Improving Crash Simulations with High-Performance Computing: A Case Study of PSA Peugeot Citroën

PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker in Europe, faced a significant challenge in meeting increasingly stringent automotive regulations that demanded lower CO2 emission levels. This required the carmaker to decrease the design structure mass by using materials with a higher strength-to-weight ratio. However, introducing new materials into the design process was complex; design rules and numerical tools had to evolve to understand the characteristics of these materials and evaluate potential failures. There was a risk of delaying production awaiting reliable design direction from simulation, or having to redesign a part late in the design cycle. Furthermore, due to the large, nonlinear deformations involved in simulating crash or rupture events, proper material failure criteria were essential to results accuracy. To improve its knowledge in assessing predictive rupture models, and to identify a viable solution for testing ruptures on a massive scale, PSA collaborated with Altair, Ecole Polytechnique Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides (LMS) and PRACE.

PSA Peugeot Citroën is the second largest carmaker in Europe, recording sales and revenue of €54 billion in 2013. With its world-renowned brands, DS, Peugeot and Citroën, PSA sold 2.8 million vehicles worldwide in 2013, of which 42% were sold outside Europe. PSA is a European leader in terms of CO2 emissions, with an average of 115.9 grams of CO2/km in 2013. The company has sales operations in 160 countries and is also involved in financing activities (Banque PSA Finance) and automotive equipment (Faurecia).