Abstract
The design of a recycled-carbon fiber–reinforced plastic/metal hybrid (PMH) engine cradle is realized via combined optimization techniques. Topology optimization (TO) and free-size optimization (FSO) techniques are exploited in the design process to find the optimal rib configuration and location of metal inserts. To analyze the obtained design in terms of functionality, a material exchange technique that accounts for fiber orientation elementwise is employed. The robust design procedure is shown to be effective in developing PMH parts while considering injection molding (IM) restrictions from the early design stages. The PMH model provides a good balance between functionality and IM suitability, with a 36% weight reduction from the steel baseline model. The results contribute to the efficient multimaterial design of PMH components in the auto industry, creating light and strong structures produced by fast manufacturing processes and low-cost carbon fibers.
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This work was funded by the Carbon Industrial Cluster Development Program (No. 10083609) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE, Korea).
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João Henrique Fonseca: conceptualization, methodology, software, formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Luca Quagliato: investigation, data curation. Seungjong Yun: resources. Dosuck Han: supervision. Naksoo Kim: project administration. Hyungyil Lee: supervision.
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Fonseca, J.H., Quagliato, L., Yun, S. et al. Preliminary design of an injection-molded recycled-carbon fiber–reinforced plastic/metal hybrid automotive structure via combined optimization techniques. Struct Multidisc Optim 64, 2773–2788 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-021-02988-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-021-02988-y