Collaboration between conceptual design phase, CAD-modelling and crash simulation in automotive engineering

Abstract

One of the pressing challenges facing the German automotive sector nowadays is the time-consuming development processof road vehicles, particularly in comparison to other automotive manufacturers. Traditional approaches, i.e., the sequentialdesign process of road vehicles can lead to tedious data exchange and delayed decision-making. The automation of thedevelopment process to reduce development time, while taking into consideration the collaboration between the involvedmultidisciplinary engineering teams and their tools, can be crucial for the German automotive industry to regain its com-petitive edge. To address this objective, this paper presents an approach that makes use of the Collaborative VehicleConfiguration Schema (CVeCS) and multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization (MDA(O)) techniques. To be more spe-cific, a unified design process is presented that encompasses the conceptual design phase as well as the initial stages of thesubsequent detailed development. The potential of this approach to enhance competitiveness of the German automotivesector is demonstrated based on the MDA(O) workflow of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle named Interurban Vehicle(IUV). The IUV is a research road vehicle designed at the German Aerospace Center. In general, within the context ofthis paper, the first steps towards automating the entire development process are taken. Overall, this paper concludesthat this approach enables a shift from a sequential development process to a simultaneous one providing a unified, modularand agile design process that contributes to enhancing the decision-making process and facilitating interdisciplinary analyses.