SIMULATION AND OPTIMAL SELECTION OF DIFFERENT CFRP COMPOSITES EXERCISING ANSYS AND TOPSIS APPROACH FOR CAR ROOF PANEL

This paper presents the simulation and analysis results obtained on different carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites employed in car roof panels utilizing epoxy, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride foam as the reinforcements. CFRP was chosen as the base matrix because of its improved properties such as a high strength-to-weight ratio and light weight. Mechanical analyses were performed to determine the deformations and stresses under tensile, compressive, and bending load conditions, while the heat flux was determined under thermal load conditions for different CFRP composites. Finally, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach was employed in the optimal selection of CFRP composite material that can be efficiently utilized in car roof panels. From the results, it was found that the CFRP composite sample with resin polyester as the reinforcement under different load conditions was the best composite for car roof panels considering the thermo-mechanical properties. The sensitivity analysis validated the TOPSIS approach ranking and confirmed the epoxy resin CFRP composites as the top composite formulation (92.86%) for automotive roof panel applications.