Study on Optimal Design of Light-Weight Composite Hood

In this paper, the traditional steel engine hood is analyzed using finite element method firstly, and then the basic performance requirements of the hood is obtained. Based on the principle of equal stiffness, the design process is executed on carbon fiber composite hood. Afterwards according to the property of this composite, the whole optimization process of composite hood from conceptual design to detailed design is accomplished by ways of free size optimization, parameters optimization and stacking sequence optimization. The optimal structure of carbon fiber composite engine hood can be obtained by comparing the results of optimization design. Carbon fiber can put lightweight into practice , and the developing time of composite hood can be sharply reduced .