Browse Topic: Vehicle body pillars

Items (70)

Active Control of Engine Order Noise for Heavy-duty Trucks: Using the Genetic Algorithm for the Optimization of Error Microphone Arrangement

2025-01-001305/05/2023

The arrangement of error microphones for a vehicle active noise control (ANC) system is no trivial work, especially for heavy-duty trucks due to the dilemma resulted from the large volume of the cab and the limited number of microphones accepted by most manufacturers in the auto industry. Most ANC developers resort to trial and error, which is not only a heavy workload given the amount of interested working conditions to be test, but also does not guarantee to yield the optimum noise cancellation performance. In this paper, the authors proposed an error microphone selection methodology using a genetic-algorithm (GA) -based mechanism. The target vehicle was a heavy-duty truck with a six-piston diesel engine, and two scenarios were particularly interested, i.e. driver & copilot and driver & one passenger sleeping on the berth. We first arranged eight microphones at different locations in the cab, five on the headrests, two on the B pillars and one at the head position of the sleeping

Wang PhD, Jian, Ling, Zihong, Zhang, Zhe, Cai, DeHua, lv, Xiao, Zhang, Ming, Gao, GuoRan

MOLD IN COLOR PIANNO BLACK PC MATERIAL FOR AUTOMOTIVE EXTERIOR APPLICATION

2021-26-024209/22/2021

Aesthetics contribute significantly to the customer buying decision of an automobile. This is traditionally achieved through painting. Sustainability and cost challenges have led automakers to look at substituting painting through molded-in color polymers in decorative bezels like pillar appliques. These appliques and bezels have a unique mix of material requirements that include color tone, gloss, stiffness, scratch resistance and weathering. Polycarbonates are an interesting class of polymers that has potential to meet these challenging requirements. This paper reports the work done in evaluating a polycarbonate compound in piano black shade to meet the functional and aesthetic requirements. The results prove that the material can substitute painting thereby resulting in significant cost savings.

Govindaraj, Karthik, Vimalathithan, Murukesan, Balaji, K V, Samir, Gandhi, hebbar, vinayak

Roush Lands in AV Country

20AVEP05_0605/01/2020

An auto-industry icon for engineering, prototyping, testing and manufacturing services establishes its West Coast presence. Famous as an engineering-services company, a NASCAR racing icon, and the name behind many high-performance Ford cars and trucks, the Roush brand is a go-to for OEMs and suppliers needing projects executed on schedule with high quality. Engineering, prototyping, testing and manufacturing are the four pillars of “the company that Jack built” in the Detroit suburbs. That reputation is being extended through Roush's new sales office in San Luis Obispo, on California's Central Coast. “We'd been thinking about establishing a West Coast presence for quite a while,” says Jason Furr, executive director of sales at Roush's Livonia, Michigan, HQ. “There is so much going on there, and our peer-to-peer reputation among OEMs and Tier 1s has brought many Silicon Valley companies to Detroit to find us. But we want to be part of the fabric, energy and pulse of what's going on in

Brooke, Lindsay

Vehicle Door Cutline Determination with Mathematical Modelling on CATIA V5

2019-28-010710/11/2019

Door shut-line definition is the first vital step in car body door engineering and depends on the hinge position, hinge shape, manufacturing capabilities and other parameters. In the design process, once the hinge axis definition is finalized door shut-line is defined which should satisfy two major requirements. The requirements are clearance between the door outer surface with its surrounding components (like hinges, fender, other door etc.) and assembly feasibility. Another one is the manufacturability of the proposed design. The above conditions must be checked on different locations of the door as well as w.r.t different openings of the door. The paper presents a mathematical model to determine the door shut-line position with great computational efficiency. This method propounds closure engineer with parameters to define the shut line rather than going for cumbersome manual iterative process. Instead of following an iterative approach to determine a limit for the shut-line, paper

Askari, Hasan, Pandey, Pawan, Raadhaasaminathan, Sreebalajinarayanan

Numerical Investigation of Wiper Drawback

2019-01-064004/02/2019

Windscreen wipers are an integral component of the windscreen cleaning systems of most vehicles, trains, cars, trucks, boats and some planes. Wipers are used to clear rain, snow, and dirt from the windscreen pushing the water from the wiped surface. Under certain conditions however, water which has been driven to the edge of the windscreen by the wiper can be drawn back into the driver’s field of view by aerodynamic forces introduced by the wiper motion. This is wiper drawback, an undesirable phenomenon as the water which is drawn back on to the windscreen can reduce driver’s vision and makes the wiper less effective. The phenomena of wiper drawback can be tested for in climatic tunnels using sprayer systems to wet the windscreen. However, these tests require a bespoke test property or prototype vehicle, which means that the tests are done fairly late in the development of the vehicle. Furthermore, these results do not provide significant insight into the mechanisms driving the wiper

Jilesen, Jonathan, Gaylard, Adrian, Linden, Tom

SAE Eye on Engineering: Conti's Virtual A-Pillar tech

1239911/13/2018

The pillars that frame both sides of your car's windshield are known as the A pillars. In this episode of SAE Eye on Engineering, Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Brooke looks at Continental's new "Virtual" A pillar. SAE Eye on Engineering also airs Monday mornings on WJR 760 AM Detroit's Paul W. Smith Show.

