Effects of Flexible Connections on Body Structural Response

The analysis method presented in this paper provides a systems approach to determine the influence of body connection flexibility upon automobile body structural response. In this approach, a baseline finite element model is created to simulate the in-plane response of the passenger compartment of a production car. To bypass the difficulties in analytically predicting the flexibility of body connections, experimentally obtained connection stiffness data for the baseline model are used in the analysis.

The influence of the flexibility of the six major body connections on the elastic response of the body structure is evaluated for four representative loading conditions over the full range of connection stiffness. The connection efficiency and the compatibility between connection flexibility and total structural stiffness distribution are discussed from a design viewpoint. The analysis of the baseline model correlates well with results of tests of a production body structure.