Optimal Stiffness Design of Joint Structures of a Vehicle for Vibration

Idle shake vibration characteristics of a vehicle are mainly influenced not only by the stiffnesses of the beam type structures such as pillars and rockers, but also by the stiffnesses of the joint structures, at which several beam structures are jointed together. In the early design stage of the car body structure a simple FE model has been used, in which joints are modeled as linear springs to represent the stiffnesses of the joint structures. In this paper a new modeling technique for the joint structure is presented using an equivalent beam, instead of using a spring. The modeling technique proposed is utilized to design optimal joint structures that meet the required vibration performance of the total vehicle structure.