Effects of wall thickness and geometric shape on thin-walled parts structural performance

This paper investigates the effects of wall thickness and geometric shape of thin-walled structures on their performance during structural analysis. Two automotive thin-walled parts, a front joint panel from a vehicle front structure and a tailgate panel from a truck pickup box were involved in this study. Three types of analyses static analysis, impact analysis, and modal analysis were performed separately on each model to find out the influences of different wall thicknesses on both models’ structural performance. Effects of geometric shape of the models on the analysis results were also discussed. The outcomes of this study provide a solid background for the design of lightweight vehicle architectures to meet the impending energy challenge and will also benefit other industrial sectors such as shipbuilding and aircraft industry.