Major compliance joint modelling survey for automotive body structures

There are two distinct classes of vehicle body CAE abstractions that can be used to support vehicle body design and development, detailed models and concept models. A detailed finite element model achieves computational accuracy by precisely simulating component geometries and assembly interfaces. On the other hand, a concept model simulates stiffness behaviour of joints and major load-carrying members (e.g. pillars, rails, rockers, etc.) in a body structure. The main difference between various kinds of concept models is the representation of body joints. Joints are important components of the auto body because they affect significantly, and in some cases, they even dominate, the static and dynamic behaviour of a model. This paper reviews generic characteristics of two typical joint representation methods: a superelement elastic representation and tri-spring representation. The benefits of using a tri-spring representation over a superelement elastic representation are discussed.