhe over all energy demand for a medlum slzed saloon car,
comparlson of clLy and hlghway drlvlng cycle [Cen09b]
2.4 LlghLwelghL ueslgn 16
2.4 Lightweight Design
Wledemann descrlbes llghLwelghL deslgn (LWu) as Lhe lnLenuon Lo reduce or mlnlmlze
Lhe welghL of a deslgn wlLhouL reduclng lLs load capaclLy, suness or oLher funcuons.
1hls lnLenuon may orlglnaLe from economlc or funcuonal reasons [Wle07]. 1he lnvolved
llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs have seen a Lremendous growLh ln appllcauons across dlerenL
dlsclpllnes. MosL noLably, Lhe avlauon lndusLry ls Lo be named as Lhe ma[or drlver ln
Lhe developmenL of llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs. Powever, llghLwelghL deslgn lncreaslngly
promlses economlc beneLs ln oLher elds. 1hls especlally lncludes Lhe auLomoblle lndusLry.
Llke ln aeronauucs, Lhe energy consumpuon of road vehlcles ls dlrecLly llnked Lo Lhe mass
LhaL ls belng moved. 1hls relauonshlp ls furLher lnvesugaLed based on Lhe nuS ClLy Car
ln ChapLer 3. uue Lo Lhe rlslng cosL of fossll fuels, welghL mlnlmlzauon has become one
of Lhe domlnanL deslgn crlLerla also for auLomoblle manufacLurers. LlecLrlc vehlcles are
parucularly dependenL on eclenL llghLwelghL deslgn ln order Lo compensaLe Lhe hlgh
welghL and llmlLed energy sLorage capaclLy of currenL bauerles.
1here are numerous researchers and publlcauons, whlch dene and caLegorlze Lhe sub[ecL
of llghLwelghL deslgn. Powever, Lhe boundarles beLween Lhe dlerenL ways of classlfylng
llghLwelghL deslgn prlnclples remaln blurry. Cne caLegorlzauon LhaL appears Lo be conslsLenL
wlLh Lhe llghLwelghL deslgn approach of Lhls Lhesls ls descrlbed by Sobek [Sob07] (see
llgure 2.12).
Lightweight
Design
Lightweight
Design
Material Material
System System
Structural Structural
Manufacturing
Figure 2.12: CaLegorlzauon of llghLwelghL deslgn prlnclples by Sobek [Sob07]
Material LWD uescrlbes Lhe appllcauon of maLerlals wlLh a favorable rauo beLween
welghL and avallable sLrengLh, suness or oLher feaLures.
Structural LWD uescrlbes Lhe prlnclple of mlnlmlzlng Lhe welghL by ndlng Lhe
2.3 SLrucLural Cpumlzauon 17
opumal Lopology, shape and slze of a sLrucLure wlLh regards Lo Lhe presenL consLralnLs.
System LWD uescrlbes Lhe prlnclple of maklng componenLs mulu-funcuonal, for
lnsLance by allocaung addluonal funcuons Lo purely load bearlng componenLs.
1he focus of Lhe presenL Lhesls clearly lles ln Lhe appllcauon of sLrucLural llghLwelghL deslgn
concepLs, whlch ls why Lhe followlng secuon dlscusses Lhls subcaLegory lnLo more deLall.
Powever, as Lhe lllusLrauon ln llgure 2.12 Lrles Lo lndlcaLe wlLh Lhe chaln of arrows, Lhe
dlerenL llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs are lnLerrelaLed and should noL be undersLood as
lsolaLed concepLs. lor lnsLance, Lhe used maLerlal has a dlrecL lmpacL on Lhe opumal
sLrucLural llghLwelghL deslgn. 1hls ls demonsLraLed ln Lhe laLer course of Lhls work, uslng
Lhe example of Lhe selecLed componenL.
2.5 Structural Opmizaon
Along wlLh Lhe lncreaslng lmporLance of llghLwelghL deslgn, sLrucLural opumlzauon has
emerged as a comprehenslve Lool for Lhe developmenL of llghLwelghL, low cosL and
hlgh performance sLrucLures (sLrucLural llghLwelghL deslgn). 1he avallablllLy of hlgh-speed
compuLers as well as Lhe lmprovemenL ln opumlzauon algorlLhms furLher alded Lhls
developmenL. 1he subsequenL secuons revlewLhe concepL of sLrucLural opumlzauon needed
as background for Lhe Lopology opumlzauon performed laLer ln Lhls work. 1herefore, Lhe
focus lles ln descrlblng Lhe prlnclples and general lssues of Lopology opumlzauon.
2.5.1 Basic Principle
SLrucLural opumlzauon descrlbes Lhe sub[ecL of maklng an assemblage of maLerlals besL ln
Lerms of susLalnlng loads [Chr09]. 1o lllusLraLe Lhls, one can Lhlnk of a slLuauon where a
cerLaln load has Lo be Lransmlued from a polnL ln space Lo a xed supporL. Such a slLuauon
ls shown ln llgure 2.13, where Lhe area enclosed by Lhe doued llne ls oen referred Lo
as deslgn domaln. Powever, Lhe ob[ecuve of maklng a sLrucLure besL has Lo be specled
ln order Lo make any sense. osslble speclcauons LhaL qulckly come lnLo mlnd lnclude
mlnlmlzlng a sLrucLures welghL or maxlmlzlng lLs suness. erformlng such mlnlmlzauons or
maxlmlzauons clearly requlres furLher consLralnLs ln order Lo geL a well dened opumlzauon
problem. lor lnsLance, Lo make a sLrucLure as su as posslble, one has Lo dene a llmlL of
maLerlal Lo be used. WlLhouL such a consLralnL, Lhe opumlzauon process wlll suggesL Lo
endlessly add maLerlal, as Lhls generally leads Lo an lncrease ln suness. CLher common
consLralned quanuues lnclude, sLresses, dlsplacemenLs or geomeLry. ln addluon Lo Lhese
sLrucLural performance measures, one also has Lo conslder oLher cruclal facLors such as
funcuonallLy, economy and esLheucs. SLrucLural opumlzauon as lL ls consldered ln Lhls
work ls a subseL of numerlcal deslgn opumlzauon. 1haL means, Lhe opumlzauon problem
of maklng someLhlng as good as posslble wlLh respecL Lo seL of consLralnLs ls glven an
exacL maLhemaucal form. 1hls requlres LhaL each consldered facLor ls measurable as a
maLhemaucal gure.
2 1 Introduction
Fig. 1.1 Structural
optimization problem. Find
the structure which best
transmits the load F to the
support
position of structural optimization in relation to such, usually not mathematically
dened, factors, we give a short indication of the main steps in the process of de-
signing a product in general, as described by Kirsch [22]. At least in an ideal world
these steps are as follows:
1. Function: What is the use of the product? Think of the design of a bridge: how
long and broad should it be, how many driving lanes, what loads can be expected,
etc.?
2. Conceptual design: What type of construction concept should we use? When we
are to construct a bridge we need to decide if we are to build a truss bridge, a
suspension bridge or perhaps an arch bridge.
3. Optimization: Within the chosen concept, and within the constraints on function,
make the product as good as possible. For a bridge it would be natural to mini-
mize cost; perhaps indirectly by using the least possible amount of material.
4. Details: This step is usually controlled by market, social or esthetic factors. In
the bridge case, perhaps we need to choose an interesting color.
The traditional, and still dominant, way of realizing step 3 is the iterative-intuitive
one, which can be described as follows. (a) A specic design is suggested. (b) Re-
quirements based on the function are investigated. (c) If they are not satised, say
the stress is too large, a new design must be suggested, and even if such require-
ments are satised the design may not be optimal (the bridge may be overly heavy)
so we still may want to suggest a new design. (d) The suggested new design is
brought back to step (b). In this way an iterative process is formed where, on mainly
intuitive grounds, a series of designs are created which hopefully converges to an
acceptable nal design.
For mechanical structures, step (b) of the iterative-intuitive realization of step 3,
is today almost exclusively performed by means of computer based methods like
the Finite Element Method (FEM) or Multi Body Dynamics (MBD). These meth-
ods imply that every design iteration can be analyzed with greater condence, and
probably every step can be made more effective. However, they do not lead to a
basic change of the strategy.
The mathematical design optimization method is conceptually different from the
iterative-intuitive one. In this method a mathematical optimization problem is for-
mulated, where requirements due to the function act as constraints and the concept
as good as possible is given precise mathematical form. Thus, step 3 in the de-
Figure 2.13: SLrucLural opumlzauon problem [Chr09]
SLrucLural opumlzauon problems can be generally expressed by Lhe followlng funcuons
and varlables [Chr09]:
Objecve funcon f(x, y) A funcuon LhaL classles Lhe deslgn by reLurnlng a value
whlch lndlcaLes Lhe performance of every posslble deslgn. Cen f ls dened as
mlnlmlzauon problem (e.g. welghL, compllance)
Design variable x A funcuon LhaL descrlbes Lhe deslgn domaln, and whlch can vary
durlng opumlzauon. lL generally represenLs Lhe geomeLry of Lhe deslgn domaln.
State variable y lor a glven deslgn descrlbed by x, y ls a funcuon LhaL represenLs
Lhe response of Lhe sLrucLure. (e.g. sLress, dlsplacemenL)
1herefore, a general opumlzauon problem Lakes Lhe form:
mlnlmlze f(x, y)
sub[ecL Lo
behavloral consLralnLs on y
deslgn consLralnLs on x
equlllbrlum consLralnL
MosL numerlcal opumlzauon meLhods are based on nlLe elemenL analysls (lLA). 1haL
means Lhe deslgn domaln ls dlscreuzed lnLo a sLrucLure or mesh of dlscreLe elemenLs.
1hus, Lhe opumlzauon problem conLalns a equlllbrlum consLralnL of Lhe form
K(x) u = F(x) (2.10)
where K(x) ls Lhe suness maLrlx of Lhe sLrucLure dependlng on Lhe deslgn varlable x, u
ls Lhe dlsplacemenL vecLor, whlle F(x) denoLes Lhe force vecLor whlch mlghL also relaLe
Lo Lhe deslgn varlable.
uependlng on Lhe denluon of Lhe deslgn domaln one can classlfy sLrucLural opumlzauon
problems lnLo Lhree caLegorles [ar07]:
a) Size Opmizaon ln Lhls case x represenLs some Lype of sLrucLural Lhlckness, such
as Lhe Lhlckness of a plaLe or Lhe cross-secuonal dlmenslons of Lrusses or frames.
Slze opumlzauon ls Lhe slmplesL approach Lo lmprove sLrucLural performance, as Lhe
deslgn domaln ls largely xed LhroughouL Lhe opumlzauon process excepL for Lhe
varylng slze varlables.
b) Shape Opmizaon Pere, Lhe deslgn varlable represenLs Lhe form or conLour of Lhe
boundary of Lhe deslgn domaln, whereas Lhe opumlzauon process cannoL change
Lhe connecuvlLy of Lhe sLrucLure or form new boundarles.
c) Topology Opmizaon 1hls ls Lhe mosL general Lype of sLrucLural opumlzauon. lor
dlscreLe sLrucLures such as Lrusses and frames, lL Lakes Lhe cross secuonal areas
of frame members as deslgn varlables allowlng Lhem Lo become zero, whlch wlll
evenLually remove bars from Lhe frame. 1hus, lL allows changes of Lhe connecuvlLy of
sLrucLures. lor Conunuum sLrucLures Lopology opumlzauon seeks Lo nd Lhe opumal
deslgn by deLermlnlng Lhe besL locauon and geomeLry of Lhe maLerlal.
a)
b)
c)
Figure 2.14: 1hree Lypes of sLrucLural opumlzauon. a) Slze opumlzauon of Lruss sLrucLure,
b) shape opumlzauon, c) Lopology opumlzauon. 1he le slde represenLs lnlual problem
whlle Lhe rlghL shows Lhe respecuve opumal soluuons
1he graphlc ln llgure 2.14 ls based on a slmllar lllusLrauon ln [8en03] and compares Lhe
Lhree caLegorles Lhrough Lhe slmple example of a canulever sLrucLure Lo be opumlzed.
2.5.2 Topology Opmizaon
1opology opumlzauon of conunuum sLrucLures ls by far Lhe mosL challenglng buL aL Lhe
same ume economlcally mosL rewardlng of Lhe Lhree sLrucLural opumlzauon Lypes [Pua10].
lL provldes much more freedom, as lL ls noL llmlLed Lo slmply changlng slzes or shapes
of sLrucLural componenLs. 1he opumlzauon procedure ls Lo nd Lhe maLerlal dlsLrlbuuon
of a sLrucLure by deLermlnlng whlch polnLs ln Lhe deslgn domaln should be maLerlal
polnLs (1) and whlch polnLs should remaln vold (0), whlch evenLually resulLs ln a 0-1
problem. An abundance of publlcauons have emerged on Lhls general problem, sLarung
wlLh Lhe groundbreaklng paper of 8endse and klkuchl (1988). As a resulL, many dlerenL
approaches Lo Lopology opumlzauon have been proposed, lncludlng Lhe SlM meLhod, Lhe
homogenlzauon meLhod and Lhe LSC/8LSC meLhod. 1he Lerm LSC sLands for evoluuonary
sLrucLural opumlzauon, whlch ls a deslgn meLhod LhaL sLarLs from Lhe full deslgn domaln
and removes gradually lneclenL maLerlal from Lhe sLrucLure accordlng Lo Lhe sLress or
sLraln energy levels of Lhe dlscreLe elemenLs, whlle Lhe bl-dlrecuonal evoluuonary sLrucLural
opumlzauon (8LSC) meLhod allows maLerlal Lo be removed and added slmulLaneously
[Pua10]. 1he homogenlzauon meLhod along wlLh Lhe SlM meLhod are gradlenL based
and solve Lhe 0-1 problem by replaclng Lhe lnLeger varlables wlLh conunuous varlables,
whlle lnLroduclng some form of penalLy LhaL sLeers Lhe elemenL denslues Lo Lhe dlscreLe
values 0 and 1 [8en03]. 1herefore, each elemenL of Lhe deslgn domaln has an lnLermedlaLe
denslLy lylng on Lhe conunuum beLween 0 and 1
x = {x
i
[0, 1], i = 1,...,N} (2.11)
where N ls Lhe LoLal number of nlLe elemenLs ln Lhe deslgn domaln. 1he denslLy of Lhe
i-Lh elemenL ls Lhen glven wlLh respecL Lo Lhe full denslLy of Lhe maLerlal
0
(x
i
) = x
i
0
(2.12)
Accordlng Lo Lhe earller homogenlzauon meLhod each elemenL ls LreaLed as homogeneous
porous maLerlal wlLh a mlcroscale vold. 1he local suness of such maLerlal depends on Lhe
slze, shape and orlenLauon of Lhe volds, whlle Lhe slze of Lhe vold area varles accordlng Lo Lhe
concepL of lnLermedlaLe denslues beLween 0 and Lhe full elemenL slze. 1hls approach can
requlre compllcaLed maLhemaucal soluuon algorlLhms. 1he SlM meLhod ls conslderably
slmpler as lL assumes LhaL Lhe suness of each elemenL of Lhe deslgn domaln ls glven by
k
i
(
i
) = (
i
)
p
k
0
(2.13)
where k
0
denoLes Lhe full lnlual suness of Lhe lsoLroplc maLerlal and Lhe exponenL p
represenLs Lhe penalLy facLor. Pere, Lhe currenL maLerlal suness ls wrluen as exponenual
funcuon of Lhe elemenL denslLy
i
and Lhe lnlual elemenL suness, whlch greaLly slmplles
Lhe soluuon of Lopology opumlzauon [Zuo07]. 1he subsequenL subsecuon ls concerned
wlLh Lhls approach lnLo more deLall, as Lhe Lopology opumlzauon performed laLer ln Lhls
work ls based on Lhe SlM lnLerpolauon scheme.
2.5.2.1 The SIMP Method
1he SlM (solld lsoLroplc maLerlal wlLh penallzauon) MeLhod has been accepLed by mosL
researchers and englneers, and has been successfully used ln many englneerlng elds
[Zuo07]. lL allows Lo Lransform Lhe deslgn problem of opumal Lopology lnLo a slzlng problem
by lnLroduclng an lnLerpolauon scheme LhaL modles Lhe suness maLrlx ln a way LhaL lL
depends conunuously on a funcuon whlch ls lnLerpreLed as denslLy of Lhe maLerlal (see
i
ln eq. (2.13)) [8en03]. ln order Lo geL a physlcally clear soluuon, lL ls requlred LhaL Lhe
opumlzauon resulLs ln a deslgn whlch conslsLs almosL excluslvely of reglons of maLerlal (1)
or no maLerlal (0). 1he SlM meLhod deals wlLh Lhls by penallzlng lnLermedlaLe elemenL
denslues wlLh a penalLy facLor as exponenL as seen ln Lhe proporuonal suness model of
eq. (2.13). 1he penalLy facLor makes elemenLs wlLh lnLermedlaLe denslues unfavorable for
Lhe opumlzed soluuon. 1he slmplesL Lype of opumlzauon problem formulauon ln Lerms
of ob[ecuve and consLralnL ls mlnlmlzlng Lhe compllance C of a sLrucLure, whlch ls why
Lhls formulauon ls oen used Lo maLhemaucally express a Lopology opumlzauon problem
based on Lhe SlM approach. ln Lhls case, Lhe problem can be wrluen as
mlnlmlze C = F
T
U = U
T
KU =
N
i=1
(
i
)
p
u
T
i
k
0
u
i
(2.14)
sub[ecL Lo
V = f V
0
F = KU
0 <
min

i
1
where F ls Lhe force vecLor, U ls Lhe dlsplacemenL vecLor, K ls Lhe suness maLrlx of Lhe
sLrucLure. 1he lower case leuers denoLe Lhe respecuve elemenL characLerlsucs, whlch sum
up Lo Lhe global compllance of Lhe sLrucLure, whlle Lhe elemenL suness aer opumlzauon
ls proporuonaLe Lo Lhe lnlual elemenL suness k
0
Lhrough Lhe penallzed elemenL denslLy
(
i
)
p
(see eq. (2.13)). 1he mlnlmlzauon ls sub[ecL Lo a volume consLralnL, whlch denes a
llmlL of Lhe sLrucLure volume aer opumlzauon V ln relauon Lo Lhe lnlual volume of Lhe
sLrucLure V
0
. ln addluon, a lower bound of Lhe elemenL denslLy ls lnLroduced wlLh
min
,
whlch prevenLs slngularlLy of Lhe equlllbrlum consLralnL.
Implementaon of the Opmizaon Procedure 1opology opumlzauon, as lL has been
lnLroduced here, ls based on Lhe numerlcal compuLauon of Lhe globally besL dlsLrlbuuon
of Lhe maLerlal denslLy accordlng Lo Lhe dened opumallLy condluons. A compuLauon
ow charL lllusLraung Lhe lmplemenLauon of such a Lopology opumlzauon procedure ls
shown ln llgure 2.13. 1hls procedure ls preceded by Lhe preprocesslng of Lhe model
geomeLry and loadlngs, lncludlng Lhe dlscreuzauon of Lhe deslgn domaln and Lhe seLup
of Lhe opumlzauon responses and consLralnL. 1he rsL sLep ls Lhen Lhe lnluallzauon of
Lhe model followed by a nlLe elemenL analysls of Lhe sLrucLure ln lLs lnlual sLaLe. 1he
nexL sLep ls a sensluvlLy analysls for Lhe dlsplacemenLs of each elemenL based on Lhe lLA
resulLs. 1hls means noLhlng else Lhan ndlng Lhe derlvauves of Lhe elemenL dlsplacemenLs
wlLh respecL Lo Lhe elemenL denslues. 1hese gradlenLs are necessary lnpuL for Lhe acLual
opumlzauon sLep. Pere, Lhe denslLy of each elemenL ls updaLed accordlng Lo a numerlcal
opumlzauon algorlLhm. AL presenL, Lwo opumlzauon algorlLhms are used ln Lopology
opumlzauon: Lhe opumallLy crlLerla (CC) approach and Lhe meLhod of movlng asympLoLes
(MMA) [Zuo07]. 1he former, ls usually deduced by a Lagrange funcuon and has a good
convergence as lL ls based on a heurlsuc formulauon. Powever, lL ls dlculL Lo apply ln
problems wlLh muluple consLralnLs. 1he MMA approach ls a maLhemaucal programmlng
algorlLhm whlch has wlder englneerlng appllcauons as lL ls sulLed for slngle and muluple
consLralnLs condluons. 1he lLerauon loop ls sLopped when Lhe currenL candldaLe deslgn
only has a marglnally lmproved compllance compared Lo Lhe prevlous deslgn. 1he nal
sLep ls Lhe posL-processlng and lnLerpreLauon of Lhe resulLs.
Initialize
(Starting guess)
Finite element analysis
Sensitivity analysis
(linearization)
Optimization algorithm
converged?
plot results/
post-processing
stop
no
yes
Update element densities
Figure 2.15: llow charL of compuLauons performed for Lopology opumlzauon uslng Lhe
maLerlal dlsLrlbuuon meLhod. (lllusLrauon based on [8en03] )
1he descrlbed procedure does noL requlre complex programmlng eorLs ln case of a
mlnlmumcompllance Lopology deslgnproblem. 1hls ls shownby Lhe educauonal MaLlabcode
from Slgmund (2000) [Slg01]. Pere, a compleLe programme lncludlng lL analysls, lLerlng
procedures and plomng commands for a recLangular deslgn domaln dlscreuzed wlLh square
elemenLs ls wrluen ln 99 llnes. AnoLher lnLeresung lmplemenLauon ls Lhe web Cul lnLerface
for a Lopology opumlzauon programme publlcly accesslble aL http://www.topopt.dtu.dk.
lL provldes a compuLer alded learnlng Lool lnLended Lo spread Lhe concepL and ldeas of
Lopology opumlzauon among deslgners ln varlous elds of englneerlng [1ch01].
2.5.2.2 General Issues in Topology Opmizaon
1he followlng wlll dlscuss a few general lssues LhaL have a slgnlcanL lmpacL on Lhe
compuLauonal resulLs of a Lopology opumlzauon process. 1hls lncludes, Lhe appearance
of checkerboards and Lhe mesh-dependency of Lhe resulung Lopology, as Lwo ma[or
lnuence facLors. ln addluon, lL ls shown how Lhe magnlLude of Lhe penalLy facLor and
Lhe conslderauon of muluple load cases aecL Lhe resulLs. 1he demonsLrauon of Lhese
eecLs ls performed on a slmple C-shaped cllp sLrucLure, whlch ls loaded by Lwo opposlng
forces and whlch ls belng opumlzed uslng AlLalr CpuSLrucL. 1he C-cllp ls modeled wlLh
2u-shell elemenLs (llgure 2.16) and Lhe opumlzauon ob[ecuve ls mlnlmlzlng Lhe welghLed
compllance due Lo Lhe Lwo loads consldered as lndlvldual loadlng condluons.
F
2
F
1
Figure 2.16: Lxample cllp for demonsLrauon of Lopology opumlzauon lssues
Mesh-Dependency Mesh-dependency concerns Lhe eecL LhaL Lhe soluuon of a Lopology
opumlzauon process depends on Lhe mesh renemenL of Lhe deslgn domaln. ldeally, a
ner dlscreuzauon of Lhe deslgn domaln should resulL ln a beuer nlLe elemenL modelllng
of Lhe same sLrucLure and Lhus ln a beuer descrlpuon of boundarles. Powever, ln facL
quallLauvely dlerenL soluuons are achleved for dlerenL mesh-slzes. 8enlng Lhe nlLe
elemenL mesh ulumaLely leads Lo a much more deLalled ne-scale sLrucLure. 1hls eecL ls
lllusLraLed ln llgure 2.17 for Lhree dlerenL mesh slzes of Lhe example cllp. 1he reason for
Lhls eecL ls LhaL lnLroduclng more holes lnLo a sLrucLure wlLhouL changlng lLs sLrucLural
volume wlll generally lncrease Lhe eclency of Lhe sLrucLure. Several Lechnlques have been
developed Lo overcome Lhls lssue. 1hese lnclude addlng consLralnLs Lo Lhe opumlzauon
problem, reduclng Lhe parameLer space of Lhe deslgn domaln or applylng cerLaln lLers
[8en03].
Design History
Design History Design History
1720 elemenLs 7800 elemenLs 27800 elemenLs
Figure 2.17: uemonsLrauon of Lhe mesh dependency ln Lopology opumlzauon
Checkerboard Problem Checkerboards ln Lopology opumlzauon refer Lo Lhe formauon of
areas wlLh alLernaung solld and vold or low denslLy elemenLs slmllar Lo a checkerboard
pauern. 1hls ls a resulL of errors ln Lhe nlLe elemenL approxlmauon, LhaL overesumaLes Lhe
suness of checkerboards [8en03]. 1hls problem can be avolded Lhrough Lhe use of hlgher
order nlLe elemenLs for Lhe dlscreuzauon of Lhe deslgn domaln. Powever, Lhls leads Lo a
slgnlcanL lncrease ln Cu-ume necessary for solvlng Lhe lL-equlllbrlum equauons, whlch ls
Lhe mosL ume consumlng parL of Lhe opumlzauon process. 1herefore, oLher compuLauonally
more eclenL meLhods have been proposed. 1hese meLhods Lyplcally lnclude a mesh
relaLed lLerlng of Lhe elemenL denslues. llgure 2.18 lllusLraLes Lhe checkerboard eecL
uslng Lhe lnLroduced example Lopology opumlzauon of a C-shape cllp.
Design History Design History Design History
1720 elemenLs 7800 elemenLs 27800 elemenLs
Figure 2.18: uemonsLrauon of checkerboard eecL for Lhree dlerenL mesh renemenLs
ln Lhls case, checkerboard pauerns especlally appear ln Lhe cenLer area of Lhe sLrucLure,
whlch makes lL dlculL Lo deLermlne a clear opumlzed Lopology ln Lhese reglons. lor Lhe
demonsLrauon of Lhe mesh dependency (see llgure 2.17), lLers were applled Lo prevenL
Lhe developmenL of checkerboards. 1herefore, Lhe opumlzed Lopology can be beuer
lnLerpreLed, when applylng measures Lo prevenL checkerboards.
Penalty Factor 1he penalLy facLor p was lnLroduced ln Lhe SlM meLhod Lo sLeer elemenLs
wlLh lnLermedlaLe denslues Lowards Lhe dlscreLe values (1) and (0). ln CpuSLrucL, Lhe
penalLy facLor ls represenLed by Lhe DISCRETE semng, whlch can be found op control
panel. lLs defaulL ls seL Lo 1.0, meanlng Lhe elemenL denslues are noL penallzed. 8alslng
Lhe penalLy facLor leads Lo a more dlscreLe soluuon wlLh mosL elemenLs havlng denslues
of elLher 1 or 0. Powever, a Loo severe penallzauon of Lhe lnLermedlaLe denslues can
resulL ln Lopologles, whlch are very sensluve Lo Lhe cholce of Lhe lnlual deslgn domaln, as
Lhe opumlzauon lLerauons mlghL [ump Lo qulckly Lo a 0-1 deslgn [8en03]. 1herefore,
lL ls recommended Lo lmplemenL a conunuauon meLhod, whlch slowly ralses Lhe penalLy
facLor Lhrough Lhe compuLauon lLerauons unul Lhe procedure arrlves aL a sausfylng nal
deslgn. llgure 2.19 demonsLraLes Lhe eecL of Lhe penalLy facLor on Lhe resulung Lopology
of Lhe C-cllp. Pere, Lhe denslLy of each elemenL ls lllusLraLed Lhrough a black and whlLe
scale, where black refers Lo fully dense elemenLs, whlLe represenLs vold elemenLs and gray
represenLs lnLermedlaLe denslLy elemenLs. Cood resulLs were achleved wlLh penalLy facLors
of abouL p = 3.0. lL can be seen LhaL a ralsed penalLy facLor leads Lo a more dlscreLe
Lopology, wlLh mosL elemenLs elLher belng whlLe (vold) or black (full denslLy). Cn Lhe oLher
hand, large facLors of p resulL ln lmpracucal resulLs as ln Lhe rlghL graphlc of llgure 2.19.
Design History
Design History
Design History
p = 1.0 p = 3.0 p = 7.0
Figure 2.19: LecL of Lhe penalLy facLor on Lhe resulung Lopology
Mulple Loads 1he opumlzauon resulLs of a muluply loaded sLrucLure depends on how
Lhe loads are consldered ln Lhe opumlzauon problem formulauon. 1he lnLroduced example
problem of a C-shaped cllp conLalns Lwo opposlng loads. 1hese Lwo loads can be elLher
regarded as slngle load case, whlch means boLh loads are consldered Lo acL slmulLaneously
or as Lwo lndlvldual load cases. lf Lhe sLrucLure ls opumlzed for a slngle loadlng condluon,
lL mlghL collapse ln case Lhe Lwo loads acL lndependenLly. 1o prevenL Lhls, Lhe opumlzauon
problem ls formulaLed ln a way LhaL Lhe Lwo loads are regarded as Lwo separaLe loadlng
condluons. 1herefore, Lhe mlnlmum compllance problem lnLroduced ln eq. (2.14) ls
formulaLed as mlnlmlzauon of Lhe welghLed average of Lhe compllances for each of Lhe
Lwo load cases:
mlnlmlze C =
N
k=1
k
i
C
i
(2.13)
where N denoLes Lhe number of consldered load cases. 1he prevlously plcLured opumlzed
Lopologles were based on a lndlvldual load case formulauon. WlLh Lhls Lhe opumlzed
Lopology ls sLable for Lhe loads acung boLh slmulLaneously and lndependenLly.
F
2
F
1
F
2
F
1
slngle load case muluple load cases
Figure 2.20: Comparlson of Lopology opumlzauon, uslng one or more load cases
llgure 2.20 compares Lhe Lopology resulLs for boLh load conslderauons, where Lhe graphlc
on Lhe rlghL slde ls derlved from llgure 2.17. Pere lL becomes apparenL LhaL a muluple
load case conslderauon leads Lo sLable sLrucLures based on Lrlangular frames, whlle a slngle
load problem resulLs ln unsLable square shaped frames.
2.5.3 Topology Opmizaon Using Altair Hyperworks
1he lL-based opumlzauon and analysls wlLhln Lhe framework of Lhls Lhesls ls performed
uslng Lhe soware package PyperWorks from AlLalr Lnglneerlng lnc. 1hls compuLer alded
englneerlng (CAL) soware provldes a wlde range of analysls and opumlzauon modules
for dlerenL englneerlng problems. 1hls lncludes amongsL oLhers, llnear and non-llnear
lL-analysls, Lopology, slze and shape opumlzauon as well as mulu-body dynamlc slmulauon,
whlle Lhls work focuses on sLudylng lLs capablllues of performlng Lopology opumlzauon
and llnear lL-analysls. Llke mosL lLA programmes [lr3], PyperWorks follows a modular
sLrucLure conslsung of preprocessor, solver and posLprocessor. 1he preprocessor module,
called PyperMesh, enables Lhe creauon of Lhe lL-models (geomeLry, consLralnLs, loads,
mesh ecL). lL possesses several lnLerfaces for Lhe exporL of models Lo common exLernal lL
solvers, such as AnS?S, A8ACuS, nAS18An or LS-u?nA. Pyperworks also provldes AlLalr
excluslve ln-house solvers llke 8AulCSS and CpuSLrucL, whlle CpuSLrucL ls a solver LhaL ls
speclallzed on concepLual sLrucLural opumlzauon problems. All opumlzauon compuLauons
ln Lhls work have been performed uslng AlLalr CpuSLrucL. lor Lhe vlsuallzauon of Lhe
lLA resulLs, Pyperworks provldes wlLh Pypervlew a comprehenslve posLprocessor module,
whlch ls also used here. llgure 2.21 lllusLraLes Lhe modular sLrucLure of Pyperworks,
lndlcaung Lhe modules prlmarlly applled ln Lhls work.
Preprocessor Solver Postprocessor
modeling modeling computation computation display results display results
Figure 2.21: AlLalr modules applled ln Lhls work
3 Parameter Study for the Vehicle Range
Cne of Lhe mosL conslderable drawbacks of elecLrlc vehlcles ls Lhelr llmlLed range. lor
example, an elecLrlc vehlcle based on Lhe vW Lupo equlpped wlLh 1000 modules of Lhe
advanced llLhlum-lon bauery, hardly exceeds 430km of range. Such a bauery would welghL
over 1,110kg, whlch more Lhan doubles Lhe vehlcles mass. Such an lncrease ln mass has a
slgnlcanL negauve lmpacL on Lhe propulslve eclency of Lhe vehlcle. Moreover, lL would
requlre noLable addluonal maLerlal Lo sLrengLhen Lhe vehlcle body for Lhe accommodauon
of such a hlgh-welghL bauery. Pence, Lhls congurauon ls unaccepLable. lf lead-acld
bauerles were Lo be used Lo achleve Lhe same range, Lhe slLuauon becomes even worse
wlLh Lhe bauery mass reachlng over 2.3 Lons. A dlesel verslon of Lhe same car on Lhe
oLher hand, achleves double Lhe range (900km) wlLhouL Lechnlcal dlculues [Sr10]. As a
consequence of Lhe llmlLed energy sLorage capablllues, Lhe range of mosL elecLrlc vehlcles
lles well under 200km [WP10]. AL Lhe same ume, Lhe remalnlng chassls componenLs
requlre a parucular energy eclenL deslgn ln order Lo compensaLe Lhe llmlLed energy
sLorage and achleve an accepLable range.
1he nuS ClLy Car pro[ecL ls lnLended as plauorm for sLudylng elecLrlc vehlcle Lechnology
ln an urban envlronmenL. Slnce Lhe pro[ecL ls presenLly sull ln lLs rsL deslgn lLerauon,
Lhe prlmary concern ls Lhe deslgn and lmplemenLauon of Lhe chassls sysLems ln order Lo
bulld a funcuonlng proLoLype. WlLh Lhls, Lhe range of Lhe vehlcle lLself ls secondary ln Lhe
currenL sLage. neverLheless, lL ls lmporLanL Lo esumaLe Lhe achlevable range of Lhe currenL
congurauon for Lwo maln reasons. llrsLly, one wanLs Lo evaluaLe Lhe performance of
Lhe currenL congurauon by comparlng Lhe Lheoreucally achlevable range wlLh Lhe acLual
performance. 1he quesuon here ls, do Lhe componenLs perform llke expecLed? And lf noL,
where do Lhe lnconslsLencles come from? Secondly, such a evaluauon helps Lo deLermlne
weak llnks ln Lhe sysLem. 1hls becomes parucularly lmporLanL ln preparauon of Lhe nexL
deslgn lLerauon. ueLermlnlng Lhe componenLs or vehlcle parameLers, LhaL conLrlbuLe mosL
Lo Lhe achlevable performance ls Lhe rsL sLep ln lmprovlng a sysLem. Lxperlence ln
Lhe LransporLauon lndusLry shows LhaL lL ls especlally consequenL llghLwelghL deslgn LhaL
slgnlcanLly lmproves Lhe performance of vehlcles ln Lerms of energy consumpuon and
range (see 2.4). Powever, llghLwelghL deslgn has played a mlnor role ln Lhe developmenL
of Lhe currenL nuS ClLy Car proLoLype, whlch ls why Lhls ls furLher lnvesugaLed ln Lhe
framework of Lhls Lhesls.
1he ob[ecuve of Lhls chapLer ls Lherefore Lhe developmenL of a model LhaL esumaLes Lhe
range of Lhe nuS ClLy Car dependlng on baslc vehlcle parameLers such as welghL, rolllng
3.1 arameLer Model 28
reslsLance, aerodynamlcs and bauery slze. 1he resulung model ls Lhe basls for Lhe followlng
sensluvlLy analysls. Pere, lL ls shown Lo whaL exLenL Lhe dlerenL vehlcle parameLers
lnuence Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe range of Lhe vehlcle ln urban drlvlng condluons.
1he ob[ecuve ls Lo esumaLe Lhe poLenual for exLendlng Lhe range of Lhe nuS ClLy Car
Lhrough welghL reducuon compared Lo Lhe remalnlng parameLers. ln addluon, Lhe model
ls meanL Lo provlde a Lool for fuLure esumauon purposes, whlch ls why lL ls lmplemenLed
as graphlcal user lnLerface.
3.1 Parameter Model
As brley dlscussed ln secuon 2.3, Lhe slmulauon of an vehlcles powerLraln ls a cruclal
sLep ln Lhe vehlcle deslgn process. As a resulL of Lhls, several comprehenslve slmulauon
Lools have been developed. An example ls Lhe owerLraln SysLems Analysls 1oolklL (SA1) ,
developed by Lhe Argonne nauonal LaboraLory ln cooperauon wlLh Lhe u.S. ueparLmenL of
Lnergy. 8ased on MaLlab/Slmullnk, Lhls soware provldes performance and fuel economy
slmulauons Lhrough a modular Cul lnLerface, allowlng parameLer sLudles and comparlson
of drlveLraln congurauons [Arg07]. A slmllar soware ls Lhe Advanced vehlcle SlmulaLor
(AuvlSC8), whlch ls also based on MaLlab. 1he problem wlLh Lhese soware packages ls
LhaL Lhey requlre a llcense on Lop of Lhe necessary MaLlab llcense. AlLhough Lhe nuS
possesses a few llcenses for Lhe SA1 soware, Lhelr avallablllLy ls llmlLed. ln addluon, lL
requlres conslderable famlllarlzauon Lo navlgaLe Lhe soware even wlLh Lhe model already
seL up. AnoLher problem LhaL occurred whlle uslng Lhe soware ls, LhaL Lhe basls of
Lhe compuLauons for Lhe slmulauon ls noL clearly sLaLed, whlch leaves Lhe user raLher
unaware of whaL eecLs are consldered and whaL are neglecLed. llnally, when bulldlng
up Lhe drlveLraln, Lhe user ls llmlLed Lo Lhe componenLs provlded ln Lhe lncluded llbrary.
WlLhouL maLchlng componenLs for Lhe nuS ClLy Car, Lhe slmulauon resulLs are llkely Lo
be lnaccuraLe. As a consequence, Lhe beneLs of uslng SA1, more accuracy Lhrough Lhe
use of an esLabllshed soware, seemed Lo be ouLwelghed for Lhe proposed appllcauon
of a slmple quallLauve parameLer sLudy on Lhe vehlcles range. 1hls ls why Lhe declslon
was made Lo bulld up an easy Lo use MaLlab model from Lhe scraLch. 1hls ensures LhaL
Lhe consldered eecLs are clearly known as well as Lhe model can be used wlLhouL any
llcense barrlers for qulck fuLure esumauon purposes. 1he followlng paragraphs descrlbe
Lhe developmenL of such a model.
3.1.1 Modeling of Electric Components
under 2.1, Lhe elecLrlc moLor and Lhe bauery were polnLed ouL as crlucal vehlcle componenLs.
1hls sLaLus remalns when lL comes Lo modellng Lhe range performance of elecLrlc vehlcles.
1he proposed range esumauon model requlres Lhe modellng of Lhese componenLs ln a
way LhaL ls compauble wlLh Lhe quaslsLauc approach of modellng Lhe energy demand of
road vehlcles whlch was lnLroduced ln 2.3. 1herefore, Lhe needed modellng aspecLs of
boLh Lhe moLor and Lhe bauery are descrlbed ln Lhe followlng.
3.1.1.1 Electric Motor
lor Lhe lnLended range esumauon model, Lhe maln concern ls Lo sLudy Lhe energy losses
of Lhe elecLrlc moLor. 1he equlpped moLor of Lhe nuS ClLy Car ls a brushed serles-wound
uC moLor. 1he ma[or energy losses ln uC moLors are Lhe same as for all elecLrlc moLors.
1hey can be dlvlded lnLo four maln caLegorles [Lar03].
Copper losses: Are caused by Lhe elecLrlcal reslsLance of Lhe wlres and brushes,
whlch resulLs ln energy dlsslpauon Lhrough heaL. 1hey are proporuonal Lo Lhe square
of Lhe moLor currenL and for uC moLors lL ls Lherefore also proporuonal Lo Lhe square
of Lhe moLor Lorque. T
2
Iron losses: Are caused by magneuc eecLs ln Lhe lron of Lhe roLor. 1he hlgher Lhe
frequency of Lhe changlng magneuc eld, Lhe hlgher Lhe lron losses.
Fricon and windage: naLurally, Lhere ls frlcuon ln Lhe bearlngs and brushes of Lhe
moLor accompanled by wlnd reslsLance of Lhe revolvlng roLor. Whlle Lhe frlcuon force
ls roughly consLanL, Lhe wlnd reslsLance lncreases wlLh Lhe square of Lhe speed. ln
order Lo geL Lhe power losses from Lhese reslsLance forces Lhey have Lo muluplled
by Lhe angular speed. 1herefore, Lhe frlcuon ls , and Lhe wlndage losses are
proporuonal Lo Lhe angular speed cubed
3
Constant losses: LvenLually, Lhere are consLanL losses LhaL occur even when Lhe
moLor ls sLauonary. 1hls ls a resulL of Lhe power LhaL has Lo be supplled Lo malnLaln
Lhe magneuc eld or Lhe elecLrlc conLrol clrculLs.
All power losses comblned can hence be wrluen as
LoLal losses = k
c
T
2
+k
i
+k
w

