Non-linear Analysis for a Weatherstrip of a Vehicle Door with FE Modeling

자동차 도어 웨더스트립의 유한요소 모델링 및 해석

Weatherstrip seals protect passengers form noise, dust, rain and wind out of the vehicle. The more contact area between a body frame and a weatherstrip, the higher efficiency of sealing. A weatherstrip is a sort of an elastomer. Mechanical properties of the weatherstrip is obtained by uniaxial tension test. In this study, nonlinear finite element(FE) analysis is performed to obtain displacements and contact shapes of the weatherstrip. The FE model is developed by using Ogden-foam formulation. In the results of nonlinear FE analysis, the most valuable deformation of the weatherstrip occurred when displacement control value reaches 7.2mm. Severe deformation is observed as the displacement control value become more increased.