Manipulation of the Aerodynamic Behavior of the DrivAer Model with Fluidic Oscillators

2015-01-154004/14/2015

The effect of an active flow control method is investigated on a 1:4 scale realistic vehicle model called “DrivAer” with notchback geometry. The wind tunnel experiments are conducted at a Reynolds number of Re=3.0·106. Fluidic oscillators are applied at the c-pillars and at the upper rear edge of the window. The actuators are installed inside the hollow designed model emitting a high frequency sweeping jet. The spacing of the actuators, the mass flow rate, and the position of actuation are varied. The effect of the active flow control on the car is investigated with force and surface pressure measurements. The surface trace pattern is visualized with tufts for the active flow control cases and the baseline case. A tuft algorithm analyzes provides statistical data of the flow angles. Moreover, particle image velocimetry measurements are performed in the plane of symmetry for β=0° to capture the flow field at the rear end and the wake. The results indicate a significant pressure increase

Wieser, Dirk, Lang, Henning, Nayeri, Christian, Paschereit, Christian

Advances in Modelling A-Pillar Water Overflow

2015-01-154904/14/2015

Driving when it is raining can be a stressful experience. Having a clear unobstructed view of the vehicles and road around you under these conditions is especially important. Heavy rain conditions can however overwhelm water management devices resulting in water rivulets flowing over the vehicle's side glass. These rivulets can significantly impair the driver's ability to see the door mirror, and laterally onto junctions. Designing water management features for vehicles is a challenging venture as testing is not normally possible until late in the design phase. Additionally traditional water management features such as grooves and channels have both undesirable design and wind noise implications. Having the ability to detect water management issues such as A-pillar overflow earlier in the design cycle is desirable to minimize the negative impact of water management features. Numerical simulation of windscreen water management is desirable for this reason. This paper focuses on recent

Jilesen, Jonathan, Spruss, Iwo, Kuthada, Timo, Wiedemann, Jochen, Gaylard, Adrian

A Study on Prediction of Door Deformation in High Speed Passenger Vehicle at Cross Wind

2015-01-001003/10/2015

In this study, several design factors are considered to predict door deformation. Door deformation is mainly influenced by air flow around A-pillar and door static stiffness. Therefore design factors can be divided into two categories. First, design elements determined by the appearance of a car affect to the air flow around A-pillar. Second, door static stiffness is determined by engineering design parameters. Kriging method is used to predict door deformation by means of the design factors. Door deformation can be successfully predicted with this method.

Lee, Sungwon, Jeon, Seung, Lee, Jae Woon, Lim, Cha-Sub

Passenger Car Response to Interaction with Tractor-Trailer Steer Tire Lugs

2014-01-047504/01/2014

Performing a reconstruction of sideswipe interactions is difficult due to the lack of permanent crush sustained by the vehicles involved. Previous studies have provided insight into the forces involved in creating various types of damage for vehicle-to-vehicle interactions during a sideswipe interaction. However, these data may not be applicable to the interaction that occurs when a tractor-trailer steer tire is involved. As demonstrated in previous studies, steer tire interaction produces a unique pattern of markings on the struck vehicle by the protruding lugs (wheel stud) of the steer tire. These studies have demonstrated that the pattern of cycloidal marks created by the wheel lugs can be used to calculate the relative speeds of the vehicles. While this is helpful in understanding the relative motion of the vehicles, it does not provide information regarding the forces applied at the point of contact. The purpose of this study is to assess the structural response of passenger cars

Cormier, Joseph, Freund, Mark "Tony", Bonugli, Enrique, Guzman, Herbert

Experimental Data for the Validation of Numerical Methods - SAE Reference Notchback Model

2014-01-059004/01/2014

The use of simulation tools by vehicle manufacturers to design, optimize and validate their vehicles is essential if they are to respond to the demands of their customers, to meet legislative requirements and deliver new vehicles ever more quickly. The use of such tools in the aerodynamics community is already widespread, but they remain some way from replacing physical testing completely. Further advances in simulation capabilities depend on the availability of high quality validation data so that simulation code developers can ensure that they are capturing the physics of the problems in all the important areas of the flow-field. This paper reports on an experimental program to generate such high quality validation data for a SAE 20 degree backlight angle notchback reference model. This geometry is selected as a particularly powerful test case for the development and validation of numerical tools because the flow exhibits a realistic impingement and A pillar regime, significant three