3
+C (3.1)
where, k
c
, k
i
, k
w
and C are moLor consLanLs. 1hls equauon ls also a good approxlmauon
for all oLher elecLrlc moLor Lypes. WlLh Lhe equauon for all power losses, Lhe moLor
eclency ylelds
mot
(T, ) =
ouLpuL power
ouLpuL power + losses
=
T
T +k
c
T
2
+k
i
+k
w

3
+C
(3.2)
Slnce Lhe moLor eclency ls a funcuon of Lhe moLor Lorque and angular veloclLy, lL ls
common Lo ploL Lhe values of Lhe eclency on a Lorque-veloclLy graph. 1he resulL ls Lhe
so called moLor eclency map, whlch glves an ldea of Lhe eclency aL any glven operaung
condluon. llgure 3.1 lllusLraLes such a map.
76 4 Electric and Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems
0
.
7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0
.
8
0.8
0.8
0
.
8
5
0.85
0.85
0
.
9
2
[rad/s]
T
2

[
N
m
]
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
10
20
30
40
50
0.7
0.8 0.8 0.8
0
.
8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.85
2
[rad/s]
T
2

[
N
m
]
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
20
40
60
80
100
120
Fig. 4.14. Eciency maps for a 32 kW PM motor (top) and a 30 kW AC motor
(bottom), with curves of maximum torque (dashdot).
by measuring the motor eciency also in the generator range, and the dier-
ence is typically more important for induction motors [10]. For example, the
measured eciency map shown in Fig. 4.15 illustrates a case in which neither
the eciency nor the power losses are mirrored when passing from the motor
mode to the generator mode. A possible way to manage this general case con-
Figure 3.1: Lclency map for a 32kW permanenL magneL moLor [Cuz08]
lL ls obvlous LhaL Lhe esumauon of Lhe moLor energy losses requlres Lhe knowledge of
Lhe respecuve moLor consLanLs k
c
, k
i
, k
w
and C for Lhe equlpped moLor.
3.1.1.2 Electric Baeries
Lsumaung Lhe vehlcle range requlres Lo analyze Lhe dlscharglng of Lhe equlpped lead acld
bauerles. 1herefore, Lhe followlng paragraphs are cenLered around baslc concepLs needed
for Lhe developmenL of a slmple quaslsLauc dlscharge model.
Baery Capacity 1he capaclLy of a bauery ls usually expressed ln ampere hours Ah and
ls deLermlned wlLh consLanL-currenL dlscharge/charge LesLs [Cuz08]. A very lmporLanL
phenomena occurrlng ln bauerles ls LhaL Lhe acLual avallable capaclLy depends on Lhe raLe
of dlscharge, whlch ls why manufacLurers always glve Lhe capaclLy of lead acld bauerles as
raLed capaclLy. 1haL means a cerLaln capaclLy ls guaranLeed lf Lhe bauery ls dlscharged
wlLh a reference dlscharge currenL. 1o lllusLraLe Lhls, leLs assume an example bauery ls
labeled as C
0
= 30Ah bauery wlLh an hour raung of t
o
= 10h. 1hls LranslaLes lnLo a bauery
LhaL provldes C = 30Ah when dlscharged over 10h wlLh Lhe dlscharge currenL I
dis
of
I
dis
=
C
0
t
0
=
30 Ah
10 h
= 3A (3.3)
Powever, ln case Lhe bauery ls dlscharged aL a hlgher raLe, lL wlll ulumaLely provlde less
capaclLy. 1hls relauonshlp beLween acLual capaclLy and dlscharge raLe ls descrlbed by Lhe
eukerL Law, whlch can be wrluen as
C
p
= C
0
(
I
dis
I
0
)
1k
(3.4)
Pere C
p
ls Lhe nomlnal capaclLy, when dlscharged wlLh Lhe currenL I
dis
, whlle C
0
denoLes
Lhe raLed capaclLy aL a glven raLed currenL I
0
. 1he exponenL k ls evenLually Lhe peukerL
coeclenL, whlch lles beLween 1.1 and 1.3 for lead acld bauerles [Lar03].
State of Charge 1he sLaLe of charge (SoC) of a bauery ls slmply Lhe rauo of Lhe elecLrlc
charge Q LhaL can be dellvered Lo Lhe nomlnal bauery capaclLy C
p
SoC =
Q
C
p
(3.3)
whlle SoC = 1 suggesLs a fully charged bauery and SoC = 0 respecuvely lndlcaLes an
empLy bauery. Someumes Lhe Lerm depLh of dlscharge (uou) ls used Lo refer Lo Lhe bauery
charge sLaLus. lL ls equally meanlngful, [usL LhaL lL descrlbes Lhe charge le ln Lhe bauery
as rauo beLween removed charge Q
r
Lo nomlnal capaclLy C
p
, whlch means DoD = 1 refers
Lo an empLy bauery. An lmporLanL lssue ln Lhls conLexL ls Lhe facL LhaL bauerles should
noL be dlscharged much below a SoC of 20. lf Lhey are dlscharged deeper, Lhey are
llkely Lake damage whlch resulLs ln a dramaucally reduced longevlLy [Cuz08]. 1hls has Lo
be Laken lnLo accounL when esumaung Lhe range of a vehlcle.
Equivalent Circuit A quaslsLauc physlcal model of a bauery can be derlved by conslderlng
an equlvalenL clrculL as shown ln gure 3.2. Pere, Lhe bauery ls reecLed by an ldeal
open-clrculL volLage U
oc
ln serles wlLh an lnLernal reslsLance R
i
.
4.4 Batteries 97
Q(t) = I
2
(t) . (4.50)
In case of charge, the evaluation of the state of charge must take into account
the fact that a fraction of the current I
2
is not transformed into charge. This
fraction is due to irreversible, parasitic reactions taking place in the battery.
Often [65, 149, 129] such an eect is modeled by a charging or coulombic
eciency
c
,
Q(t) =
c
I
2
(t) . (4.51)
The combination of (4.50)(4.51) yields a method to determine the state of
charge by measuring the terminal current. This method, known as Coulomb
counting has the advantage of being easy and reliable as long as the current
measurement is accurate. Practically, however, this method requires frequent
recalibration points, to compensate the eects neglected by (4.50)(4.51) [193].
Modern system for SoC determination attempt in some cases to estimate
some of these eects, namely, the charge eciency during discharge, which
is due to reaction kinetics and diusion processes, battery self-discharge, and
capacity loss as the battery ages [195].
More advanced methods of SoC determination include adaptive methods
based on physical models of batteries [194, 193, 195]. If the state of charge is a
state of the model, it can be estimated by comparing the measurements avail-
able (terminal voltage, current), with the model outputs, using well-known
techniques such as Kalman ltering.
Equivalent Circuit
A basic physical model of a battery can be derived by considering an equivalent
circuit of the system such as the one shown in Fig. 4.26. In this circuit, the
battery is represented by an ideal open-circuit voltage source in series with
an internal resistance. Kirchhos voltage law for the equivalent circuit yields
the equation
U
oc
(t) R
i
(t) I
2
(t) = U
2
(t) . (4.52)
The steady-state battery equivalent circuit has been applied mainly for various
leadacid batteries [65, 75, 238, 129, 149], but also for nickelcadmium, nickel
metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries [129].
U
2
I
2
R
i
U
oc
=
Fig. 4.26. Equivalent circuit of a battery.
Figure 3.2: LqulvalenL clrculL of a quaslsLauc bauery
Applylng klrchhos volLage law ylelds Lhe equauon for Lhe Lermlnal volLage U
2
U
2
= U
oc
R
i
I
2
(3.6)
1hls slmple model ls noL capable of descrlblng Lhe LranslenL behavlour of Lhe bauery. lor
Lhls, one has Lo conslder a dynamlc equlvalenL clrculL LhaL Lakes lnLo accounL capacluve
and lnducuve eecLs. ueLalled dynamlc slmulauons also requlre a Lhermal submodel,
whlch evaluaLes how Lhe bauery LemperaLure varles durlng vehlcle operauon, slnce Lhe
LemperaLure aecLs many aspecLs of a bauerys operauon [Cuz08]. 1he applled approach
of a quaslsLauc bauery model, however, ls suclenL for modellng Lhe bauery dlscharglng
as parL of a quallLauve esumauon of an elecLrlc vehlcles range [Lar03].
1he lnLernal reslsLance R
i
Lakes lnLo accounL several phenomena, lncludlng Lhe ohmlc
reslsLance ln Lhe elecLrolyLe and elecLrodes as well as well as a charge Lransfer reslsLance. As
wlLh Lhe equlvalenL clrculL, proper conslderauon of all eecLs requlres more sophlsucaLed
models for Lhe lnLernal reslsLance. Powever, Larmlnle and Lowry (2003) suggesL Lhe
followlng rule of Lhumb for a consLanL average reslsLance:
R
i
= nCells
0.022
C
0
(3.7)
1he chemlcal charglng and dlscharglng reacuons Laklng place ln Lhe bauery lnvolve changlng
Lhe concenLrauon of Lhe elecLrolyLe of Lhe cells. 1herefore, Lhere ls a small decrease ln Lhe
volLage produced by Lhe cell as lL dlscharges. Modern lead acld bauerles are characLerlzed
by an approxlmaLely llnear relauonshlp beLween uou and U
oc
, whlch can be wrluen as
[Lar03]:
U
oc
= nCells (2.15 DoD (2.15 2.00)) (3.8)
Baery Power uependlng on Lhe vehlcles operauon Lhe bauery wlll be requlred Lo provlde
a cerLaln elecLrlc power Lo Lhe moLor. 1he power LhaL ls supplled by Lhe bauery ylelds
wlLh Lhe clrculL equauon (3.6)
P
b
= U
2
I
2
= (U
oc
R
i
I
2
) I
2
= U
oc
I
2
R
i
I
2
2
(3.9)
ln order Lo deLermlne Lhe charge removed from Lhe bauery as resulL of Lhe provlded power,
one has Lo deLermlne Lhe ouLgolng bauery currenL I
2
wlLh respecL Lo Lhe demanded power
ouLpuL. 1herefore, equauon (3.9) ls Lransformed as follows:
I
2
=
U
oc
U
2
oc
4 R
i
P
b
2 R
i
(3.10)
ln case Lhe bauery ls belng charged by dlsslpaung power lnLo Lhe bauery, for lnsLance
Lhrough a regenerauve braklng sysLem, Lhe currenL I
2
ls owlng lnLo Lhe bauery. Lquauon
(3.10) has Lo be rewrluen accordlngly ln order Lo geL Lhe charge currenL:
I
2
=
U
oc
+
U
2
oc
+ 8 R
i
P
b
4 R
i
(3.11)
Pere, lL ls already accounLed for Lhe eecL LhaL Lhe lnLernal reslsLance ls normally larger
when charglng as opposed Lo dlscharglng Lhe bauery. Larmlnle and Lowry (2003) propose
a value Lwlce Lhe slze of Lhe normal dlscharge reslsLance as rsL approxlmauon.
Charge and Discharge 1he charge ls generally dened as currenL by ume. ln case of
dlscharglng a bauery Lhe eukerL law comes lnLo play as follows:
C
r
= T I
k
(3.12)
Slnce Lhe dlscharge currenL varles LhroughouL Lhe operauon along wlLh Lhe demanded
power ouLpuL, Lhe bauery dlscharge ls modeled uslng a quaslsLauc approach. 1hls ls
explalned lnLo more deLall under 2.3. Lssenually, lL ls assumed LhaL Lhe bauery dlscharge
ls dlvlded lnLo dlscreLe ume lnLervals t. lor each ume lnLerval, lL ls calculaLed how much
charge ls removed dependlng on Lhe presenL bauery currenL I
i
. Assumlng LhaL Lhe ume
lnLervals are glven ln seconds Lhe removed charge becomes:
C
i
=
t I
k
i
3600
Ah (3.13)
ln ume lnLervals where Lhe bauery ls belng charged, Lhe eukerL correcuon has Lo be
removed, as large bauery currenLs do noL have proporuonally more eecL Lhan small ones
when charlng. Also when charglng, Lhe bauery currenL I
i
becomes negauve meanlng LhaL
lL ls owlng lnLo Lhe bauery. 1herefore, Lhe charge removed from Lhe bauery becomes
also negauve whlch means lL acLually ls a charge resLored ln Lhe bauery:
C
i
=
t I
i
3600
Ah (3.14)
1he sum of all lncremenLal charges evenLually resulLs ln Lhe LoLal removed charge:
C
r
=
N
i=1
C
i
(3.13)
3.1.2 Model Development
1he esumauon of Lhe vehlcles range ls performed aer Lhe quaslsLauc meLhod as lnLroduced
ln secuon 2.3.2. 1he lmplemenLauon of Lhls approach follows closely Lhe descrlpuon of
Cuzzella, Sclarreua (2008) [Cuz08] and Larmlnle, Lowry (2003) [Lar03], whlch are very
slmllar. 1here ls only one noLable excepuon. 1hese auLhors parLly model Lhe drlveLraln
Lhrough Lhe esumauon of Lhe necessary moLor Lorque and sha speed, whlch enables
Lhe deLermlnauon of Lhe quaslsLauc moLor eclency uslng Lhe respecuve eclency map.
1he problem ls LhaL Lhere ls no eclency map avallable for Lhe moLor of Lhe nuS ClLy
Car. 1wo opuons were consldered Lo solve Lhls problem. llrsLly, one could Lry Lo nd
an eclency map of a slmllar moLor assumlng LhaL lL suclenLly models Lhe acLual Lype.
Secondly, Lhe moLor eclency could be assumed Lo be consLanL modeled by an average
value. LvenLually lL was declded Lo slmply assume a consLanL eclency. 1hls declslon was
made, because lL was dlculL Lo obLaln eclency maps of moLors LhaL could be cerLalnly
ldenued as slmllar Lo Lhe ClLy Car moLor. Moreover, a consLanL average moLor eclency
brlngs Lhe beneL LhaL Lhe moLor ls modeled by only Lhls one value lnsLead of a complex
moLor map, whlch makes lL easler Lo lnclude lL lnLo a parameLer sLudy. ln addluon, Lhls
assumpuon allows a conslderable slmpllcauon of Lhe model sLrucLure. And Lhls ls where
Lhe developed model dlers from Lhe above menuoned auLhors.
urlveLraln characLerlsucs such as Lorques and sha speeds are noL relevanL under Lhe
assumpuon LhaL drlveLraln eclencles are consLanL and Lhe lneruas of roLaung parLs are
approxlmaLed (see eq. (2.3)). 1hus, Lhe drlveLraln ls noL modeled expllclLly. lnsLead, lL ls
bypassed, whlch leaves only Lwo baslc model sLeps. llrsLly, Lhe needed mechanlcal energy
Lo be supplled aL Lhe wheels ls deLermlned. ln Lhe second sLep, Lhls mechanlcal energy
consumpuon ls dlrecLly LranslaLed lnLo a reducuon of Lhe avallable sLored energy, whlch
ln Lhls case ls elecLrlc energy. 1he drlveLraln lles ln beLween Lhese Lwo enuues and ls
consldered as blackbox, whlch ls bypassed uslng a consLanL average eclency Lo accounL
for Lransmlsslon losses. ln addluon Lo Lhe mechanlcal energy needed Lo move Lhe vehlcle,
Lhe bauery has Lo provlde energy for all accessorles such as head llghL, radlo or even alr
condluon. lor modellng purposes, Lhese accessory losses are usually accounLed for by a
consLanL addluonal energy consumpuon, whlch has Lo be supplled conunuously regardless
of Lhe presenL vehlcle operauon.
F
rr
F
hc
F
ad
F
trac
F
la
Mg
+
-
Reduced stored
electric energy
Needed mechanical energy
Drivetrain
bypass
Figure 3.3: lllusLrauon of Lhe modellng approach of bypasslng Lhe drlveLraln
WlLh Lhls slmpllcauons, Lhe quaslsLauc slmulauon model runs Lhrough Lhe followlng
procedure. lor each of Lhe ume lnLervals, Lhe consLanL speed and accelerauon requlred
Lo follow Lhe glven drlvlng cycle ls calculaLed from Lhe cycle lnpuL daLa wlLh Lhe equauons
ln (2.8). WlLh Lhls lnformauon, Lhe LoLal Lracuve force F
trac
LhaL has Lo be acung on Lhe
wheels durlng Lhe ume lnLerval ls calculaLed uslng eq. (2.6). lor Lhe nexL sLep, Lhe model
dlsungulshes for each ume lnLerval beLween Lhe dlerenL vehlcle operaung modes. ln case
Lhe vehlcle ls ln Lracuon mode (F
trac
> 0), Lhe moLor ls supplled wlLh Lhe necessary Lracuon
power, whlle Lhe losses of Lhe drlveLraln are consldered Lhrough average eclencles (moLor
and gear eclency). Pence, Lhe power Lo be supplled Lo Lhe moLor ylelds
P
mot, in
=
F
trac
v
mot

gear
=
P
trac
mot

gear
(3.16)
ln case Lhe vehlcle ls coasung (F
trac
= 0) or sLopplng (v = 0), P
trac
and Lhus P
mot, in
auLomaucally become zero, whlch means lL ls assumed Lhe moLor does noL consume any
energy ln Lhese operaung modes. When Lhe vehlcle ls braklng (F
trac
< 0), Lhe avallable
surplus ln klneuc energy can be Lransformed back lnLo elecLrlc energy should Lhe vehlcle
be equlpped wlLh a recuperauon sysLem. 1he nuS ClLy Car does noL have such a sysLem ln
Lhe currenL deslgn lLerauon, whlch ls why regenerauve braklng has noL been sLudled lnLo
deLall ln Lhls work. Powever, ln order Lo esumaLe Lhe poLenual of regenerauve braklng ln
Lerms of energy consumpuon, Lhe model allows a slmple conslderauon of a recuperauon
sysLem. ln case Lhe moLor ls used Lo Lransform Lhe avallable klneuc energy lnLo elecLrlc
energy, Lhe drlveLraln eclencles work ln Lhe opposlLe sense compared Lo eq. (3.16).
1herefore, Lhe moLor lnpuL power LhaL can be uullzed Lo recharge Lhe bauery ylelds
P
mot, in
= F
trac
v (
mot

gear

recup
) = P
trac
(
mot

gear

recup
) (3.17)
where
recup
denoLes an addluonal recuperauon eclency, LhaL represenLs Lhe quallLy of
Lhe recuperauon sysLem. ln case regenerauve braklng ls noL consldered, P
mot, in
ls seL Lo
zero for all braklng lnLervals. ln Lhe nexL sLep, Lhe average accessory power P
ac
ls added
Lo Lhe moLor lnpuL power, whlch evenLually resulLs ln Lhe bauery power P
b
.
P
b
= P
mot, in
+P
ac
(3.18)
Slnce Lhe presenL bauery volLage correlaLes Lo Lhe bauery SoC, Lhe volLage ls calculaLed
wlLh Lhe relauonshlp esLabllshed ln eq. (3.8), before wlLh Lhe bauery power as lnpuL Lhe
bauery charge or dlscharge currenL ls compuLed uslng eq. (3.11) or (3.10) (dependlng on
weaLher P
b
ls posluve or negauve). ln Lhe nexL sLep Lhe bauery currenL ls LranslaLed lnLo a
charge LhaL ls elLher removed or resLored ln Lhe bauery (eq. (3.13) or (3.14)). LvenLually
Lhe sLaLe of charge ls updaLed wlLh eq. (3.13). 1hls whole procedure ls repeaLed unul Lhe
bauery reaches a SoC LhaL ls below Lhe dened dlscharge llmlL, whlch ls consldered as
empLy bauery.
A owcharL of Lhe developed model helplng Lo lllusLraLe Lhls procedure ls plcLured ln gure
3.4. 1he respecuve model ls lmplemenLed ln a MaLlab scrlpL le. 8esldes Lhe esumauon of
Lhe vehlcle range, where Lhe chosen drlvlng cycle ls repeaLed unul Lhe bauery ls empLy,
Lhe model also enables Lhe analysls of a slngle drlvlng cycle. 1hls allows for Lhe plomng of
dlerenL slmulauon parameLers such as moLor power, bauery volLage/currenL or consumed
energy over Lhe ume hlsLory of a LesL cycle.
Capabilies and Limits 1he developed model ls based on a quaslsLauc meLhod and
enables Lhe esumauon of Lhe range of an elecLrlc vehlcle dependlng on a few baslc vehlcle
parameLers such as rolllng frlcuon, aerodynamlc drag, welghL or drlveLraln eclencles as
well as bauery parameLers llke capaclLy and number of cells. ulerenL drlvlng pauerns
can be accuraLely slmulaLed Lhrough Lhe use of sLandardlzed LesL cycles. lL allows a slmple
conslderauon of a recuperauon sysLem, whlch resLores some of Lhe used energy when
braklng dependlng on Lhe dened recuperauon eclency. 1he bauery dlscharge ls modeled
upon Lhe eukerL law based on a slmple equlvalenL clrculL. 1he applled approach ls well
accepLed for opumlzauon and evaluauon purposes ([Lar03, Cuz08]). Powever, llmlLauons
are especlally lnduced by Lhe facL LhaL Lhe drlveLraln ls noL expllclLly modeled. 1hls leads Lo
an lnaccuraLe conslderauon of Lhe moLor eclency, whlch can slgnlcanLly vary LhroughouL
a drlvlng cycle. Averaglng Lhe eclency ls llkely Lo achleve good resulLs for Lhe overall energy
Initialize
(set default values, load
driving cycle)
Compute present velocity and
accelaration, update traveled
distance
Compute present
tractive force
Compute necessary motor
input power
Compute battery
discharge/charge current
Compute available
recuperation power
gear mot
trac
in mot
P
P

=
,
0 >
trac
F
Compute charge that is
removed/restored in battery
0 <
trac
F
Update State of Charge
) (
, recup gear mot trac in mot
P P =
Add average accessory power
to get the battery power dd
b
P
Battery
empty?
Stop computation
no
yes
Update State of Charge
Figure 3.4: llowcharL of Lhe developed range esumauon model
consumpuon, buL lL mlghL be wrong for cerLaln peak values of Lhe necessary moLor lnpuL
power and currenL. ln addluon, Lhe bauery model lacks Lhe conslderauon of LemperaLure
varlauons durlng operauon. 1hese can aecL relevanL aspecLs such as bauery eclency
and capaclLy. LasLly, Lhe bauery model ls llmlLed Lo lead-acld bauerles as Lhls ls currenLly
Lhe relevanL bauery Lype for nuS ClLy Car. A comparlson of dlerenL bauery Lechnologles
ls currenLly noL lmplemenLed.
Model Validaon ln some rsL reference LesLs, Lhe model dellvered reasonable esumauons
for Lhe energy consumpuon and range of an elecLrlc vehlcle. A small elecLrlc car from Lhe
Mlnl or llaL 300 class wlLh a mass of 730kg and a 120 v lead-acld bauery pack wlLh 60
Ah and 7.2kWh achleves abouL 80km of range [Pod01]. Assumlng average values for all
remalnlng model parameLers, Lhe model esumaLes a maxlmum range of abouL 83km ln
a drlvlng pauern wlLhouL many braklng and accelerauon phases. Powever, such a qulck
plauslblllLy evaluauon ls barely enough Lo declare Lhe model a funcuonlng basls for Lhe
proposed parameLer sLudy. AL Lhe same ume, lLs noL necessary Lo auempL a compleLe
model valldauon Lhrough experlmenLal LesLs, slnce Lhe model ls noL lnLended Lo accuraLely
slmulaLe Lhe performance of Lhe vehlcle sysLem. lor a slmple valldauon, lL would be
suclenL Lo slmply run some slmulauons wlLh Lhe developed model and compare baslc
slmulauon parameLers such as Lracuon force, moLor lnpuL power, bauery currenL or energy
consumpuon wlLh a valldaLed reference model.
Such a valldaLed reference model has been found ln Lhe predened powerLraln congurauons
of Lhe SA1 soware package, whlch was brley lnLroduced before. 1he procedure and Lhe
exacL resulLs of Lhe performed valldauon are summarlzed ln appendlx 8. 1he ouLcome ls
LhaL Lhe slmplled model glves ouL very slmllar values for Lhe overall energy consumpuon
wlLh clearly vlslble devlauons only aL Lhe some peak values of Lhe moLor power. 1hls
devlauons are also respecuvely reecLed ln Lhe bauery currenL. 1hls ls assumed Lo resulL
from Lhe slmplled conslderauon of Lhe moLor eclency as consLanL value. SA1 on Lhe
oLher hand conslders LhaL Lhe moLor eclency acLually varles conslderably dependlng
on Lhe operauon, whlch probably causes Lhe menuoned devlauons. AnoLher dlerence
LhaL became apparenL when comparlng boLh models ls Lhe bauery dlscharge raLe. 1he
developed slmple model seems Lo generally dlscharge Lhe bauery more rapldly, alLhough
lL esumaLes a sllghLly hlgher energy demand Lhan Lhe SA1 model. 1he reason for Lhls
could noL be deLermlned wlLh cerLalnLy because SA1 applles a conslderably more complex
bauery model whlch makes comparlsons dlculL. Powever, lL could be esLabllshed LhaL
Lhls dlerence ls raLher an oseL LhaL occurred LhroughouL all valldauon runs Lo a slmllar
exLend. Cverall, Lhe developed model represenLs Lhe same Lrends and slmllar absoluLe
values ln all slmulauon parameLers, whlch clearly conrms Lhe model as solld foundauon
for Lhe proposed parameLer sLudy.
3.1.3 GUI Interface
ln order Lo ensure LhaL Lhe model can be applled wlLhouL dlculLy for fuLure esumauon
purposes, lL has been lmplemenLed ln a MaLlab graphlcal user lnLerface (Cul) . Pere, Lhe
user slmply keys ln Lhe vehlcle and bauery parameLers aL Lhe le and chooses weaLher
regenerauve braklng ls Lo be consldered. ln Lhe nexL sLep, Lhe consldered LesL cycle ls
selecLed ln Lhe upper cenLer area, whlle lL allows a prevlew of Lhe veloclLy prole. CurrenLly,
Lhere are ve LesL cycles lmplemenLed, wlLh four of Lhem belng urban drlve cycles. 1he
remalnlng LesL cycle reecLs an ldeal conunuous low speed cycle, whlch ls lncluded Lo
esumaLe Lhe maxlmum range under ldeal condluons. WlLh Lhls seLup compleLed, Lhe user
can choose beLween analyslng a slngle drlvlng cycle (Slmulauon of Slngle 1esL Cycle) and
esumaung Lhe LoLal range (8ange Slmulauon). 1he former allows Lo generaLe ploLs LhaL
show slmulauon parameLers ln Lhe course of Lhe selecLed drlvlng cycle. 1he parameLers Lo
be ploued are selecLed vla Lhe respecuve radlo buuons. 1he range slmulauon buuon repeaLs
Lhe selecLed drlvlng cycle unul Lhe bauery ls consldered dlscharged, whlle lL auLomaucally
generaLes a resulLs Lable wlLh relevanL values aer Lhe slmulauon ls compleLed (e.g. covered
3.2 SensluvlLy Analysls 38
dlsLance, average power, used energy).
Figure 3.5: Cul lnLerface of Lhe developed esumauon model
3.2 Sensivity Analysis
Aer Lhe range esumauon model was successfully esLabllshed and valldaLed, lL ls now
applled Lo derlve Lhe sensluvlLy of Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe achlevable range Lo
dlerenL vehlcle parameLers. Slnce Lhe model has been wrluen as MaLlab code from
scraLch, lL was comparably easy Lo modlfy Lhe model ln a way, LhaL lL can be lncluded lnLo
a global MaLlab scrlpL LhaL execuLes Lhe sensluvlLy analysls auLomaucally and repeaLably
for all parameLers. 1he resulLs are exporLed Lo Lxcel Lo generaLe lllusLraung graphs.
WlLh regards Lo Lhe lnLended llghLwelghL deslgn opumlzauon, lL ls especlally of lnLeresL Lo
deLermlne Lhe lmpacL of Lhe vehlcle mass on Lhe range and Lhe energy consumpuon. 1he
ob[ecuve ls Lo evenLually quanufy how much Lhe range can be exLended when Lhe mass ls
reduced by a cerLaln facLor. AL Lhe same ume, lL ls deslred Lo deLermlne Lhe lmpacL of Lhe
remalnlng vehlcle parameLers wlLh respecL Lo Lhe vehlcle mass. 1he assumpuon LhaL Lhe
vehlcle mass ls a comparably slgnlcanL lnuence facLor for Lhe energy consumpuon and
Lhus Lhe range, can be consldered as one Lhe sLarung polnLs for Lhls work. 1hls assumpuon
ls Lo be conrmed Lhrough Lhe followlng sensluvlLy analysls.
ln order Lo sLudy Lhe relauve lmpacL of Lhe relevanL vehlcle parameLers, a base congurauon
ls dened. 1hls base congurauon represenLs Lhe currenL deslgn of Lhe nuS ClLy Car. 1he
respecuve values have adopLed from [Lar03], where Lhey are slmllarly sLaLed for a small
elecLrlc car. Powever, Lhe drag coeclenL has been ad[usLed Lo Lhe resulLs of a Clu analysls
for Lhe lnLended body shell deslgn of Lhe nuS ClLy Car. 1hls analysls was performed ln Lhe
framework of a relaLed sLudenL research pro[ecL. lor each of Lhe relevanL parameLers, lL ls
Lhen deLermlned how a devlauon of +3 Lo -3 around lLs base value aecLs Lhe energy
consumpuon and Lhe range. 1hls span ls esLabllshed aL such a comparably low level, so
LhaL Lhe eclencles remaln ln reallsuc boundarles. 1he general Lrend of Lhe sensluvlLy
analysls wlll be reLalned also for Lhe low span of +3 Lo -3. 1able 3.1 summarlzes Lhe
base values along wlLh Lhe respecuve devlaLed values.
base +5% -5% base +5% -5%
Vehicle mass [kg] 500 525 475 No. of cells 60 63 57
Drag coeff. 0.6 0.63 0.57 Peukert coeff. 1.12 - -
Frontal area [m] 1.5 1.575 1.425 Capacity [Ah] 66 69.3 62.7
Rolling resistence 0.01 0.0105 0.01 Hour rating [h] 10 - -
Gear efficiency 0.95 0.9975 0.903 Maximum DoD 0.8 - -
Motor efficiency 0.8 0.84 0.76
Accessory power [W] 200 210 190
Battery Parameters Vehicle Parameters
Table 3.1: 8ase vehlcle congurauon of Lhe sensluvlLy analysls
1he slmulauon model ls Lhen run for each devlaLed parameLer whlle all remalnlng
parameLers are kepL aL Lhelr base value. ln order Lo sLudy Lhe sensluvlLy of boLh, Lhe
energy consumpuon and Lhe range, Lhe performed sensluvlLy analysls ls dlvlded lnLo Lwo
parLs. 1he energy consumpuon ls deLermlned for one slngle LesL cycle, whlle Lhe range ls
obLalned by repeaung Lhe lnpuL LesL cycle unul Lhe bauery ls dlscharged. 1he focus lles on
sLudylng Lhe vehlcle parameLers raLher Lhan Lhe bauery characLerlsucs, slnce Lhe avallable
bauery ls consldered as xed deslgn consLralnL. 1herefore, mosL of Lhe bauery parameLers
are excluded from Lhe sensluvlLy analysls. Solely Lhe number of cells and Lhelr capaclLy
ls consldered ln order Lo glve a general ldea of how Lhe bauery slze aecLs Lhe range ln
comparlson Lo Lhe vehlcle parameLers. AL Lhe same ume, lL ls accounLed for Lhe lnevlLable
change of Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass resulung from varylng Lhe bauery slze. 1hls ls done by
a slmple proporuonal relauonshlp beLween bauery mass and capaclLy/cell number. lL ls
slmply assumed LhaL an 3 lncrease ln capaclLy or number of cells leads Lo a 3 lncreased
bauery mass. AparL from Lhe change ln Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass, Lhe bauery slze does noL
lnuence Lhe energy consumpuon, whlch ls why Lhe bauery parameLers are compleLely
excluded from Lhe sensluvlLy sLudy of Lhe energy consumpuon.
ln order Lo lllusLraLe Lhe lmpacL of Lhe drlvlng pauern on Lhe sensluvlLy, Lhe analysls ls
performed for Lwo dlerenL urban LesL cycles (n?CC and LCL1 1ype1), whlle Lhe LCL1 has
been doubled Lo so LhaL boLh LesL cycles cover roughly Lhe same dlsLance. 1hls makes sure
LhaL Lhe absoluLe values of Lhe energy sensluvlLy can be dlrecLly compared. All sensluvlLy
analysls resulLs are summarlzed uslng Lornado charLs. A Lornado charL ls an eclenL way
of lllusLraung Lhe sensluvlLy of an ouLpuL parameLer wlLh respecL Lo changes on all lnpuL
varlables slmulLaneously. 1hls ls achleved by plomng Lhe span beLween +3 and -3 for
each parameLer as bar around lLs base value. 1he Lyplcal Lornado shape resulLs from
arranglng Lhe consldered parameLers ln descendlng order accordlng Lo Lhe slgnlcance of
Lhelr lmpacL on Lhe ouLpuL.
1he performed sensluvlLy analysls resulLs ln four Lornado charLs, energy consumpuon
and range for Lwo dlerenL drlvlng pauerns, whlle Lhe energy consumpuon charLs only
conslder Lhe seven vehlcle parameLers. 1hese charLs are summarlzed LogeLher wlLh Lhe
Lwo consldered drlvlng pauerns ln gure 3.6.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
5
10
15
time [s]
v
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

