CAE Design and Failure Analysis of Automotive Composites

Book excerpt: Composites are now extensively used in applications where outstanding mechanical properties are necessary in combination with weight savings, due to their highly tunable microstructure and mechanical properties. These properties present great potential for part integration, which results in lower manufacturing costs and faster time to market. Composites also have a high level of styling flexibility in terms of deep drawn panel, which goes beyond what can be achieved with metal stampings. The so-called multifunctional or smart composites provide significant benefits to the vehicles as compared to the traditional materials that only have monotonic properties. CAE Design and Failure Analysis of Automotive Composites focuses on the latest use of CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) methods in design and failure analysis of composite materials and structures, beginning with a brief introduction to the design and failure analysis of composite materials, and then presenting some recent, innovative CAE design examples of composite structures by engineers from major CAE developers and automobile OEMs and suppliers. This title brings together 12 SAE technical papers, carefully selected by the editors covering three main areas of expertise: • Design and Failure Analysis of Composites: Static Loading • Design and Failure Analysis of Composites: Dynamic and Impact Loading • Design and Failure Analysis of Composites: Blast Loading