Wood, Daniel, Passmore, Martin A., Perry, Anna-Kristina

Analysis of Damage Caused to Vehicle Body Panels by Impacting Hail and Various Tools and Objects

2013-01-143804/08/2013

On the 25th December 2011 there was a hail storm in the state of Victoria, Australia, which caused approximately AU$712 million worth of damage. Some of this damage was caused to passenger vehicles. The authors conducted a number of inspections of hail-damaged vehicles as a result of insurance claims being disputed or rejected on the basis that some, or all, of the alleged hail damage was not created by hail but instead created intentionally by the vehicles' owners with the use of different tools and/or objects. As a result of the inspections and investigations of potentially fraudulent claims, the authors conducted a total of 119 tests designed to replicate damage caused to vehicle body panels by impacting hail and to recreate claimed hail damage by using tools and other objects. To do so, the authors created two sizes of hail: Ø20 mm and Ø40 mm hail. A total of 15 impact tests were conducted with Ø20 mm hail. The impact speed for the Ø20 mm hail varied between 75 km/h and 144 km/h

Josevski, Nikola, Sandvik, Andreas, Jones, Chris, Pok, Tandy, Orton, Tia, Richardson, Shane

Impact Testing of a Hot-Formed B-Pillar with Tailored Properties - Experiments and Simulation

2013-01-060804/08/2013

This paper presents the numerical validation of the impact response of a hot formed B-pillar component with tailored properties. A laboratory-scale B-pillar tool is considered with integral heating and cooling sections in an effort to locally control the cooling rate of an austenitized blank, thereby producing a part with tailored microstructures to potentially improve the impact response of these components. An instrumented falling-weight drop tower was used to impact the lab-scale B-pillars in a modified 3-point bend configuration to assess the difference between a component in the fully hardened (martensitic) state and a component with a tailored region (consisting of bainite and ferrite). Numerical models were developed using LS-DYNA to simulate the forming and thermal history of the part to estimate the final thickness and strain distributions as well as the predicted microstructures. A strain-rate-sensitive constitutive model is used to model the as-quenched behavior of the hot

George, Ryan, Worswick, Michael J., Detwiler, Duane, Kang, Jidong

Numerical Simulations of Aeroacoustic Fields around Automobile Rear-View Mirrors

2012-01-058604/16/2012

A numerical method to simulate aeroacoustic fields around automobiles is proposed in the present paper. The proposed method can be used to compute sound emissions directly in both far fields and near fields. Sound passes through body structures near A-pillars and rear-view mirrors. The direct predictions of the sound to passengers therefore require solutions of acoustic near fields. Most aeroacoustics simulations around automobiles are based on Lighthill's analogy. Strictly speaking, Lighthill's analogy is not consistent in near fields because near fields are not governed by a simple wave equation. In the present paper, a proper approach is proposed to achieve further progress in the simulation of aeroacoustic fields around automobiles. The difficulties occur because the sound pressure is much smaller than the vortical flow pressure. The present method uses a flow/acoustics splitting technique that derives the modeled acoustic equations under the assumption that there is no acoustic

Kato, Yoshihiro

Evaluation of Dynamic Roof Deformation in Rollover Crash Tests

2011-01-109304/12/2011

Although the measured amount of roof deformation associated with a given rollover crash test is often the residual or post test deformation, rollover crash test researchers are aware that roof deformation occurs dynamically throughout the rollover event with varying magnitude. The challenge to quantifying dynamic roof deformation has been the lack of a reliable method to measure and record the dynamic roof deformation during the rollover test. Researchers have explored various methods to measure dynamic roof deformation including the use of film analysis of external targets, accelerometers, string potentiometers, and 3D photogrammetry. This paper discusses a series of simulated curb trip rollover tests conducted to study and compare different methodologies to measure and record dynamic roof deformation. The tests involved midsize crossover utility vehicles instrumented with accelerometers on the roof rails at the A and B pillars and string potentiometer arrays at roof locations above

Harvin, Stuart W., O'Brien-Mitchell, Bridget M., Dwoinen, Andrew R., Nassoiy, Carol Ann, Motowski, Daniel F., Melocchi, Anthony G., Lu, Huizhen, Peace, Manuel V.

