FEM CRASH - A SUPERCOMPUTER APPLICATION

Numerical calculations with high predictability, for the analysis of deformation and nonlinear energy management of car structures during frontal impact, are an essential tool when decisions are needed regarding the structural design of car bodies. The numerical calculations are based on the physics of crash metal-forming. The entire analysis is divided into about 40,000 simulated time steps. Supercomputers have to be used so as to enable a single crash simulation to be run overnight. The paper discusses the results of crash simulation postprocessed by way of coloured computer graphics which make it possible to assess the deformation of the car structure and to take special engineering results into account. For the covering abstract see IRRD 863693.