Simulation-based Optimization of partially hardened Automotive Parts made of Multi-phase Steel

In the automotive industry, increasing demands for weight reduction as well a safety requirements have motivated the use of locally optimized components. This study shows how crashrelevant side rails made of multi-phase steels can be improved in terms of local rigidity by local hardening, thus avoiding an increase of the cross section. Based on the experiments, the improvement of crash simulations by simulation of the entire production chain is investigated.A dedicated software tool was developed to enable the coupling of a wide range of commercially available FEM software products for forming, heat treatment, and crash simulations. One central aspect tobe solved is the transfer of tensor-like properties such as stress or strain states.