Robust Optimization of Drawbead Forces for a B-pillar Stamping

2009-01-098004/20/2009

Many uncertainties exist in the sheet metal stamping such as the variation of incoming material properties, die and press setup conditions, long-term tool wear and degradations. They are interacting in a way to make the process less robust, thus contributing to increased scrap rates and more unscheduled downtime. This paper presents a new approach for the die design optimization where these uncertainties are taken into account. A Tailor-Welded B-pillar consisting of 1.65mm DP600 and 0.9mm DDQ is selected as the focal part to demonstrate the new design process. The study is divided into two phases. The focus of the first phase is to understand the complexity of the formability window and determine effective optimization techniques under deterministic conditions. It is found that the formability window is highly nonlinear, or even discontinuous if a global objective function such as the Maximum Failure Factor is used. It is therefore more advantageous to adopt a regional approach where

Li, Dayong, Chang, Tony, Wang, Yu-Wei, Xia, Z. Cedric

Hydroforming: Benefits, obstacles, experience and opportunities

2007-01-259911/28/2007

The weight reduction in vehicles is a subject of increasing importance at this moment in the automotive industry following the application of ultra high strength steels. Lightest vehicles bring material and energy economy, and also go in favor of the current environmental politics. The vehicles weight cannot be reduced without engineering changes, reason for new producing methods of lighter steel components are being developed, reducing the amount of the vehicles components. One of these techniques is the Hydroforming. Hydroforming consists in use the fluid pressure in substitution of the punch in a conventional press tooling to form the desired shape of the components. The technique is very useful to produce entire components that would be made in conventional way for multiples pressed components joined later. For example, a typical chassis set that would be normally made by up to six presses and welded components can be hydroformed as a single part. Generally the Hydroforming process

Gandara, Irineu, Berti, Wagner

Design of Dual Sliding Door for a Small-size Car and Its Validation Using CAE Tools

2007-01-088904/16/2007

Sliding doors are usually employed on the rear side of minivans and some large vehicles for easy egress and ingress. Furthermore, dual sliding doors are frequently observed in various concept models. This paper describes design of a dual sliding door for a small-size car. A new sliding mechanism with two sliding contact points is proposed with the B-pillar incorporated in the door structure made of high strength steel. Two sliding tracks are located in the door and the rocker panel. The door linkages first swivel and then slide with the help of the rollers in the tracks to open the door. The sliding mechanism and the door structure were validated using CAE tools such as HyperMesh, MSC/NASTRAN [2] and LS-DYNA[3]. This validation process was divided into three parts: (1) Dynamic Stiffness Analysis or the normal mode analysis to understand the natural frequency response of the door. (2) Static Stiffness Analysis or the Door Sag analysis was conducted to see the structural strength of the

Shah, Kalpak, Kang, Hong Tae, Deshmukh, Upendra

Reduction in Vehicle Temperatures and Fuel Use from Cabin Ventilation, Solar-Reflective Paint, and a New Solar-Reflective Glazing

2007-01-119404/16/2007

A new type of solar-reflective glass that improves reflection of the near-infrared (NIR) portion of the solar spectrum has been developed. Also developed was a prototype solar-reflective paint that increases the NIR reflection of opaque vehicle surfaces while maintaining desired colors in the visible portion of the spectrum. Both of these technologies, as well as solar-powered parked car ventilation, were tested on a Cadillac STS as part of the Improved Mobile Air Conditioning Cooperative Research Program (I-MAC). Significant reductions in interior and vehicle skin temperatures were measured. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) performed an analysis to determine the impact of reducing the thermal load on the vehicle. A simplified cabin thermal/fluid model was run to predict the potential reduction in A/C system capacity. The potential reduction in fuel use was calculated using a vehicle simulation tool developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Rugh, John P., Chaney, Lawrence, Lustbader, Jason, Meyer, John

The Measurement of Transient Aerodynamics Using an Oscillating Model Facility

2006-01-033804/03/2006

A method for the estimation of transient aerodynamic data from dynamic wind tunnel tests has been developed and employed in the study of the unsteady response of simple automotive type bodies. The paper describes the facility and analysis techniques employed and reports the results of a parametric study of model rear slant angle and of the influence of C-pillar strakes. The model is shown to exhibit damped, self-sustained and self-excited behaviour. The transient results are compared with quasi-steady predictions based on conventional tunnel balance data through the calculation of derivative magnification factors. For all slant angles tested the results show that the quasi-steady prediction is a poor estimate of the real transient behaviour. In addition the slant angle is shown to have significant effect on the level of unsteadiness. The addition of C-pillar strakes is shown to stabilise the flow with even small height strakes yielding responses well below that of steady-state.

Passmore, M. A., Mansor, S.