[
m
/
s
]
New York City Cycle
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
0
5
10
15
time [s]
v
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

[
m
/
s
]
2x ECE1 Type1
dlsLance: 1.89 km, average speed: 11.4 km/h dlsLance: 2.078 km, average speed: 18.7 km/h
Work [kWh]
Base Result: 137.347
Name Low High Delta
Accessory Power 136.2582072 138.435985
Rolling Resistance 135.945 138.749 #REF! #REF! #REF!
Frontal Area 135.7460582 138.948134
Drag Coeff. 135.7460582 138.948134 -2.804 42.374 39.570
Vehicle Mass 133.170 141.525 -8.355 45.149 36.794
Motor Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
171 176 181 186
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Rolling Resistance
Accessory Power
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Energy [Wh]
Electric Energy for Single NYCC
+5%
-5%
Motor Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
Gear Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
-5% +5%
131 136 141
Accessory Power
Rolling Resistance
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Energy [Wh]
Electric Energy for 2x ECE1 Type1
+5%
-5%
Work [kWh]
Base Result: 137.347
Name Low High Delta
Accessory Power 136.2582072 138.435985
Rolling Resistance 135.945 138.749 #REF! #REF! #REF!
Frontal Area 135.7460582 138.948134
Drag Coeff. 135.7460582 138.948134 -2.804 42.374 39.570
Vehicle Mass 133.170 141.525 -8.355 45.149 36.794
Motor Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
171 176 181 186
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Rolling Resistance
Accessory Power
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Energy [Wh]
Electric Energy for Single NYCC
+5%
-5%
Motor Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
Gear Eff. 143.430 131.844 -11.586 34.889 46.475
-5% +5%
131 136 141
Accessory Power
Rolling Resistance
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Energy [Wh]
Electric Energy for 2x ECE1 Type1
+5%
-5%
48.0 50.0 52.0 54.0
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Rolling Resistance
Accessory Power
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Range [km]
City Car Range - NYCC
+5%
-5%
Drag Coeff.
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
City Car Range - ECE1 Type1
+5%
-5%
68.0 70.0 72.0 74.0 76.0
Accessory Power
Rolling Resistance
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Range [km]
+5%
-5%
48.0 50.0 52.0 54.0
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Rolling Resistance
Accessory Power
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
Range [km]
City Car Range - NYCC
+5%
-5%
Drag Coeff.
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Vehicle Mass
Motor Eff.
Gear Eff.
City Car Range - ECE1 Type1
+5%
-5%
68.0 70.0 72.0 74.0 76.0
Accessory Power
Rolling Resistance
Frontal Area
Drag Coeff.
Battery Capacity
No. Battery Cells
Range [km]
+5%
-5%
Figure 3.6: SensluvlLy analysls resulLs Lable for Lwo dlerenL urban drlvlng cycles
Energy Consumpon Sensivity As for Lhe sensluvlLy of Lhe energy consumpuon, Lhe
Lornado charLs lndlcaLe LhaL Lhe drlveLraln eclencles, noLably moLor and gear eclency, are
Lhe mosL lnuenual parameLers. 1hls ls noL surprlslng conslderlng Lhe facL LhaL eclencles
conLrlbuLedlrecLlyLoLhenecessarypower ouLpuL Lhroughalnverselyproporuonal relauonshlp
(eq.(3.16)). AlmosL equally slgnlcanL ls Lhe vehlcle mass, whlle Lhe remalnlng parameLers
play a mlnor role compared Lo Lhe Lhree Lop parameLers ln Lhe charL. 1hls Lrend ls valld for
boLh consldered drlvlng cycles. Powever, lL becomes apparenL LhaL Lhe relauve lmpacL of
Lhe vehlcle mass decreases from n?CC Lo LCL1. 1hls ls expecLed due Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhe
n?CC models a more severe urban drlvlng pauern wlLh conslderably more accelerauon and
braklng phases as well as lower average veloclLy. 1herefore, Lhe accelerauon reslsLance,
and Lhus Lhe vehlcle mass, conLrlbuLes more Lo Lhe overall energy consumpuon ln case of
Lhe n?CC. 1he hlgher accelerauon reslsLance ln Lhe n?CC also resulLs ln 23 more energy
needed Lo compleLe a slngle n?CC compared Lo compleung Lwo LCL1 cycles, even Lhough
boLh pauerns cover roughly Lhe same dlsLance. ln addluon, Lhe hlgher average veloclLy
of Lhe LCL1 leads Lo a conslderable lncrease ln Lhe relauve lmpacL of Lhe aerodynamlc
parameLers, fronLal area and drag coeclenL compared Lo Lhe n?CC. 1he relauve lnuence
of Lhe accessory power decreases aL Lhe same ume, slnce Lhe accessorles have Lo be
supplled consLanLly regardless of Lhe drlvlng condluon. 1he more sLopplng phases Lhere
are and Lhe lower Lhe average veloclLy, Lhe blgger ls Lhe lnuence of Lhe consLanL accessory
losses. 1he absoluLe lmpacL of a decrease ln mass on Lhe energy consumpuon of boLh
LesL cycles ls summarlzed ln Lhe followlng Lable.
NYCC 2x ECE1 Type1
8ase Lnergy uemand: 178.4Wh 137.4Wh
wlLh 3 less mass: 171.8Wh 131.2Wh
Energy Decrease: 3.7% 3.0%
Table 3.2: lmpacL of mass reducuon on energy consumpuon for boLh LesL cycles
Whereas a 3 decreased vehlcle mass resulLs ln a 3.7 decreased energy demand when
followlng Lhe n?CC pauern, Lhe 3 mass decrease only leads Lo a 3.0 reducuon ln energy
demand ln Lhe LCL1 drlvlng pauern.
Range Sensivity 1he achlevable range of a vehlcle ls closely llnked Lo lLs energy
consumpuon. 1herefore, Lhe sensluvlLy of Lhe vehlcle range reveals very slmllar resulLs Lo
Lhe energy sensluvlLy. 1he Lhree mosL slgnlcanL parameLers ln boLh drlvlng pauerns are
Lhe drlveLraln eclencles and Lhe vehlcle mass, whlle Lhe relauve lmpacL of Lhe vehlcle
mass ls conslderably lower when assumlng Lhe LCL1 drlvlng pauern. noLeworLhy ls Lhe facL
LhaL Lhe vehlcle mass remalns more lnuenual Lhan Lhe bauery slze ln boLh LesL cycles. 1hls
ls raLher Lo be assessed as quallLauve observauon LhaL ls only valld for lead acld bauerles,
slnce Lhe esumauon model goes back Lo a very slmple lead acld bauery dlscharge model.
Powever, lL can be esLabllshed wlLh cerLalnLy LhaL Lhe vehlcle mass holds up as declslve
parameLer. Comparlng Lhe base range ln boLh LesL cycles reveals a 28 gap beLween n?CC
and LCL1, whlch ls conslsLenL wlLh Lhe resulLs from Lhe energy consumpuon analysls. 1he
poLenual for exLendlng Lhe range Lhrough welghL reducuon ls summarlzed ln Lhe followlng
Lable.
NYCC ECE1 Type1
8ase 8ange: 31.4 72.0
wlLh 3 less mass: 34.0 73.1
Range Increase: 5.4% 4.3%
Table 3.3: lmpacL of mass reducuon on vehlcle range for boLh drlvlng pauerns
3.4 and 4.3 lncrease ln range as a resulL of a mass reducuon by 3, roughly LranslaLes
lnLo 1 range exLenslon wlLh every percenL vehlcle mass saved. 1hrough furLher Lesung,
lL could be esLabllshed LhaL Lhls concluslon remalns valld up unul a welghL reducuon of
abouL 40.
Regenerave Braking ln addluon Lo Lhe sensluvlLy analysls of Lhe energy consumpuon
and vehlcle range, a brlef esumauon of Lhe range exLenslon poLenual Lhrough regenerauve
braklng ls performed. uslng Lhe slmple lmplemenLauon of regenerauve braklng ln Lhe
developed model and assumlng a recuperauon eclency of
recup
= 0.6 lL ls examlned
how Lhe bauery sLaLe of charge develops ln Lhe course of Lhe applled LesL cycles. ln llgure
3.7 Lhe sLaLe of charge wlLh and wlLhouL regenerauve braklng ls conLrasLed for boLh LesL
cycles respecuvely.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0.975
0.98
0.985
0.99
0.995
1
time [s]
S
t
a
t
e

o
f

C
h
a
r
g
e

[
%
]
Impact of Regen. Braking on SoC NYCC

Without Regen. Braking
Regen. Braking
0 100 200 300 400
0.975
0.98
0.985
0.99
0.995
1
time [s]
S
t
a
t
e

o
f

C
h
a
r
g
e

[
%
]
Impact of Regen. Braking on SoC 2x ECE1 Type1

Without Regen. Braking
Regen. Braking
Figure 3.7: lmpacL of 8egenerauve 8raklng on Lhe SoC durlng n?CC and 2x LCL1 1ype1
drlvlng cycles
lL can be seen how Lhe Lwo graphs gradually separaLe Lhe furLher Lhe vehlcle progresses
ln Lhe drlvlng cycle, wlLh Lhe gap beLween Lhe Lwo graphs belng larger ln case of Lhe n?CC.
1hls ls agaln expecLed, as Lhere are slmply more braklng phases ln Lhe n?CC, whlch means
Lhere ls more dlsslpaung energy LhaL can be recovered by a recuperauon devlce. When
only conslderlng Lhe green curve, lL can also be seen LhaL Lhe graph sllghLly recovers aL
3.3 Summary and Concluslon 43
umes, whlch represenLs Lhe recharglng of Lhe bauery ln case of braklng. 1he dlrecL lmpacL
of regenerauve braklng on Lhe achlevable range ls summarlzed ln 1able 3.4.
NYCC 2x ECE1 Type1
8ase 8ange: 31.4km 72.0km
wlLh 8egen. 8raklng: 39.6km 78.4km
Range Increase: 14% 9%
Table 3.4: lmpacL of regenerauve braklng on achlevable range
1he poLenual of regenerauve braklng for exLendlng Lhe range ls 30 hlgher when
conslderlng Lhe n?CC compared Lo Lhe LCL1, whlch furLher supporLs Lhe slgnlcance of
Lhe drlvlng pauern on Lhe energy eclency characLerlsucs.
3.3 Summary and Conclusion
1he ob[ecuve of Lhls chapLer has been analyslng Lhe performance of Lhe currenL nuS ClLy
Car deslgn ln Lerms of range and energy consumpuon under Lhe assumpuon of an urban
drlvlng envlronmenL. As such, lL was of parucular lnLeresL Lo deLermlne Lhe lnuence of Lhe
vehlcle mass on Lhe vehlcle range, as Lhe lnLenuon of Lhls work ls evenLually Lhe reducuon of
Lhe vehlcles mass ln order Lo maxlmlze lLs range. 1herefore, a slmple energy consumpuon
and range esumauon model has been developed. 1hls model ls capable of esumaung Lhe
range of an elecLrlc vehlcle wlLh baslc vehlcle parameLers and drlvlng pauerns as lnpuL.
1he model has been valldaLed Lhrough comparlson wlLh a reference model exLracLed from
Lhe SA1 soware. 1he model lndlcaLes LhaL Lhe currenL congurauon of Lhe nuS ClLy Car
ls able Lo achleve abouL 30km ln an exLreme urban drlvlng pauern, whlle Lhls gure does
noL lnclude a conslderauon of Lhe grade level of Lhe Lrack.
8ased on Lhls model, a sensluvlLy analysls for Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe vehlcle range
has been performed. Pere, lL was of lnLeresL on Lhe one hand Lo deLermlne Lhe poLenual
of exLendlng Lhe range Lhrough welghL reducuon. Cn Lhe oLher hand, lL was deslred Lo
lllusLraLe Lhe relauve slgnlcance of Lhe vehlcle mass on range and energy consumpuon
compared Lo Lhe remalnlng vehlcle parameLers such as aerodynamlcs and rolllng frlcuon.
1herefore, each relevanL lnpuL parameLer was varled by +3 and -3 of lLs base value
and Lhe respecuve model ouLpuL was compuLed wlLh all remalnlng parameLers remalnlng
consLanL. 1he resulL was lllusLraLed by Lornado charLs. 1hls analysls was done for Lwo
dlerenL urban drlvlng pauerns (n?CC and LCL1). 1he ouLcome of Lhe parameLer sLudy
ls LhaL Lhe drlveLraln eclencles are mosL lnuenual, wlLh Lhe vehlcle mass belng almosL
equally lnuenual especlally when assumlng Lhe n?CC drlvlng pauern. All remalnlng vehlcle
parameLers conLrlbuLe only Lo a llule exLend Lo Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe achlevable
range. 1he bauery slze on Lhe oLher slde can exLend Lhe range Lo conslderable degree. lL
can also be concluded LhaL Lhe vehlcle mass becomes more slgnlcanL Lhe more Lhe drlvlng
pauern ls characLerlzed by frequenL accelerauon and braklng phases. ln oLher words, Lhe
vehlcle mass ls mosL lnuenual when Lhe vehlcle ls malnly operaLed ln an hlghly urban
envlronmenL. Cn average, a remarkable 1 range exLenslon can be achleved wlLh every
percenL vehlcle mass saved. lL was esLabllshed LhaL Lhls relauonshlp remalns llnear up Lo
roughly 40 welghL reducuon, whlle one has Lo bear ln mlnd LhaL lL ls applles only for pure
clLy drlvlng condluons. 1hls concluslon ls also valld for Lhe drlveLraln eclency. Powever,
lL ls conslderably more dlculL Lo lmprove Lhe drlveLraln eclency by one percenL Lhan
reduclng Lhe welghL by one percenL. 1herefore, Lhe concluslon ls drawn LhaL reduclng Lhe
welghL ls Lhe mosL reasonable approach Lo lmprovlng Lhe currenL nuS ClLy Car deslgn ln
Lerms of energy consumpuon and range. 1he lnlual assumpuon has hence been conrmed.
ln addluon lL was sLudled how regenerauve braklng can conLrlbuLe Lo an lmprovemenL of
Lhe vehlcles range ln a fuLure deslgn lLerauon. lL could be esLabllshed LhaL a recuperauon
devlce wlLh an eclency of 0.6 can resulL ln 9 - 14 range exLenslon dependlng on Lhe
drlvlng pauern.
4 Determinaon of a Component for a Topology Opmizaon
1he sensluvlLy analysls performed ln Lhe prevlous chapLer has lllusLraLed how Lhe LoLal
welghL slgnlcanLly lnuences Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe range of an elecLrlc vehlcle.
lL was hlghllghLed LhaL ln an urban envlronmenL, welghL reducuon ls Lhe mosL promlslng
sLarung polnL for lmprovlng Lhe range of Lhe nuS ClLy Car. Lvery percenL LhaL ls saved ln
LoLal vehlcles mass resulLs ln abouL 1 lmproved range, whlch means LhaL Lhe currenL nuS
ClLy Car deslgn can be lmproved from 31km Lo 34km [usL by reduclng Lhe LoLal welghL by
3. 1hls would be a relevanL lmprovemenL conslderlng LhaL Lhere mlghL be even more
welghL reducuon poLenual. ln Lhls conLexL, Lhe presenL work sLudles Lhe welghL reducuon
posslblllues Lhrough sLrucLural opumlzauon of vehlcle componenLs. 1herefore, Lhls chapLer
descrlbes Lhe process of analyzlng Lhe presenL vehlcle congurauon and Lhe selecuon of a
parucularly promlslng vehlcle componenL for a subsequenL sLrucLural opumlzauon.
4.1 Implementaon of the Selecon Approach
ln order Lo deLermlne sulLable componenLs for a sLrucLural llghLwelghL opumlzauon lL ls
essenual Lo capLure Lhe currenL sLaLus of Lhe chassls componenLs ln Lerms of lndlvldual
welghL. 1hls glves a rsL reference Lo componenLs LhaL are worLh Lo be lnvesugaLed
furLher due Lo Lhelr hlgh conLrlbuuon Lo Lhe overall vehlcle mass. Powever, Lhe componenL
welghL cannoL be Lhe only crlLerla. When sLudylng Lhe composluon of Lhe ma[or chassls
componenLs, lL becomes qulckly obvlous LhaL cerLaln componenLs mlghL have a hlgh mass
buL are slmply noL pracucal for a sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1hls especlally lncludes elecLrlcal
componenLs, such as bauery or conLrollers as well as mechaLronlcal sysLems llke Lhe moLor.
CLher componenLs are generally sulLable for an opumlzauon buL mlghL be already opumlzed
Lo some exLenL, whlch makes Lhem generally less lnLeresung for Lhls conslderauon, slnce
Lhey promlse less poLenual for a welghL reducuon. 1he maln ob[ecuve of Lhls Lhesls
ls Lhe welghL reducuon Lhrough sLrucLural opumlzauon of selecLed chassls componenLs.
Pence, lL makes sense Lo puL Lhe capLured componenLs lnLo caLegorles LhaL lndlcaLe
Lhelr feaslblllLy and poLenual for sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1hls second crlLerla ls Lermed
opumlzauon apuLude ln Lhe framework of Lhls Lhesls. 1he resulL ls a slmple approach
LhaL lncludes Lwo crlLerla, componenL welghL and opumlzauon apuLude, Lo deLermlne
sulLable componenLs. ln Lhe followlng Lhe lmplemenLauon of Lhls approach ls descrlbed
and Lhe resulLs subsequenLly vlsuallzed, uslng 1reemaps and A8C-analysls. 1he resulLs of
an lnLernal k1 sLudy, deallng wlLh Lhe developmenL of meLhods for Lhe lnLegrauon of
funcuons for an opumlzed llghLwelghL deslgn, served as ma[or lnpuL for Lhls parL [la10].
4.1 lmplemenLauon of Lhe Selecuon Approach 46
1he developed meLhods lnclude Lhe evaluauon of Lhe poLenual of sysLem componenLs ln
Lerms of funcuon lnLegrauon. ln Lhls work, Lhese resulLs are applled on Lhe componenL
selecuon for a sLrucLural llghL welghL opumlzauon.
A crlucal sLep of Lhe applled approach ls Lhe denluon of Lhe apuLude caLegorles. Pavlng
only a few caLegorles LhaL slmply lndlcaLe verbally Lhe degree of Lhe opumlzauon apuLude
bears Lhe rlsk of blased resulLs dependlng on how Lhe componenLs have been allocaLed Lo
Lhe caLegorles. naLurally, one would Lend Lo allocaLe Lhem accordlng Lo common senseas
a resulL of experlence. Powever, Lhls approach would favor componenLs LhaL have already
been consldered rlghL from Lhe beglnnlng wlLhouL applylng any sLrucLured meLhods, whlle
oLher less obvlous componenLs mlghL be overseen. 1herefore, lL ls auempLed Lo make Lhe
caLegory denluon and allocauon less lnuenced by Lhe personal percepuon. ln [la10]
Lhe componenL maLerlal ls dened as ma[or properLy lnuenclng Lhe poLenual for welghL
reducuon. 1hls ls also a useful lndlcaLor for Lhe purpose of sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1he
maLerlal noL only lndlcaLes Lhe componenL denslLy, buL also lLs sLrucLural properues. unllke
ln [la10] where each lndlvldual plece parL of Lhe analyzed sysLem ls consldered, Lhe analysls
here ls reduced Lo componenL level. 1hls ls necessary because Lhe number of plece parLs
ls comparably hlgh due Lo Lhe complexlLy of Lhe vehlcle sysLem. Moreover, Lhe focus of
Lhls work lles ln Lhe Lopology opumlzauon of vehlcle parLs noL on a compleLe capLure and
analysls of all vehlcle componenLs. A full scale plece parL analysls lncludlng welghlng each
parL ls consldered lmpracucal wlLhln Lhe work scope of Lhls Lhesls. ln addluon, several
vehlcle parLs are yeL undened or unnlshed and Lhelr mass has Lo be guessed, whlch
makes a full scale plece parL analysls furLher unfavorable.
Slnce Lhe componenLs parLly conslsL of muluple parLs, noL every componenL can be clearly
asslgned Lo one maLerlal. Powever, oen Lhe componenLs comprlse only a few ma[or parLs
LhaL represenL Lhe maln share of Lhe LoLal welghL. 1herefore, Lhe componenL maLerlal can
be sull used as reference for creaung opumlzauon apuLude caLegorles. All componenLs
LhaL are mosLly made of sLeel are generally consldered Lo be hlghly sulLable for sLrucLural
opumlzauon. 1hls also lncludes componenLs llke Lhe seaLs, slnce Lhelr welghL ls largely
dened by Lhe sLeel sLrucLure raLher Lhan Lhe cushlons. SLeel componenLs are asslgned
a hlgh apuLude because sLeel has a hlgh denslLy and hlgh sLrengLh, whlch mlghL noL be
necessary for cerLaln componenLs. ComponenLs made of alumlnum or even carbon bre
relnforced plasucs (Cl8) suggesL less poLenual as Lhey are less dense and mlghL have
been already llghLwelghL opumlzed. lor lnsLance, Lhe Cl8 body shell does noL hold much
poLenual, slnce Lhe shape ls predened and Lhe currenLly used maLerlal was already a
llghLwelghL deslgn drlven cholce (maLerlal llghLwelghL deslgn). ln addluon Lo Lhe maLerlal, lL
ls also consldered Lo whaL exLenL Lhe deslgn and Lhe manufacLurlng of Lhe componenLs can
be lnuenced conslderlng Lhe avallable workshop and know-how. 1herefore, speclallzed
lsolaLed componenLs llke brakes, shock absorbers or wheels are also consldered as less
sulLable. 1hese componenLs are comparably complex and feaLure a hlgh dlverslLy of
maLerlals and parLs, whlch makes lL dlculL Lo perform a sLrucLural opumlzauon. lnsLead,
4.2 vlsuallzauon of CollecLed uaLa 47
Lhese sysLems are consldered xed, as Lhey are boughL exLernally accordlng Lo avallablllLy
and budgeL. LasLly, Lhere are elecLrlcal and mechaLronlcal parLs, llke Lhe moLor, Lhe bauery
or Lhe moLor conLroller, whlch are leasL appllcable for sLrucLural opumlzauon because Lhey
are also Loo complex and Lhelr deslgn malnly depends on elecLronlc requlremenLs raLher
Lhan sLrucLural ones. Pence, Lhe dened caLegorles sum up Lo ve. 1he hlerarchy of Lhese
apuLude caLegorles ls lndlcaLed by Lhe legend ln llgure 4.2. All componenLs are addluonally
allocaLed Lo superordlnaLed subsysLems ln order Lo furLher sLrucLure Lhe collecLed daLa.
1he resulL ls a Lable conslsung of 23 componenLs organlzed ln slx superordlnaLed assembly
groups, where each componenL has been welghLed and asslgned Lo an opumlzauon apuLude
caLegory based on Lhe componenL maLerlal and complexlLy. 1he Lable can be found ln
Appendlx C.
4.2 Visualizaon of Collected Data
1he nexL sLep aer collecung and sLrucLurlng Lhe daLa ls Lhe vlsuallzauon. A well presenLed
lllusLrauon of Lhe daLabase can slgnlcanLly supporL Lhe process of drawlng concluslons.
ln [la10] several vlsuallzauon alds are revlewed and evaluaLed, where Lhe so called
1reemaps have been polnLed ouL as parucularly capable lllusLrauon Lool for Lhe proposed
appllcauon. 1reemaps are also applled aL Lhls polnL. AnoLher well esLabllshed meLhod for
Lhe deLermlnauon of weak sysLem llnks ls Lhe A8C-Analysls. ln order Lo complemenL Lhe
vlsuallzauon Lhrough 1reemaps, an A8C-analysls ls addluonally performed.
Treemaps 1he prlnclple of 1reemaps orlglnaLes from Lhe developmenL of a compacL
vlsuallzauon of dlrecLory Lree sLrucLures ln 1990. 1he ob[ecuve was Lo monlLor Lhe occupauon
of shared hard dlsk space sLrucLured aer user, dlrecLory and le slze as hlerarchlcal
measure [Shn98]. 1he resulL was a algorlLhm LhaL can hlerarchlcally lllusLraLe Lhousands of
daLa enLrles along wlLh addluonal properues slmulLaneously on a llmlLed surface area. 1he
algorlLhm essenually spllLs Lhe screen lnLo recLangles ln alLernaung horlzonLal and verucal
dlrecuon. Lach recLangle reecLs one daLa enLry, whlle lLs slze represenLs lLs hlerarchlcal
value. A second dlmenslon can be lmplemenLed Lhrough Lhe use of colors lndlcaung Lhe
properues of each enLry. CuL of Lhls ldea, a comprehenslve Lool LhaL enables more funcuons
for furLher manlpulauon of Lhe vlsuallzauon has been developed. nowadays, 1reemaps
are a common way of lllusLraung complex hlerarchlcal daLa seLs such as nanclal gures
[la10]. 1he generauon of 1reemaps can be performed wlLhouL dlculLy wlLh Lhe help
of Lhe 1reemap soware provlded by Lhe unlverslLy of Maryland [Shn98]. 1herefore, Lhe
capLured welghL daLa (see Appendlx C) ls Lransfered lnLo a compauble daLabase formaL
and subsequenLly lmporLed lnLo Lhe 1reemap soware. llgure 4.1 lllusLraLes Lhe resulLs
of Lhe 1reemap algorlLhm for an one dlmenslonal conslderauon. Cne dlmenslonal means
LhaL Lhe shown colors do noL represenL componenL properues. lnsLead, Lhey supporL Lhe
lllusLrauon of Lhe hlerarchlcal order accordlng Lo Lhe componenL welghL.
TreeMap_NUSCC.tm3
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Frame Body Shell Seat incl. Cushion
Seat incl. Cushion Wires
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
Swingarm Wheel (rear) Sus
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
TreeMap_NUSCC.tm3
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
min max
Mass
Figure 4.1: 1reemap for nuS ClLy Car componenL welghL
Lach of Lhe shown recLangles sLands for one componenL, wlLh lLs slze lndlcaung Lhe
welghL of Lhe respecuve componenL, whlle Lhe LoLal area reecLs Lhe LoLal welghL of Lhe
vehlcle. ln addluon, brlghL recLangles lndlcaLe a heavy componenL whlle dark ones suggesL
llghL ones. 1hls lllusLrauon clearly polnLs ouL Lhe chassls frame and Lhe moLor as Lhe
heavlesL slngle componenLs. Also apparenL ls Lhe large share of Lhe bauery pack, whlch
makes up more Lhan half of Lhe enure vehlcle welghL. Powever, as menuoned before, Lhe
welghL cannoL be Lhe only crlLerla Laken lnLo conslderauon.
1herefore, Lhe colors are now uullzed Lo lllusLraLe a second dlmenslon, ln Lhls case Lhe
prevlously dened opumlzauon apuLude based on Lhe componenL maLerlal and complexlLy.
1hrough Lhe color code ln llgure 4.2, lL ls posslble Lo easlly dlsungulsh Lhe componenLs
accordlng Lo Lhelr asslgned opumlzauon apuLude caLegory. 1he green recLangles represenL
sLeel componenLs, whlch have Lhe hlghesL opumlzauon apuLude accordlng Lo Lhe prevlously
made assumpuons. 1he 1reemap allows Lhe comparlson of Lhe welghL for each of Lhese
componenLs wlLh respecL Lo Lhe overall vehlcle mass. Comparlng Lhe slze of all sLeel
componenLs reveals LhaL Lhe chassls frame LogeLher wlLh Lhe seaLs, suggesL Lhe hlghesL
welghL reducuon poLenual.
TreeMap_NUSCC.tm3
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
TreeMap_NUSCC.tm3
NUS City Car
Energy Storage
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Battery
Chassis Frame
Power Train
Motor
MotorMount Drive
Gear
Controlle
Rear Assembly
pen
sion
Bra
Front Assembly
Wheel
(front)
Wheel
(front)
Double
wishbo
ne
Double
wishbo
ne
Sus
pen
Sus
pen
Bra Bra
Controls
Steering
Wheel
Steering
Rag&Pinion
Braki
ng
Steerin
Emerg
Thrott
Steel Aluminum CFRP Fixed Electric
+ + +
0
- - -
Optimization
Aptitude
Figure 4.2: 1reemap for nuS ClLy Car componenL welghL
1hls ls somewhaL expecLed, conslderlng LhaL Lhe frame ls Lhe heavlesL slngle componenL
and LhaL Lhe currenLly avallable seaLs have been obLalned from a dlscarded compacL car.
1hese seaLs are deslgned Lo sLand alone wlLhln Lhe passenger comparLmenL, holdlng Lhe
passenger malnly lndependenLly from Lhe surroundlng chassls sLrucLure. 1hls does noL
seem pracucal ln case of a small Lwo seaLer car. lL appears LhaL an lnLegrauon of Lhe
seaL-backresL lnLo Lhe chassls frame has a slgnlcanL welghL reducuon poLenual (sysLem
llghwelghL deslgn). CLher sLeel componenLs LhaL sLand ouL due Lo Lhelr recLangle slze
are Lhe rear suspenslon swlng arm, Lhe moLor mounL and Lhe doublewlshbone assembly.
1he red recLangles represenL elecLrlcal and mechaLronlcal componenLs, whlch have been
declared as noL appllcable for sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1haL means LhaL Lhe moLor, as Lhe
second mosL heavy componenL ls noL furLher consldered. 1he same applles for Lhe bauery
pack conslsung of 12 lead acld bauerles, whlch make up roughly half of Lhe LoLal vehlcle
mass. Powever, Lhe lllusLrauon Lhrough 1reemaps furLher supporLs Lhe concluslon LhaL Lhe
bauery selecuon plays a ma[or role ln denlng Lhe overall vehlcle welghL. uue Lo lLs large
surface area, Lhe body shell (blue color) appears as anoLher comparably heavy componenL.
Powever, slnce lL was already sub[ecL Lo maLerlal llghLwelghL deslgn by applylng llghLwelghL
carbon bre relnforced panels, Lhe body shell ls also excluded. uue Lo Lhe small recLangle
slze of all remalnlng componenLs, Lhe 1reemap lndlcaLes LhaL Lhese componenLs only play
a mlnor role ln Lhe overall vehlcle mass, whlch ls why Lhey are noL furLher dlscussed.
ABC-Analysis 1he A8C-Analysls ls based on Lhe assumpuon LhaL ln every consldered seL
a small number of elemenLs has a large share of Lhe general appearance [Lln09]. Applylng
Lhls concepL on a welghL analysls means, lL ls assumed LhaL only a few vehlcle componenLs
make up a large share of Lhe LoLal welghL. 1he ob[ecuve of Lhe A8C-Analysls ls a slmple
classlcauon of Lhe consldered componenLs lnLo classes accordlng Lo Lhelr speclc share
of Lhe analyzed characLerlsuc. 1hose componenLs wlLh Lhe largesL speclc shares are
grouped ln class A whlle Lhose wlLh Lhe smallesL shares form class C. ln beLween lle Lhe
componenLs of class 8. lL ls assumed LhaL class A summarlzes Lhe componenLs LhaL are
characLerlzed by Lhe mosL sLrucLural weak spoLs ln Lerms of Lhe analyzed characLerlsuc.
1herefore, lL ls Lhese componenLs LhaL show Lhe mosL poLenual for an opumlzauon of Lhe
analyzed producL. Powever, ln [Lln09] lL ls also polnLed ouL LhaL Lhls concluslon has Lo be
conrmed for each lndlvldual componenL Lhrough slngle case quallLauve analysls, as Lhe
A8C-Analysls only allows quanuLauve concluslons. 1he followlng procedure for performlng
an A8C-Analysls ls suggesLed by [Lln09]:
ueLermlnlng Lhe analyzed elemenL characLerlsuc
8anklng of Lhe elemenLs accordlng Lo Lhe analyzed characLerlsuc
Crouplng Lhe componenLs lnLo Lhe Lhree classes: class A roughly comprlses 20 of
Lhe elemenLs wlLh 80 of Lhe analyzed varlable whlle class C ls made up by abouL
30 of Lhe elemenLs wlLh only 3 of Lhe analyzed varlable.
Applylng Lhls approach on Lhe collecLed daLabase of Appendlx C leads Lo Lhe followlng
graph, aL whlch muluple componenLs such as Lhe bauerles are summarlzed Lo one elemenL.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
W
e
i
g
h
t

[
k
g
]
ABC-Analysis for entire Vehicle
A -Class B -Class C -Class
Figure 4.3: A8C-Analysls for Lhe collecLed daLa
1he graph hlghllghLs slmllar relauonshlps as seen before ln Lhe 1reemaps. 1he four
A-Class componenLs comprlse Lhe bauery pack as Lhe domlnanL elemenL along wlLh Lhe
chassls, moLor and seaLs. Powever, due Lo Lhe naLure of Lhls quanuLauve lllusLrauon, lL
draws Lhe auenuon solely Lo Lhese four componenLs, whlle all oLher componenLs remaln
unrecognlzed. 1he 1reemaps are Lherefore consldered Lhe favorable vlsuallzauon ald as
Lhey are noL llmlLed Lo emphaslzlng on a few elemenLs. ln addluon, Lhey allow Lhe
lllusLrauon of a second elemenL properLy uslng dlerenL colors. AlLhough, Lhe graph from
Lhe A8C-Analysls could be also complemenLed by a color code, lLs general appearance
as bar charL makes lL comparable hard Lo clearly dlsungulsh Lhe colors. Pence, lL ls noL
posslble Lo lndlcaLe Lhe second hlerarchy of a second componenL feaLure.
Powever, Lhe A8C-Analysls could be applled Lo supporL Lhe resulLs from Lhe 1reemap
lnLerpreLauon. uurlng Lhe capLure of Lhe daLabase for Lhls chapLer, each componenL
was caLegorlzed accordlng Lo lLs apuLude for a sLrucLural opumlzauon, whlle baslc sLeel
componenLs were polnLed ouL as mosL sulLable. uue Lo Lhls denluon, lL can be assumed
LhaL lL ls sLeel componenLs LhaL wlll be shorLllsLed as already seen ln Lhe lnLerpreLauon
of Lhe 1reemaps above. 1herefore, lL makes sense Lo perform an A8C-Analysls [usL for
all sLeel componenLs of Lhe daLabase. ln Lhls case, Lhe A-class elemenLs comprlse only
componenLs LhaL are acLually appllcable for a Lopology opumlzauon. 1he drawback ls
LhaL one mlghL lose Lrack of all remalnlng componenLs, whlle concenLraung solely on Lhe
componenLs wlLh hlgh apuLude. 1hls could lead Lo an overesumauon of Lhe overall welghL
reducuon poLenual of Lhe sLeel parLs, whlch ls why Lhls addluonal A8C-Analysls ls meanL
Lo complemenL and noL replace Lhe 1reemaps. 1he A8C-Analysls for Lhe sLeel componenLs
ls shown ln llgure 4.4. Pere, lL becomes apparenL LhaL lL ls Lhe seaLs and Lhe frame
LhaL are Lhe mosL promlslng componenLs. Whlle Lhe 1reemaps also hlghllghL Lhese Lwo
componenLs, Lhls addluonal A8C-Analysls allows a beuer quanuLauve comparlson of Lhe
shorLllsLed componenLs from Lhe 1reemap lnLerpreLauon.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
W
e
i
g
h
t

