ADVANCES IN NONLINEAR FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOBILES

The objective in this paper is to present some recent advances for the finite element analysis of automobile structures. These advances pert ain to the development of effective basic finite element procedures an d the efficient solution of large systems of equations. With these new procedures, it is possible to model much more accurately (and reliabl y) the actual nonlinear physical behavior of complex structures. The i llustrative solutions given in the paper include the solution of a roo f-crush problem that was solved appropriately, according to the actual physical situation, using implicit time integration (resulting practi cally in a static analysis). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.