Framed Door x Fully Stamped Door

2003-01-365811/18/2003

When designing a new subsystem for a new vehicle platform, technical requirements, performance targets and cost implications drive the decision process towards which concept to be adopted. If this platform is planned for worldwide introduction, local requirements and capabilities have to be put into the business equation. Among the possible design options for a Side Door Subsystem, including basically Inset doors and Limo doors with their variations, the best for the market is selected on: Commonality requirements through the platform family; Technical implications of each design concept; Technical excellence to produce parts with the required quality/cost in the local market; Costs and timing associated with each design concept; Benchmarking. This composition of factors drove the decision to adopt different design options for South America and Europe on the recently launched small car platform. This paper demonstrates the rationale of this decision making process and the positive

da Cunha Mello, Fernando Dupin, Campos, Frederico

New Concept Body

2003-01-282710/27/2003

As methods for achieving the utmost in usability and convenience, we have attempted to eliminate the center pillar (left side B-pillar), which is the main column of the body frame, and have also developed the world's lightest passenger front seat with a built-in seat belt and tumble function. All of these innovations are never-before-seen approaches for mass-produced vehicles, which allow us to realize a completely new style of car that focuses on universal design and is very user-friendly.

Tadakara, Takehiko, Miyamoto, Naokazu

The Ahmed Model Unsteady Wake: Experimental and Computational Analyses

2003-01-131503/03/2003

The unsteady wake of the Ahmed model has been investigated experimentally using time-accurate 5-hole and hot-wire probes and computationally using Exa PowerFLOW. The backlight angle was 25° which was chosen to be slightly below the critical angle observed computationally. The CFD results are similar to experimental results for backlight angles just below the critical angle (eg: 27.5°, 30°). Unsteady flow-field reconstruction of the experimental results and the CFD results both revealed a quasi-two-dimensional vortex-shedding type structure from the bottom of the model base. This results in a semi-periodic build up and collapse of the near wake and produces a symmetric oscillation in the strength and position of the rear pillar vortices. The period of this phenomenon corresponds to a Strouhal number of approximately 0.5 based on free-stream velocity and the square root of the model frontal area.

Sims-Williams, David B., Duncan, Bradley D.

Influence of Structural Foam Properties on the Performance of Automotive Body Reinforcements

2003-01-032603/03/2003

With the increasing demands on automakers to improve crash worthiness, and CAF requirements, automakers are faced with evaluating alternative technologies to achieve new competitive standards. In particular, the use of structural foam as a reinforcing media for automotive hollow sections is being examined. The objective of this study is to examine the use of epoxy structural foam in a hollow section as an optimum reinforcing means and to compare the reinforcing performance of a solid fill versus a laminate configuration and several approaches using steel alone. For this comparative program, idealized hat shaped cross sections are tested in three point bending. A quasi-static load-deflection curve is reported for each beam type. For crash-worthiness, strength and energy absorption is physically measured for an unfilled baseline beam and reinforced beams with the composite reinforcement in the middle third of the length of the beam. All beams were modeled using FEA failure analysis for

Wycech, Joe, Butler, Mark

Development of an Aerodynamic Prediction Using an Advanced Aerodynamic Panel Program

2002-01-204507/09/2002

An advanced panel method is presented for simulating the airflow of arbitrary three-dimensional automotive body in the paper. The theory is about a wake synthesizer for panel methods that use an iterative procedure to determine the position of strongly interacting vortex sheets. The estimation of the wake geometry is based on blunt body theory with separation flow. The method is applied to the A-pillar separation on foreside of an automobile and be fit for determine the starting point for a three-dimensional iterative solution. Comparison with experimental data shows that calculations results with the estimated wakes are more reality than with the attached flow

Zhengqi, Gu, Jun, Wu

AUTOAPR02_0704/01/2002

AEIgets behind the wheel of Volvo's Safety Concept Car to sample its many innovative technologies. Volvo Car Corp.'s safety philosophy is that seeing is believing. So when it designed and built its Safety Concept Car (SCC), it put sharp focus on providing the driver with “superior vision” by using a combination of electronic technology and novel construction. Now, after taking the $4 million concept to major motor shows around the world, Volvo has allowed a limited number of specialist writers, including this AEI editor, to drive it. Getting acquainted with the SCC is literally a moving experience. The driver sits behind the steering wheel and looks momentarily at an infrared sensor and video camera (there is also a capacitive sensor in the roof) above the windshield (sunglasses or spectacles need to be removed), and the seat promptly makes a smooth vertical adjustment. If the driver desires, he or she can alter the driving position by pushing buttons that adjust pedals, steering wheel

Theoretic Analysis of Factor to Affect Door Closing Force by Positioning Error of Assembly Fixture

2002-01-076903/04/2002

In order to analyze positioning errors of assembly fixture of car SANTANA 2000, a 3D CAD model of fixture is built in this paper. Six typical deviation models are defined on the basis of six points positioning principle for fixture. The assembly gap distribution between door and side frame is analyzed and the influence of different deviation patterns on assembly gap is studied, and the effect of assembly gaps on door closing force is evaluated meanwhile. The results show that positioning errors of door assembly fixture is one of the most important factors to affect the door closing force.