[
k
g
]
ABC-Analysis for Steel Components
A -Class
B -Class C -Class
Figure 4.4: A8C-Analysls for sLeel componenLs only
4.3 Summary and Conclusion
1he ob[ecuve of Lhls chapLer was Lo deLermlne sulLable vehlcle componenLs for a welghL
reducuon Lhrough sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1he componenL sulLablllLy was dened as a
comblnauon of boLh componenL mass and opumlzauon apuLude, whlle Lhe opumlzauon
apuLude was lnLroduced as lndlcaLor for Lhe welghL reducuon poLenual and opumlzauon
feaslblllLy of a componenL. 1herefore, all ma[or vehlcle componenLs were welghLed and
puL lnLo an opumlzauon apuLude caLegory. Slmple componenLs LhaL are comparably heavy
and made of hlgh denslLy maLerlal were consldered hlghly sulLable. Complex componenLs
llke shock absorbers or elecLrlcal devlces were declared as noL pracucal for a sLrucLural
opumlzauon regardless of Lhelr mass or denslLy, whlle componenLs wlLh low mass were
generally excluded from a furLher dlscusslon. 1he assembled daLabase has been lllusLraLed
uslng 1reemaps and A8C-Analysls, whlle boLh meLhods dellver slmllar Lrends. Powever, Lhe
1reemaps appear Lo provlde Lhe more comprehenslve vlsuallzauon, due Lo Lhelr ablllLy Lo
lllusLraLe Lhe mass of all componenLs and one of Lhelr properues aL Lhe same ume. lL
was also shown, LhaL an A8C-Analysls can be applled Lo complemenL Lhe resulLs from Lhe
1reemap lnLerpreLauon.
1he lnLerpreLauon of Lhese vlsuallzauon resulLs suggesLs LhaL lL ls Lhe large baslc sLeel
componenLs, whlch are mosL sulLable for sLrucLural opumlzauon. Accordlng Lo llgure
4.4 Lhls especlally lncludes Lhe frame and Lhe seaLs of Lhe vehlcle. CuL of Lhese Lwo
componenLs, Lhe frame conLrlbuLes Lo mosL of Lhe LoLal welghL, whlch ls why Lhe frame ls
chosen Lo be opumlzed uslng sLrucLural opumlzauon meLhods.
Figure 4.5: CurrenL chassls frame deslgn before Lhe opumlzauon process
Facts of the Current Design
Welded Lubular sLeel space frame
Comblnauon of recLangular and round Lubes
Cross secuon dlameLer/wldLhs: 12.3mm-38mm
ConsLanL wall Lhlckness: 2mm
lnslde box measuremenLs: 1873mm x 1220mm x 830mm
1oLal mass: 33kg
5 Structural Opmizaon of the Chassis Frame
8educlng Lhe mass of vehlcles ls an ongolng Loplc ln Lhe auLomouve lndusLry, ln parucular
among manufacLures LhaL speclallze ln hlghly eclenL low emlsslon vehlcles. Maklng
Lhe vehlcle llghLer noL only lmproves lLs general handllng and performance, buL also
reduces Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe polluLanL emlsslons ln Lhe overall energy balance.
lurLhermore, elecLrlc vehlcles greaLly beneL from welghL reducuon ln Lerms of achlevable
range, especlally when operaLed ln clLy areas. 1hls was sLudled exLenslvely ln ChapLer 3
based on Lhe currenL nuS ClLy Car deslgn. AL Lhe same ume, a reducuon of Lhe vehlcle
mass ls usually accompanled by a reducuon ln Lhe safeLy performance as less maLerlal
generally resulLs ln less sLrucLural sLrengLh. ln Secuon 2.3, Lopology opumlzauon was
lnLroduced as useful Lool Lo address Lhls problem, maklng lL posslble Lo reduce Lhe mass
of vehlcle componenLs wlLh respecL Lo glven performance LargeLs, for example ln Lerms
of suness, sLrengLh or crashworLhlness. ln Lhe prevlous chapLer, Lhe chassls frame was
selecLed as Lhe mosL sulLable vehlcle componenL for sLrucLural opumlzauon wlLh regards
Lo feaslblllLy and welghL reducuon poLenual. Many works revolvlng around appllcauons of
sLrucLural opumlzauon ln auLomouve deslgn have emerged ln Lhe recenL pasL, lncludlng
publlcauons LhaL focus on Lhe opumlzauon of vehlcle body sLrucLures.
?lldlz eL al. (2004) [?ll04] propose a general approach for Lopology opumlzauon of vehlcle
componenLs uslng Lhe example of an englne mounL brackeL. !ang eL. al (2010) [!an10]
address Lhe opumlzauon of a aLbed Lraller by maxlmlzlng lLs bendlng suness and Lorslonal
frequency Lhrough Lopology opumlzauon and subsequenL Lhlckness opumlzauon. Cauchla
eL al. [Cau10] propose a sLrucLural opumlzauon of a real bus sLrucLure uslng geneuc
algorlLhms ln comblnauon wlLh Lhe nlLe elemenL meLhod wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of reduced
welghL and lmproved Lorslonal suness. 8eed (2002) [8ee02] and van Pooreweder (2008)
[vP08] descrlbe a very slmllar approach Lo deslgnlng a compleLely new vehlcle frame based
on a prevlous deslgn lLerauon. 1herefore, varlous sLauc load cases, lncludlng llnearlzed
crash slLuauons, are consldered and Lhe welghLed compllance of all load cases ls belng
mlnlmlzed. Cavazzuu eL al. (2010) [Cav10] presenL a more advanced meLhodology, applylng
Lopology opumlzauon, LopomeLry opumlzauon and slze opumlzauon ln cascade for reachlng
an opumum chassls congurauon of an hlgh performance vehlcle. lor Lhe Lopology
opumlzauon a 3u deslgn space ls dened glvlng Lhe opumlzauon process a maxlmum of
freedom. Cpumlzauon consLralnLs lnclude maxlmum dlsplacemenLs of cerLaln chassls parLs
due Lo bendlng, Lorslon and llnearlzed fronLal crash as well as Lhe naLural frequency of
relevanL mode shapes, whlle Lhe volume ls Lo be mlnlmlzed.
3 SLrucLural Cpumlzauon of Lhe Chassls lrame 34
1he presenL work approaches Lhe sLrucLural opumlzauon problem ln four sLages, beglnnlng
wlLh Lhe ldenucauon of Lhe relevanL load cases. 8ased on Lhls load case analysls, Lhe
lL-model and Lhe opumlzauon problem formulauon ls developed ln Lhe second sLage. Pere,
general lssues such as Lhe quesuon lf a 2u or 3u elemenL deslgn space ls Lo be used or
how Lhe ob[ecuve funcuon ls Lo be dened are addressed. 8ulldlng on Lhese ndlngs, Lhe
nal opumlzauon seLup ls derlved and Lhe resulLs are lnLerpreLed ln Lhe followlng sLage.
1he resulLs from Lhe Lopology opumlzauon glve a good plcLure of Lhe opumal locauon of
Lhe chassls frame members. ln order Lo also nd Lhe opumal cross secuonal dlmenslons
of Lhe frame members, a slze opumlzauon ls lasLly performed based on a beam model.
Figure 5.1: ulerenL sLages of performed sLrucLural opumlzauon
1he proposed meLhodology follows a Lop-down approach ln a way LhaL Lhe number
of deslgn varlables ls gradually reduced accordlng Lo funcuonal, physlcal (componenL
arrangemenL) or manufacLurlng requlremenLs. 1hls ls done by gradually reduclng Lhe deslgn
space freedom, rsL from 3u Lo 2u and evenLually by addlng more and more non-deslgn
elemenLs where necessary. 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe deslgner keeps Lrack of Lhe opumal
soluuon from a pure sLrucLural polnL of vlew, whlch could be uullzed when denlng Lhe
requlremenLs ln fuLure pro[ecLs (e.g. locauon of componenLs). AL Lhe same ume, Lhls
approach mlghL lnsplre Lhe deslgner Lo conslder unconvenuonal deslgns, whlch would have
been overseen when resLrlcung Lhe deslgn space Loo severely rlghL from Lhe sLarL.
8efore Lhe opumlzauon process ls descrlbed ln Lhe subsequenL secuons, a few relevanL
deslgn requlremenLs LhaL lnuence Lhe opumlzauon are summarlzed as follows:
Llke Lhe currenL deslgn, new frame ls a welded Lubular space frame
1wo occupanLs can be accommodaLed comforLably
1he exlsung vehlcle componenLs, such as suspenslon, pedals and sLeerlng are
compauble wlLh Lhe new deslgn
up Lo 12 bauerles of Lhe sLandard SLl bauery slze can be accomodaLed
3.1 ldenucauon of Load Cases 33
MaLerlal cholce from suppller: AS1M A-300 Lublng sLeel, alumlnum alloy AA-6061 16
5.1 Idencaon of Load Cases
1he sLarung polnL for every sLrucLural opumlzauon ls Lhe ldenucauon of all relevanL load
cases (LC) . 1he resulung sLrucLure ls speclcally opumlzed Lo susLaln Lhe dened load
cases, whlch means LhaL an lnaccuraLe or even lncompleLe load denluon ls llkely Lo lead
Lo an lnsuclenL and moreover lneclenL maLerlal dlsLrlbuuon. lL ls Lherefore essenual
Lo carefully sLudy Lhe posslble load condluons. 1he chassls frame of a road vehlcle ls
sub[ecL Lo a greaL varleLy of sLauc and dynamlc loads. 1hls lncludes global loads LhaL are
exerLed on Lhe enure sLrucLure Lhrough Lhe suspenslon from sLandard drlvlng slLuauons
as well as local loadlngs such as brackeL forces, hlnge loads or loads on suspenslon and
componenL mounungs. ln addluon, lL ls requlred LhaL ln Lhe evenL of a crash, Lhe passenger
comparLmenL suers llmlLed deformauons Lo ensure Lhe safeLy of Lhe occupanLs. uue
Lo Lhelr non-elasuc naLure, crash slLuauons have Lo be consldered separaLely. 1herefore,
Lhls secuon analyses baslc vehlcle load condluons due Lo sLandard drlvlng slLuauons wlLh
reference Lo a Lhree wheeled vehlcle ln Lhe rsL parL, 1he second parL addresses Lhe
conslderauon of crash lmpacLs ln Lhe conLexL of sLrucLural opumlzauon.
5.1.1 Stac and Dynamic Loads
An oen clLed work on vehlcle sLrucLures ln an early deslgn sLage ls awlowskl (1969)
[aw69]. 1hough Lhls work was noL avallable ln Lhe framework of Lhls Lhesls, lL was
found as reference ln varlous revlewed publlcauons (e.g. [8ro03, Pap01, 8oo]). 1hese
auLhors conslder sLauc global load cases LhaL aecL Lhe whole vehlcle sLrucLure and focus
on deLermlnlng Lhe worsL possblle loadlng LhaL can be encounLered ln each load case.
lL ls assumed LhaL Lhe sLrucLure also has suclenL faugue sLrengLh when deslgned for
wlLhsLandlng Lhese maxlmum lnsLaneous loads. Slnce a road vehlcle sLrucLure generally
suers dynamlc loadlng wlLh consLanLly changlng load magnlLudes and dlrecuons, lL ls
common Lo ad[usL Lhe deLermlned sLauc loads Lhrough dynamlc load facLors:
dynamlc load = sLauc load dynamlc load facLor
1he prlnclpal global road load cases as Lhey are consldered ln Lhls work are summarlzed
as follows:
Vercal loading: Caused by symmeLrlc and asymmeLrlc gravlLauonal forces
Longitudinal loading: Caused by breaklng, accelerauon or obsLacles
Lateral loading: Caused by cornerlng or slde wlnd
ln Lhe followlng, Lhe baslc global load cases are analysed by applylng slmple vehlcle
dynamlcs and mechanlcs ln order Lo deLermlne reasonable maxlmum loads. 1he magnlLude
of global vehlcle loads ls oen expressed as muluple of Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon g.
1hese accelerauons are Lhe basls for Lhe Lranslauon of lnerua masses lnLo forces acung
on Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure. ln Lhls conLexL lL ls noLeworLhy LhaL Lhe unsprung masses such
as wheels, ures, brakes, suspenslon arms and shock absorbers resL on Lhe ground dlrecLly,
wlLhouL lnLervenlng Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure. As a resulL of Lhls, Lhey are noL consldered ln
Lhe followlng secuons. 1haL means all followlng references Lo Lhe vehlcle mass M denoLe
Lhe sprung mass of Lhe vehlcle, whlch lncludes all componenLs and subsysLems LhaL do
noL resL on Lhe ground [Cen09a]. Moreover, Lhe foundauon of Lhe followlng load case
analysls ls Lhe deLermlnauon of Lhe prellmlnary cenLer of mass locauon of Lhe vehlcle. 1hls
ls addressed ln Appendlx u under Lhe conslderauon of Lhe proposed new frame deslgn.
5.1.1.1 Vercal Loading
verucal loads resulung from Lhe welghL of ma[or vehlcle componenLs, passengers or payload
are generally consldered as domlnanL load cases when deslgnlng a vehlcle sLrucLure [Pap01].
1hese loads can be slgnlcanLly amplled due Lo dynamlc vehlcle behavlour as resulL of
uneven road surfaces or road bumps. 1herefore, [8ro03] suggesLs a dynamlc load facLor
beLween K = 2.0 3.0 for ad[usung Lhe sLauc loads. ln general, lL ls dlsungulshed beLween
symmeLrlcal verucal loadlng, also referred Lo as bendlng, and asymmeLrlcal verucal loads
whlch resulLs ln Lorslon of Lhe vehlcle body. llgure 3.2 shows a free body dlagram of Lhe
vehlcle sLrucLure under pure verucal loadlng.
x
y
z
F
l
F
r
R
l
h
Mg
l
f
+ l
h
= wb
l
f
Figure 5.2: Clobal verucal loads on free body vehlcle sLrucLure
Symmetric Load - Bending ln a symmeLrlc load case, Lhe respecuve sLauc axle loads are
qulckly deLermlned Lhrough Lhe sLauc equlllbrlum equauons:
F = F
r
+F
l
=
e
l
f
+l
h
M g F
r
= F
l
(3.1)
R =
l
f
l
f
+l
h
M g (3.2)
AlLernauvely, one could performLhls analysls ln more deLall assumlng each ma[or componenL
as lndlvldual cenLer mass placed along Lhe x-axls. 1hls would allow Lo creaLe bendlng
momenL and shear force dlagrams, whlch glve a good rsL approxlmauon for Lhe sLress
condluons of Lhe sLrucLure along Lhe x-axls [8ro03]. Powever, Lhls ls noL done here, slnce
Lhls analysls prlmarlly serves Lo explaln general load condluons.
Asymmetric Load - Torsion AsymmeLrlcal verucal load cases can arlse from several
slLuauons. A slmple example ls when one wheel of Lhe fronL wheel passes over a road
bump whlle Lhe remalnlng wheels remaln ln Lhelr orlglnal posluon. As resulL of Lhe upward
movemenL of Lhe slngle wheel, a Lorque around Lhe x-axls ls applled Lo Lhe body sLrucLure.
Slnce Lhe clLy car ls based on a Lhree wheel concepL, only Lhe fronL axle can be sub[ecL Lo
a Lorslonal load due Lo sLandard drlvlng condluons. 1he Lhree wheel deslgn makes Lhe car
generally less recepuve for Lorslonal loads from sLandard road condluons lf compared Lo
sLandard four-wheel cars. 1o lllusLraLe Lhls, Lhe maxlmum sLauc Lorque applled Lo one axle
of a four-wheel vehlcle ls derlved ln Lhe followlng:
When a slngle wheel of a sLandard passenger car ls slowly passlng over a bump, Lhere ls
load Lransfer beLween Lhe four wheels. uependlng on Lhe Lorslonal suness of Lhe enure
vehlcle sysLem and Lhe bump helghL, one wheel ls evenLually belng elevaLed above Lhe
road surface. noLeworLhy ls LhaL lL ls always one wheel of Lhe llghLesL loaded axle whlch
lls o. 1hls slLuauon can be easlly slmulaLed wlLh an ordlnary chalr or slmlllar sLrucLures.
ln case one wheel of Lhe llghLer loaded axle passes over Lhe bump, lL ls Lhe opposlLe
wheel LhaL evenLually lls o. ln Lhls slLuauon, Lhe enure axle load resLs on Lhe wheel on
Lhe bump lmposlng a Lorque around Lhe x-axls. llgure 3.3 lllusLraLes Lhls slLuauon ln a
slmplled scheme.
Vehicle Body
Heavy Axle
Light Axle
tr
Fr = 0
F
l
= F
Axle
T
max
x
y
z
Figure 5.3: Wheel loads and Lorque on axle when passlng over road bump
Pence, Lhe maxlmum sLauc Lorque T
max
from sLandard drlvlng condluons resulLs ln:
T
max
= F
Axle
tr
2
(3.3)
Powever, bumps have a dlerenL eecL on Lhree-wheel vehlcle. Slnce Lhe sLrucLure ls
already supporLed by only Lhree wheels, none of Lhe remalnlng Lwo wheels lls o ln case
of a bump encounLer. 1he occurrlng load Lransfer ls [usL a resulL of Lhe dlsplaced vehlcle
cenLer mass due Lo Lhe bump elevauon and can be neglecLed. ln addluon, Lhe Lhree wheel
deslgn prevenLs Lhe posslble load case of Lwo bumps elevaung Lwo dlagonal wheels aL
Lhe same ume. A Lhree wheel vehlcle ls, however, sub[ecL Lo severe Lorslonal loads when
a slngle wheel of Lhe Lwo wheel axle sLrlkes a road bump whlle Lhe vehlcle ls movlng
wlLh a noLable veloclLy. ln Lhls case, one slde of Lhe vehlcle ls acceleraLed verucally by
a shock load lnduced Lhrough Lhe suspenslon sysLem causlng asymmeLrlc bendlng on Lhe
sLrucLure. A road bump hlmng Lhe rear axle wheel or boLh fronL wheels on Lhe oLher hand
only resulLs ln a symmeLrlc bendlng slLuauon of Lhe chassls sLrucLure. Powever, dynamlc
bump encounLers noL only acceleraLe Lhe sLrucLure verucally. uue Lo Lhe geomeLry of
bumps, Lhey wlll also resulL ln a longlLudlnal load. Slnce Lhese dynamlc bump loads are
regarded as ma[or vehlcle loads, Lhey are consldered lnLo more deLall ln Secuon 3.1.1.4.
AnoLher drlvlng slLuauon causlng Lorslonal loads on Lhe vehlcle body ls sLeady cornerlng.
1he cenLrlfugal accelerauon leads Lo a load Lransfer beLween Lhe wheels on Lhe fronL axle.
ln Lhe exLreme slLuauon of up over, Lhe enure fronL axle loads resLs on Lhe ouLer wheel,
slmulaung Lhe slLuauon descrlbed ln llgure 3.3. Slnce cornerlng also causes severe laLeral
loads, lL ls analyzed lnLo more deLalled under 3.1.1.3. verucal loads, parucularly asymmeLrlc
ones, are consldered as prlme vehlcle loadlng condluon. vehlcle sLrucLure deslgn ls oen
cenLered around achlevlng a hlgh Lorslonal and bendlng suness. Cn Lhe one hand, Lhls
ls beneclal for Lhe overall handllng of Lhe vehlcle. Cn Lhe oLher hand experlence shows
LhaL a vehlcle body wlLh hlgh Lorslonal and bendlng suness ls suclenLly sLrong for all
posslble load condluons [Pap01].
5.1.1.2 Longitudinal Loading
LonglLudlnal vehlcle loads prlmarlly resulL from lnerua forces generaLed by Lhe accelerauon
or decelerauon of Lhe vehlcle as well as from hlmng road obsLacles. Addluonally, Lhe vehlcle
sLrucLure ls aecLed by Lhe drag force acung on Lhe body shell. Powever, Lhe magnlLude
of Lhe drag force ls comparably small. Conslderlng Lhe vehlcle parameLers esLabllshed ln
1able 3.1 and applylng Lhem Lo eq. (2.2), Lhe drag force aL maxlmum speed 22 m/s only
adds up Lo:
F
drag
= 0.5 1.2 1.5 0.6 22
2
= 260 N (3.4)
Pence, Lhe drag force ls neglecLed ln Lhe follwolng conslderauons. llgure 3.4 dlsplays Lhe
vehlcle as rlgld body under longlLudlnal and verucal loads. 1he frlcuon force aL Lhe conLacL
paLch area beLween ure and road ls proporuonal Lo Lhe verucal axle load Lhrough Lhe
longlLudlnal frlcuon coeclenL
x
.
F
x

