Topology optimization of a car seat frame

The optimization of consumer products through the use of numerical simulations has become a key factor to a continuously increasing requirement for time and cost efficiency, for quality improvement and materials saving, in many manufacturing areas such as automotive, aerospace, building, packaging and electronic industries. Environmental protection, fuel economy and safety specifications are today major concerns in automotive industry. Part of the overall strategy is a lower car weight which means increased performance, reduction of fuel consumption achieving a lower vehicle exhaust emissions to the environment. At the same time, the occupant safety must be continuously improved, as the safety specifications are more demanding. To meet these requirements, a call for new lightweight concepts and crash structures was raised, using lighter and/or stronger materials. In the last decade we have assisted to a development and application of high-strength steels and aluminum alloys in the manufacture of automotive structures. This paper presents a structural design problem of a car seat frame, aiming the desired weight reduction while satisfying a set of performance constraints. The numerical model of the seat frame has been developed and the numerical results were validated against experimental data obtained during static loading tests. Using the developed computational model, an optimized topology of the linear elastic structure has been determined, reaching a significant weight reduction.