Zhao, Jiancai, Zhu, Xunsheng, Wan, De'an

An Ultra-Light Thin Sliding Door Design - A Multi-Product Multi-Material Solution

2002-01-039103/04/2002

Sliding door designs are applied to rear side doors on vans and other large vehicles with a trend towards dual sliding doors with power operation. It is beneficial for the vehicle user to reduce the weight of and space occupied by these doors. Alcoa, in conjunction with Ford, has developed a multi-product, multi-material-based solution, which significantly reduces the cost of an aluminum sliding door and provides both consumer delight and stamping-assembly plant benefits. The design was successfully demonstrated through a concept readiness/technology demonstration program. The key findings of the joint effort demonstrated: Reduced system cost through parts reduction/consolidation and associated reduction of stamping and joining/assembly operations, gauge reduction and optimized material utilization Reduced thickness of the door by over 60mm and weight reduction by over 11kg, Equivalent functional performance to the current steel door Manufacturability using robust processes at desired

Seksaria, Dinesh C., Patel, Rajesh K.

Theoretical Approach for Pillar Trim Design to Reduce Head Injury

2001-01-305610/16/2001

This paper presents an analytic method to estimate the proper space and stiffness of the vehicle's pillar trim to meet FMVSS 201 head injury criteria. A practical guideline curve, which is used in determining the adequate space and stiffness of pillar trim, is derived assuming haversine curve for the head impact pulse. Rib structure of pillar trim, which has a required stiffness, is designed using further simplification that models the BIW and the trim as equivalent springs. The required stiffness of the trim was achieved by adding a rib structure to it, and the shape of the rib structure was obtained using finite element analysis. Finite element analysis and experiment were conducted to validate the design of the trim, and the results were very close to the required stiffness.

Kim, Hyoung-Gon, Kim, Dong-Seok

PEDESTRIAN HEADFORM IMPACT TESTS FOR VARIOUS VEHICLE LOCATIONS

2001-06-018506/04/2001

Current accident analysis shows that the head of the pedestrian impacts most frequently into or around the windscreen since cars in recent have a short hood. Therefore, the injury risks to the head in contact with various locations of the car including the windscreen and its frame were examined on the basis of headform impact tests. The HIC is high from contact with the cowl, lower windscreen frame or A pillar, and it is low with increasing distance from these structural elements. In the windscreen center, the HIC is less than 500. The headform impact test results were compared between earlier and current car models. The HICs in the bonnet top area are similar in either type car except for the car built especially for pedestrian safety. However, on the A pillar, the HICs are much greater for current cars. From child headform impact tests for the WAD of 1000 mm, the HIC of SUV is higher than cars, and the SUV with steel bull bar leads to high injury risk.

Mizuno, Koji, Yonezawa, Hideki, Kajzer, Janusz

Head Injuries in Vehicle-Pedestrian Impact

2000-01-015703/06/2000

In vehicle-pedestrian impacts, the kinematics and severity of pedestrian injuries are affected by vehicle front shapes. Accident analyses and multibody simulations showed that for mini vans the injury risk to the head is higher, while that to the legs is lower than for bonnet-type cars. In mini-van pedestrian impacts, pedestrians ran high risks of a head impact against stiff structures such as windshield frames. When pedestrians are struck by a car with a short hood length, their heads are likely to strike into or around the windshield. The injury risks to the head by such an impact were examined by head form impact tests. The HIC rises from contact with the cowl, windshield frame or A pillar, and it lessens with increasing distance from these structural elements.

Mizuno, Koji, Kajzer, Janusz

Aerodynamic Noise Simulation based on Lattice Boltzmann Method ( Surface Pressure Fluctuations around A-pillar )

1999-01-112703/01/1999

1 A technique based on Lattice Boltzmann Method has been applied to the aerodynamic noise simulation by calculating the surface pressure fluctuations. In the first place, basic investigations were performed by using a simple geometry model (wedge box) that generated the flow structure similar to that of vehicle's A-pillar vortex. Then, the work was extended to an actual production vehicle's body. As a result, the tendency of the surface pressure fluctuations around A-pillar was captured. Consequently this method makes it possible to evaluate the complex flow pattern and the surface noise signature at the early exterior design phase without wind tunnel tests using prototype vehicles.

Uchida, Katsuya, Okumura, Kenji

Structure and Padding Optimization for Side Impact Protection

98618305/31/1998

This paper aims to show methods to design and optimize vehicle side structure and padding to improve side impact protection. To limit injuries at thorax level, intrusion profile during impact must perform a negative vertical tilt: a way to obtain this is to avoid B pillar deforming above R point. A static analysis may be useful to determine a proper distribution along B pillar axis of sections'' moments of inertia. A good structural behavior is necessary but not sufficient to perform good results in side impact. A proper control of padding stiffness is very important especially for abdomen protection. A method to evaluate the stiffness of padding at thorax level is proposed. A similar method is used to determine failure load of armrest for abdomen protection.

