An approach for modeling spot-welded joints in an energy finite element formulation

An emerging simulation technology is the energy finite element analysis (EFEA) [P. Cho, ‘‘Energy Flow Analysis of Coupled Structures,’’ Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue University, 1993; O. M. Bouthier and R. J. Bernhard, ‘‘Models of space averaged energetics of plates,’’ AIAA J. 30(3) (March 1992)]. In order for this method to be applicable to automotive structures it is important that it be suitable for modeling spot-welded joints. This work presents a development effort in computing the energy transmitted through spot-welded joints, and utilizing the information in an EFEA formulation. It is based on principles utilized for deriving coupling loss factors for statistical energy analysis (SEA) from conventional finite element models [C. Simmons, ‘‘Structure-borne sound transmission through plate junctions and estimates of SEA coupling loss factors using the finite element method,’’ J. Sound Vib. 144(2), 215–227 (1991)]. There are two components to the new development: (i) Deriving numerically information about the energy ratio between spot-welded members. (ii) Incorporating information for the energy transferred between members in the EFEA analysis. Technical information and comparison of numerical results to test data will be presented. [Work supported by Automated Analysis Corp. and Ford Motor Co.]