Advanced high performance vehicle frame design by means of topology optimization

Automotive chassis design, often based on the company know-how and the designer experience, usually leads to consolidated solutions that are poorly innovative and not necessarily altogether efficient. Optimization techniques are powerful means for systematic design that can make it possible to avoid this drawback. The present study proposes a methodology for automotive chassis design based on topology, topometry and size optimizations coupled with fem analyses. In particular, the methodology is applied to the design of a chassis suitable for a rear-central engine high performance car. A massive 3d fem model is conceived, in order to respect the geometrical requirements yet leaving maximum freedom to the topology optimization algorithm. Shell mod- els are employed for the subsequent topometry and size optimizations. The objective is the minimization of the chassis mass in fulfillment of a given set of structural performance constraints. The results demonstrate the general applicability of the method proposed.