Di Leo, Marcello

Expandable Foams with Programmed Expansion as Body Cavity Filler

98059002/23/1998

Baffles based on heat activated foams have found increasing use as body cavity filler to inhibit noise propagation through hollow body channels, such as pillars in passenger cars. However, most conventional expandable foams tend to sag, deform and foam randomly, unless they are supported or sandwiched by rigid plastic or metal plates. The uncontrolled foaming reduces the reliability of cavity sealing for fumes, water and noise. The sandwich designs add to the part weight and increase cost unnecessarily. This paper introduces a heat activated expandable foam with programmed directional control during expansion. The directional control is especially useful for filling cavities such as pillars with complex geometry or sharp pinch-welded corners; it also eliminates the need for sandwich design. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the foams with directional control, the dynamics of cavity filling was studied by comparing programmed foaming with random foaming. The acoustic test result of

Chang, R. J., Dawes, Keith, Schwartz, Lawrence D.

Attributes of Nonwovens in the Headliner Molding Process

98094202/01/1998

No longer are North American automotive OEMs designing vehicles for their own domestic market. Today's automotive engineer must design and deliver world class quality to a global customer with unprecedented expectations, unlimited choices and little brand loyalty. In automotive interiors, there are distinctions between vehicles designed in North America and their engineered counter-parts in Japan and Europe. One area worthy of examination is the selection of nonwoven automotive interior headliner fabrics. Japanese and European automotive OEM's have recognized nonwovens for their reduced cost, light weight, superior fade resistance and ability to be recycled. Today, nonwoven automotive interior headliner fabrics command over 60% of the Japanese and 50% of the European automotive markets, with less than 5% in North America. Due to limited Tier 1 supplier (molder) experience in North America, this paper will discuss the advantages of nonwovens from the perspective of experienced

Kitazawa, Norimitsu “Norm”, Preininger, William A., Karasawa, Naruyoshi “Kaz”

Effect of Front Seat Stiffness in Federal Dynamic Side Impact

97012602/24/1997

The objective of this research is to study the effect of front seat structure in Federal (FMVSS 214) dynamic side impact Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation. This research investigates the side structure behavior, buckling mode, velocity, and deformation of components such as the B-pillar, front door, rear door, floor pan, and rocker in three different configurations, using two different front seal stiffnesses. A methodology was developed to reduce side structure deformation and associated component velocities, thereby minimizing occupant loading.

Farahani, Akbar, Honken, Brian

Glass Drop Design for Automobile Windows - Design of Glass Contour, Shape, Drop Motion, and Motion Guidance Systems

95111004/01/1995

This paper presents a new computerized approach for designing the automobile window glass contour, the glass drop motion, and the regulator systems. The three-dimensional geometrical relationship of the glass contour, the drop path, and its guidance system have been studied. Methods for barrel and helical drops are presented for optimizing the glass profile and drop path trajectories. Criteria for perfecting the glass contour are developed for shaping the profile of the vehicle clay model. Methods for correcting the glass contour and shape are presented. Examples are provided to illustrate how to improve the design. This approach integrates the development works of glass contour, drop motion and regulator systems. Through this design approach the window glass can fit and move perfectly in the door assembly.

Chang, H. Y., Song, Ji Oh

Computer-Aided 3-D Surface Reconstruction During High Speed Crush Events

02/01/1991

A system which can remotely measure detailed deformations of vehicle structures during crush events was developed. The system uses ordinary video or 16 mm high speed movie to capture the crush event. This information is digitized and analyzed using personal computers to perform photogrammetric manipulations which yield accurate surface geometries. The output is useful for comparison to computer simulations. This paper presents preliminary results regarding the accuracy of this system.

Karvelis, Albert V., Rogers, Michael W., Anderson, Carl E., Liubinskas, Aldis

Integrated Instrument Panels from Pillar to Pillar

90116410/01/1990

The concept of the Integrated Instrument Cluster is changing. The technology is advancing and the requirements moving forward. The way clusters are designed must move with the times.

