Reduction in Time to Market of Automotive Seating System Using LS-DYNA

The worldwide automotive industry is going through a sea change in order to get the share in the global market, which is becoming highly competitive & dynamic. The automotive OEM’s are faced with conflicting demands & challenges. There is an increasing demand for cost & weight reduction, fuel economy & reduction in time to market on one hand and on the other hand there is even more increasing demand towards assuring improved occupant safety and comfort in complex crash & driving conditions besides the pressure from environmental regulations. The safety and environmental regulations are becoming increasingly stringent in the developed economies & the developing economies are catching up. These factors are driving the change in entire automotive industry value chain and the major sub systems suppliers are directly affected by this. One such sub-system is seating system, as it is major contributor to the occupant safety & comfort. The automotive seating system development process is becoming highly complex and challenging as the regulations pertaining to NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness)/ durability/ fatigue, static/dynamic strength and crash safety are becoming increasingly stringent besides OEM’s pressure to reduce weight and cost. One of the major challenges is to reduce the time and the cost of developmental prototyping and testing. As a result most of the forward-looking organisations are beginning to move towards Virtual Product Development Environment (VPD). One of the most useful tools available to virtually simulate product performance under various dynamic conditions is LS-DYNA. This paper depicts the evolution of a rear seat system for the Ford Focus vehicle through effective use of LS-DYNA and other CAE tools, throughout the developmental life cycle. This program demanded a reduced program timeline of 18 months.