Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 9: Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development

Jenna M. Eason

1) State the features of the finite element method:

            Finite Element Method (FEM) is a general, yet the most powerful method used for finding approximate solutions of partial differential equations as well as integral equations.  Around 1982, FEM application became popular in the automotive industry and is an excellent way to conduct impact/crash analysis.  This weak form make it easy to create a mesh from arbitrary and complex shaped geometries and can be understood within about 3 months.  A major advantage of FEM is the ability for fast computation at a low storage rate.  Disadvantages are that FEM is intractable in handling an open space and that mesh generations for very complicated structures still remain costly.

And the boundary element method:

            Boundary Element Method (BEM) is the most difficult method to approximate equations and takes about 3 years to understand.  Once BEM is understood, however, mesh generation is easy.  BEM involves a small number of DoFs (Degrees of Freedom) and treats open space rigorously.  The solutions for gradient quantities are accurate.  BEM is suitable for shape optimization problems and complicated mathematical treatments.  This method of course has its pros and cons.  The storage rate is high, but so is the computation cost.

2) Pick up your most interesting topic and state your idea about it.

            I personally found the topics in CAE very interesting as it related to my CAD (Computer-Aided Design) background.  CAD does not work as directly with mathematical equation in order to develop a product.  I have experience in Autodesk Maya, which is a software that integrates 3D modeling, animation, effects and rendering solution based on open architecture.  The software reviewed in the lecture was similar and I enjoyed seeing how these software function mathematically.

            I was also interested in Okamoto-san’s, of Toyota Motor Corporation, introduction into the current status of CAE.  He reviewed the new (current) versus the old flow of vehicle development.  This flow used to be very linear and one process had to be completed before moving to the next, taking 4-6 years.  The flow now only takes 1 year to complete and is as follows:

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Sources

(1) Matsumoto, Toshiro, Nagoya University Dept. of Mechanical Science and Engineering, “Current Status of CAE Activity in the Vehicle Development”, Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering course at Nagoya University, June 18, 2008.

(2) “FEM in Automotive Body Structures”,

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kikuchi/GMcontents/fem1.pdf, June 25, 2008