Structural engineering simulations have required increasingly complex computational models to replace physical tests accurately. This work focuses on the numerical analysis of vehicle body structures, whose size and complexity make the use of very accurate nonlinear models unfeasible due to the prohibitive computational costs involved. The purpose of this study is to find a new approach to model spot-welded joints in linear finite element models of thin-wall vehicle body structures, improving the accuracy of the model without increasing its complexity. Using a set of simplified nonlinear models, we fitted the stiffness and damping properties of these welded joints and used those adjusted values into a linear model of the entire vehicle body structure. The results were compared with experimental tests, showing a clear improvement in the accuracy of the modal and frequency responses provided by the linear finite element model, but keeping its initial complexity level. The adjusted model was then used in an optimization analysis to reduce the structure's weight, leading to interesting cost savings and important reductions in the use of natural resources and carbon emissions.
Keywords: correlation analyses; finite-element model; frequency response function; vehicle structures; vibration testing.