Needs and Progress in the Development of Computational Tools for Modeling Fabrication and Performance Assessment of Automotive Glass

M.A.Khaleel, A.C.Hess

We will address models used today for modeling fabrication and performance assessment of automotive glass. We will discuss the need for further development of advanced computational tools for modeling forming, and for the development of models for characterizing the acoustical, dynamic, and static response of automotive glass.

Recent progress in the development of finite element models for accurate determination of temperature and residual stress distributions during gravity sag of automotive glass will be discussed. We will also describe recent progress in the development of finite element models for quantifying impact damage as a function of the windshield design. In particular, the effects of glazing thickness, laminate construction (whether symmetric or asymmetric), and properties of urethane adhesive bead on impact stresses in glass plies and torsional rigidity of vehicle frames were analyzed using finite element models. The results of these analyses show that the conventional, symmetric, windshield can be redesigned to achieve significant weight reduction without impairing its impact strength. We will also discuss progress towards the development of computational fluid dynamics models coupled with statistical energy analyses for the accurate calculation of sound pressure levels caused by wind noise for conventional and lightweight glass.

We believe the future of modeling and simulation of fabrication and performance assessment will be based on utilizing simplified web-based computational tools and problem solving environments to facilitate collaboration among engineers.

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