Identification and Reconstruction of Impact Load for Lightweight Design of Production Equipment

This paper proposes a method for determining externally applied impact loads on complex structures using strain analysis. An impact load transducer was developed to determine impact loads. Using this transducer (which incorporates strain gauges), the relationship between the measured strains and applied impact load was studied, and a model for conversion from strain analysis to impact load was developed. The reconstructed impact curve that characterizes the impact peak force, impact duration, and load in the steady state after impact was employed as an input load curve in finite element analysis. The reconstructed impact load was validated by comparing the structural strain measured on the specimen in the experiments and the strain calculated by the simulations. The results show that the maximum difference between experimentally and numerically determined structural peak strains is 3.2 με. Moreover, the method was validated by predicting the impact load of a descending vehicle chassis on the production equipment in an automotive production line. It demonstrated high efficiency and accuracy. The reconstructed load curve obtained using the developed method provides high efficiency in addition to high accuracy. Furthermore, it circumvents the complexities of modeling dynamic impact simulation, including complex impactor shape, interface, and friction conditions. Thus, the developed method provides scholars with an efficient approach for an extensive study of the responses of complex structures in various fields such as stress strain analysis, fatigue analysis, and topology optimization for lightweight design of production equipment.