Comparison between Real and Virtual Strain Gauges: A Method to Calibrate Finite Element Models Based on Real Measurements

Real and virtual testing are extensively used tools in the product development cycle. Efficiency improvement demands on this development process, like cost and time reduction, usually presume the combination of testing with simulation even on the design stage of the component. This study aimed to demonstrate an example of how real measurements can be used as feedback loops in computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis. For this purpose, a truck's suspension component, instrumented with strain gauges on its hotspots, has been tested in a proving ground track located in Brazil. Using nCode Designlife™ 9.0, virtual strain gauges have been placed in the component's finite element model and, with the measured forces inputs, theirs results were compared to the correspondents gauges on the real component. Despite the need for more studies, the comparison between real and virtual strain gauges suggested that this could be an efficient method to calibrate numeric models regarding its different variables, as force inputs, boundary conditions and material properties.