Review of life assessment techniques applied to dynamically loaded automotive components

Structural optimisation based on fatigue life of dynamically loaded structures of realistic complexity is rarely attempted due to computational costs. Very efficient stress analysis and fatigue life assessment techniques are needed if this is to become routine. For the first time, this paper compares several approaches to fatigue life prediction using a real automotive engineering case study, taking into account that optimisation based on fatigue life requires accurate relative distribution rather than exact values. The paper concludes that although both the quasi-static and frequency domain approaches are potentially more efficient than transient dynamic analysis, parameter sensitivity of the frequency domain approach may preclude its eventual use.