Optimization Methodology for Casted Vehicle Node Structures

New optimization strategies for lighter and safer vehicle structures are developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as part of the Next Generation Car META-project. Within this project innovative vehicle concepts are being investigated, which are used as technology platforms. A high grade of modularity is the main design specification of the Urban Modular Vehicle (UMV) concept. This significantly influences the design of the main structural components. In the presented contribution, the focus lies on the development of a new optimisation methodology for casted vehicle node structures. By directly applying load distributions obtained from crash simulations, an optimal structural topology is directly obtained considering all applied load cases