Crashworthiness Optimization of Nested and Concentric Circular Tubes Using Response Surface Methodology and Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

In this study crashworthiness optimization of nested and concentric circular tubes under impact loading is performed by coupling Finite Element model, Response Surface Models and Genetic Algorithm. Specific Energy Absorption (SEA) and Crash Force Efficiency (CFE) are used in crashworthiness optimization since these criteria are important indicators for evaluating crashworthiness performance. Length and thickness of three concentric tubes as well as radius of one tube are adopted as design variables which are effective parameters on SEA and CFE. To reduce the computational cost of the optimization procedure, simple and computationally cheap Response Surface Models are created to replace finite element analyses in further calculations. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm -II (NSGAII) is applied to obtain the Pareto optimal solutions. Optimization results are presented for different selected designs that indicate relative importance of multi-objective functions. Results show that the total weight of the vehicles can be reduced by using nested tubes comparing to single tubes with identical masses. These designs can be adopted for use in practice.