x
F (3.3)
Slnce Lhe cenLer of mass of Lhe vehlcle ls oseL by Lhe verucal dlsLance h from Lhe
road surface, Lhere wlll be a welghL Lransfer from one axle Lo anoLher under longlLudlnal
accelerauon. Whlle braklng, Lhe welghL ls Lransferred from Lhe rear Lo Lhe fronL wheels
and vlce versa for Lhe accelerauon of Lhe car.
x
z
R
F=(F
l
+F
r
)
h Mg
Ma
F
x
R
x
l
h
l
f
Figure 5.4: Clobal longlLudlnal loads on rlgld vehlcle sLrucLure
Lxperlence shows LhaL Lhe maxlmum braklng decelerauon ls evenLually llmlLed by Lhe
frlcuon coeclenL beLween ure and road surface [Pel08], whereas Lhe peak accelerauon of
Lhe examlned car ls malnly llmlLed by Lhe maxlmum power ouLpuL of Lhe moLor. 1he frlcuon
coeclenL ls lnuenced by varlous parameLers and cannoL be easlly deLermlned analyucally.
1herefore, a deslgn decelerauon ls esLabllshed whlch serves as upper llmlL for Lhe braklng
decelerauon provlded by Lhe braklng sysLem under ldeal condluons. Cclal regulauons for
braklng sysLems lmposed by LransporLauon auLhorlues served as rsL reference for such a
maxlmum decelerauon. ln Lhe Luropean unlon, passenger cars are requlred Lo enable a
mean decelerauon of aL leasL 0.6g [Lur]. Slmllar values are regulaLed ln uS and !apanese
dlrecuves. Powever, car manufacLurers generally deslgn Lhelr braklng sysLems well above
Lhls value ln order Lo lncrease Lhe safeLy [Pel08]. 8rown (2002) [8ro03] makes furLher
references Lo dlerenL auLhors ranglng from 1.1 Lo 1.8 umes Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon
as peak braklng load. Conslderlng Lhe clLy car ls noL deslgned for raclng performance and
Lhe regulauons requlre a comparable low mlnlmum braklng performance, a peak declarauon
of a = 1g ls regarded as reallsuc maxlmum value for Lhe nal clLy car proLoLype. uslng
Lhe noLauon ln llgure 3.4 Lhe force and momenL equlllbrlum equauons lead Lo:
F =
M g l
h
+M a h
l
f
+l
h
R =
M g l
f
M a h
l
f
+l
h
(3.6)
Lquauon (3.6) represenLs Lhe load Lransfer beLween Lhe Lwo vehlcle axles dependlng on
Lhe magnlLude and dlrecuon of Lhe vehlcle accelerauon. 1he reacuon forces F
x
and R
x
as
a resulL of Lhe frlcuon beLween ure and road can be derlved for Lhe border case when Lhe
wheels are [usL abouL Lhe sllp aL Lhe glven peak braklng decelerauon a. Assumlng LhaL Lhe
longlLudlnal frlcuon coeclenL ls equal aL all wheels, Lhe force equlllbrlum equauons yleld:
M g = F +R (3.7)
M a =
x
(F +R) (3.8)
WlLh equauon (3.7) and (3.8), one can deLermlne Lhe frlcuon coeclenL as rauo beLween
Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon and Lhe maxlmum vehlcle accelerauon ln Lhe border case.
M a =
x
M g
x
=
a
g
(3.9)
1herefore, Lhe maxlmum longlLudlnal reacuon forces F
x
and R
x
can be expressed as follows:
F
x
=
a
g
F R
x
=
a
g
R (3.10)
lor Lhe accelerauon of Lhe car, Lhe load condluons are sllghLly dlerenL. Slnce lL ls
characLerlzed by a slngle wheel drlve, only Lhe rear wheel ls sub[ecL Lo longlLudlnal loads.
1haL means Lhe longlLudlnal reacuon force aL Lhe rear wheel slmply wrluen as:
R
x
= M a (3.11)
1he verucal wheel loads due Lo accelerauon can be deLermlned analog Lo Lhe wheel loads
durlng braklng uslng eq. (3.6). 1he peak accelerauon of Lhe nuS ClLy Car cannoL be
deLermlned accuraLely aL Lhls polnL. Lsumauons lndlcaLe LhaL lL ls abouL 2 3 m/s
2
, whlch
can be LranslaLed lnLo abouL 0.3g.
5.1.1.3 Lateral Loading
A Lyplcal drlvlng slLuauon LhaL causes laLeral loads on Lhe vehlcle body ls Lhe cornerlng.
1he mosL exLreme cornerlng slLuauon occurs when Lhe vehlcle ls [usL abouL Lo up over.
1hls slLuauon ls generally consldered as peak laLeral loadlng condluon [Pap01]. 1he laLeral
accelerauon of Lhe cornerlng vehlcle resulLs ln a load Lransfer from Lhe lnner Lo Lhe ouLer
wheel of Lhe fronL axle. ln case of up over, Lhe lnner wheel load wlll evenLually reach zero,
whlch means LhaL Lhe enure fronL axle load ls supporLed by Lhe ouLer wheel. Appendlx A
descrlbes Lhls slLuauon lnLo more deLall as parL of a dlscusslon on Lhe dynamlc behavlour
of Lhree wheeled vehlcles. llgure 3.3 lllusLraLes Lhe border case of Lhe vehlcle upplng over
for a conslderauon of Lhe occurrlng loads.
Figure 5.5: 1lpplng over due Lo laLeral
force Figure 5.6: vehlcle Lop vlew
under laLeral loads
lor an esumauon of Lhe peak cornerlng loads, lL ls assumed LhaL Lhe ures cannoL sllde ln
laLeral dlrecuon (ouLer wheels are consLralned sldeways). 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe slmulaLed
slLuauon also covers Lhe posslblllLy of sLrlklng a bump ln laLeral dlrecuon whlle slldlng. 1he
resulung model dellvers a good approxlmauon of Lhe maxlmum sLauc laLeral loads on Lhe
vehlcle sLrucLure due Lo normal drlvlng condluons. WlLh Lhe enure sLauc fronL axle load
resung on Lhe ouLer wheel, Lhe ouLer wheel reacuon force ylelds wlLh eq. (3.1):
F
l
=
l
h
l
f
+l
h
M g (3.12)
whlle Lhe rear wheel load remalns unchanged compared Lo Lhe sLauc bendlng case (eq.
(3.2)). 1herefore, Lhe fronL axle ls under asymmeLrlc verucal load as descrlbed ln llgure
3.3. 1he laLeral reacuon forces F
l y
and R
y
depend on Lhe maxlmum laLeral accelerauon
when Lhe vehlcle ls abouL Lo up over. 1hls up over accelerauon a
to
ls derlved for Lhree
wheeled vehlcles as muluple of Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon ln equauon ln Appendlx A.
1hus, Lhe peak laLeral force F
lat
ls equlvalenL Lo Lhe producL of Lhe unsprung mass and
Lhe up over accelerauon:
F
lat
= M a
to
(3.13)
1hrough Lhe momenL and force equlllbrlum equauons from llgure 3.6 Lhe sLauc laLeral
wheel loads yleld:
F
l y
=
F
lat
l
h
l
f
+l
h
R
y
=
F
lat
l
f
l
f
+l
h
(3.14)
As dynamlc facLor for laLeral loadlng [8ro03] suggesLs a value of K = 1.75, whlch ls
muluplled wlLh Lhe calculaLed sLauc loads ln order Lo approxlmaLe Lhe dynamlc loads.
5.1.1.4 Bump Encounters
AsymmeLrlc bump or poLhole encounLers as lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.7 lead Lo a very complex
loadlng condluon on Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure. 1he verucal and longlLudlnal forces exerLed
aL one corner of Lhe vehlcle resulL ln Lorslonal loads abouL boLh x and z-axls. lnLuluon
Lells us LhaL Lhe magnlLude of Lhe applled forces depends on Lhe vehlcle speed aL whlch
Lhe car ls Lraverslng over Lhe obsLacle as well as on lLs geomeLry. Cne would expecL LhaL
Lhe hlgher Lhe bump and Lhe fasLer lL ls Laken, Lhe hlgher are Lhe resulung loads on Lhe
vehlcle body. Slnce Lhe forces are exerLed on Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure Lhrough Lhe wheels
and Lhe suspenslon sysLem, Lhe suness along wlLh Lhe damplng of wheel and suspenslon
also lnuence Lhe loads on Lhe sLrucLure. ln addluon, Lhe wheel mass and especlally Lhe
vehlcle body mass greaLly lnuence Lhe resulung forces. 1hus, lL becomes obvlous LhaL an
esumauon of Lhe maxlmum bump loads on a car requlres a comparable complex model
as well as rellable lnformauon on boLh Lhe suness and damplng characLerlsucs of wheel
and suspenslon.
ulerenL approaches Lo developlng a model for a vehlcle golng over a speed bump are
sLudled ln Lhe framework of a laboraLory aL Lhe englneerlng faculLy of Lhe SwarLhmore
College (SwarLhmore, A). 1he respecuve MaLlab les are accesslble on Lhelr homepage
[kad04]. 1hese models enable an esumauon of Lhe verucal accelerauon of Lhe vehlcle body
for a glven bump geomeLry and car veloclLy dependlng on Lhe wheel and vehlcle mass
as well as wheel and suspenslon suness/damplng. 1he problem ls LhaL Lhe suspenslon
and damplng coeclenLs of wheel and suspenslon are unknown for Lhe examlned car. AL
Lhe same ume experlmenung wlLh Lhe models from SwarLhmore College revealed LhaL Lhe
suness and damplng characLerlsucs seem Lo have a slgnlcanL lmpacL on Lhe verucal
accelerauon of Lhe vehlcle body. WlLh Lhese lnformauon mlsslng, lL ls dlculL Lo geL good
resulLs wlLh Lhese lnformauon lacklng. Powever, lnsLead of modellng Lhe bump loads lL ls
common Lo assume a verucal accelerauon as maxlmum deslgn load based on experlence.
uependlng on Lhe appllcauon, suggesLed accelerauons vary from 4g 7g [Cen09a, 8ro03].
Slnce Lhe ClLy Car ls deslgned as low performance vehlcle, a maxlmum verucal accelerauon
of 4g ls assumed. 1he resulung horlzonLal load L
h
ls Lhen deLermlned under Lhe assumpuon
LhaL Lhe wheel reacuon force passes Lhrough Lhe wheel cenLer (see llgure 3.8),
L
h
=
L
v
tan()
(3.13)
whlle depends on Lhe assumed bump helghL h
b
and Lhe wheel radlus r.
x
y
z
Figure 5.7: AsymmeLrlcal wheel
load due Lo sLrlklng a road bump
2r
h
b
L L
v
L
h
v
Figure 5.8: Wheel sLrlklng bump of
helghL h
b
5.1.2 Crash Situaons
Modern passenger vehlcles are requlred Lo fulll cerLaln safeLy sLandards ln a varleLy of
crash slLuauons (fronLal, rear, laLeral). 1hls ls regulaLed ln guldellnes such as Lhe Luro
nCA. ln order Lo guaranLee maxlmum passenger safeLy, Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure should be
very su ln some parLs Lo prevenL lnLruslons lnLo sensluve areas such as Lhe passenger
cabln. 8uL aL Lhe same ume, lL should be so ln oLher areas Lo absorb Lhe lmpacL energy
before reachlng Lhe su parLs [Pam03]. CompuLer alded crashworLhlness analysls has
evolved lnLo a maLure Lool LhaL provldes quallLauvely as well as quanuLauvely rellable
predlcuons for Lhe crush behavlour of sLrucLures [Sch92]. Powever, when conslderlng
crashworLhlness ln Lhe conLexL of Lhls work, Lwo maln problems arlse. llrsLly, ln order Lo
draw clear concluslons on Lhe passenger safeLy of a vehlcle, one has Lo conslder Lhe enure
vehlcle and perform a mulubody crash slmulauon LhaL lncludes all assemblles of Lhe car.
Powever, Lhls work regards Lhe chassls frame ln a mosLly lsolaLed manner. Secondly, crash
slmulauons requlre lnLenslve dynamlc non-llnear nlLe elemenL analysls, due Lo Lhe hlghly
non-llnear behavlour of crushlng sLrucLures. Powever, sLrucLural opumlzauon meLhods as
lnLroduced ln 2.3 depend on Lhe conunuous deLermlnauon of Lhe sLrucLural performance
of Lhe currenL candldaLe deslgn Lhrough lLA. 1he heavy compuLauonal resources needed
Lo perform non-llnear lLA, lead Lo an lmpracucal compuLauon ume [Pam03].
1hls lssue has been addressed by several publlcauons. losberg and nllsson (2006) [lor07]
presenL Lwo alLernauve formulauons for Lopology opumlzauon based on Lhe lnLernal energy
denslLy dlsLrlbuuon ln Lhe model. ark (2010) [ar10] proposes a non-llnear sLrucLural
opumlzauon meLhod where equlvalenL sLauc loads are uullzed for a llnear sLauc response
opumlzauon. Powever, Lhe applled opumlzauon solver CpuSLrucL does noL have any
non-llnear analysls funcuons or slmpllcauons lmplemenLed, whlch ls why Lhls mauer has Lo
be addressed dlerenLly ln Lhls work. Cavazzuu eL al. (2010) [Cav10] deal wlLh Lhls problem
slmllarly Lo Lhe approach of ark (2010). Pere, lnerual forces acung on Lhe chassls are
subsuLuLed by sulLable sLauc forces applled aL wheel cenLers, englne and seaL mounungs,
whlle Lhe sLrucLure ls consLralned ln a row of elemenLs aL Lhe slde of Lhe slmulaLed lmpacL.
1hls slmplled conslderauon ls assumed Lo promoLe Lhe formauon of longlLudlnal sLrucLures
ln Lhe opumlzed Lopology, LhaL help Lo sausfy Lhe crash requlremenLs. Such llnearlzed
dummy loads are also proposed ln [Cla03] and [vP08] Lo accounL for crash slLuauons.
SubsuLuung lneruas by sLauc forces requlres an assumed maxlmum accelerauon acung on
Lhe vehlcle ln case of lmpacL. 1herefore, Lhls approach ls very slmllar Lo Lhe conslderauon
of Lhe dynamlc and sLauc loads descrlbed before. Powever, lL cannoL be deLermlned wlLh
cerLalnLy whaL maxlmum accelerauon ls Lo be applled. ln [Cav10] a hlgh performance
sporLs car ls consldered and Lherefore a hlgh accelerauon of 12g ls assumed. [vP08] on
Lhe oLher hand assume only 4g for Lhelr solar car chassls, as Lhls ls a requlremenL from
Lhe solar car challenge regulauons. 1he nuS ClLy Car ls a low performance vehlcle whlch
shares many deslgn feaLures wlLh solar challenge cars (max. performance, Lhree wheels,
space frame wlLh Cl8 body shell), whlch ls why Lhls work ls orlenLaLed Lowards Lhe work
of [vP08]. Powever, ln order Lo really verlfy Lhe crashworLhlness of Lhe sLrucLure, a proper
non-llnear crash slmulauon would have Lo be performed a posLeorl aer Lhe opumlzauon
process. 1he lmplemenLauon of Lhe llnearlzed dummy load approach ls lllusLraLed lnLo
more deLall ln Lhe followlng secuons regardlng Lhe model seLup.
3.2 Modellng Conslderauons 64
5.2 Modeling Consideraons
WlLh Lhe load cases ldenued, Lhe nexL sLep ls Lo seLup Lhe opumlzauon model accordlngly.
1opology opumlzauon ls oen performed on baslc sLrucLures whlch have clearly dened
consLralnLs and load condluons such as brackeLs or conLrol arms. Powever, Lhe chassls frame
of a vehlcle ls by far more complex, whlch ls why several general lssues arlse when semng
up Lhe opumlzauon model. 1he chassls frame ls noL only characLerlzed by a greaL varleLy
of dlerenL load condluons buL one also has Lo reallze LhaL lL ls noL even a consLralned
sLrucLure ln Lhe convenuonal sense. ln addluon, one has Lo accounL for Lhe non Lrlvlal load
Lransmlsslon from Lhe road lnLo Lhe sLrucLure Lhrough Lhe suspenslon sysLem. 8egardlng
Lhe opumlzauon seLup, lL ls of lmporLance Lo declde on a sulLable ob[ecuve formulauon
(mln volume, max suness...) and on a approprlaLe deslgn space denluon (2u elemenLs,
3u elemenLs). All Lhese lssues are dlscussed ln Lhe followlng subsecuons.
5.2.1 Unconstrained Structures
As brley menuoned before, an lmporLanL lssue when deallng wlLh Lhe sLrucLural analysls
of vehlcle bodles ls Lhe facL LhaL Lhe sLrucLure ls noL clearly consLralned. SLrlcLly speaklng,
a car ls only consLralned by Lhe road surface. uslng Lhe coordlnaLe sysLem of Lhe free
body dlagrams ln Lhe prevlous secuon, Lhls means lL ls only consLralned ln negauve z-axls
dlrecuon. ln posluve z-dlrecuon (ll up) or bldlrecuonal on Lhe x-axls (rolllng) Lhe vehlcle
can be consldered as free or unconsLralned under mosL drlvlng condluons. ln y-dlrecuon
Lhe vehlcle ls also unconsLralned, aparL from Lhe laLeral frlcuon ln Lhe conLacL paLch
beLween ure and road. Powever, a convenuonal sLrucLural analysls requlres clearly dened
consLralnLs ln order Lo generaLe resulLs ln Lhe rsL place. 1hls problem does noL apply for
all load cases. lor lnsLance, ln pure bendlng, Lhere ls only Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon
acung on all lnerua masses verucally downwards where Lhe sLrucLure ls Lruly consLralned
by Lhe road surface. uurlng accelerauon and braklng, one can assume LhaL Lhe sLrucLure
ls addluonally consLralned ln x-dlrecuon due Lo Lhe ure frlcuon, whlch ls equal Lo Lhe
lnerua forces of Lhe longlLudlnally acceleraLed componenL masses. 1haL means for Lhese
Lhree load cases Lhe sLrucLure can be convenuonally consLralned wlLhouL modellng Lhe
acLual load condluon lnaccuraLely. Powever, Lhe slLuauon ls compleLely dlerenL when
conslderlng cornerlng and bump encounLers, whlch have been polnLed ouL as lmporLanL
load condluons ln Lhe prevlous secuon. lL becomes obvlous LhaL Lhe vehlcle ls slmply noL
consLralned upwards and longlLudlnally when hlmng a bump. As for a cornerlng vehlcle,
one could assume aL rsL glance LhaL lL could be modeled slmllarly Lo a braklng vehlcle as lL
ls also consLralned by Lhe ure frlcuon. Powever, Lhls ls noL posslble because ln Lhe exLreme
case of up over, Lhe vehlcle ls only supporLed ln Lwo polnLs: Lhe ouLer wheel and Lhe rear
wheel, wlLh Lhe lnner wheel assumed Lo be [usL lllng up. 1he vehlcle ls Lhus only held ln
balance as a resulL of Lhe dynamlc momenL equlllbrlum. 1hls slLuauon cannoL be modeled
convenuonally ln Lhe preprocessor slmply because ln a sLauc analysls, a Lhree-dlmenslonal
sLrucLure requlres Lhree Lranslauonal supporLs. CLherwlse, Lhe equlllbrlum equauons wlll
noL lead Lo any resulLs unless one of Lhe supporLs can bear a momenL, whlch would noL
represenL Lhe acLual slLuauon.
none of Lhe revlewed publlcauons conslder Lhese loadlng condluons expllclLly, whlch could
be Lhe resulL of Lhe [usL menuoned problems. lnsLead, lL ls common Lo conslder a global
Lorslonal load case. 1hls load case ls more or less modeled aer Lhe lndusLrlal meLhod of
measurlng Lhe global Lorslonal suness of a vehlcle body. Pere, a sLauc momenL ls applled
aL Lhe Lwo fronL suspenslon supporLs, whereas Lhe sLrucLure ls consLralned ln Lhe Lwo
rear suspenslon supporLs or aL cerLaln frame nodes ln Lhe rear. 1he Lorslon angle ls Lhen
dened as Lhe resulung deformauon angle beLween Lhe fronL and rear supporLs [Pel10].
As menuoned before, Lhe Lorslonal suness of a vehlcle has been esLabllshed as rellable
measure for Lhe overall sLrucLural sLrengLh of a vehlcle body. Slnce boLh, cornerlng and
sLrlklng a bump, resulL ln a severe Lorslonal load on Lhe enure vehlcle body, lL ls assumed
LhaL Lhe revlewed publlcauons conslder Lhese Lwo loadlng condluons as covered by Lhe
global Lorslonal load case. Powever, ln Lhls work lL was almed Lo sLudy Lhe conslderauon
of Lhe loads resulung from cornerlng and sLrlklng a bump lnLo more deLall. llrsLly, because
Lhey do noL [usL lead Lo Lorslonal loads buL also longlLudlnal or laLeral ones and secondly,
because Lhe consLralnLs of Lhe [usL descrlbed global Lorslonal load case hardly reecL Lhe
reallLy. 1he vehlcle ls slmply never clamped onLo Lhe road surface, whlch ls lmplled by
Lhls load case. When assumlng such xed consLralnLs ln a Lopology opumlzauon seLup, Lhe
exerLed Lorque aL Lhe fronL suspenslon wlll lead Lo Lhe formauon of sLrucLures followlng Lhe
load paLh from Lhe fronL suspenslon Lo rear consLralnL. Slnce Lhls rear consLralnL does noL
exlsL ln normal vehlcle operauon, Lhe resulung opumlzed Lopology mlghL be lnapproprlaLe
for Lhe acLual vehlcle loads. 1herefore, Lhe ob[ecuve was Lo nd an alLernauve conslderauon
of bump and cornerlng loads LhaL ls more reallsuc and mlghL even replace Lhe global
Lorslonal load case ln Lhe Lopology opumlzauon seLup.
PyperWorks has a feaLure lmplemenLed LhaL ls speclcally dedlcaLed Lo Lhe analysls of
unconsLralned sLrucLures. 1hls feaLure ls called inera relief and ls very well explalned ln
Lhe PyperWorks users Culde [AlL09]:
Inera relief allows the simulaon of unconstrained structures. Typical
applicaons are an airplane in ight, suspension parts of a car, or a satellite in
space. With IR, the applied loads are balanced by a set of translaonal and
rotaonal acceleraons. These acceleraons provide body forces, distributed
over the structure in such a way that the sum total of the applied forces on the
structure is zero. This provides the steady-state stress and deformed shape in
the structure as if it were freely accelerang due to the applied loads. Boundary
condions are applied only to restrain rigid body moon. Because the external
loads are balanced by the acceleraons, the reacon forces corresponding to
these boundary condions are zero.
1herefore, Lhe lnerua rellef feaLure allows Lhe appllcauon of bump loads as plcLured ln
llgure 3.7 Lo an unconsLralned vehlcle body. ln Lhls way, Lhe load paLh Lhrough Lhe sLrucLure
does noL end ln any xed consLralnLs. ln order Lo lllusLraLe Lhe eecL of lnerua rellef (l8) , a
slmple comparauve sLudy was performed. A 2u shell-elemenL sLrucLure LhaL approxlmaLes
Lhe currenL chassls deslgn was loaded wlLh a slngle verucal force aL one corner, whlle
Lhe Lhree remalnlng corners are consLralned. lL was compared how dlsplacemenL and
sLress conLours develop wlLh boLh convenuonal consLralnLs and acuve l8. 1he resulLs are
plcLured ln Appendlx l.1. 1he ouLcome ls LhaL Lhe absoluLe dlsplacemenL of Lhe sLrucLure
ls noLably reduced ln Lhe lnerua rellef analysls, whlle Lhe sLress conLours conrm Lhe
assumpuon of shorLened load paLhs due Lo Lhe mlsslng xed consLralnLs. 1hese dlerences
reecL Lhe expecLauons and lndlcaLe LhaL Lhe lnerua rellef funcuon enables a more reallsuc
conslderauon of bump and cornerlng loads.
5.2.2 Suspension Modeling
Modellng Lhe load Lransmlsslon Lhrough Lhe suspenslon lnLo Lhe sLrucLure ls cruclal for Lhe
Lopology opumlzauon of a chassls frame. An lnaccuraLe or even lncorrecL conslderauon of
Lhe suspenslon sysLem wlll lnevlLably resulL ln Lhe formauon of an unfavorable Lopology.
Cne posslblllLy Lo accounL for Lhe load Lransmlsslon ls Lhe manual calculauon of Lhe loads
acung on Lhe sLrucLure Lhrough a free body dlagram of Lhe suspenslon. 1he calculaLed
forces could Lhen be applled on Lhe sLrucLure aL Lhe respecuve mounung polnLs of Lhe
suspenslon. Powever, Lhls meLhod has one ma[or drawback. 1he greaL number of dlerenL
load cases makes lL cumbersome Lo calculaLe for each case Lhe respecuve subsuLuLe loads
aL Lhe mounLs and apply Lhen ln Lhe preprocessor model. 1hls also makes lL less exlble
ln case of changes ln Lhe seLup.
lL becomes apparenL LhaL lL would be favorable Lo slmply model Lhe suspenslon sysLem and
lnclude lL lnLo Lhe model seLup. 1hls would ensure LhaL Lhe load Lransmlsslon ls accuraLely
slmulaLed aL all umes. 1he problem wlLh Lhls ls LhaL Lhe model would become a mulu
body sysLem (M8S) , whlch compllcaLes Lhe opumlzauon procedure slgnlcanLly. AlLhough,
a few appllcauons of Lopology opumlzauon of M8S have been shown (e.g. [Alb03, !oh94]),
lL ls auempLed Lo avold Lhe conslderable addluonal modellng eorL.
1herefore, lL was experlmenLed wlLh 1u-elemenLs LhaL can be easlly lncluded lnLo Lhe
model wlLhouL resulung ln a M8S. ln order Lo model Lhe suspenslon reallsucally, lL requlres
[olnLs. 1he only way of lncludlng [olnLs lnLo a non-M8S model ls Lhrough 8Cu elemenLs.
er denluon 8Cu elemenLs have a ball [olnL aL each of Lhelr ends. Modellng Lhe
doublewlshbone fronL suspenslon enurely wlLh 8Cu elemenLs, resulLs ln a sLrucLure wlLh a
klnemauc behavlour LhaL approxlmaLes Lhe acLual suspenslon very well. lL ls assumed LhaL,
lf Lhe klnemauc behavlour of Lhe suspenslon ls realsucally modeled, Lhe load Lransmlsslon
lnLo Lhe chassls sLrucLure wlll be also reallsuc. ln a purely sLauc slLuauon, Lhe suness and
Lhe damplng of Lhe shock absorbers do noL lnuence Lhe loads exerLed on Lhe sLrucLure.
Slnce, all load condluons are slmulaLed by sLauc subsuLuLe loads, lL ls noL necessary
Lo model Lhe shock absorber as sprlng-damper unlL, whlch makes 8Cu elemenL also a
reasonable approxlmauon for Lhe shock absorbers. 1he dlsadvanLage of 8Cu elemenLs ls,
LhaL lL ls only posslble Lo apply loads or connecL Lhem wlLh oLher elemenLs aL Lhelr ends.
Powever, Lhe wheel ls acLually mounLed ln Lhe cenLer plane of Lhe suspenslon model,
whlch cannoL be modeled wlLh rod elemenLs. 1herefore, Lhe ouLer verucal rod has been
replaced by Lwo 8LAM elemenLs. ln Lhls way, Lhe loads and consLralnLs can be placed ln
Lhe cenLer plane, whlle Lhe overall klnemauc behavlour of Lhe sLrucLure remalns Lhe same.
1he resulL ls a model LhaL enables a very good approxlmauon of Lhe load Lransmlsslon
Lhrough Lhe suspenslon, when applylng a sLauc force or consLraln lL aL Lhe polnL of Lhe
wheel suspenslon supporL, wlLhouL havlng Lo seL up a real M8S. llgure 3.9 lllusLraLes
Lhe PyperMesh preprocessor model of Lhe descrlbed doublewlshbone suspenslon model
conslsung of 8Cu and 8LAM elemenLs. ln addluon, Lhe quallLauve dlsplacemenL and sLress
under a sLauc verucal load ls shown. lL can be seen LhaL Lhe model behaves very much
llke one would expecL from Lhe acLual sLrucLure. 1he rear suspenslon swlngarm has been
modeled ln a slmllar manner.
HM Model Qualitave Displacement Qualitave Stress
Figure 5.9: 8LAM and 8Cu elemenLs modellng Lhe doublewlshbone fronL suspenslon
1hroughouL Lhe opumlzauon procedure, Lhe suspenslon 8LAM and 8Cu elemenLs have
been modeled as very su sLrucLures by allocaung large cross secuon dlmenslons and a
hlgh youngs modulus. Pence, Lhe enure deformauon resulung from Lhe applled loads
Lakes place ln Lhe deslgn space and Lhus amongsL Lhe chassls frame members. 1hls ensures
LhaL a worsL case scenarlo ls consldered aL all umes, as Lhe suspenslon would normally
also deform, whlch would reduce Lhe overall dlsplacemenL of Lhe frame nodes.
5.2.3 Design Space Denion
1he deslgn space denluon ls anoLher crlucal sLep ln Lhe opumlzauon seLup. 1he deslgn
space (uS) , oen also called deslgn domaln, dlcLaLes where maLerlal can formaLe durlng
Lhe Lopology opumlzauon process. 1herefore, one has Lo accounL for aesLheuc, funcuonal
and manufacLurlng requlremenLs already wlLh Lhe denluon of Lhe uS. AL Lhe same ume,
lL ls favorable Lo provlde Lhe opumlzauon process wlLh a maxlmum degree of freedom by
resLrlcung Lhe deslgn domaln only where necessary. 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe resulung Lopology
Lruly reecLs Lhe opumum wlLhln Lhe seL consLralnLs. When deallng wlLh Lhree dlmenslonal
sLrucLures, one would naLurally prefer a full 3u uS conslsung of LeLrahedron elemenLs, as
Lhls enables Lhe uullzauon of Lhe enure avallable space. AnoLher posslblllLy ls Lhe denluon
of a surface uS conslsung of 2u shell-elemenLs, LhaL enclose Lhe avallable space. 1hls
reduces Lhe deslgn domaln slgnlcanLly. 8uL oen, such a surface uS ls suclenL because
funcuonal consLralnLs demand a cage sLrucLure. lor lnsLance, Lhe chassls frame of a car can
be generally puL ln Lhls caLegory. 1hls ls especlally so ln Lhe passenger comparLmenL, whlch
requlres spaclous volume wlLh no frame members cumng Lhrough ln any way. 1hls applles
slmllarly for Lhe moLor, energy sLorage and baggage comparLmenL. As a resulL of Lhls, boLh
approaches are found ln Lhe llLeraLure. Cavazzuu eL al. (2010) [Cav10] work wlLh a 3u block
as deslgn space where only Lhe passenger comparLmenL ls carved ouL. 1hese auLhors
argue LhaL Lhe formauon of dlagonal sLrucLures noL necessarlly collldes wlLh furLher space
requlremenLs for lnsLance, ln Lhe moLor comparLmenL. ln [vP08] a 2u shell-elemenL deslgn
space ls dened, argulng LhaL Lhls reduces Lhe necessary compuLauon ume slgnlcanLly
wlLhouL aecung Lhe resulLs Loo severely. ln order Lo acqulre some own experlences on
Lhls mauer and Lo help declde whlch ls Lhe more approprlaLe deslgn domaln denluon for
Lhe presenL work, a brlef comparlson beLween Lhe resulung Lopology from a surface and
a full 3u uS ls performed. 1he procedure of Lhls comparauve analysls ls summarlzed ln
Lhe followlng. SubsequenLly, Lhe lnlual deslgn space used for Lhe developmenL of Lhe nal
opumlzauon seLup ls derlved from Lhe resulLs of Lhls comparauve sLudy.
5.2.3.1 Comparison of Surface and 3D Element Design Space
ln order Lo model Lhe Lwo deslgn domalns (full 3u and surface), Lhe presenL chassls frame
was lmporLed lnLo a CAu soware and a full 3u block was modeled accordlngly, leavlng ouL
maLerlal only for Lhe passenger comparLmenL. 1he surface uS was derlved from Lhls 3u
block by exLracung all ouLer surfaces and dlscreuzlng Lhem wlLh shell-elemenLs. 1herefore,
boLh deslgn domalns look essenually Lhe same, [usL LhaL Lhe shell-elemenL domaln ls hollow.
Cne of Lhe prlmary ob[ecuves of Lhls comparlson was Lo nd ouL lf Lhe 3u deslgn domaln
resulLs ln Lhe formauon of sLrucLures ln areas LhaL are noL capLured by Lhe shell-elemenL
domaln. lf Lhls ls noL Lhe case and Lhe 3u domaln leads Lo a cage sLrucLure slmllar Lo
Lhe surface deslgn domaln, lL can be assumed LhaL a surface uS ls lndeed suclenL for
Lhls appllcauon. lor Lhls analysls, Lhe number of consldered load cases was reduced Lo
[usL Lhree baslc global loads. 1hls was done Lo reduce Lhe modellng and compuLauon
eorL. 1hese Lhree load cases are consldered as cruclal global loads LhaL aecL Lhe enure
sLrucLure. 1herefore, lL was assumed LhaL lf dlagonal formauons develop aL all, Lhey would
already appear under Lhe conslderauon of [usL Lhese Lhree load cases. 1hese lnclude a
global bendlng and Lorslonal load case as well as a llnearlzed fronLal crash. 1he denluon
of Lhese load cases ln Lhe preprocessor ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.10.
Global Bending Global Torsion Frontal Crash
Figure 5.10: Consldered load cases for 2u/3u deslgn space comparlson
Pere, Lhe Lorslonal load case was modeled convenuonally wlLh xed consLralnLs aL Lhe
Lhree rear suspenslon mounung polnLs, slnce Lhls appears Lo be Lhe esLabllshed meLhod.
lor Lhls slde sLudy, Lhe bendlng load case lncluded verucal forces applled aL Lhe sllls ln
Lhe cenLer of Lhe wheel base complemenLed by forces LhaL load Lhe roll hoop ln Lhe rear.
WlLhouL Lhese forces, Lhe opumlzed Lopology would noL have any maLerlal where Lhe roll
hoop should be locaLed. 1he fronLal crash was lmplemenLed as descrlbed ln 3.1.2. 1hese
Lhree load cases essenually reecL mosL of Lhe load cases LhaL have been consldered ln
[Cav10]. 1he opumlzauon process was run for boLh deslgn domalns loaded wlLh Lhe Lhree
descrlbed load cases wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of mlnlmum welghLed compllance. All Lhree load
cases were welghLed equally. 1he resulung Lopologles are dlsplayed ln llgure 3.11.
2D element design space 3D element design space
90,400 elemenLs | 1:44h Cu ume 1,199,374 elemenLs | 8:32h Cu ume
Figure 5.11: Cpumlzed 1opology wlLh surface and full 3u deslgn space
WhaL sLands ouL lmmedlaLely when comparlng boLh resulung Lopologles ls, LhaL Lhey are
acLually very dlerenL. 1he full 3u deslgn space looks generally unfavorable. lL lndlcaLes
LhaL Lhe enure fronL parL ls noL necessary Lo susLaln Lhe dened loads, whlle Lhe surface
deslgn domaln Lopology developed maLerlal ln Lhe fronL. lL also becomes apparenL LhaL Lhe
shell-elemenL deslgn space ls characLerlzed by a sLrong LrlangulaLed Lopology as expecLed,
whereas Lhls can barely be seen Lhe ln 3u elemenL deslgn space. lurLhermore, Lhe full
3u-elemenL uS led Lo a few formauons LhaL llLerally sLand ouL lsolaLed wlLhouL formlng a
closed sLrucLure wlLh oLher formauons. Moreover, Lhere are some very Lhlck solld sLrucLures
LhaL are less feaslble wlLh a space frame. Sull, lL can be esLabllshed LhaL Lhere ls no
noLable formauon of dlagonal sLrucLures ln areas LhaL are noL capLured by Lhe surfaces of
Lhe shell elemenL deslgn space. ln addluon, Lhe 3u elemenL deslgn space reveals LhaL Lhe
clearance area for Lhe rear suspenslon can be modled by removlng Lhe frame members
LhaL currenLly enclose Lhe rear swlngarm on Lhe slde. 1hls ls someLhlng LhaL cannoL be
seen from Lhe surface deslgn space denluon. 8oLh deslgn domalns have been dlscreuzed
wlLh an average elemenLs slze of 10mm. 1hls leads Lo over 12 umes more elemenLs ln
Lhe full 3u deslgn domaln compared Lo Lhe surface deslgn space. As a resulL of Lhls, Lhe
necessary Cu ume lncreases slgnlcanLly Lo over 8h. 1he problem ls LhaL Lhere was no
powerful worksLauon avallable durlng Lhe work on Lhls Lhesls. Pence, Cu ume was a
severe llmlung facLor. When conslderlng Lhe full range of Lhe ldenued load cases, Lhe Cu
ume ls llkely Lo rlse agaln conslderably. AL Lhe same ume, Lhe opumlzauon seLup ls largely
a Lrlal and error process LhaL requlres numerous opumlzauon runs ln order Lo seule down
on Lhe nal semngs. uue Lo Lhe lack of Cu power, Lhe full 3u deslgn space seLup was
noL lnvesugaLed furLher. Powever, lL ls posslble LhaL Lhrough furLher ad[usLmenLs Lo Lhe
opumlzauon semngs and formulauon, a more favorable Lopology can be obLalned from Lhe
3u elemenL uS. AL Lhe same ume, a more deLalled comparauve sLudy on Lhe appllcauon
of surface and full 3u deslgn domalns ls regarded as a very lnLeresung Loplc for fuLure
work, as Lhls has noL been encounLered durlng Lhe llLeraLure revlew ln Lhe framework of
Lhls work.
5.2.3.2 Derivaon of the Inial Design Space from the Current Design
As a resulL of Lhe descrlbed problems wlLh Lhe 3u elemenL deslgn space, Lhe furLher
opumlzauon process was solely based on a surface uS. 1herefore, Lhe surface uS exLracLed
from Lhe 3u block was modled ln order Lo sulL Lhe appllcauon beuer. 1he cenLer console
was removed, slnce lL ls consldered lmpracucal Lo have frame members separaung Lhe
passenger comparLmenL as Lhls prevenLs Lhe posslblllLy of lncludlng a slngle bench lnsLead
of Lwo separaLe seaLs. ln addluon, Lhe Lwo bouom surfaces were merged so LhaL Lhere
ls only a slngle surface represenung Lhe bouom. lor Lhe rsL opumlzauon runs, Lhe
deslgn space was noL resLrlcLed aL cerLaln locauons, for example by removlng surfaces or
denlng non-deslgn elemenLs. Applylng Lhe earller menuoned Lop-down approach means
LhaL Lhe deslgn space ls only resLrlcLed when Lhe resulung Lopology vlolaLes any funcuonal
requlremenLs. lL ls generally posslble LhaL Lhe opumlzed Lopology fullls Lhese requlremenLs
wlLhouL resLrlcung Lhe uS rlghL from Lhe sLarL. lf Lhls ls noL Lhe case, Lhe deslgn space
ls resLrlcLed accordlngly and one has Lo keep ln mlnd LhaL llmlung Lhe freedom of Lhe
deslgn space always resulLs ln a less opumal soluuon. 1he Lop down approach ensures
LhaL Lhe deslgner ls aware of Lhe made Lrade-os regardlng Lhe opumal sLrucLural deslgn.
1he lnlual surface deslgn space, whlch served as basls for all followlng opumlzauon runs,
ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.12 LogeLher wlLh Lhe currenL frame deslgn.
Figure 5.12: lsomeLrlc rear vlew of Lhe lnlual surface deslgn space encloslng Lhe currenL
frame deslgn (generaLed wlLh CA1lA v3)
lL can be seen, LhaL Lhe deslgn space parLly dlers conslderably from Lhe currenL deslgn.
1he declslon Lo opumlze Lhe chassls frame enables Lhe lmplemenLauon of furLher changes
Lo Lhe general deslgn. 1herefore, several aws of Lhe currenL deslgn can be addressed
Lhrough Lhe denluon of Lhe deslgn space. A maln lssue ln Lhls conLexL ls Lhe very llmlLed
capaclLy of Lhe currenL frame for Lhe accommodauon of bauerles. 1he dynamlc sLablllLy of
a Lhree wheeled vehlcle requlres 2/3 of Lhe vehlcle welghL Lo resL on Lhe Lwo-wheel-axle
(see Appendlx A). 1hls ls achleved by exLendlng Lhe enure vehlcle and placlng Lhe bauery
ln Lhe fronL, whlch ls reecLed by Lhe deslgn space for Lhe new frame. ln addluon, Lhere
are oLher ad[usLmenLs Lo Lhe currenL deslgn, whlch are summarlzed as follows:
1he new frame ls supposed Lo be sllghLly wlder ln order Lo accommodaLe Lwo
occupanLs more comforLably Lhan currenLly reallsed.
1he roll hoop ls hlgher, slnce Lhe currenL deslgn does noL provlde enough proLecuon
for occupanLs above 1.80m of helghL.
1he wheel base ls lncreased Lo lncrease Lhe leg clearance for Lhe occupanLs.
1he rear has been modled ln a way LhaL Lhe rear swlngarm ls no longer enclosed by
Lhe frame sLrucLure (as suggesLed by Lhe 3u elemenL opumlzauon performed before).
As lnLroduced ln Secuon 3.1, vehlcle loads can be dlvlded ln global load cases and local
load cases. 1he conslderauon of local loads requlres a rough ldea of Lhe locauon of Lhe
ma[or vehlcle componenLs wlLhln Lhe deslgn space. Lach ma[or vehlcle componenLs exerLs
lnerua loads Lo Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure due Lo Lhe exLernal accelerauon of Lhe vehlcle. 1hese
lnerua forces are reecLed by sLauc loads, whlch are applled aL Lhe respecuve deslgn space
nodes accordlng Lo Lhe expecLed locauon of Lhe componenL. lor Lhe nuS ClLy Car, four
ma[or componenLs have been ldenued. 1helr prellmlnary locauon ln Lhe lnlual uS ls
lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.13.
Motor
Assembly
Seat +
Occupant
Front
Battery Pack
Rear
Battery Pack
Design Space
Belt
Frame members
Battery
Figure 5.13: Secuon vlew of lnlual deslgn space wlLh locauon of ma[or componenLs
Pere, lL ls also shown how Lhe bauerles are supposed Lo be mounLed onLo Lhe chassls
frame. uslng L-shaped proles, Lhe bauerles are kepL ln place Lhrough sLralned belLs. 1hls
ls consldered as funcuonal consLralnL, whlch has Lo be accounLed for ln Lhe followlng
opumlzauon process.
5.2.4 Opmizaon Problem Formulaon
1he second cruclal sLep ln Lhe opumlzauon seLup ls Lhe formulauon of Lhe opumlzauon
problem and lLs lmplemenLauon uslng Lhe dened deslgn domaln. ln Secuon 2.3.2 Lhe
concepL of Lopology opumlzauon has been lnLroduced uslng Lhe sLandard formulauon of
mlnlmlzlng Lhe compllance of Lhe sLrucLure, whlle Lhe volume fracuon V /V
0
of Lhe deslgn
space ls llmlLed Lo a cerLaln level. 1hls ls a common meLhod of semng up an opumlzauon
problem and lL ls found ln slmllar works, such as [vP08] and [8ee02]. Powever, Lhls ls
noL Lhe only appllcable opumlzauon problem formulauon for Lhe proposed appllcauon. ln
[Cav10], Lhe ob[ecuve ls dened as mlnlmlzauon of Lhe LoLal deslgn space volume, whlle Lhe
dlsplacemenL of lndlvldual nodes ln Lhe deslgn space ls consLralned. 8oLh of Lhese meLhods
focus on Lhe suness of Lhe sLrucLure elLher by mlnlmlzlng Lhe compllance or by consLralnlng
Lhe dlsplacemenL. ln anoLher dlerenL approach Lhe opumlzauon formulauon ls based on
llmlung Lhe sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure, whereas Lhe ob[ecuve ls Lo mlnlmlze Lhe deslgn space
volume. Powever, none of Lhe revlewed publlcauons on vehlcle body opumlzauon applles
Lhls formulauon. 1hls mlghL be Lhe resulL of Lhe facL LhaL Lhe maln concern of auLomoblle
manufacLurers ls a hlgh suness of Lhe vehlcle body (parucularly Lorslonal suness). As
brley menuoned before, experlence shows LhaL a vehlcle body LhaL meeLs Lhe suness
crlLerla ls llkely Lo have suclenL sLrucLural sLrengLh ln general. 1hls ls reecLed ln Lhe
revlewed publlcauons, whlch rely on suness relaLed opumlzauon formulauons. Powever,
ln order Lo geL an lndependenL oplnlon on whaL opumlzauon formulauon ls Lhe mosL
approprlaLe for Lhe proposed appllcauon, all Lhree menuoned meLhods are sLudled ln some
more deLall. ln Lhe rsL sLep, lL ls compared how Lhe opumlzauon problem formulauon
aecLs Lhe resulung Lopology. 1he C-cllp example opumlzauon problem (llgure 2.16) LhaL
was lnLroduced ln Lhe second chapLer ls applled once agaln Lo lllusLraLe Lhls. ln Secuon
2.3.2 Lhe C-cllp was opumlzed uslng Lhe mlnlmum compllance approach. lor a comparlson,
Lhe cllp ls now addluonally opumlzed uslng Lhe oLher Lwo descrlbed problem formulauons.
1he Lhree resulung Lopologles and Lhe respecuve key semngs are summarlzed ln llgure
3.14.
Weighted Compliance Individual Displacement Global Stress Constraint
Design History
Design History
Design History
Design History
responses welghLed compllance (equal),
volume fracuon V /V
0
dlsp. aL locauon of applled forces,
volume of deslgn space
volume of deslgn space, von mlses
sLress
constraint upper value V /V
0
= 0.25 upper value dlsp. = 0.2 mm upper value sLress = 150 N/mm
2
objecve mlnlmum welghLed compllance mlnlmum volume mlnlmum volume
Figure 5.14: C-cllp opumlzed Lopology wlLh Lhree dlerenL opumlzauon problem
formulauons (Lhe legend Lo Lhe le lndlcaLes Lhe denslLy of each elemenL)
WlLh Lhe lndlcaLed semngs, all Lhree meLhods essenually resulL ln Lhe same Lopology.
1herefore, lL can be concluded LhaL Lhe opumlzauon problem formulauon ls acLually
secondary for Lhe ouLcome of Lhe opumlzauon process, aL leasL ln case of a slmple
opumlzauon problem such as Lhe lnLroduced C-cllp. lL appears LhaL each of Lhe descrlbed
meLhods ls able Lo achleve Lhe same opumlzed Lopology. lL ls slmply a mauer of how Lo
geL Lhere or whaL semngs lead Lo LhaL Lopology. Assumlng LhaL Lhls ndlng ls Lransferable
Lo a more complex opumlzauon problem llke Lhe vehlcle chassls frame, Lhe mosL sulLable
meLhod can be chosen slmply by convenlence and feaslblllLy of Lhe seLup. ln Lhe eyes
of Lhe auLhor, a convenlenL opumlzauon seLup ls characLerlzed by a comparable small
number of sLaLe varlables, such as dlsplacemenLs and Lhelr respecuve consLralnLs. 1hls
slmplles changes Lo Lhe seLup, whlch are numerous durlng Lhe opumlzauon procedure.
AL Lhe same ume, lL ls deslrable Lo have only a few sLaLe varlables of whlch Lhe value ls
uncerLaln, as Lhls prevenLs Lhe necesslLy Lo deLermlne Lhelr values Lhrough Lrlal and error.
ln order Lo declde on a sulLable meLhod, lL was experlmenLed wlLh Lhe Lhree descrlbed
formulauons uslng a laLer sLage of a 2u elemenL deslgn space slmllar as ln llgure 3.12.
1he experlences made, are summarlzed ln Lhe followlng paragraphs.
WeightedCompliance 1hewell esLabllshedapproachof mlnlmlzlngLhewelghLedcompllance
proved Lo be very slmple ln lLs seLup. lL requlres only Lwo responses (volume fracuon,
welghLed compllance) and one consLralnL (volume fracuon) Lo dene Lhe opumlzauon
problem. Powever, slnce Lhe suness ls dened by a welghLed compllance of all consldered
load cases, one has Lo seL a welghung facLor for each load case. llrsLly, lL was experlmenLed
wlLh equal welghung facLors, whlch led Lo reasonable resulLs. 1he welghung facLors are
addluonal semngs, LhaL can sLeer Lhe resulung Lopology. 1hey allowan lndlvldual ad[usLmenL
of Lhe opumlzauon problem accordlng Lo Lhe lmporLance of Lhe load cases. 1he problem ls
LhaL one has Lo have a clear ldea of whaL load cases are consldered more lmporLanL. lor
Lhe vehlcle body, lL has been esLabllshed LhaL Lhe bendlng and Lorslonal loads are generally
consldered as declslve load cases. Powever, Lhe exacL denluon of Lhe welghung facLors
remalns more or less guesslng and requlres several LesL runs. 1o solve Lhls mauer, 8eed
[8ee02] suggesLs an approach, where a separaLe opumlzauon ls performed for each load
case. 1hose load cases, whlch develop formauons LhaL are shared wlLh many oLher load
cases are ranked hlgher and are belng allocaLed a hlgher welghung facLor. AlLhough, from
Lhe vlew of Lhe auLhor of Lhls work Lhe welghung facLors should noL be overesumaLed ln
Lhelr lmporLance for Lhe ouLcome of Lhe Lopology opumlzauon. Slnce conslderable ume
was spenL on Lhe load case ldenucauon and lmplemenLauon based on acLual drlvlng
slLuauons, Lhe lmporLance of each load case ls already largely reecLed by Lhe magnlLude
of Lhe applled forces. 1hls was also conrmed by brlef sensluvlLy LesLs wlLh Lhe welghung
facLors. Pence, Lhe welghung facLors are raLher consldered as complemenung ad[usLmenLs,
whlch can help Lo reduce or enhance Lhe conLrlbuuon of cerLaln load cases lf necessary.
1he volume fracuon V /V
0
as second response and only consLralnL ls an lmporLanL semng
of Lhe welghLed compllance meLhod, especlally wlLh regards Lo llghLwelghL deslgn. Semng
Lhe volume fracuon llLerally denes ln advance how much Lhe welghL of Lhe deslgn space
ls reduced. 1he opumlzauon process Lhen allocaLes Lhe avallable maLerlal ln a way LhaL Lhe
compllance ls mlnlmlzed. Pence, Lhe resulung Lopology largely depends on Lhe denluon of
Lhe volume fracuon. WlLh regards Lo llghLwelghL deslgn, one could assume LhaL Lhe smaller
Lhe volume fracuon Lhe beuer ls Lhe resulL. noL surprlslngly one also has Lo Lake lnLo
accounL Lhe feaslblllLy and Lhe achleved compllance of Lhe candldaLe deslgn. uependlng
on Lhe appllcauon, values beLween V /V
0
= 0.05 Lo 0.4 appear Lo be approprlaLe sLarung
values. Powever, Lhe nal semng has Lo be found Lhrough Lrlal and error. lL can be
concluded LhaL Lhls meLhod ls very approprlaLe for Lhe proposed appllcauon, as lL ls noL
necessary Lo have any knowledge of suness LargeLs and Lhe welghL reducuon can be
sLeered Lhrough Lhe volume fracuon. AL Lhe same ume, lL allows for a qulck ad[usLmenL
of Lhe opumlzauon semngs, whlch ls necessary Lo seule down on Lhe nal seLup.
Individual Displacement lL became qulckly obvlous LhaL Lhls meLhod has lLs ma[or drawback
when lL comes Lo Lhe seLup. lL requlres Lhe manual denluon of all dlsplacemenL LargeLs of
Lhe sLrucLure. llrsLly, Lhls ls problemauc because lL ls noL Lrlvlal whaL nodes of Lhe deslgn
space should be consLralned. Secondly, lL ls unknown Lo whaL exLenL Lhe dlsplacemenL of
Lhe nodes should be consLralned. Pere, lL would be useful Lo have cerLaln guldellnes or
experlence from prevlous deslgn lLerauons, LhaL help Lo dene reasonable LargeL values.
WlLhouL lL, lL ls dlculL Lo nd a sLarL for Lhe seLup. ln addluon, each load case would
requlre several nodes Lo be consLralned. 1hls resulLs ln a very large number of opumlzauon
responses and consLralnLs Lo be dened and Lhus ln a very ume consumlng seLup. As a
resulL of Lhe menuoned drawbacks ln Lhe seLup, Lhls meLhod was noL furLher lnvesugaLed.
Powever, lL ls noLeworLhy LhaL Lhls approach ls generally favorable for a llghL welghL deslgn
opumlzauon should speclc dlsplacemenL LargeLs be known beforehand. 1hls ls because lL
allows Lhe dlrecL opumlzauon of Lhe volume wlLh respecL Lo Lhe seL suness LargeLs.
Global Stress Constraint As menuoned before, consLralnlng Lhe maxlmum allowable sLress
ls a raLher unusual approach Lo semng up a Lopology opumlzauon of a vehlcle body
sLrucLure. Powever, a brlef Lrlal wlLh Lhe lnLroduced C-cllp problem revealed LhaL such a
formulauon can dellver very slmllar resulLs llke Lhe sLandard mlnlmum compllance seLup.
1herefore, lL was also experlmenLed wlLh Lhe global sLress consLralnL meLhod. 1he ouLcome
ls, LhaL Lhe achleved Lopology lndeed resembles Lhe Lhe mlnlmum compllance Lopology Lo
a large exLenL. 1hls could be conrmed for varylng seLups uslng dlerenL load cases Lo be
consldered. 8egardlng Lhe seLup, lL can be sald LhaL lL ls slmllarly slmple as Lhe mlnlmum
compllance approach. lL only needs Lwo responses (volume and sLress) and one consLralnL
(max. sLress), whlle Lhere ls no need Lo guess welghung facLors or Lhe volume fracuon.
1he opumlzauon algorlLhm slmply dlsLrlbuLes as llule maLerlal as posslble ln a way LhaL
Lhe dened maxlmum sLress value ls noL exceeded ln any elemenL, whlle all load cases
are consldered equally. 1he semng for Lhe maxlmum allowed sLress can be used Lo sLeer
Lhe nal welghL reducuon. A hlgh maxlmum sLress value expecLedly leads Lo less maLerlal
ln Lhe sLrucLure, whlle reduclng Lhe value wlll add more maLerlal. 1he drawback ls, LhaL
Lhe opumlzauon of Lhe sLrucLure ls noL relaLed Lo lLs suness, whlch ls generally deslred.
Powever, slnce boLh meLhods yleld very slmllar opumlzed Lopologles, lL can be concluded
LhaL lf Lhe sLrucLure ls opumlzed for maxlmum suness lL acLually also has a favorable
Lopology wlLh regards Lo Lhe sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure. 1he same applles respecuvely vlce
versa. ln Appendlx l.3 Lhe opumlzed Lopologles of boLh meLhods are dlsplayed under
conslderauon of all ldenued load cases.
Summary All Lhree descrlbed opumlzauon formulauons are appllcable for Lhe lnLended
Lopology opumlzauon. Powever, Lhe lndlvldual dlsplacemenL meLhod has been dropped
due Lo Lhe laborlous seLup and Lhe lack of reasonable suness LargeLs. 1he welghLed
compllance approach, as mosL wldely used meLhod, proved Lo be very slmple Lo lmplemenL.
1he same applles for Lhe global sLress formulauon. An lnLeresung facL was LhaL boLh
of Lhese meLhods achleve very slmllar Lopologles, whlch was noL necessarlly expecLed.
Powever, due Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhe mlnlmum compllance approach ls Lhe more esLabllshed
formulauon, lL ls Lhls meLhod LhaL was applled for Lhe nal opumlzauon seLup. 1able 3.1
summarlzes Lhe experlences made whlle experlmenung wlLh all Lhree formulauons ln a
3.3 llnal 1opology Cpumlzauon SeLup and 8esulLs 76
more compacL form.
objective
+
-
application
constraints
early design stage,
with knowledge from
previous design iteration
early design stage,
without prior knowledge
of recommended design
targets
later design stage,
for strength optimization
fatigue optimization
optim. for min vol.
customized optim. to
meet displacement
requirements
optim. possible without
known displacement targets
simple setup
well established
optim. for min vol.
no guessing of weighting
factors, volume frac. or
displacement targets
laborious setup
displacement targets
have to be known a-priori
guessing of upper
vol.frac. and weighting
factors of load cases
compilance of resulting
design might be unsatisfying
not a stiffness related
