Spotwelding and structural adhesive applications are two important processes in the automotive industry as they are closely associated with the functional requirements, weight, and cost of the vehicle. Even though there is a vast body of literature on their mathematical models, the effect of these processes on key vehicle performance indices and optimization is rather limited. Besides, the weight benefit of these processes in terms of functional requirements has not been investigated. There are multiple objectives of the paper to fill this gap: (i) to quantify the effect of structural adhesives on the key performance indices (KPIs) of a vehicle body, (ii) to rank the components based on their gauge sensitivities for body KPIs using topometry optimization, (iii) to assess the weight impact of the structural adhesive applications using the gauge sensitivity results, (iv) to determine the optimum layout of the structural adhesive applications using topology optimization, (v) to present a methodology for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to determine the “critical welds” on the vehicle body and reduce the number of spotwelds as a potential cost reduction action. For this purpose, a validated finite element model of 2010 Toyota Yaris has been used. Optimization of the structural adhesives and spotwelds was carried-out using SIMP (Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization) based topology optimization. The thickness of each panel is ranked using topometry optimization results. Automotive OEMs can use the proposed methodology to optimize the structural adhesives or spotwelding processes in their product development cycle.

点焊和结构胶的应用是汽车工业中的两个重要过程，因为它们与汽车的功能要求，重量和成本密切相关。尽管有关其数学模型的文献很多，但这些过程对关键车辆性能指标和优化的影响还是有限的。此外，还没有研究这些方法在功能要求方面的重量益处。本文有多个目标可填补这一空白：（i）量化结构胶粘剂对车身关键性能指标（KPI）的影响，（ii）根据其对车身KPI的规格敏感性对组件进行排名使用拓扑优化，（iii）使用量规灵敏度结果评估结构胶粘剂应用的重量影响，（iv）使用拓扑优化确定结构胶粘剂应用的最佳布局，（v）为汽车原始设备制造商（OEM）提供一种方法），以确定车身上的“关键焊缝”，并减少点焊的数量，以降低成本。为此，使用了经过验证的2010 Toyota Yaris有限元模型。结构粘合剂和点焊的优化是使用基于SIMP（带有罚分的固体各向同性材料）的拓扑优化来进行的。使用拓扑优化结果对每个面板的厚度进行排名。