Thesis work - Real-time FEM car body for driving simulator assessments

About this opportunity - Background

The car body, also known as the body-in-white (BIW), is one of the most significant contributors to overall vehicle compliance and structural behaviour. Its flexibility and modal properties have a direct influence on the way a vehicle responds under dynamic conditions particularly handling and steering feel. Despite this importance there are relatively few documented industrial cases where flexible FEM based BIW models are systematically integrated into driving simulator assessments. This creates a gap between offline vehicle simulations and real-time driving simulator assessments.

This thesis aims to investigate the role of BIW flexibility in shaping vehicle dynamics when applied within a driving simulator. The work will focus on exploring different modelling strategies for the BIW, including variations in finite element model complexity, identification of critical structural modes and methods for reducing computational demand without compromising fidelity. An important aspect will be to balance model accuracy with simulation efficiency, ensuring that real-time performance requirements are met while still capturing the essential dynamics of the BIW.

Scope of the thesis work

Milestones
•    Quantified understanding of the impact of BIW flexibility in real-time simulations.
•    Practical modelling guidelines to support future applications of BIW models in driving simulators.
•    Clinics with professional drivers, assessing vehicle response when applying different modelling strategies.
•    Benchmarking of real-time models against full-fidelity reference models to evaluate accuracy and limitations.
•    Identification of key objective handling and steering metrics most affected by BIW stiffness, linking structural flexibility to quantifiable vehicle dynamics outcomes.

Risks & Limitations

This thesis will focus on designs of vehicles already in production due to CAD model maturity and disclosure sensitivity. 
Existing vehicle and component models will be provided and used to enable focus on the project milestones.

What you'll bring

The successful candidates are expected to be master students from mechanical engineering, engineering mathematics or engineering physics. You should be self-motivated and explorative. You should have an interest in practical application of your knowledge and know-how in engineering. CV and transcript are needed for application. 

Duration

•    The work will start in January 2026 
•    The duration for this thesis work is 20 weeks.
•    30 ECTS (Master academic credits) in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University
•    This thesis is to be conducted by 2 Students working in pair.