optimization
not found in literature
max. allowed displacement
at specific locations
upper volume fraction
between 0.05 and 0.40
upper stress constraint for
defined design space
min volume min weighted compilance min volume
Method 1 Method 2 Method 3
Weigthed Compilance Individual Displacement Global Stress Constraint
Table 5.1: Summary of Lhe Lhree revlewed opumlzauon problem formulauons
5.3 Final Topology Opmizaon Setup and Results
8ased ln Lhe foregolng conslderauons, Lhe nal opumlzauon seLup was developed uslng
Lhe earller descrlbed approach of gradually reduclng Lhe degree of freedom of Lhe deslgn
space unul no funcuonal or physlcal requlremenLs are vlolaLed by Lhe resulung Lopology.
1he resulung opumlzauon seLup, lncludlng Lhe nal uS and Lhe exacL lmplemenLauon of
Lhe load cases, ls descrlbed ln Lhls secuon. SubsequenLly Lhe resulLs of Lhe opumlzauon
process are presenLed and dlscussed.
5.3.1 Final Design Space
As a resulL of Lhe Lop-down procedure, several surfaces were cuL or removed enurely Lo
enable enough clearance for componenLs and occupanLs. ln addluon, some uS elemenLs
where Lurned lnLo so called non-deslgn elemenLs, meanlng LhaL Lhese elemenLs are
denlLely parL of Lhe opumlzed Lopology whlle Lhe opumlzauon algorlLhm dlsLrlbuLes Lhe
maLerlal around Lhese elemenLs. 1hls was necessary Lo make sure Lhe Lopology feaLures
sulLable frame members for Lhe accommodauon of Lhe bauerles. 1herefore, several frame
members are predened by non-deslgn elemenLs ln Lhe bouom surface of Lhe uS.
Conslderable ume was spenL on dlscreuzlng Lhe surfaces of Lhe uS. 1he mesh quallLy has
a slgnlcanL lmpacL on Lhe soluuon of Lhe equlllbrlum equauons of Lhe sLauc analysls.
1herefore, Lhe mesh was generaLed uslng Lhe quallLy lndex opumlzauon funcuon of
PyperMesh. SubsequenLly Lhe mesh was checked manually for elemenLs LhaL do noL fulll
Lhe requlremenLs ln elemenL slze or aspecL rauo. ln addluon, lL had Lo be ensured LhaL
all elemenLs are connecLed correcLly. 1hls was necessary because Lhe deslgn space has
been dlvlded wlLhln Lhe preprocessor lnLo bouom elemenLs and Lop surface elemenLs.
1hls enables Lo hlde Lhe Lop surfaces when applylng Lhe local lnerua forces Lo Lhe bouom
deslgn elemenLs. AnoLher lssue ln Lhls conLexL ls Lhe denluon of Lhe mesh renemenL. A
hlgh number of elemenLs generally leads Lo more dlscreLe resulLs, whlle one has Lo conLrol
Lhe mesh dependency problem descrlbed ln 2.3.2.2. AL Lhe same ume Lhe compuLauon
ume lncreases noLably wlLh Lhe elemenL number, whlch ls a serlous problem wlLh regards
Lo Lhe llmlLed avallable hardware capaclLy. Lxperlmenung wlLh dlerenL average elemenL
slzes led Lo Lhe esLabllshmenL of 10mm as reasonable compromlse beLween compuLauon
ume and dlscreLeness of Lhe resulung Lopology.
Figure 5.15: llnal preprocessor deslgn space, number elemenLs: 71400, elemenL Lype:
2u shell (mlxed quads and Lrlas), average elemenLs slze: 10mm, shell Lhlckness: 2mm,
maLerlal: sLeel
1he consldered maLerlal and Lhlckness of Lhe shell elemenLs proved Lo be mlnor lssues
ln Lhe opumlzauon seLup. 1hough, one could furLher dlverslfy Lhe opumlzauon problem
by allocaung dlerenL shell Lhlcknesses Lo cerLaln surfaces of Lhe uS, Lhe shell Lhlckness
was kepL consLanL ln all elemenLs durlng Lhe enure opumlzauon process. 1hls was done,
slnce Lhere was no prlor lndlcauon LhaL cerLaln uS surfaces requlre dlerenL Lhlcknesses.
WlLh a consLanL Lhlckness ln all elemenLs, Lhe denluon of Lhe Lhlckness has no noLable
eecL on Lhe resulung Lopology, whlch was conrmed by respecuve LesL runs where Lhe
Lhlckness has been varled beLween reasonable bounds (3-23mm). 1he same applles for
Lhe allocaLed maLerlal of Lhe elemenLs. 1esLs wlLh sLeel and alumlnum as maLerlal dld noL
lead Lo any nouceable dlerences ln Lhe resulung Lopology. 1he nal deslgn space, as lL
was dened ln Lhe preprocessor ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.13.
5.3.2 Load Case Implementaon
1he denluon and lmplemenLauon of Lhe relevanL load cases bullds on Lhe ndlngs made
ln secuon 3.1. 1herefore, Lhe Lhree load cases LhaL already have been consldered for Lhe
comparlson of surface and 3u elemenL deslgn space (llgure 3.10), are complemenLed by
elghL addluonal load cases, lncludlng oLher crash slLuauons as well as Lhe lnerua rellef
load cases descrlbed ln 3.2.1. 1he LoLal of eleven load cases can be caLegorlzed lnLo Lhree
caLegorles accordlng Lo Lhelr lmplemenLauon:
Individual Load Cases: 1hese lnclude Lhe sLandard bendlng as well as Lhe accelerauon
and braklng load cases. Pere, each of Lhe ma[or componenLs ldenued ln llgure
3.13 ls represenLed by sLauc forces applled aL nodes aL Lhe respecuve locauon of
Lhe componenLs. 1he sLrucLure ls consLralned ln Lhe wheel supporLs.
Global Load Cases: 1he global load cases are characLerlzed by sLauc forces LhaL
are solely applled aL Lhe wheel supporLs, whlle Lhe sLrucLure ls elLher consLralned
convenuonally (pure Lorslon) or by lnerua rellef supporLs aL cerLaln nodes of Lhe
deslgn space or ln Lhe suspenslon supporLs. 1he applled forces slmulaLe Lhe global
deformauon of Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure as Lhe resulL of crlucal drlvlng condluons such
as cornerlng and sLrlklng a bump.
Crash Load Cases: 1he conslderauon of crash loads follows Lhe llnearlzauon approach
descrlbed ln 3.1.2. 1he ma[or componenLs are reecLed by sLauc forces resulung
from Lhe presenL exLernal accelerauon slmllarly Lo Lhe lndlvldual load cases. 1he
dlerence ls LhaL Lhe sLrucLure ls now consLralnL ln a row of deslgn space nodes aL
Lhe slde of Lhe slmulaLed crash lmpacL (slde, rear, fronL and roof crush).
llgure 3.16 lllusLraLes Lhe lmplemenLauon of Lhe load cases uslng one example load case
ouL of each caLegory.
Individual Load Cases Global Load Cases Crash Load Cases
8endlng lronL 8ump (l8) Slde Crash
Figure 5.16: Load case denluon ln Lhe preprocessor PyperMesh
1he preprocessor lmplemenLauon of Lhe remalnlng load cases ls lllusLraLed ln Appendlx
l.2. 1he magnlLude of Lhe applled lndlvldual forces was derlved from Lhe esLabllshed
maxlmum vehlcle accelerauons ln each drlvlng slLuauon. Lach ma[or componenL acLs wlLh
Lhe producL of presenL accelerauon, componenL mass and dynamlc facLor on Lhe sLrucLure.
1he magnlLude of Lhe global forces exerLed aL Lhe suspenslon ls based on Lhe sLauc wheel
load. lor example, Lhe non-symmeLrlc fronL bump encounLer ls slmulaLed by an verucal
upwards force, whlch ls Lhe producL of Lhe sLauc fronL wheel load (roughly 1/3 of Lhe
LoLal vehlcle mass) and Lhe assumed maxlmum verucal accelerauon resulung from hlmng
a bump (4g). 1he magnlLude of all forces applled for each of Lhe consldered load cases ls
summarlzed ln Appendlx L.
5.3.3 Opmized Topologies
8efore Lhe nal opumlzauon seLup and resulLs are presenLed lL ls brley dlscussed how
Lhe dlerenL Lorslonal load cases aecL Lhe resulung Lopology. under 3.2.1, Lwo dlerenL
approaches for Lhe conslderauon of Lorslonal loadlng condluons were ldenued. llrsLly,
Lhere ls Lhe well esLabllshed pure Lorslon load case, where a Lorque ls applled aL Lhe fronL
suspenslon and a few nodes ln Lhe rear are consLralned. Secondly, lL was experlmenLed
wlLh Lhe lnerua rellef funcuon of PyperMesh ln an auempL Lo reecL acLual Lorslonal load
condluons such as cornerlng and bump encounLers more reallsucally. ln order Lo examlne
Lhe lnuence of boLh meLhods on Lhe Lopology, Lhe opumlzauon was run wlLh ldenucal
semngs once wlLh Lhe pure Lorslon load case and once wlLh Lhe lnerua rellef cornerlng and
fronL bump load cases as Lorslonal load cases. ln addluon, Lhe opumlzauon was performed
under Lhe conslderauon of all eleven load cases.
Pure Torsion Inera Relief - Cornering and Bump
All Load Cases
Figure 5.17: Comparlson of dlerenL Lorslonal load case conslderauons
1he Lhree resulung Lopologles are dlsplayed ln llgure 3.17. 8oLh Lhe lnerua rellef and
pure Lorslon approach generally lead Lo slmllar Lopologles. Powever, Lhere are nouceable
dlerences. When Lhe Lorslonal loads are represenLed by Lhe lnerua rellef cornerlng and
bump load cases, Lhere are more sLrucLural formauons ln Lhe passenger comparLmenL.
1hese addluonal load paLhs are generally unfavorable and hardly Lo lmplemenL ln a space
frame deslgn. Cn Lhe oLher hand, when Lhe pure Lorslon load case ls consldered, more
sLrucLures formaLe ln Lhe slde surfaces, whlle Lhe area of Lhe fronL suspenslon mounLs
lacks a clear feaslble soluuon.
under Lhe conslderauon of all eleven load cases Lhe resulung Lopology comblnes Lhe
feaLures of boLh prevlous soluuons. lL represenLs a good compromlse, whlle lL barely
feaLures Lhe unfeaslble formauons of each of Lhe prevlous Lopologles. 1herefore, lL ls Lhls
approach LhaL was applled for Lhe nal opumlzauon seLup. ln concluslon lL can be sald,
LhaL Lhe developed lnerua rellef load cases do noL appear Lo be approprlaLe Lo enurely
replace Lhe esLabllshed pure Lorslon load case. Powever, Lhey can cerLalnly complemenL
Lhe pure Lorslon load case. lncludlng Lhe l8 load cases leads Lo favorable sLrucLures aL Lhe
fronL suspenslon mounLs. AL Lhe same ume Lhe severe load condluon of hlmng a bump ls
consldered more reallsucally.
Side View
Volume Fraction
Min. Member-
size Control
Convergence
Tolerance
Number of
Load Cases
Bending 2.0
Braking 1.0
Accelerating 1.0
Front Bump 2.0
Rear Bump 2.0
Cornering 2.0
Pure Torsion 2.0
Front Crash 1.0
Side Crash 1.0
Rear Crash 1.0
Roof Crush 1.0
Memory Used
No. of Iterations
CPU Time
105
320 MB
13.5h
0.1
40
11
0.002
Weighting
Factors
Final Optimization Facts
Boom View
Figure 5.18: llnal resulL of Lopology opumlzauon uslng Lhe mlnlmum compllance approach
1he nal opumlzauon seLup and Lhe resulung Lopology ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.18. 1he
Cu ume of 13.3h demonsLraLes LhaL Lhe avallable compuLauon capaclLy was a serlous
llmlLauon LhroughouL Lhe work on Lhls Lhesls, conslderlng LhaL lL requlred a large number
of opumlzauon runs Lo esLabllsh Lhls nal seLup.
3.4 Slze Cpumlzauon 82
5.4 Size Opmizaon
WlLh Lhe nal opumlzed Lopology esLabllshed, Lhe nexL sLep would be exporung Lhe
resulLs lnLo a CAu soware and modellng a space frame accordlngly. 8y dolng so, lL
becomes obvlous LhaL Lhe obLalned load paLhs cannoL always be modeled one Lo one.
1he Lopology as suggesLed by Lhe opumlzauon process ls generally sull Loo compllcaLed
from a manufacLurlng polnL of vlew. Ad[usLmenLs ln form of slmpllcauons were necessary
aL varlous parLs. 1hls especlally lncludes Lhe Lranslauon and merger of [olnLs. 1he CAu
model of Lhe frame was creaLed uslng SolldWorks. Pere, a space frame can be generaLed
convenlenLly by modellng a 3u wlreframe conslsung of llnes LhaL mark Lhe cenLer axls
of each frame member. 1hls wlreframe represenLs Lhe Lopology of Lhe new frame. Lach
llne of Lhe wlreframe ls subsequenLly allocaLed a predened cross secuon, whlch resulLs
ln Lhe deslred 3u space frame model. 1he 3u wlreframe also serves as basls for Lhe slze
opumlzauon.
Opmized Topology 3D-Wireframe Model
Figure 5.19: LxporL of opumlzed Lopology and modellng of 3u-wlreframe accordlngly
Powever, Lhe Lopology ls only one crlLerla for a llghLwelghL opumlzed sLrucLure. AL Lhe
same ume, lL ls equally lmporLanL Lo have an ldea of Lhe opumal slze of Lhe sLrucLure.
ln Lhe case of a space frame, Lhls means ln parucular Lhe cross secuonal dlmenslons.
LlghLwelghL deslgn requlres LhaL Lhe space frame members are deslgned ln a way LhaL Lhey
are [usL sLrong enough Lo susLaln Lhe occurrlng maxlmum loads. Powever, Lhe concepL of
Lopology opumlzauon does noL provlde any lndlcauon of Lhe opumal cross secuon slze. As
a consequence, lL ls common Lo perform a slze opumlzauon subsequenL Lo Lhe Lopology
opumlzauon (eg. ln [Cav10]). 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe vehlcle body noL only has an opumlzed
Lopology buL also opumal Lubular wldLhs and Lhlcknesses. 1hls secuon descrlbes Lhe sLeps
of Lhe performed slze opumlzauon.
5.4.1 Foregoing Consideraons
lnSecuon2.3, slzeopumlzauonwas lnLroducedas LheslmplesL formof sLrucLural opumlzauon.
lL ls usually reduced Lo one deslgn varlable, whlch ls oen some klnd of sLrucLural Lhlckness.
1haL also means one has Lo predene Lhe shape of Lhe sLrucLure unless a shape opumlzauon
was prevlously performed. Alhough Lhls would be generally preferable wlLh regards Lo an
opumal llghLwelghL deslgn, lL ls noL adequaLe for Lhe here proposed appllcauon. A shape
opumlzauon could lead Lo cross secuonal shapes LhaL requlre cusLomlzed manufacLurlng,
whlch ls economlcally ouL of llmlLs. ln addluon, space frame deslgns have been successfully
lmplemenLed ln varlous englneerlng appllcauons across dlerenL dlsclpllnes. ln auLomouve
englneerlng, lL ls a reoccurrlng Loplc especlally ln moLor sporLs appllcauons. 1herefore,
lL ls lnLended Lo resorL Lo esLabllshed accesslble cross secuonal shapes used ln slmllar
appllcauons. AnoLher non-Lrlvlal lssue LhaL has Lo be addressed ls Lhe nlLe elemenL
modellng of Lhe space frame. Llke Lopology opumlzauon, slze opumlzauon ls based on a
nlLe elemenL model of Lhe sLrucLure. Several ways of dlscreuzlng a frame sLrucLure were
examlned before decldlng on an adequaLe meLhod. 8oLh of Lhese lssues are subsequenLly
dlscussed.
5.4.1.1 Establishment of the Frame Cross Secons
uurlng Lhe llLeraLure revlew, numerous recenL auLomouve space frame deslgns orlglnaung
from Lhe lSAL SLudenLs lormula 1 compeuuon were encounLered [CL07, 8ll00, 8ro09].
All of Lhese frames elLher conslsL enurely of Lhlnwalled clrcular (round) Lubes or Lhey are
based on a comblnauon of recLangular and clrcular Lhlnwalled Lubes. 1he currenL ClLy
Car frame deslgn was derlved from Lhese lSAL space frames and ls made of boLh clrcular
and recLangular Lubes. 1hls concepL ls Lransfered Lo Lhe new deslgn. Powever, for Lhe
seLup of Lhe slze opumlzauon problem, lL sull has Lo be deLermlned whaL frame members
feaLures a clrcular shape and whaL frame members have a recLangular cross secuon. ln
Lhls conLexL, Lhe maln conslderauon ls LhaL cerLaln frame members are requlred Lo enable
Lhe auachmenL of componenLs. ln addluon, one has Lo Lake lnLo accounL Lhe suness and
sLrengLh of boLh cross secuons under Lhe occurrlng loadlng condluons (compresslon-Lenslon,
Lorslon and bendlng). 1he quesuon lf round or recLangular Lubes are Lo be used for an
auLomouve space frame ls furLher dlscussed ln ashley (2008) [as08]. 1he pros and cons
of each Lube Lype are accordlngly summarlzed as follows.
Round Tubes Pave Lhe beuer overall suness and sLrengLh per welghL unlL under unlversal
loadlng condluons (muludlrecuonal bendlng, Lorslon). Aclrcular Lube wlLh Lhe cross secuonal
area A = 35 mm
2
ls abouL 20 suer and 10 sLronger Lhan a square Lube wlLh Lhe same
secuon area. Pere, sLrucLural sLrengLh ls dened by Lhe value of Lhe occurlng von Mlses
sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure. 1hese values were obLalned from a qulck lLA comparlson of Lwo
bars wlLh Lhe respecuve cross secuons. 1herefore, round Lubes are Lhe besL cholce from
a pure llghLwelghL deslgn polnL of vlew. Powever, Lhere are several noLable drawbacks
when worklng wlLh clrcular Lubes. 1hls ls especlally wlLh regards Lo Lhe manufacLurlng
process. 8ound Lubes are conslderably more compllcaLed Lo allgn and clamp lnLo posluon
for weldlng. Moreover, Lhe requlred [lgs and xLures are much more complex and Lhe [olnLs
are harder Lo prepare. LasLly, lL ls more dlculL Lo mounL componenLs onLo clrcular Lubes.
Rectangular Tubes AlLhough recLangular Lubes are generally less su and sLrong, Lhey
can achleve a favorable sLrucLural performance for unldlrecuonal loads. A recLangular
frame member wlLh uneven slde lengLhs ls abouL 12.3 suer Lhan a clrcular Lube of Lhe
same cross secuon area ln Lhe case of a force LhaL ls applled verucally Lo Lhe narrow slde
of Lhe frame member. 1hls can be uullzed Lo achleve a hlgher bendlng suness of Lhe
vehlcle sLrucLure. Powever, one has Lo bear ln mlnd LhaL such a cross secuon leads Lo a
less favorable sLrucLural performance when forces are applled ln muluple dlrecuons. 1he
maln advanLage of recLangular Lubes ls Lhelr conslderably slmpler manufacLurlng process lf
compared Lo round Lubes. ln addluon, Lhey enable a slmpler lmplemenLauon of Lhe many
brackeLs needed Lo mounL componenLs such as suspenslon arms, seaLs, moLor as well as
Lhe body shell.
As a consequence, all frame members LhaL have Lo enable Lhe mounung of componenLs are
allocaLed recLangular cross secuons, whereas Lhe remalnlng frame members are dened
as clrcular Lubes, as Lhey promlse Lhe besL sLrucLural performance per welghL unlL.
AnoLher aspecL of Lhe slze opumlzauon seLup ls Lhe number of dlerenL cross secuons Lo
be consldered. Cn Lhe one hand, lL ls deslrable Lo have as llule dlerenL klnds of Lubes
as posslble ln Lhe frame. 1hls noLably slmplles Lhe sLrucLure, maklng lL more feaslble
ln Lerms of boLh manufacLurlng and LoLal cosLs. Cn Lhe oLher hand, a hlgh number
of dlerenL Lubes allows Lo speclcally opumlze more frame members accordlng Lo Lhe
occurrlng loads, whlch reduces Lhe number of over-dlmensloned frame members. Pence,
Lhe more dlerenL Lubes, Lhe hlgher ls Lhe welghL savlng poLenual. lL becomes apparenL
LhaL one has Lo nd a compromlse beLween feaslblllLy and cosLs and Lhe welghL savlng
poLenual. 1hls problem was approached ln muluple slze opumlzauon sLages, whlle ln
each sLage Lhe number of dlerenL cross secuons was lncreased by one unul a reasonable
compromlse was found. SLarung from Lwo dlerenL Lube Lypes (one recLangular and one
clrcular) each cross secuon was allocaLed Lo one group of frame members, whlle lL was
experlmenLed wlLh numerous grouplng consLellauons ln each opumlzauon sLage. 1hls ls
necessary because lL ls hard Lo predlcL whaL frame members should have Lhe same cross
secuon. ln addluon, lL has Lo be consldered LhaL all Lubes LhaL colnclde aL one welded
[olnL have Lo feaLure compauble cross secuons.
5.4.1.2 Finite Element Model of the Frame
Slmllar Lo Lhe Lopology opumlzauon, Lhe denluon of Lhe deslgn domaln as nlLe elemenL
model ls cruclal for Lhe ouLcome of Lhe slze opumlzauon process. ln Lhe framework of Lhls
Lhesls, Lhree dlerenL meLhods of dlscreuzlng Lhe frame sLrucLure were examlned. 1hese
meLhods are subsequenLly descrlbed.
Beam Model A slmple and self-evldenL approach Lo modellng a space frame sLrucLure
ls Lhe beam model. PyperWorks has Lhe 1lmoshenko beam Lheory lmplemenLed. uslng
Lhls Lheory, Lhe space frame ls dlscreuzed wlLh segmenLs, also called elemenLs, [olnlng
Lwo nodes wlLh slx degrees of freedom, Lo whlch Lhe sLrucLural characLerlsucs (secuon
area and momenL of lnerua) of a body shell can be aurlbuLed. 1he elasuc and geomeLrlc
characLerlsucs of Lhe elemenLs and Lhus Lhe sLrucLure are solely dened by Lhelr cross
secuons. ln PyperMesh, Lhese elemenLs can be dened wlLh varlous dlerenL cross secuons,
whlle Lhe cross secuon dlmenslons can be easlly manlpulaLed and also used as deslgn
varlables for a slze opumlzauon. AnoLher huge advanLage ls LhaL Lhe wlreframe model
from Lhe 3u-CAu model can be uullzed wlLhouL much addluonal modellng eorL ln Lhe
preprocessor. Moreover, lL allows Lo opumlze Lhe Lhlckness and Lhe dlameLer/wldLh of
Lhe Lubes aL Lhe same ume. 1he drawback ls Lhe relauve lnaccuracy ln Lhe predlcuon of
Lhe sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure. 1he beam model ls only capable of lndlcaung Lhe peak sLress
ln each segmenL. 1he exacL locauon of Lhe sLress conLours on Lhe surface of Lhe Lubes
remalns unknown.
Shell Model with RBE2 Nodes AnoLher meLhod of dlscreuzlng Lhe space frame sLrucLure
ls by uslng shell elemenLs based on Lhe Lheory of plaLes and shells. 1hls ls valld slnce
Lhe frame members are made of Lhlnwalled Lubes where Lhe Lhlckness ls small compared
Lo Lhe planar dlmenslons of Lhe Lube. Pence, Lhe Lubes are reecLed by surfaces wlLh a
dlscreLe Lhlckness. 1here are dlerenL ways of modellng Lhe [olnLs of such shell elemenL
frame members. Cne posslblllLy ls Lo connecL Lhe Lubes wlLh rlgld 88L2 elemenLs. 1wo
nodes LhaL are connecLed wlLh 88L2 elemenLs, are sub[ecL Lo equal dlsplacemenLs aL
all umes, whlle one can dene whlch degrees of freedom should be aecLed by Lhls
equallzauon. Modellng Lhe [olnLs wlLh 88L2 elemenLs enables Lhe approxlmauon of an
ldeal Lruss, slmllar Lo Lhe beam model. 1hls ls lllusLraLed ln Lhe mlddle graphlc of llgure
3.20. 1hls meLhod has been applled successfully ln prevlous works aL Lhe lnsuLuL fur
rodukLenLwlcklung und konsLrukuonsLechnlk. lLs maln beneL over Lhe beam model ls
LhaL lL enables Lhe slmulauon of Lhe locauon of Lhe sLress conLours on Lhe surface of Lhe
Lubes. 1hls lnformauon ls necessary for Lhe addluonal sLrucLural analysls of Lhe welded
seams. Powever, a ma[or downslde of Lhls meLhod ls Lhe necessary modellng eorL wlLhln
Lhe preprocessor envlronmenL. All nodes of each Lube end have Lo be connecLed manually
wlLh Lhe polnL of lnLersecuon of Lhe Lube axes, uslng 88L2 elemenLs. Moreover, Lhls
meLhod requlres an exLra 3u-CAu model of Lhe frame where all Lubes are noL connecLed
aL Lhe [olnLs. 1he process of generaung an exLra CAu model and manually connecung each
Lube ls exLremely Ledlous conslderlng Lhe number of [olnLs ln Lhe space frame. ln addluon,
lf one would wanL Lo change Lhe dlameLer or wldLh of Lhe Lubes, one would have Lo sLarL
from scraLch and model everyLhlng agaln. LasLly, lL only enables Lhe opumlzauon of Lhe
Lube Lhlckness, whlle Lhe remalnlng cross secuonal dlmenslons have Lo be predened.
Pure Shell Model 1he lasL examlned approach ls very slmllar Lo Lhe prevlous shell elemenL
model. 1he dlerence ls, LhaL Lhe [olnLs are modeled one Lo one from Lhe generaLed
3u-CAu frame by dlscreuzlng all ouLer surfaces wlLh shell elemenLs. ln Lhls way, Lhe
laborlous seLup of connecung all Lubes wlLh 88L2 elemenLs aL Lhe [olnLs does noL apply.
Whlle, Lhe prevlous Lwo meLhods assume Lhe [olnLs Lo be rlgld, Lhls meLhod models Lhe
[olnLs as Lhey are dened ln Lhe 3u-CAu model. Powever, Lhls would neglecL Lhe lnuence
of Lhe welded seams LhaL are noL lncluded ln Lhe CAu. 1hls problem does noL apply for Lhe
precedlng meLhods, as Lhey do noL auempL Lo model Lhe conLacL area beLween Lhe welded
Lubes. ln addluon, Lhe pure shell elemenL model ls llmlLed Lo opumlzlng Lhe Lhlckness
only, llke Lhe prevlous shell elemenL model.
8eam Model 88L2 Shell Model ure Shell Model
Figure 5.20: ulerenL approaches Lo modellng Lhe space frame
1he lmplemenLauon of all Lhree meLhods ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 3.20, uslng an example
[olnL LhaL ls modeled once wlLh each meLhod. ln Appendlx l.4 lL ls compared how Lhe
dlsplacemenL and sLress conLours of Lhese meLhods develop, when all Lhree [olnL models
are loaded wlLh one and Lhe same loadlng condluon. 1he ouLcome of Lhls comparlson ls
LhaL Lhe pure shell model proves Lo be lnadequaLe for Lhe slze opumlzauon as well as a
laLer sLrucLural analysls. 1hls ls because Lhe mesh quallLy ln Lhe area of Lhe [olnL ls very
poor when uslng Lhe auLomesh funcuon of PyperMesh. Pence, lL would agaln requlre
addluonal modellng eorL Lo manually ad[usL Lhe mesh. lurLhermore, lL appears LhaL Lhe
mlsslng conslderauon of Lhe welded seams leads Lo a [olnL model LhaL ls noL su enough.
As a consequence, Lhe sLress conLours peak ln a few elemenLs ln Lhe [olnL area, reachlng
values LhaL are Lhree umes larger Lhan Lhe maxlmum sLresses from Lhe oLher Lwo meLhods.
1he beam model and Lhe rlgld shell model, on Lhe oLher hand, lead Lo very slmllar resulLs
ln boLh dlsplacemenL and sLress conLours, whlle Lhe beam model Lends Lo predlcL larger
values.
As a resulL of experlmenung wlLh all Lhree meLhods, lL was declded Lo apply Lhe beam model
as deslgn space for Lhe slze opumlzauon. lLs advanLages over Lhe shell elemenL model
wlLh rlgld [olnLs are slmply Loo overwhelmlng. lL allows Lhe slmulLaneous opumlzauon of
Lube Lhlckness and dlameLer/wlLdh, lL ls slgnlcanLly slmpler ln Lhe seLup and leads Lo very
slmllar resulLs ln Lhe sLress and dlsplacemenL lf compared Lo Lhe rlgld shell model. 1he
dlsadvanLage LhaL Lhe beam model does noL lndlcaLe Lhe sLress conLours on Lhe perlmeLer
of Lhe Lube, ls less of an lssue ln Lhe slze opumlzauon sLage. lL could be shown LhaL Lhe
beam model predlcLs reasonable sLress values, whlch ls suclenL for a slze opumlzauon.
Powever, for Lhe sLrucLural analysls of Lhe nal deslgn, Lhe more laborlous rlgld shell
elemenL approach appears Lo be useful Lo verlfy Lhe sLress conLours of crlucal slngle [olnLs
(see Secuon 6.2).
5.4.2 Final Size Opmizaon Setup and Results
1he nal slze opumlzauon problem was based on a beam model conslsung of Lwo dlerenL
round and four dlerenL recLangular cross secuons. 1herefore, Lhe 3u-wlreframe was
lmporLed lnLo PyperMesh and dlscreuzed wlLh 8A8L elemenLs. Lach group of frame
members LhaL share Lhe same cross secuon was allocaLed a dlsuncL color and 8A8L
properLy. 1he resulung preprocessor model, lncludlng Lhe suspenslon sysLem, ls dlsplayed
ln llgure 3.21, whlle Lhe 8A8L properLy denluon ls lllusLraLed aL Lhe slde.
Figure 5.21: PyperMesh 8A8L-elemenL model used for Lhe slze opumlzauon, number of
elemenLs: 4921, number of nodes: 4826
1he requlremenL LhaL Lhe frame ls Lo be welded conslderably llmlLs Lhe maLerlal opuons.
1he currenL frame ls made of AS1M A300, whlch ls a cosL eecuve and very common
sLrucLural Lublng sLeel. ln addluon, Lhe nuS has some experlence wlLh Lhe AA6061 16
alumlnum alloy, whlch has been successfully applled ln slmllar research car pro[ecLs. 8oLh
maLerlals are wldely avallable by suppllers ln Slngapore, whlch ls facLor LhaL has Lo be
consldered when decldlng on a maLerlal. naLurally, Lhe alumlnum alloy promlses Lhe larger
welghL savlng poLenual. Powever, lL ls also by far Lhe more expanslve cholce, whlch ls
one of Lhe maln reasons why Lhe currenL frame was made of sLeel. uue Lo an unknown
fuLure budgeL developmenL, lL ls noL declded yeL lf Lhe new deslgn can be lmplemenLed
uslng alumlnum alloy Lubes. Powever, from Lhls polnL onwards, lL does noL requlre much
addluonal eorL Lo conslder boLh maLerlals ln parallel ln Lwo separaLe opumlzauon models.
1hls ls done ln Lhe followlng. Pence, Lhe slze opumlzauon process wlll resulL ln Lwo deslgn
suggesuons for Lhe new chassls frame, one alumlnum and one sLeel frame. 1he maLerlal
characLerlsucs of boLh maLerlals can be found ln varlous openly avallable maLerlal facL
sheeLs [Lea09, Alc02]. 8elevanL characLerlsucs are summarlzed ln 1able 3.2.
ASTM A500 AA6061 T6
uenslLy [kg/dm
3
] 7.9 2.7
?oungs modulus [GPa] 210 75
Shear modulus [GPa] 81 28
1enslle sLrengLh [N/mm
2
] 427 262
?leld sLrengLh [N/mm
2
] 345 241
Table 5.2: MaLerlal characLerlsucs for AS1M A300 sLeel and AA6061 16 alumlnum alloy
1he slze opumlzauon problem ls generally very slmllar Lo Lhe prevlously performed
Lopology opumlzauon. 1he maln dlerence ls Lhe conslderably reduced freedom of Lhe
deslgn space. 1haL means Lhe opumlzauon problem formulauons LhaL were revlewed ln
3.2.4 can be adopLed for Lhe slze opumlzauon. Powever, for Lhe slze opumlzauon, Lhe
global sLress consLralnL seems Lo be Lhe mosL adequaLe meLhod. Slnce Lhe resulL of Lhe
slze opumlzauon ls already very close Lo Lhe nal deslgn, lL makes sense Lo consLraln
Lhe sLress ln Lhe cross secuon wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of mlnlmlzlng Lhe volume of Lhe enure
sLrucLure. 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe opumlzauon process leads Lo Lhe mlnlmum cross secuonal
dlmenslons whlch are requlred Lo wlLhsLand Lhe maxlmum loads ln each loadlng condluon.
Pence, Lhe opumlzauon resulLs auLomaucally fulll Lhe maxlmum sLress llmlLauons of Lhe
maLerlal. Applylng Lhe mlnlmum compllance approach would requlre Lhe guesslng of an
approprlaLe value for Lhe volume fracuon V
0
/V , whlle Lhere ls no conLrol of Lhe absoluLe
sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure. As a consequence, Lhe slze opumlzauon was only performed uslng
Lhe global sLress consLralnL meLhod.
1he yleld sLrengLh of Lhe maLerlal was used as reference for Lhe sLress consLralnL of Lhe
opumlzauon seLup, whlle a moderaLe facLor of safeLy was applled ln order Lo accounL for
remalnlng uncerLalnues ln Lhe acLual maxlmum loadlngs as well as hardly predlcLable faugue
fallures. 8rown [8ro03] suggesLs Lo apply a safeLy facLor of 1.3 for vehlcles body sLrucLures.
lL ls noLeworLhy, LhaL Lhe appllcauon of a safeLy facLor ls generally undeslred ln llghLwelghL
deslgn. Applylng a safeLy facLor ls always raLher lnaccuraLe and leads Lo less welghL savlng
poLenual. LlghLwelghL deslgn largely depends on Lhe exacL knowledge of Lhe occurrlng
loads as well as fallure mechanlsms and deslgnlng Lhe sysLem ln a way LhaL lL ls [usL sLrong
enough Lo guaranLee a safe operauon. Powever, ln auLomouve englneerlng, lL ls oen
dlculL Lo deLermlne Lhe exacL loads. 1hls especlally applles when, daLa or experlence from
prevlous deslgn lLerauons ls mlsslng, llke ln Lhe case of Lhe nuS ClLy Car pro[ecL. ln addluon,
Lhe sLrengLh of Lhe sLrucLure ls noL Lhe only sLrucLural requlremenL for a vehlcle body.
As lL was menuoned before, Lhe chassls suness ls Lhe more lmporLanL sLrucLural crlLerla
[8ro03, Pap01]. Applylng a safeLy facLor noL only accounLs for uncerLalnues ln Lhe maxlmum
loadlng and faugue behavlour, lL also lncreases Lhe suness of Lhe sLrucLure. under Lhese
clrcumsLances, Lhe applled safeLy facLor ls consldered reasonable. 1he esLabllshed sLress
llmlLs lncludlng safeLy facLor are sLaLed ln 1able 3.3
3.3 new ueslgn Suggesuon 89
ASTM A500 AA6061 T6
SLress llmlL [N/mm
2
] 230 160
Table 5.3: LsLabllshed sLress llmlLs for Lhe slze opumlzauon and sLrengLh analysls
1he slze opumlzauon was performed wlLh a reduced number of consldered load cases.
MosL noLably, Lhe lnlually developed llnearlzed crash load cases were excluded. 1hese were
developed speclcally for Lhe Lopology opumlzauon process Lo promoLe Lhe formauon of
sLrucLures LhaL lncrease Lhe global suness of Lhe sLrucLure ln Lhe case of crash lmpacLs.
Powever, Lhe ob[ecuve of Lhe slze opumlzauon was Lo nd Lhe mlnlmum cross secuonal
dlmenslons of Lhe frame members, so LhaL sLandard drlvlng slLuauons do noL resulL ln a
plasuc deformauon or fallure of Lhe vehlcle body. Severe crash slLuauons, on Lhe oLher
hand, are requlred Lo resulL ln llmlLed plasuc deformauons of Lhe body, ln order Lo proLecL
Lhe occupanL by absorblng klneuc energy. 1herefore, a crashworLhlness analysls would
requlre a proper non-llnear lLA, whlch ls noL parL of Lhls Lhesls. As a resulL, only Lhe slx
load cases LhaL model acLual drlvlng condluons were consldered ln Lhe slze opumlzauon
(fronL bump, rear bump, cornerlng, braklng, acceleraung and bendlng). 1hese cover a
varleLy of boLh global and local loads and represenL a good approxlmauon of Lhe maxlmum
loads resulung from Lhe vehlcle operauon.
1he resulung opumlzauon problem conslsLs of 20 deslgn varlables (4 for each recLangular
and 2 for each round cross secuon). PyperMesh allows Lo dene upper and lower bounds
for each deslgn varlable. 1hls was uullzed Lo llmlL Lhe Lhlckness, dlameLer and wldLh of
Lhe deslgn cross secuons accordlng Lo Lhe avallable cross secuons found ln Lhe suppller
caLalogues. lor boLh maLerlals, Lhe opumlzauon process leads Lo cross secuons LhaL
consequenLly feaLure Lhe mlnlmum Lhlckness LhaL was seL uslng Lhe lower bound funcuon,
whlle Lhe wldLhs and dlameLers are comparably large. 1hls ls conslsLenL wlLh Lhe facL LhaL
Lhe area momenL of lnerua of a Lhlnwalled cross secuon ls larger Lhan Lhe momenL of
lnerua of a full or Lhlcker cross secuon of Lhe exacL same area. WlLh Lhe resulLs from Lhe
slze opumlzauon process, Lhe cross secuons for each frame member group were selecLed
from Lhe suppller caLalogue. Slnce, Lhe Lubes are only avallable ln lncremenLal slze sLeps,
Lhe opumlzauon resulLs could noL be lmplemenLed one Lo one. ln Lhe case a cross secuon
was noL avallable as suggesLed by Lhe opumlzauon resulLs, Lhe nexL larger avallable slze
was selecLed.
5.5 New Design Suggeson
WlLh all cross secuons selecLed, Lhe nal 3u CAu model of boLh frames could be modeled.
8oLh resulung frames, sLeel and alumlnum, look very slmllar from Lhe ouLslde, slnce Lhe
ouLer dlameLers and wldLhs of Lhe Lubes only dler sllghLly. 1he maln dlerence ls LhaL Lhe
sLeel frame generally feaLures Lhlnner Lubes. 1he Lwo frames models are lllusLraLed ln llgure
3.22 and 3.23 respecuvely. Pere, all dlsplayed measuremenLs are glven ln mllllmeLers.
25
2
12.5
2
38
38
2
25
38
2
2
45
64
25
38
1
Figure 5.22: ueslgn suggesuon uslng alumlnum alloy Lubes, mass: 23.3kg
25
1
12.5
1
38
38
1.2
25
38
1
1.6
38
64
19
38
1
Figure 5.23: ueslgn suggesuon uslng sLeel Lubes, mass: 40.8kg
8emarkable ls Lhe large slngle recLangular Lube ln Lhe back (green), whlch has Lo susLaln
Lhe forces Lransmlued by Lhe slngle rear shock absorber. lL also becomes apparenL LhaL Lhe
opumlzauon led Lo recLangular cross secuons raLher Lhan square ones for several frame
members. 1hls lncludes Lhe cenLral frame members LhaL supporL Lhe slmng occupanLs as
well as Lhe frame members LhaL accommodaLe Lhe brackeLs for Lhe suspenslon arms. 1hls
ls a resulL of Lhe malnly unldlrecuonal loads acung on Lhese frame members. 1he achleved
welghL reducuon and Lhe resulung range exLenslon for boLh opumlzed frame deslgns ls
summarlzed ln llgure 3.24. ln order Lo demonsLraLe Lhe lncreased dlmenslons of Lhe new
deslgn lf compared Lo Lhe currenL sLaLe, boLh frames are addluonally dlsplayed one upon
Lhe oLher.
Aluminum Steel
Frame Mass [kg] 23.5 40.7
Mass Reduction [kg] 31.5 14.3
Relative
Reduction of
Frame Mass
% 57.3 26.0
Relative
Reduction of
Vehicle Mass
% 6.0 2.7
Range Extension [km] 3.01 1.32
Current design (55kg)
New design
Figure 5.24: Comparlson of Lhe welghL savlng poLenual of Lhe Lwo new deslgn suggesuons
uesplLe Lhe facL LhaL Lhe new deslgn ls conslderably larger and has been deslgned for
slgnlcanLly hlgher loadlngs Lhan Lhe currenL deslgn, lL could be achleved Lo reduce Lhe
frame mass by respecLable 37 ln case of Lhe alumlnum suggesuon and 26 when assumlng
sLeel. 1he reason for Lhls noLable welghL reducuon ln splLe of Lhe lncreased global slze,
ls Lhe comparable large wallLhlckness of Lhe currenL frame, whlch conslsLs excluslvely of
2mm sLeel Lubes. ln conLrasL, Lhe new sLeel deslgn feaLures way Lhlnner Lubes whlch
compensaLes Lhe lncreased global dlmenslons. WlLh regards Lo Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass, Lhe
new deslgn suggesuons would respecuvely conLrlbuLe Lo a 6 and 2.7 welghL reducuon.
1hls LranslaLes lnLo a 3km lncreased range ln case of Lhe alumlnum frame and 1.3km more
range lf Lhe sLeel frame ls consldered.
6 Structural Analysis of the New Design
1he sLrucLural opumlzauon process performed ln Lhe prevlous chapLer resulLed ln Lwo deslgn
suggesuons for Lhe chassls frame of Lhe nuS ClLy Car, dependlng on weaLher Lhe frame ls
Lo be lmplemenLed as sLeel or alumlnum frame. ln Lhe lasL sLep, boLh deslgn suggesuons
are sub[ecLed Lo a sLrucLural sLrengLh analysls, whlch ls descrlbed ln Lhls chapLer. Slnce
Lhe performed slze opumlzauon was based on consLralnlng Lhe maxlmum sLress ln Lhe
sLrucLure and Lhe cross secuons were selecLed accordlng Lo Lhe slze opumlzauon resulLs,
lL could be expecLed LhaL Lhe nal frame deslgns remaln below Lhe sLress llmlL ln all
loadlng condluons. Powever, Lhe followlng deLalled sLrengLh analysls wlll polnL ouL crlucal
load cases as well as crlucal [olnLs and frame members ln each loadlng condluon. 1he
sLrengLh analysls ls malnly based on Lhe beam model LhaL has been lnLroduced ln Lhe slze
opumlzauon process. 1he dlsadvanLage of Lhe beam model ls LhaL lL lacks Lhe lndlcauon of
sLress conLours on Lhe perlmeLer of Lhe Lubes. ln order Lo compensaLe Lhls, a meLhod LhaL
allows a qulck and rellable recalculauon of crlucal [olnLs and frame members ls addluonally
demonsLraLed. LasLly, Lhe Lorslonal suness of boLh frames ls compared uslng Lhe Lorslonal
load case lnLroduced ln Secuon 3.2.
6.1 Strength Analysis Based on the Developed Beam Model
Slmllar Lo Lhe slze opumlzauon, Lhe quesuon of Lhe besL dlscreuzauon meLhod of Lhe frame
sLrucLure also arlses when performlng Lhe sLrengLh analysls of Lhe nal deslgn. Conslderlng
LhaL Lhe deslgn ls nallzed and LhaL furLher changes Lo cross secuon dlameLers or wldLhs
are unllkely, Lhe shell model wlLh 88L2 nodes appears Lo be more reasonable ln Lhls nal
sLage lf compared Lo Lhe prevlous slze opumlzauon sLage. Powever, Lhe modellng eorL ls
sull very hlgh and slnce Lhe beam model performed very slmllar Lo Lhe 88L2 shell model ln
Lerms of maxlmum sLress (see Appendlx l.4), lL was declded Lo apply Lhe developed beam
model (llgure 3.21) once agaln as modellng foundauon. 1herefore, Lhe cross secuons of
each nal frame deslgn were aurlbuLed Lo Lhe 8A8L elemenLs of Lhe beam model vla
Lhe properLy manager of Lhe preprocessor. 1he consldered load cases were adopLed from
Lhe slze opumlzauon process. 1he Lhree global load cases (cornerlng, fronL bump, rear
bump) could be ldenued as crlucal load cases. 1he sLress conLour ploLs of Lhese Lhree
load cases are dlsplayed ln Lhe followlng for boLh Lhe sLeel frame (llgure 6.1) and Lhe
alumlnum frame (llgure 6.2). 1he sLress conLours of Lhe remalnlng load cases (bendlng,
braklng, acceleraung) are dlsplayed ln Appendlx l.3. 1he sLrengLh of Lhe chassls frame
ls checked uslng Lhe von Mlses yleld crlLerlon, whlch suggesLs LhaL yleldlng of a ducule
6.1 SLrengLh Analysls 8ased on Lhe ueveloped 8eam Model 93
maLerlal does noL begln before an equlvalenL Lenslle sLress reaches a crlucal value. 1hls
equlvalenL Lenslle sLress
v
approxlmaLes mulu-axlal sLress condluons Lhrough a scalar
value LhaL can be compuLed from Lhe sLress Lensor ln Lhe cross secuon. 1herefore, Lhe
followlng ploLs dlsplay Lhe von Mlses sLress ln Lhe sLrucLure.
lronL 8ump
Steel Frame - Front Bump
SUB5 - bump_L
Von Mises Stress
> 2.09e+02
< 2.09e+02
< 1.83e+02
< 1.57e+02
< 1.31e+02
< 1.05e+02
< 7.85e+01
< 5.23e+01
< 2.62e+01
< 5.28e-10
Max = 2.36e+02
Min = 5.28e-10
X
Y
Z
Cornerlng 8ear 8ump
Steel Frame - Cornering
SUB8 - cornering_L
Von Mises Stress
> 2.10e+02
< 2.10e+02
< 1.83e+02
< 1.57e+02
< 1.31e+02
< 1.05e+02
< 7.86e+01
< 5.24e+01
< 2.62e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 2.36e+02
Min = 3.27e-09
X
Y
Z
Steel Frame - Rear Bump
SUB7 - bump_rear
Von Mises Stress
> 1.87e+02
< 1.87e+02
< 1.64e+02
< 1.41e+02
< 1.17e+02
< 9.37e+01
< 7.03e+01
< 4.69e+01
< 2.34e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 2.11e+02
Min = 1.82e-10
X
Y
Z
Figure 6.1: SLeel lrame - v. Mlses sLress conLours ln crlucal load cases (unlL: N/mm
2
)
1he sLress conLour ploLs of boLh frames look very slmllar ln each loadlng condluon wlLh
Lhe only dlerence belng Lhe absoluLe sLress values. 1hls was expecLed, as Lhe cross
secuons of boLh frames were selecLed uslng Lhe same slze opumlzauon procedure. Slnce
Lhe cornerlng and Lhe fronL bump load case boLh lead Lo conslderable Lorslonal loads on
Lhe sLrucLure, Lhe sLress dlsLrlbuuon ln Lhese Lwo load cases resemble each oLher. Pere, Lhe
[olnLs ad[acenL Lo Lhe fronL suspenslon mounLs can be polnLed ouL as crlucal. 1he rear bump
loadlng condluons ylelds maxlmum sLress ln Lhe slngle horlzonLal back frame member. 1he
sLress values of Lhese crlucal load cases reach or even maLch Lhe dened sLress llmlLs from
1able 3.3. 1hls supporLs Lhe successful appllcauon of Lhe slze opumlzauon process, whlch
led Lo Lhe requlred cross secuonal dlmenslons ln a very eclenL way. Powever, aL Lhls
6.1 SLrengLh Analysls 8ased on Lhe ueveloped 8eam Model 94
polnL, lL ls agaln referred Lo Lhe compromlse made by ad[usung Lhe maxlmum allowable
sLress wlLh a safeLy facLor. 1he llghLwelghL deslgn poLenual could be lncreased by rullng
ouL Lhe uncerLalnues ln Lhe loadlng whlch were Lhe reason for Lhe conslderauon of safeLy
facLors. 1herefore, lL would requlre furLher LesLs and sLudy. 1hls especlally lncludes cycllc
loadlngs LhaL resulL ln maLerlal faugue. Powever, ln Lhe currenL appllcauon, Lhe safeLy
facLor ls noL only applled ln an auempL Lo accounL for Lhe loadlng uncerLalnues buL also
Lo lncrease Lhe suness of Lhe sLrucLure, slnce Lhls ls Lhe prlme sLrucLural properLy of a
vehlcle body [8ro03, Pap01].
lronL 8ump
Alu Frame - Front Bump
SUB5 - bump_L
Von Mises Stress
> 1.26e+02
< 1.26e+02
< 1.11e+02
< 9.48e+01
< 7.90e+01
< 6.32e+01
< 4.74e+01
< 3.16e+01
< 1.58e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.42e+02
Min = 6.28e-10
X
Y
Z
Cornerlng 8ear 8ump
Alu Frame - Rear Bump
SUB8 - cornering_L
Von Mises Stress
> 1.17e+02
< 1.17e+02
< 1.03e+02
< 8.79e+01
< 7.33e+01
< 5.86e+01
< 4.40e+01
< 2.93e+01
< 1.47e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.32e+02
Min = 5.70e-09
X
Y
Z
Alu Frame - Rear Bump
SUB7 - bump_rear
Von Mises Stress
> 1.32e+02
< 1.32e+02
< 1.16e+02
< 9.92e+01
< 8.27e+01
< 6.61e+01
< 4.96e+01
< 3.31e+01
< 1.65e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.49e+02
Min = 1.90e-10
X
Y
Z
Figure 6.2: Alumlnum lrame - v. Mlses sLress conLours ln crlucal load cases (unlL:
N/mm
2
)
6.2 8ecalculauon of Crlucal lrame Members 93
6.2 Recalculaon of Crical Frame Members
lL was shown LhaL Lhe maxlmum sLress values lndlcaLed by Lhe beam model are almosL
equal Lo Lhe peak sLress ln Lhe 88L2 shell elemenL model, whlch was Lhe reasonlng for
applylng Lhe easlly lmplemenLed beam model as basls for Lhe sLrengLh analysls. Powever,
lL ls posslble LhaL lL ls requlred Lo deLermlne Lhe exacL locauon of Lhe maxlmum sLress
on Lhe ouLer surface of Lhe frame members. 1hls ls for example necessary for a deLalled
analysls of Lhe welds or for Lhe evaluauon of Lhe lmpacL of addluonal bore holes ln cerLaln
frame members. As lL was dlscussed ln 3.4.1, Lhe 88L2 shell model ls capable of such a
conslderauon. ln order Lo avold Lhe conslderable modellng eorL of dlscreuzlng Lhe enure
frame wlLh shell elemenL Lubes, lL was experlmenLed wlLh exLracung cerLaln frame members
from Lhe beam model and remodellng Lhese [olnLs wlLh Lhe shell elemenL meLhod ln an
lsolaLed manner. 1hls ensures LhaL only Lhose frame members are sub[ecL Lo a deLalled
88L2 shell elemenL analysls, LhaL are of parucular lnLeresL. 1he ldea was Lo read ouL Lhe
forces and momenLs ln Lhe boundary nodes of Lhe examlned frame members from Lhe
beam model analysls, and creaLe Lhe same loadlng condluon on an lsolaLed shell elemenL
model of Lhe same frame member wlLh Lhe exLracLed forces and momenLs. ln Lhe lsolaLed
model, Lhe respecuve forces and momenLs are applled aL one end of Lhe frame member,
whlle Lhe opposlng end ls consLralned ln all slx degrees of freedom. 1he resulL ls a free
body dlagram of Lhe examlned frame member whlch approxlmaLes Lhe acLual loadlng ln
Lhe vehlcle body. 1hls meLhod was LesLed uslng Lhe example of a crlucal [olnL ln Lhe fronL
bump loadlng condluon. 1he Lesung procedure ls as follows:
1. 8un lLA wlLh beam model and hlghllghL Lhe sLress conLours of Lhe examlned frame
members
2. LxLracL Lhe forces and momenLs ln Lhe end nodes of each frame member
3. CuL Lhe examlned frame members from Lhe full beam model and apply Lhe exLracLed
forces and momenLs (free body dlagram)
4. 8un lLA wlLh lsolaLed beam model and compare wlLh Lhe hlghllghLed sLress conLours
of full beam model
3. Model Lhe examlned frame members uslng Lhe 882 shell elemenL meLhod and apply
Lhe exLracLed forces and momenLs (free body dlagram)
6. 8un lLA wlLh lsolaLed 88L2 shell elemenL model and compare Lhe peak sLress values
wlLh Lhe lsolaLed beam model
1hls procedure along wlLh Lhe generaLed models and sLress conLour ploLs are lllusLraLed ln
llgure 6.3.
6.2 8ecalculauon of Crlucal lrame Members 96
lronL 8ump Loadlng Crlucal !olnL - 8eam Model Crlucal !olnL - Shell Model
Figure 6.3: uevelopmenL of Lhe recalculauon of crlucal [olnLs/frame members
1he ouLcome of Lhls LesL ls, LhaL Lhe proposed procedure qualles as complemenung
meLhod for backlng Lhe sLrengLh of crlucal frame members or for Lhe lndlcauon of Lhe exacL
sLress conLours on Lhe Lube perlmeLer lf necessary. Comparlng, Lhe lsolaLed beam model
wlLh Lhe hlghllghLed frame members of Lhe full model, shows LhaL Lhe exLracLed forces
and momenLs are suclenL Lo creaLe a loadlng condluon LhaL ylelds Lhe same quallLauve
sLress llke Lhe full beam model. 1he only dlerence ls LhaL Lhe absoluLe sLress values
of Lhe lsolaLed model lle abouL 3-10 below Lhe orlglnal model. Powever, Lhls can be
neglecLed, slnce Lhe peak sLress ls already known and Lhe purpose of Lhls procedure ls
Lhe ldenufcauon of Lhe quallaLauve sLress conLours, whlch ls glven by Lhe lsolaLed beam
model. 8ased on Lhls ndlng, Lhe same frame members were modeled uslng Lhe 88L2
shell elemenL meLhod and Lhe same loadlng condluon ls slmulaLed wlLh Lhe exLracLed
forces and momenLs. 1he resulung sLress conLours peak sllghLly under Lhe maxlmum sLress
of Lhe lsolaLed beam model. 1hls furLher conrms Lhe assumpuon, LhaL Lhe beam model
generally lndlcaLes Lhe same or sllghLly larger maxlmum sLress llke Lhe beam model. ln
addluon, Lhe shell model nally lndlcaLes Lhe almed sLress dlsLrlbuuon on Lhe Lube surface.
1he proposed procedure has proven LhaL lL ls posslble Lo comblne Lhe advanLages of boLh
Lhe beam model and Lhe 88L2 shell elemenL model wlLhouL noLably compromlslng nelLher
Lhe accuracy of Lhe shell model nor Lhe convenlence of Lhe beam model. uslng Lhls meLhod,
addluonal crlucal frame members can be easlly examlned lf needed aL some polnL.
6.3 1orslonal Suness Comparlson 97
6.3 Torsional Sness Comparison
As lL was dlscussed ln Secuon 3.1, Lhe Lorslonal suness of vehlcles sLrucLures ls one of
Lhe maln sLrucLural performance crlLerla. Powever, Lhe requlremenL of hlgh body suness
generally clashes wlLh Lhe concepL of llghLwelghL deslgn. 1he Lopology opumlzauon process
led Lo a suness and llghLwelghL opumlzed sLrucLure. Powever, Lhe slze opumlzauon process
and Lhe sLrengLh analysls were based on a safeLy facLor ad[usLed maxlmum allowable
sLress. 1hls safeLy facLor decreases Lhe llghLwelghL opumlzauon poLenual of Lhe sLrucLure
conslderably. Powever, aL Lhe same ume, lL lncreases Lhe suness of Lhe vehlcle body by
lncreaslng Lhe cross secuonal dlmenslons, whlch ls also much deslred. 1hls ls Lhe reason
why a safeLy facLor was evenLually applled, desplLe Lhe facL LhaL some welghL savlng
poLenual ls dlsslpaLed.
ln addluon Lo Lhe safeLy facLor, Lhe maLerlal plays a ma[or role when lL comes Lo Lhe
vehlcle body suness. 1wo deslgns based on dlerenL maLerlals were suggesLed. uue Lo
Lhe larger youngs modulus of sLeel, Lhe sLeel frame ls expecLed Lo lead Lo a noLably larger
suness lf compared Lo Lhe alumlnum frame. 1hls secuon compares Lhe Lorslonal suness
of boLh nal deslgn suggesuons, based on Lhe esLabllshed lL beam model. ln addluon,
a beam model of Lhe currenL frame was generaLed ln order Lo conLrasL Lhe achleved
suness of Lhe new deslgns wlLh Lhe currenL deslgn. All Lhree beam models were loaded
wlLh Lhe Lorslonal load case applled ln Lhe Lopology opumlzauon process. 1hls load case
ls lllusLraLed ln llgure 6.4 along wlLh Lhe geomeLry behlnd Lhe suness calculauon. 1hls
meLhod resembles Lhe common pracuce of measurlng Lhe Lorslonal suness of vehlcle
bodles. ln Lhe plcLured equauons, K
T
denoLes Lhe Lorslonal suness, T Lhe applled Lorque
and Lhe resulung deformauon angle. 1he necessary dlsplacemenLs y
1
and y
2
were
measured ln Lhe posLprocessor PyperMesh.
K
T
=
T
K
T
=
FL
tan
1
(
y
1
+y
2
2L
)
F
y
1
y
2
L
F

