Finite Element Analysis of Material and Structural Design for Tri-Camera Imaging Stability

Stereo vision is critical for environmental perception in autonomous driving, but faces challenges in accuracy and stability under extreme automotive temperature cycles. This study addresses environment-induced deformation in tri-camera imaging systems through material and structural optimization to enhance ranging stability. Using finite element analysis (Abaqus), we evaluated three aluminum alloys (AL6063-T6, AL6061, AL7075-T6), a heterogeneous structure (AL6063-T6/AL1060), and a honeycomb design under operational temperatures (−40 °C, 25 °C, 95 °C). Results show AL6063-T6 exhibits superior thermal stability, minimizing optical axis offset (δ ≈ 0.134° vs. 0.143° for AL7075-T6). The AL6063-T6/AL1060 heterogeneous structure further reduced deformation (δ ≈ 0.133°), while the honeycomb design increased offset (δ ≈ 0.145°). The experimental results also show that AL6063-T6 exhibits better deformation resistance than AL6061 and AL7075-T6, which helps reduce camera ranging errors and improve the stability of stereo vision imaging. The experimental results are consistent with the finite element analysis, validating the effectiveness of the finite element analysis for the camera material optimization design. These findings demonstrate that material selection and heterogeneous structural design significantly mitigate environment-induced deformation, improving tri-camera ranging accuracy and imaging stability for automotive applications.