Comparison and correlation of computer simulations using the finite element method and the SimSolid software with meshfree method for automotive durability analyses

Resumo

This paper presents an investigation comparing the finite element method to a meshfree method in the
simulation of structural tests of different nature used in the automotive industry. In this study, the commercial
softwares Altair OptiStruct and Altair SimSolid have been used, in order to know the ability of each one to
reproduce the behaviour of the structure according to the imposed loading. For this, the numerical results were
compared to experimental tests and briefly discussed.