Figure 6.4: MeLhod of measurlng Lhe Lorslonal suness of Lhe chassls frame
1he calculauon of Lhe Lorslonal suness of Lhe Lhree frame deslgns uslng Lhe descrlbed
meLhod ls summarlzed ln Lhe followlng Lable.
6.3 1orslonal Suness Comparlson 98
Values Aluminum Steel Current
Delta Y1 [mm] 9.0 5.3 21.1
Delta Y2 [mm] 8.8 5.3 18.5
L [mm] 750 750 714
Applied Force [N] 1000 1000 1000
Angle [deg] 0.68 0.41 1.59
Torque [Nm] 750 750 714
Stiffness [Nm/deg] 1104 1842 450
Torsionnal Stiffness
Table 6.1: Calculauon of Lhe Lorslonal suness accordlng Lo Lhe descrlbed meLhod
lL can be esLabllshed LhaL Lhe sLeel frame ls 2/3 suer Lhan Lhe alumlnum frame.
Conslderlng LhaL Lhe welghL advanLage of Lhe alumlnum frame over Lhe sLeel frame ls 72,
lL can be concluded LhaL boLh frames feaLure roughly Lhe same suness performance lf
measured ln mass/suness. 1herefore, Lhe sLeel frame remalns Lhe beuer cholce when
Lhe maln crlLerla ls Lorslonal suness, as lL provldes Lhe hlgher absoluLe suness aL lower
cosL. Powever, boLh new deslgn suggesuons exceed Lhe Lorslonal suness of Lhe currenL
frame many umes over. ln case of Lhe alumlnum frame, Lhe suness ls lncreased by more
Lhan Lwo umes, whlle Lhe sLeel deslgn exceeds Lhe currenL suness abouL four umes.
7 Summary and Conclusions
1he maln ob[ecuve of Lhls sLudy was Lhe opumlzauon of Lhe llghLwelghL deslgn of Lhe nuS
ClLy Car uslng nlLe elemenL based sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1hls ob[ecuve was approached
ln Lhree parLs.
ln ChapLer 3, lL was sLudled how Lhe vehlcles mass aecLs Lhe energy consumpuon
and Lhe range of Lhe vehlcle. 1hls was approached by developlng a slmple quaslsLauc
parameLrlc model LhaL esumaLes Lhe energy consumpuon and Lhe range of Lhe ClLy Car
under Lhe conslderauon of baslc vehlcle characLerlsucs such as vehlcle mass, rolllng frlcuon,
aerodynamlcs or bauery slze as well as Lhe drlvlng pauern of Lhe vehlcle operauon. 1hls
model was wrluen ln MaLlab and could be valldaLed Lhrough comparlsons wlLh a reference
model of a slmllar congurauon, whlch was avallable from Lhe powerLraln slmulauon
soware SA1. 1he developed model was Lhe foundauon of a parameLrlc sensluvlLy analysls,
whlch sLudled how changes of +3 and -3 Lo each model parameLer lnuence Lhe range
of Lhe vehlcle. 1he resulL of Lhls parameLer sLudy ls LhaL Lhe drlveLraln eclencles have Lhe
largesL lmpacL. Powever, Lhe vehlcle mass ls almosL equally lnuenual, especlally when
assumlng a severe clLy drlvlng pauern. 1he remalnlng parameLers have a comparable llule
lnuence on Lhe range, whlle Lhe relauve lmpacL of Lhe vehlcle mass decreases as Lhe
drlvlng pauern shls Lowards hlgher average veloclues. Powever, ln average clLy cycle
condluons, lL could be concluded LhaL a 1 reducuon ln Lhe vehlcles mass LranslaLes lnLo
a noLable 1 lncrease ln Lhe achleveable range, whlle Lhe absoluLe range of Lhe currenL
vehllce congurauon ls abouL 30km. 1hls relauonshlp remalns llnear up unul a welghL
reducuon of 40. Conslderlng Lhe facL LhaL 1 savlng ln Lhe vehlcle mass ls by far more
reallsuc Lhan Lhe lmprovemenL of Lhe drlveLraln eclency by 1, lL could be esLabllshed LhaL
llghLwelghL deslgn ls lndeed Lhe mosL reasonable approach Lo opumlzlng Lhe performance
of Lhe nuC ClLy Car ln Lerms of energy consumpuon and range. 1he developed parameLrlc
range esumauon model was addluonally lmplemenLed as MaLlab Cul. 1hls enables lLs
user-frlendly usage for qulck fuLure esumauon purposes wlLhln Lhe nuS ClLy Car pro[ecL.
SupporLed by Lhls concluslon, Lhe currenL vehlcle congurauon was analyzed ln ChapLer
4 wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of selecung one vehlcle componenL LhaL ls parucularly sulLable for
reduclng lLs welghL Lhrough sLrucLural opumlzauon. 1herefore, all ma[or vehlcle componenLs
were welghLed and capLured ln a daLabase. ln addluon, each componenL was allocaLed a
feaLure LhaL lndlcaLes lLs poLenual and feaslblllLy for sLrucLural opumlzauon. lor lnsLance,
baslc sLeel componenLs wlLh hlgh denslLy and slmple sLrucLure were dened as hlghly
sulLable, whereas complex elecLrlc componenLs such as bauerles were declared as leasL
7 Summary and Concluslons 100
sulLable, lrregardless Lhelr hlgh absoluLe welghL. 1he resulung daLabase was puL lnLo graphs
Lhrough A8C-Analysls and 1reemaps. Pere, Lhe 1reemaps proved Lo be an especlally useful
Lool for Lhe vlsuallzauon of Lhe daLabase conLenL. 1he lnLerpreLauon of Lhe performed
componenL analysls concluded ln Lhe selecuon of Lhe chassls frame as heavlesL of Lhe
baslc sLeel componenLs.
WlLh Lhe chassls frame chosen as mosL sulLable componenL, Lhe lasL and mosL comprehenslve
parL of Lhls work revolved around Lhe nlLe elemenL based sLrucLural opumlzauon conslsung
of boLh Lopology and subsequenL slze opumlzauon of Lhe chassls frame (ChapLer 3). 1he
rsL sLep of Lhe opumlzauon process was Lhe ldenucauon of all relevanL load cases. 1he
frame, as cenLral componenL LhaL holds everyLhlng LogeLher, ls sub[ecLed Lo a muluLude of
local and global loads. 8ased on Lhe performed llLeraLure revlew, 11 load cases resulung
from all posslble drlvlng slLuauons were evenLually deLermlned. 1hese noL only lnclude
sLandard drlvlng slLuauons, such as braklng, cornerlng or sLrlklng a bump, buL also crash
slLuauons, whlch were approxlmaLed by llnearlzed lnerua forces. 8efore Lhe Lopology
opumlzauon problem was lmplemenLed based on Lhe ldenued load cases, conslderable
ume was spenL on several slde sLudles LhaL were conducLed Lo back Lhe made declslons
regardlng Lhe lL-modellng as well as Lhe opumlzauon seLup. 1hls lncludes a comparauve
sLudy on Lhe lmplemenLauon of dynamlc load cases such as cornerlng and bump encounLers,
where lL was esLabllshed LhaL Lhe lnerua rellef funcuon of PyperWorks ls sulLable Lo model
bump forces exerLed aL Lhe unconsLralned vehlcle sLrucLure. Moreover, dlerenL opuons
for Lhe approxlmauon of Lhe load Lransmlsslon Lhrough Lhe suspenslon sysLem lnLo Lhe
vehlcle body were lnvesugaLed. 1hls lnvesugauon led Lo Lhe successful lmplemenLauon of
a slmple suspenslon model conslsung of 1u 8Cu and 8LAM elemenLs.
8egardlng Lhe Lopology opumlzauonseLup, anoLher sLudy regardlng Lhe opumlzauonproblem
formulauon was performed. 1hree dlerenL meLhods of denlng Lhe opumlzauon problem
were examlned. lL was shown LhaL Lhe same opumlzed Lopology can be achleved wlLh all
Lhree meLhods. Powever, Lhe global sLress consLralnL and Lhe mlnlmum compllance meLhod
Lurned ouL Lo be more convenlenL ln Lhe seLup Lhan Lhe lndlvldual dlsplacemenL meLhod. 1he
nal opumlzauon seLup was evenLually lmplemenLed uslng Lhe well esLabllshed mlnlmum
compllance meLhod. lollowlng LhaL, Lhe deslgn space of Lhe Lopology opumlzauon seLup
was developed uslng a Lop down approach, where Lhe deslgn space freedom ls gradually
reduced unul Lhe resulung Lopology ls compauble wlLh all funcuonal and manufacLurlng
requlremenLs of Lhe chassls frame. 1hls approach ensures LhaL Lhe achleved Lopology Lruly
reecLs Lhe opumum wlLhln Lhe presenL consLralnLs. As a resulL, a full 3u-elemenL deslgn
space proved Lo be compuLauonally Loo lnLense for Lhe avallable hardware. Powever, lL
could be shown LhaL a 2u-surface deslgn space ls also suclenL for Lhe proposed appllcauon.
1he resulung opumlzed Lopology of Lhe nal opumlzauon seLup, was Lhen exporLed lnLo
SolldWorks and reproduced as 3u-wlreframe, whlle a few slmpllfylng changes had Lo be
made ln order Lo keep Lhe deslgn feaslble. 1hls 3u-wlreframe served as basls for Lhe
slze opumlzauon and Lhe nal 3u CAu model. 1he nexL sLep was Lhe seLup of Lhe slze
opumlzauon problem, wlLh Lhe ob[ecuve of ndlng Lhe opumal cross secuonal dlmenslons
of Lhe frame members.
ln supporL of Lhe slze opumlzauon seLup, a comparauve sLudy on dlerenL ways of modellng
Lhe frame members was conducLed. 1hls sLudy concluded ln Lhe selecuon of a slmple beam
model conslsung of 8A8L elemenLs as besL opuon. Such a beam model proved Lo have
several declslve advanLages such as lLs slmple seLup uslng Lhe 3u-wlreframe model, lLs
hlgh exlblllLy regardlng changes Lo Lhe seLup and lLs capablllLy Lo slmulLaneously opumlze
Lhe Lhlckness and Lhe dlameLer/wldLh of frame members. AL Lhe same ume, lL could be
shown LhaL Lhe beam model ls suclenLly accuraLe when lL comes Lo lndlcaung Lhe peak
sLresses ln Lhe sLrucLure.
1he slze opumlzauon was formulaLed as mlnlmlzauon of Lhe volume whlle Lhe sLress ln Lhe
sLrucLure was consLralned (global sLress consLralnL meLhod). 1hls appeared Lo be Lhe besL
formulauon, slnce Lhe maxlmum allowable sLress ls known from Lhe maLerlal facL sheeL of
Lhe suppller and no opumlzauon semngs have Lo be guessed. 1he slze opumlzauon process
was performed ln parallel under Lhe conslderauon of boLh avallable maLerlal opuons, a
sLandard Lublng sLeel as ln Lhe currenL deslgn and a llghLer weldable alumlnum alloy. Pence,
Lhe slze opumlzauon sLage was characLerlzed by Lhe lncorporauon of maLerlal llghLwelghL
deslgn prlnclples. 1he sLress llmlL for Lhe opumlzauon seLup was dened by ad[usung
Lhe yleld sLrengLh of each maLerlal wlLh a safeLy facLor of 1.3, desplLe Lhe facL LhaL Lhls
measure posslbly leads Lo wasung some welghL reducuon poLenual. AL Lhe same ume, lL
lncreases Lhe vehlcle suness as Lhe prlme sLrucLural crlLerla for a vehlcle body. 1hls ls
why a compromlse was made beLween Lhe welghL reducuon poLenual and Lhe suness of
Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure by applylng a safeLy facLor. ln Lhe lasL sLep of Lhe slze opumlzauon
seLup, Lhe cross secuonal shape of all frame members had Lo be dened. Llke Lhe old frame
deslgn, Lhe new frame was Lo be made of a comblnauon of round and recLangular Lubes,
whlle all frame members LhaL have Lo enable Lhe mounung of componenLs were allocaLed
recLangular cross secuons. 1he remalnlng frame members were dened as round Lubes,
as Lhey have Lhe beuer overall suness and sLrengLh per welghL unlL. ln order Lo nd
Lhe opumal number of dlerenL frame Lubes Lo be consldered, Lhe slze opumlzauon was
performed muluple umes wlLh each base maLerlal, whlle Lhe number of dlerenL Lube Lypes
was gradually lncreased unul a good compromlse beLween Lhe welghL reducuon poLenual
and Lhe frame complexlLy was achleved. 1he nal slze opumlzauon seLup comprlsed 2
dlerenL clrcular and 4 dlerenL recLangular Lube Lypes. Slnce Lhe maLerlal suppllers only
provlde lncremenLal Lube slzes, Lhe nal cross secuons for each group of frame members
were selecLed accordlng Lo avallablllLy. WlLh Lhe selecLed cross secuons, boLh Lhe sLeel
and Lhe alumlnum frame were modeled accordlngly ln SolldWorks.
Pence, Lhe sLrucLural opumlzauon process concluded ln Lwo deslgn suggesuons for Lhe new
chassls frame of Lhe nuS ClLy Car. lf Lhe opumlzed deslgn was Lo be made of Lhe suggesLed
alumlnum alloy, Lhe welghL can be reduced by over 30 Lo [usL 24kg. 1hls LranslaLes lnLo a
6 reducuon of Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass, whlch leads Lo 3km more range compared Lo Lhe
currenL congurauon. Conslderlng Lhe sLeel frame deslgn suggesuon, Lhe welghL reducuon
ylelds 23 wlLh a opumlzed mass of abouL 40kg. Pence, Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass would be
reduced by 2.7 leadlng Lo a range exLenslon of 1.3km. 8emarkable ls LhaL, Lhls welghL
reducuon was achleved desplLe Lhe facL LhaL Lhe new deslgn feaLures conslderably larger
dlmenslons and was deslgned Lo accommodaLe a noLably heavler bauery pack.
8oLh deslgn suggesuons were sub[ecLed Lo a sLrucLural sLrengLh analysls ln Lhe nal ChapLer
6. Pere, lL was proven LhaL Lhe Lwo deslgns remaln below Lhe dened sLress llmlLs wlLh
Lhe global dynamlc load cases (cornerlng, fronL bump, rear bump) belng Lhe mosL severe
loadlng condluons. 1he [olnLs ad[acenL Lo Lhe suspenslon mounungs could be polnLed ouL
as crlucal. 1he sLrengLh analysls was based on Lhe developed beam model from Lhe slze
opumlzauon. Powever, such a beam model ls noL capable of lndlcaung Lhe locauon of
Lhe peak sLress conLours on Lhe ouLer surface of Lhe Lubes. 1herefore, a procedure was
proposed LhaL allows a qulck recalculauon of crlucal frame members, based on an lsolaLed
free body dlagram of Lhe examlned frame members. ln Lhls free body dlagram, Lhe frame
members are dlscreuzed wlLh shell elemenLs, allowlng Lo slmulaLe Lhe sLress conLours on
Lhe Lube perlmeLer. 1he needed forces and momenLs can be exLracLed from Lhe full beam
model. LasLly, Lhe Lorslonal suness of boLh deslgn suggesuons as well as Lhe currenL
frame was esumaLed, based on beam models. lL could be esLabllshed LhaL boLh new deslgn
suggesuons feaLure a Lremendously lncreased Lorslonal suness lf compared Lo Lhe currenL
frame deslgn. 1he sLeel frame deslgn suggesuon exceeds Lhe suness of Lhe currenL frame
by more Lhan 400, whlle Lhe alumlnum deslgn suggesuon ls superlor by abouL 230.
Pence, Lhe sLrucLural opumlzauon process noL only led Lo a slgnlcanL welghL reducuon
buL also Lo a remarkable lmprovemenL of Lhe Lorslonal suness of Lhe chassls frame.
Future Prospects
uurlng Lhe process of Lhls work, several lssues LhaL appear Lo have poLenual for fuLure sLudles
were encounLered. 1hls especlally lncludes lssues regardlng Lhe sLrucLural opumlzauon
procedure buL also Lhe general llghLwelghL deslgn approach. A few promlslng mauers are
summarlzed ln Lhe followlng.
1he presenL Lhesls approached Lhe llghLwelghL deslgn opumlzauon malnly from a sLrucLural
polnL of vlew. Powever, Lhe welghL reducuon poLenual can be lncreased when sysLem
and maLerlal llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs are lncorporaLed Lo a larger exLenL. 1herefore,
lL ls suggesLed Lo perform a more deLalled componenL analysls, where all componenLs
are capLured down Lo plece parL level, before furLher llghLwelghL deslgn measures are
lmplemenLed on Lhe currenL nuS ClLy Car. lf Lhls analysls was performed under Lhe
conslderauon of all llghLwelghL deslgn concepLs, several new sLarung polnLs for furLher
welghL reducuon measures can be expecLed.
WlLh regards Lo Lhe performed sLrucLural opumlzauon, lL can be polnLed ouL LhaL Lhls
work dld noL lnclude Lhe conslderauon of cycllc loadlng condluons or Lhe modal frequency
response of Lhe vehlcle body. Powever, Lhese are Lwo lmporLanL aspecLs ln Lhe deslgn of
road vehlcles. ln a conunuauve work, lL could be examlned lf Lhe lncluslon of Lhese facLors
ln Lhe Lopology opumlzauon formulauon has a noLable eecL on Lhe resulung Lopology. 1he
same applles for a more comprehenslve lncorporauon of crashworLhlness concepLs. ln Lhls
conLexL lL would be also lnLeresung Lo perform a subsequenL non-llnear crash slmulauon
ln order Lo evaluaLe Lhe crashworLhlness of Lhe opumlzed deslgn.
LasLly, lL can be polnLed ouL LhaL Lhe performed Lopology opumlzauon was based on a
reduced shell elemenL deslgn space malnly because of Lhe llmlLed compuLauon raLe of
Lhe avallable hardware. AlLhough lL could be shown LhaL such a surface deslgn space ls
suclenL for Lhe proposed appllcauon, lL would be worLh sLudylng lf a full 3u elemenL
deslgn space can resulL ln new aspecLs regardlng Lhe opumal Lopology. Lspeclally wlLh
regards Lo remalnlng small scale vehlcle componenLs wlLh hlgh poLenual for sLrucLural
opumlzauon such as Lhe rear swlngarm, lL ls suggesLed Lo focus on a 3u elemenL deslgn
space, lf Lhe needed Cu power ls accesslble. 1hls ensures LhaL Lhe opumlzauon algorlLhm
uullzes Lhe enure avallable space.
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[SLa06] Sttee . !.: Designing Stable Three Wheeled Vehicles, With Applicaon to Solar
Powered Racing Cars, unlverslLy of MlnnesoLa, Mlnneapolls (2006), u8L
http://americansolarchallenge.org/events/asc2010/wp-content/
uploads/2009/10/Dr_Starr_Stability_Paper_-_Rev_20060811.pdf
[1ch01] 1cureuitk, u. und Sicuuuc, C.: A web-based Lopology opumlzauon program.
Structural and Muldisciplinary Opmizaon (2001), 8d. 22: S. 179187
[1oy11] 1o\ott eius: Der nchste Prius: Gallerie, 1oyoLa MoLor Corporauon, kln (2011),
u8L http://www.toyota.de/cars/new_cars/prius/gallery.aspx
[u.S10] u.S. Luvieouuruttt eotrctiou Acruc\: Dynamometer Drivers Aid, WashlngLon
(2010), u8L http://www.epa.gov/nvfel/testing/dynamometer.htm
[vP08] vtu Pooerwrcre, 8. und ltic, S.: Development of a Lightweight Tubular
Space Frame of a Solar Powered Vehicle Using 2D Topology Opmizaon,
Croup 1 Leuven Lnglneerlng College, Leuven, 8elglum (2008), u8L http:
//www.fisita.com/students/congress/sc08papers/f2008sc048.pdf
[WP10] Wtttrutowitz P., lrelaldenhoven A. Clschewskl l.: Strategien zur Elektrizierung
des Antriebstranges: Technologien, Mrkte undImplikaonen, vleweg+1eubner,
Wlesbaden (2010)
[Wle07] Wircrutuu, !ohannes: Leichtbau: Elemente und Konstrukon, klasslker der
1echnlk, Sprlnger-verlag 8erlln Peldelberg, 8erlln, Peldelberg, 3. auage. Au.
(2007)
[?ll04] ?itciz, A. 8. kaya n. CzLurk l. und C., Alankus: Cpumal deslgn of vehlcle
componenLs uslng Lopology deslgn and opumlsauon. Int. J. Vehicle Design
(2004), 8d. 34(4): S. 387398
[Zuo07] Zuo, kong-1lan, Curu, Ll-lng, Zutuc, ?un-Clng und ?tuc, !lngzhou: SLudy of key
algorlLhms ln Lopology opumlzauon. The Internaonal Journal of Advanced
Manufacturing Technology (2007), 8d. 32(7): S. 787796
A Dynamic behvaiour of Three Wheeled Vehicles
1he dynamlc behavlour of Lhree wheeled vehlcles ls noLably dlerenL lf compared Lo
convenuonal four wheel passenger cars. lL ls lmporLanL Lo keep Lhls ln mlnd when deslgnlng
a Lhree wheel plauorm. 1herefore, Lhls appendlx summarlzes Lhe baslcs of non-ulung
1Wv dynamlcs. ln Lhls conLexL, Lwo benchmark characLerlsucs are presenLed Lo help Lo
evaluaLe Lhe dynamlc sLablllLy of 1Wvs. A comprehenslve paper on deslgnlng sLable 1Wvs
was found ln SLarr (2006) [SLa06]. 1hls work served as guldellne and maln lnpuL for Lhe
followlng lndlcauons.
1he dynamlc behavlour of 1Wvs ls closely relaLed Lo Lhe locauon of Lhe cenLer of mass
(CM) of Lhe vehlcle. lor non-ulung 1Wvs lL ls recommended Lo lnclude Lhe posluon of
Lhe CM lnLo Lhe deslgn speclcauons ln order Lo achleve a sLable vehlcle response. lLs
locauon dlrecLly lnuences Lhe vehlcles sLablllLy ln Lerms of:
8eslsLance Lo roLaung abouL Lhe verucal axls Lhrough Lhe CM, due Lo slde loads
8eslsLance Lo upplng over when cornerlng or encounLerlng road obsLacles
8eslsLance Lo a swapplng rear ln case of hard breaklng due Lo welghL Lransfer from
Lhe rear Lo Lhe fronL
CuL of Lhese Lhree sLablllLy characLerlsucs Lhe focus lles ln Lhe former Lwo, as a swapplng rear
ls generally a less severe crlLerla for sLablllLy compared Lo sLeerlng and upplng behavlour.
Yaw Response 1he Lendency of a road vehlcle Lo roLaLe abouL lLs verucal axls ls referred
Lo as yaw response. lL ls requlred LhaL Lhe vehlcle can undergo slde loads as ln Lurnlng
or due Lo slde wlnd wlLhouL Lendency Lo spln. 1he yaw response of Lhe vehlcle noL only
depends on Lhe posluon of Lhe CM. lL also relaLes Lo Lhe cornerlng suness of Lhe ures
and Lo Lhe suspenslon characLerlsucs. 1he suspenslon wlll malnly cause a delay of Lhe
response raLher Lhan a slgnlcanL change ln lLs Lendency. 1o slmpllfy mauers, Lhe lmpacL
of Lhe suspenslon ls hence neglecLed ln Lhe followlng. 1he cornerlng suness of Lhe ures
on Lhe oLher hand ls needed Lo esLabllsh relauonshlps beLween Lhe CM locauon and Lhe
vehlcle sLablllLy. 1hls resulLs from Lhe eecL, LhaL Lhe acLual Lravel dlrecuon of a laLerally
loaded rolllng ure ls deecLed from Lhe dlrecuon ln whlch Lhe ure ls headed. 1he angle of
deecuon ls generally known as sllp angle and depends on Lhe cornerlng suness of
Lhe ure as well as on Lhe magnlLude of Lhe laLeral load. lor more deLalled explanauons of
Lhls eecL, lL ls referred Lo ChapLer 9 of opp und Schlehlen (2010) [k10].
1he followlng gures (A.1 - A.3) plcLure Lhe Lop vlews of a slmplled road vehlcle model,
whlch ls generally known as blcycle model. ln Lhe model, Lhe recLangles aL each end reecL
Lhe wheels of Lhe Lwo vehlcle axles. Applylng Lhls model on Lhe nuS ClLy Car means
LhaL Lhe fronL recLangle represenLs Lhe Lwo fronL axle wheels whlle Lhe rear recLangle
reecLs Lhe slngle rear wheel of Lhe ClLy Car. Assumlng LhaL all Lhree ures have Lhe same
A uynamlc behvalour of 1hree Wheeled vehlcles 110
cornerlng suness, Lhe fronL wheel of Lhe blcycle model has double Lhe cornerlng suness
of Lhe rear wheel. 1he vehlcle cenLer mass ls assumed Lo be on Lhe cenLer llne, whlle
Lhree dlerenL locauons of Lhe vehlcle CM are consldered (CM
1
, CM
2
, CM
3
). llgure
A.1 shows Lhe vehlcle Lravellng aL consLanL speed along a cerLaln paLh wlLhouL any slde
load. 1he veloclues of Lhe Lwo vehlcle axles are denoLed as v
f
and v
r
, and have Lhe same
magnlLude and dlrecuon as Lhe vehlcle veloclLy, when Lhere ls no slde load applled. 1he
model neglecLs Lhe Lracuon force aL Lhe drlvlng wheel as well as Lhe aerodynamlc drag
force along wlLh Lhe rolllng reslsLance. 1hese forces are assumed Lo be along Lhe vehlcles
paLh summlng up Lo zero.
path
CM
1
CM
3
CM
2
v
f
v
r
l
f
wb
C
f
= C + C
C
r
= C
Figure A.1: 8lcycle
model movlng sLralghL
LNSP
CM
1 F
lat
F
lat
F
lat
f
path
r
F
r

