Simulation driven product development applied to car body design

This thesis deals with the development of complex mechanical structures, from concept to detail design, as applied to car bodies. Efforts have been made to clarify how computer tools and analysis methods are used in product development in industry today. It has been found that the design and the analysis activities are separated, leading to product development that is simulation-verified rather than simulation-driven. This calls for better integration of computer support and analysis in the development process. Based on the above findings, a framework for car bodies is proposed, extending from concept to detail design. A property based model (PBM)/concept model, consisting of the following three sub- systems: beams, joints and panels, has been made to break down the requirements to sub-system level according to the design areas of the design engineers. Analysis tools have been developed and implemented, tailor-made according to the requirements at sub-system level. It has been shown that by providing design engineers with requirements according to their design area, and with corresponding analysis tools, it is possible for the design engineer to do preliminary analysis on their design in parallel with their normal design activity, leaving complete-vehicle a posteori simulation to the analysis experts. This increases the use of simulation in product development so that more solution alternatives are evaluated, leading to better design. The findings are corroborated by industrial studies, both at pilot level and full-scale. The implementation of simulation-driven design by designers is ongoing and increasing in projects at VCC. The implementation of the framework and tools has resulted in depended knowledge regarding interaction with industry and a contribution regarding how improvement of product development can be made.Godkänd; 2004; 20060925 (cira