v
f
v
r
F
f
CM
3
CM
2
, NSP
Figure A.2: 8lcycle
model, laLerally loaded
orig.
path

F
lat
F
lat
F
lat
SM > 0
SM < 0
CM
2
, NSP
CM
3
lateral
motion
from F
lat
CM
1
Figure A.3: 8esponse Lo
laLeral load
llgure A.2 lllusLraLes Lhe blcycle model under Lhe laLeral load F
lat
. ln Lhls case, Lhe
ures deecL accordlng Lo Lhelr cornerlng suness resulung ln Lhe sllp angles
f
and
r
respecuvely aL Lhe rear and fronL axle. 1herefore, Lhe axle veloclues v
f
and v
r
also deecL
from Lhe orlglnal paLh. llgure A.3 shows Lhe vehlcle response due Lo Lhe applled slde load.
lor Lhls lllusLrauon, Lhe reacuon forces aL Lhe ures as well as Lhe sllp angles have been
removed for clarlLy. 1he vehlcle response ls a laLeral movemenL of Lhe CM o Lhe orlglnal
paLh and an angular movemenL abouL Lhe vehlcles CM, lndlcaLed by Lhe angle . 1he
plcLure also shows Lhe neuLral sLeer polnL (nS) of Lhe vehlcle. 1hls polnL colncldes wlLh
CM
2
and descrlbes Lhe polnL aL whlch a laLeral load does noL cause any yaw response.
1he locauon of Lhe nS wlLh respecL Lo Lhe fronL axle depends on Lhe LoLal cornerlng
suness aL each axle:
LNSP =
(
C
r
C
f
+C
r
)
wb
1he posluon of Lhe nS relauve Lo Lhe cenLer mass of Lhe vehlcle denes Lhe characLer
of Lhe yaw response. 1herefore, Lhe dlsLance from Lhe CM Lo Lhe nS dlvlded by Lhe
wheelbase wb ls dened as sLauc margln (SM) and serves as lndlcaLor for Lhe yaw response
of vehlcles:
SM =
(
C
r
C
f
+C
r
)
wb l
f
wb
=
C
r
C
f
+C
r
l
f
wb
WlLh Lhe prevlously made assumpuon of equal cornerlng suness aL all ures Lhe sLauc
margln of a Lhree wheeled vehlcle ln Ladpole congurauon can be rewrluen as:
SM
TWV
=
1
3

l
f
wb
ln case Lhe CM colncldes wlLh Lhe nS, Lhe sLauc margln ylelds SM = 0 meanlng LhaL a
laLeral load wlll noL resulL lL any yaw response. 1hus, Lhe vehlcle wlll only sllp laLerally
wlLh fronL and rear sllp angle belng equal (
f
=
r
). 1hls yaw response ls also referred Lo
as neuLral sLeer. ln case Lhe CM ls ahead of Lhe nS, shown as CM
1
, Lhe sLauc margln
becomes posluve wlLh Lhe fronL sllp angle belng larger Lhan Lhe fronL (
f
>
f
) and Lhe
vehlcle undergoes a roLauon where Lhe vehlcle fronL heads o ln dlrecuon of Lhe applled
force. 1hls yaw response ls Lermed undesLeer and ls consldered as sLable. 1hls ls because
a posluve SM leads Lo a sllghLly self-correcung yaw response durlng sLeady cornerlng. lf
Lhe CM ls locaLed behlnd Lhe nS, as lL ls shown wlLh CM
3
ln llgure A.3, Lhe rear sllp
angle becomes larger Lhan Lhe fronL (
f
<
f
), leadlng Lo an unsLable yaw response, whlch
ls also called oversLeer. lor more lnformauon on Lhls eecL lL ls referred Lo opp (2010)
[k10]. As resulL of Lhls, posluve or zero values of SM are deslrable. Accordlng Lo Lhe
paper from SLarr (2006) [SLa06] Lyplcal vehlcles have small posluve values of SM ln Lhe
range of +0.05 Lo +0.07, whlle an SM up unul 0.01 ls sull accepLable. 1hls suggesuon
roughly LranslaLes lnLo an even welghL dlsLrlbuuon of Lhe LoLal mass on Lhe Lhree wheels
ln a sLauc bendlng slLuauon.
Tipping Threshold AnoLher lmporLanL sLablllLy crlLerla for road vehlcles ls Lhe reslsLance
Lo upplng over. 1he upplng slLuauon can be analysed Lhrough a slmple quasl-sLauc vehlcle
model represenung Lhe vehlcle under such a laLeral load LhaL [usL causes Lhe lnslde wheel(s)
Lo have zero verucal load. 1he respecuve laLeral load ls Lhe upplng Lhreshold, here denoLed
as a
to
, and ls oen expressed as a muluple of Lhe gravlLauonal accelerauon. lor a sLandard
four wheeled vehlcle, Lhe descrlbed model leads Lo a upplng Lhreshold dependenL only
on Lhe vehlcle Lrack (tr) and Lhe helghL of Lhe CM above Lhe road level (h) [Pap01]:
a
to, 4W
=
tr
2 h
lor a 1Wv, Lhls value ls addluonally dependenL from Lhe longlLudlnal locauon of Lhe CM,
whlch ls derlved ln Lhe followlng. llgure A.4 shows a Lhree wheeled vehlcle under laLeral
load lndlcaLed by Lhe uppover accelerauon a
to
. 1he vehlcle wheelbase ls denoLed as wb
and Lhe fronL Lrack as tr, wlLh l
f
belng Lhe dlsLance from Lhe fronL axle Lo Lhe CM, whlle
Lhe CM lles on Lhe longlLudlnal cenLer llne. 1he reacuon forces ln Lhe conLacL paLches
beLween ures and road are represenLed by F and R. ln case of up over, Lhe wheel loads
on Lhe rlghL fronL wheel (F
r
) become zero due Lo Lhe load Lransfer resulung from Lhe
laLeral load a
to
polnung Lo Lhe le slde.
R
F
l
F
r
=0
g
a
to
l
f
wb
tr
h
R
x
F
lx
F
rx
=0
Figure A.4: 1Wv under laLeral load ln Lhe momenL of upplng over
lor Lhls conslderauon, lL ls assumed LhaL Lhe ures cannoL sllp before Lhe vehlcle ups
over. 1he acLual maxlmum laLeral reacuon force ln Lhe conLacL paLch beLween road and
ure depends on Lhe respecuve laLeral frlcuon coeclenL. Assumlng LhaL Lhe ures are
consLralnL sldeways ensures LhaL Lhe model also accounLs for exLreme slLuauons such as
bump encounLers whlle slldlng. Solvlng Lhe sLauc equlllbrlum equauons for Lhe free body
dlagram ln llgure A.4 leads Lo Lhe followlng expresslon for a
to
:
a
to
=
tr (wb l
f
)
2 wb h
1he larger Lhe value for a
to
ls, Lhe hlgher ls Lhe reslsLance of Lhe vehlcle Lo upplng over,
whlle SLarr (2006) [SLa06] suggesLs a LargeL value of a
to
= 1.0.
B Validaon of the Parameter Model through PSAT
ln order Lo valldaLe Lhe range esumauon model developed ln Secuon 3.1, a few maln model
ouLpuL parameLers were compared Lo Lhe ouLpuL of a reference model provlded by Lhe
SA1 soware package. 1he powerLraln congurauon of Lhe reference model ls lllusLraLed
ln Lhe followlng gure, whlch has been exLracLed dlrecLly from Lhe SA1 lnLerface.
Figure B.1: Mass cenLers of lndlvldual componenLs ln xy-plane
1he asslgned powerLraln componenLs are sLaLed wlLhln SA1 as follows:
Vehicle mass = 300kg, lronLal area = 1.3, urag coe = 0.6
Wheel
8epresenLs nCv goal, wheel radlus 0.26, 1sL rolllng
reslsLance coe = 0.01
Motor
M?04 1oyoLa rlus MoblllLy - conunuous ower = 23kW,
eak ower = 30kW
Baery b 12v, CapaclLy = 66h, Cell number = 60
Electrical
Accessories
accessory power losses = 0W
8ased on Lhls reference model, Lhe valldauon procedure ls subsequenLly summarlzed,
whlle Lhe new ?ork ClLy Cycle (n?CC) has been selecLed as reference drlvlng pauern.
erform slmulauon of slngle n?CC wlLh SA1 reference model
LxLracL average moLor eclency from SA1 resulLs Lable
Ad[usL lnpuL parameLers of developed model accordlng Lo SA1 model lnpuL (lncludlng
exLracLed average moLor eclency)
erform slmulauon of slngle n?CC wlLh developed model
loL resulLs of boLh models upon each oLher
8 valldauon of Lhe arameLer Model Lhrough SA1 114
1he SA1 soware does noL provlde an opuon LhaL dlrecLly deLermlnes Lhe achlevable
range. 1herefore, Lhe developmenL of Lhe SCC durlng Lhe LesL cycle slmulauon ls compared.
1hls valldauon procedure was performed for dlerenL overall vehlcle masses. All valldauon
runs led Lo quallLauvely slmllar resulLs regardless Lhe assumed vehlcle mass. As a resulL of
Lhls, only Lhe resulLs of Lhe valldauon run wlLh an assumed vehlcle mass of M = 500kg
are lllusLraLed.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
10
5
0
5
10
15
time [s]
P
o
w
e
r

[
k
W
]
Comparison of Traction Power

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
5
10
15
20
time [s]
P
o
w
e
r

[
k
W
]
Comparison of Motor Input Power

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
50
100
150
200
time [s]
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

[
A
]
Comparison of Motor Input Current

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
time [s]
F
o
r
c
e

[
N
]
Comparison of Rolling Resistance

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
time [s]
F
o
r
c
e

[
N
]
Comparison of Aerodynamic Resistance

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
0
50
100
150
200
time [s]
E
n
e
r
g
y

[
W
h
]
Comparison of Accumulated Energy Demand

PSAT
Developed Model
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
96
97
98
99
100
time [s]
S
t
a
t
e

o
f

C
h
a
r
g
e

[
%
]
Comparison of State of Charge Development

PSAT
Developed Model
1hrough Lhese ploLs, lL can be concluded LhaL Lhe developed slmplled model dellvers
overall very slmllar resulLs lf compared Lo Lhe reference model. 1he developed model noL
only reecLs Lhe Lrend of Lhe reference model ln all slmulauon parameLers, lL also achleves
very slmllar absoluLe values. lL could be shown LhaL Lhe developed model suclenLly
esumaLes Lhe energy consumpuon and bauery dlscharge of an elecLrlc vehlcle. 1herefore,
lL ls consldered a reasonable foundauon for Lhe sensluvlLy analysls on Lhe vehlcles range.
C Component Weight and Opmizaon Aptude Database
Assembly Group Weight [kg] Quantity
Total
Weight
Aptitude/
Material
Chassis Frame
Wires 5 1 5 Electric
Frame 55 1 55 Steel
Body Shell 20 1 20 CFK
Seat incl. Cushion 19 2 38 Steel
Sum 118
Controls
Steering Unit 4.5 1 4.5 Steel
Steering Gear 1.3 1 1.3 Al
Steering Wheel 4.7 1 4.7 Steel
BrakingPedal 3.3 1 3.3 Steel
Throttle Pedal 1.1 1 1.1 Electric
Emergency Stop 1.2 1 1.2 Electric
Sum 16.1
Energy Storage
Battery 23 12 276 Electric
Sum 276
Power Unit
Motor 45 1 45 Electric
Motor Controller 1.6 1 1.6 Electric
Rear Gear 2.7 1 2.7 Steel Rear Gear 2.7 1 2.7 Steel
Motor Mount 10.2 1 10.2 Steel
Sum 59.5
Rear Assembly
Rear Wheel 11 1 11 Fixed
Rear Suspension 2.5 1 2.5 Fixed
Rear Swingarm 14.5 1 14.5 Steel
Rear Brake 1.1 1 1.1 Fixed
Sum 29.1
Front Assembly
Front Wheel 7.5 2 15 Fixed
Front Suspension 1.5 2 3 Fixed
Front Brake 0.8 2 1.6 Fixed
Doublewishbone 4.3 2 8.6 Steel
Sum 28.2
Total Weight 526.9
D Center of Mass and Dynamic Stability
D.1 Determinaon of preliminary CM
1he cenLer of mass (CM) ls a cruclal parameLer when lL comes Lo monlLorlng Lhe global
vehlcle loads and Lhe dynamlc sLablllLy of Lhe car. 1he deLermlnauon of Lhe expecLed
maxlmum loads on Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure based on Lhe Lheoreucal background esLabllshed
ln Secuon 3.1 requlres Lhe knowledge of Lhe prellmlnary CM of Lhe vehlcle. AL Lhe same
ume, lL ls parucularly lmporLanL Lo keep Lrack of Lhe CM locauon of Lhree wheeled vehlcles
ln order Lo ensure sLable dynamlc vehlcle behavlour (see appendlx A). 1herefore, Lhe fuLure
cenLer of mass of Lhe nal vehlcle deslgn ls esumaLed ln Lhe followlng.
ln order Lo esumaLe Lhe cenLer of mass, Lhe enure vehlcle sysLem has been dlvlded lnLo
seven ma[or subassemblles. 1hese subassemblles have been placed as slmplled models
lnLo Lhe CA1lA surface model used as deslgn space for Lhe Lopology opumlzauon. lL
ls assumed LhaL Lhe overall vehlcle CM ls equal Lo Lhe welghLed mean locauon of Lhe
consldered subassemblles. llgure u.1 lllusLraLes Lhe esumaLed fuLure posluon of Lhese
subassemblles ln a secuon vlew of Lhe surface model.
Front Wheel
Assembly
Chassis Frame
Front
Battery Pack
Seat + Occupant
Rear
Battery Pack
Motor Assembly
Rear Wheel
Assembly
x
z
y
Figure D.1: Mass cenLers of lndlvldual componenLs ln xy-plane
Assumlng a symmeLrlc mass dlsLrlbuuon around Lhe x-axls, Lhe cenLer of mass lles ln Lhe
xz-plane. 1herefore, lL ls only requlred Lo deLermlne Lhe x and z-coordlnaLes of Lhe CM.
1hls slmplled approach ls assumed Lo predlcL Lhe posluon of Lhe CM of Lhe nal vehlcle
accuraLe enough ln Lhe framework of Lhls Lhesls. lor monlLorlng of Lhe vehlcle sLablllLy ln
Lerms of oversLeerlng and upplng over, Lhe CM of Lhe enure vehlcle sysLem ls of concern.
Powever, for Lhe deLermlnauon of Lhe loads acung on Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure durlng normal
drlvlng condluons, Lhe CM of Lhe sprung mass ls Lhe declslve parameLer. Conslderlng Lhe
esLabllshed subdlvlslon of Lhe vehlcle sysLem, Lhe sprung mass lncludes all subassemblles
u.1 ueLermlnauon of prellmlnary CM 119
excepL Lhe fronL and rear wheel assemblles, as Lhey resL on Lhe ground dlrecLly wlLhouL
lnLerferlng wlLh Lhe vehlcle sLrucLure. llgure u.2 shows Lhe xz-plane of Lhe CA1lA model
wlLh Lhe quallLauve posluon of each lndlvldual mass cenLer.
x
M
b1
M
m
z
M
c
M
d
M
b2
M
r
M
f
Figure D.2: Mass cenLers of lndlvldual componenLs ln xy-plane
1able u.1 summarlzes Lhe posluon and welghL of Lhe consldered vehlcle subassemblles.
1he average of Lhelr posluons r
i
, welghLed by Lhelr lndlvldual masses m
i
represenLs Lhe
cenLer of mass of Lhe slmplled vehlcle sysLem.
M
v
=
m
i
r
i
m
i
Mass Descripon
x-coord
[mm]
z-coord
[mm]
weight [kg]
M
r
8ear wheel assembly, lncludlng
rear swlngarm
103 310 37
M
m
LlecLrlc moLor assembly 410 360 31
M
b1
8ear bauery pack, opuonal
addluonal energy source
630 270 96
M
d
SeaL and CccupanL 1230 320 191
M
c
Chasslsframe, lncludlngsLeerlng
assembly
1420 390 140
M
f
lronL wheel assembly, lncludlng
suspenslon
2030 270 28
M
b2
lronL bauery pack, prlmary
propulslon energy source
2200 270 192
Table D.1: Locauon and welghL of slngle cenLer masses
WlLh Lhese values, Lhe locauon of Lhe CM of Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass and of Lhe sprung
mass resulL ln:
u.2 Check of uynamlc SLablllLy CrlLerla 120
Mass Descripon
x-coord
[mm]
z-coord
[mm]
weight [kg]
CM
v
CenLer of mass of Lhe enure
vehlcle
1334 366 734
CM
s
CenLer of mass of Lhe vehlcle
sprung mass
1394 373 669
Table D.2: 8esulL of cenLer mass calculauon
D.2 Check of Dynamic Stability Criteria
WlLh Lhe esumaLed CM of Lhe nal vehlcle deslgn, one can deLermlne Lhe dynamlc sLablllLy
crlLerla esLabllshed ln A, namely Lhe sLauc margln and Lhe upplng Lhreshold. 1herefore,
Lhe CM of Lhe LoLal vehlcle mass CM
v
ls Laken lnLo accounL. 1he wheelbase of Lhe nal
deslgn ls esumaLed wlLh wb = 2050mm, whlle Lhe Lrack ls assumed Lo be tr = 1800. 1hese
values are based on Lhe currenL deslgn under Lhe conslderauon of some mlnor changes
parucularly ln Lhe overall lengLh of Lhe vehlcle ln an auempL Lo lncrease Lhe leg space for
Lhe occupanLs. WlLh Lhese values Lhe SM ylelds:
SM =
1
3

l
f
wb
=
1
3

696
2050
= 0.0065
1hus, Lhe sLauc margln ls [usL wlLhln accepLable llmlLs. AlLhough lL ls concernlng LhaL lL
almosL falls lnLo a range where Lhere ls no sLable sLeerlng behavlour guaranLeed. 1hls
slLuauon would be even worse lf Lhe maln bauery pack was placed ln Lhe cenLer of Lhe
vehlcle, whlch clearly shows Lhe necesslLy of placlng Lhe maln bauery pack ln fronL. 1he
deLermlned SM assumes an addluonal bauery pack ln Lhe back of Lhe vehlcle. Powever, lL
has noL been declded yeL lf Lhe nal deslgn really lncludes Lhls exLra bauery pack. When
assumlng Lhe nal deslgn does noL feaLure Lhls exLra bauery, Lhe SM changes along wlLh
Lhe CM of Lhe vehlcle as follows:
SM
singleBat
=
1
3

l
f
wb
=
1
3

590
2050
= 0.045
under Lhls assumpuon, Lhe SM would lndlcaLe a suclenLly sLable sLeerlng behvalour. lL
can be concluded LhaL a nal deslgn wlLhouL addluonal bauery ls very llkely Lo have a
sLable behavlour. 1he addluonal bauery pack, however, brlngs Lhe deslgn close Lo a polnL
where oversLeerlng beavhlour can be expecLed. ln Lhls case lL would be advlsable Lo furLher
lnvesugaLe posslblllues Lo dlsLrlbuLe more welghL Lo Lhe fronL of vehlcle Lo compensaLe
Lhe exLra bauery.
u.2 Check of uynamlc SLablllLy CrlLerla 121
1he upplng Lhreshold Lurns ouL Lo be a mlnor lssue for Lhe nuS ClLy Car. 1hls ls a resulL
of Lhe comparable large Lrack of Lhe car. 1he upplng Lhreshold ylelds
a
to
=
tr (wb l
f
)
2 wb h
=
1800 (2050 696)
2 2050 373
= 1.64
, whlch ls well above Lhe recommended mlnlmum value of a
to
= 1.0.
E Summary of the Applied Forces in the Preprocessor Model
1he followlng Lables summarlze all forces LhaL have been applled Lo Lhe preprocessor
models LhroughouL Lhls Lhesls. ln addluon, all prellmlnary vehlcle dlmenslons along wlLh
all consldered accelerauons and dynamlc facLors are dlsplayed, as Lhey were applled for
Lhe calculauon of Lhese forces.
mass [kg] lh [mm] lf [mm] h [mm] tr [mm] wb [mm]
669 1394 656 373 1800 2050
Bending Braking Acceler. Cornering Bump Crash
Accel. [g] 1.0 1.0 0.3 1.0 4.0 4.0
Dynamic F. 2.5 1.75 1.75 1.75 - -
Wheel Loads F_r [N] F_l [N] R [N]
static 2231 2231 2100
Cornering F_out [N] R [N] F_out_y [N] R_y [N]
static 4462 2100 4462 2100
dynamic 7809 3676 7809 3676
F_y [N] F_z [N] R [N] R_z [N]
dynamic 8925 6515 8402 6133
Torsion F_r [N] F_l [N]
static -2231 2231
Major
Component
Mass [kg]
No. Forces
in Model
Bending
Forces [N]
Braking
Forces [N]
Acceler.
Forces [N]
Battery 23 2 282 197 59
Front Bump Rear Bump
Sprung Mass, CM Location and Base Geometry
Max Vehicle Acceleration and Dynamic Factors
Global Forces Exerted at Suspension
Bumps
Inertia Forces from normal Vehicle Operation
Cornering
Front Bump
Rear Bump
Pure Torsion
Bending
Load Cases
Load Cases
Battery 23 2 282 197 59
Occupant 90 4 552 386 116
Motor 45 1 1104 773 232
Major
Component
Mass [kg]
No. Forces
in Model
Crash
Forces [N]
Battery 23 2 451
Occupant 90 8 441
Motor 45 1 1766
Inertia Forces from Crash Impact
Braking
Accelerat.
Front Crash
Side Crash
Roof Crush
Rear Crash
Load Cases
F Complementary HyperWorks Illustraons
F.1 Comparave Study - Inera Relief
1he followlng sLudy was performed ln Lhe framework of Secuon 3.2.1 on page 64. 1he
ob[ecuve was Lo geL an ldea of Lhe eecL of Lhe lnerua rellef funcuon of PyperWorks. A
boxed shell elemenL sLrucLure ls loaded wlLh a asymmeLrlc verucal force (Lorslon). 1he
resulung dlsplacemenL and sLress conLours of Lhe sLrucLure for boLh convenuonal and
lnerua rellef consLralnLs are conLrasLed ln Lhe followlng.
Figure F.1: repocessor shell elemenL model as basls of Lhe comparlson
Convenonal Inera Relief
Analysis Results
Analysis Results
Analysis Results Analysis Results
Figure F.2: Comparlson of lnerua rellef consLralnL and convenuonal consLralnL on a 2u
shell-elemenL sLrucLure
l.2 Consldered Load Cases ln Lhe 1opology Cpumlzauon SeLup 124
F.2 Considered Load Cases in the Topology Opmizaon Setup
Bending Braking Acceleraon
Front Bump (IR) Rear Bump (IR) Cornering (IR)
Pure Torsion Frontal Crash Side Crash
Rear Crash Roof Crush
see Secuon 3.3.2 on page 78
l.3 Comparlson of 1opologles from Lxamlned Cpumlzauon lormulauons 123
F.3 Comparison of Topologies from Examined Opmizaon Formulaons
ln Secuon 3.2.4, dlerenL opumlzauon formulauons are compared. lL could be esLabllshed
LhaL boLh Lhe global sLress consLralnL and Lhe mlnlmum compllance meLhod lead Lo roughly
Lhe same opumlzed Lopology for Lhe chassls frame. ln Lhe followlng gure boLh resulung
Lopologles are conLrasLed.
Global Stress Constraint Weighted Compliance
l.4 Comparlson of ulerenL Approaches Lo Modellng lrame nodes ln lLA 126
F.4 Comparison of Dierent Approaches to Modeling Frame Nodes in FEA
123
2
2
Displacement Contours [mm] v. Mises Stress Contours
[
N
mm
2
]
8eam Model
Analysis Results Analysis Results
Shell Model wlLh 88L2 nodes
Analysis Results
Analysis Results
ure Shell Model
Analysis Results
Analysis Results
l.3 SLress ConLours of non-Crlucal Load Cases 127
F.5 Stress Contours of Non-Crical Load Cases
F.5.1 Steel Frame
Steel Frame - Vertical Bending
SUB1 - bending
Von Mises Stress
> 9.43e+01
< 9.43e+01
< 8.25e+01
< 7.07e+01
< 5.89e+01
< 4.71e+01
< 3.53e+01
< 2.36e+01
< 1.18e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.06e+02
Min = 2.53e-02
X
Y
Z
Steel Frame - Braking
SUB13 - braking
Von Mises Stress
> 1.56e+02
< 1.56e+02
< 1.37e+02
< 1.17e+02
< 9.75e+01
< 7.80e+01
< 5.85e+01
< 3.90e+01
< 1.95e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.76e+02
Min = 2.49e-01
X
Y
Z
Steel Frame - Acceleration
SUB14 - acceleration
Von Mises Stress
> 8.58e+01
< 8.58e+01
< 7.51e+01
< 6.44e+01
< 5.36e+01
< 4.29e+01
< 3.22e+01
< 2.15e+01
< 1.07e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 9.66e+01
Min = 9.32e-12
X
Y
Z
l.3 SLress ConLours of non-Crlucal Load Cases 128
F.5.2 Aluminum Frame
Alu Frame - Vertical Bending
SUB1 - bending
Von Mises Stress
> 7.03e+01
< 7.03e+01
< 6.15e+01
< 5.27e+01
< 4.39e+01
< 3.51e+01
< 2.64e+01
< 1.76e+01
< 8.78e+00
< 0.00e+00
Max = 7.91e+01
Min = 4.36e-02
X
Y
Z
Alu Frame - Braking
SUB13 - braking
Von Mises Stress
> 9.95e+01
< 9.95e+01
< 8.71e+01
< 7.46e+01
< 6.22e+01
< 4.98e+01
< 3.73e+01
< 2.49e+01
< 1.24e+01
< 0.00e+00
Max = 1.12e+02
Min = 2.79e-01
X
Y
Z
Alu Frame - Acceleration
SUB14 - acceleration
Von Mises Stress
> 5.38e+01
< 5.38e+01
< 4.71e+01
< 4.03e+01
< 3.36e+01
< 2.69e+01
< 2.02e+01
< 1.34e+01
< 6.72e+00
< 0.00e+00
Max = 6.05e+01
Min = 2.26e-11
X
Y
Z
All sLresses are glven ln
N
mm
2

Lightweight Design Optimizaton of An Urban Eco Car Prototype Using Topology Optimization Based On Finite Element Analysis

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Reglerentwurf zur Synchronisation einer hybriden

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