Bodley-Scott, Jamie

On the Relation Between Continuing Engineering Education and Revitalizing the Automotive Industry of China

89137911/01/1989

China hasn't paid much attention to the importance of continuing engineering education (CEE) as CEE was studied in China much late. It's very important to probe into the relation between the auto development strategy of China and CEE. Here enough evidence can make an exposition that we must rely on CEE if we intend to develop the auto industry. If we, CEE staff of the auto industry want to develop the auto industry, we must set up the thought firmly for developing the auto industry and research how to service and study the inherent and relevant policies. The auto industry of China must be developed greatly because it has become the pillar industry of the Chinese national economy. So CEE which services for the auto industry also must be developed greatly. It's very important to solve the problem of understanding theoretically

Multi-Axial Collapse of Rectangular Section Tubes and Its Modelling in Finite Element Analysis

04/01/1988

The paper reviews the main results of the theoretical and experimental analysis of the multiaxial collapse modes in rectangular section tubes used in bus and other vehicle structures. The tubes were tested quasistatically to collapse under the uniaxial bending, biaxial bending, pure torsion, torsion combined with uniaxial bending and torsion combined with biaxial bending. Hinge characteristics under multiaxial loading were simulated by a combination of the uniaxial collapse data. The analytical model compared well with the experiments.

Todorovska-Azievska, L., Kecman, D.

Rollover and Interior Kinematics Test Procedures Revisited

86187510/27/1986

This paper reviews the development and demonstration of a procedure for a rollover test to be conducted without the use of a ramp or rollover cart and also demonstrates the kinematics of an unrestrained far side occupant during the rollover sequence. A full-size car was pulled sideways into an energy absorbing barrier causing the car to roll 180 degrees and yaw 360 degrees. The test demonstrated that in an event of this type and severity, the injury can occur prior to ejection and that there is no correlation between roof crush and injury.

Habberstad, John L, Wagner, Roger C., Thomas, Terry M.

Energy Absorption Material Selection Methodology for Head/A-Pillar

86188710/27/1986

The objectives of this paper are to establish a reasonable procedure for padding selection (for head/A-pillar protection) and to demonstrate how the procedure would be applied in a particular vehicle. The objectives are met by a four step procedure: 1. Theoretical analysis of material properties and the effect of padding materials on head responses, 2. Static or quasi-static and dynamic evaluations of the material properties, 3. Preliminary evaluation of the protective capabilities of the materials by simulated A-pillar component testing, and 4. Final evalution of the most promising material candidate by component testing the material installed on the upper A-pillar of a 1981 Chevrolet Citation.

Monk, Michael W., Sullivan, Lisa K.

Development of a Rigid Passenger Safety Compartment Made of Composite Material-Application for Front Door Frames

86027803/01/1986

Based an extensive preparatory work and analyses, suggestions have been drawn up with regard to solutions for front door frames in the following regions:- door hinge mountings, seat belt anchorage mountings of B pillars, cross sections for the top of A pillars. At the same time as the design work, FEM calculations should be carried out to ensure optimization of the concepts. Economy reasons and experiences in production runs point towards a very strong fibre glass-reinforced door frames manufacutred in the SMC procress. The complete door frame is examined in comparison with geometrically similar sheet metal parts on a test frame and in the vehicle.

Voy, Christian, Morsch, Dieter

84055202/01/1984

This paper investigates an alternate design for a small car with maximum interior space. The most advantageous design was found to be a three seater vehicle with a possible fourth seat. The driver is positioned in the center of the vehicle. All seats are movable front and aft and sideways and the trunk is variable giving maximum space utilization and versatility. The car has unique folding doors which swing up far into the roof for easy accessability to all seats. Space for 3 or 4 people is provided in a vehicle of less overall dimensions than current designs. Through use of plastic materials weight is also lower guaranteeing excellent fuel economy.

Strobel, Werner K., Strobel, Manfred H.

Effectiveness of After Market Rust Protection

84057502/01/1984

Many questions have been raised about the need for and effectiveness of aftermarket rust protection, but no clear and precise answers have originated from applicators or manufacturers of the products. This paper will address three major issues related to aftermarket rust protection: where to put the product, what product requirements are necessary, and how to apply the product. Product performance will be established by corrosion testing on uniprime, G90 galvanized, and production steel test panels, representative of the materials used by the auto industry. Application requirements will be established by comparing the more conventional holes-drilled method to the newer fogging procedures, showing the deficiencies of these fogging procedures. Finally, this paper will establish that aftermarket rust protection benefits the consumer provided the materials used are effective corrosion preventives, the application procedures assure total and uniform coverage, and the amount of material used

Datsun 280ZX – Integration of Aerodynamics and Appearance

80014102/01/1980

It is essential for today’s sports car to have excellent aerodynamic characteristics and a sophisticated style. These factors are dependent and often inconsistent with each other. It is desirable that they are integrated rather than compromised in such cases. In the early stages of development of the 280ZX, we thoroughly investigated the relationship between a style and its aerodynamic characteristics. A three-dimensional smoke tunnel and a 1/5-scale model was used for this purpose. Several improvements were examined mainly on the front end of the model, which strongly affect both aerodynamic characteristics and styling, such as the hood, bumper, chin spoiler, engine-compartment opening and others. The resultant values of the principal aerodynamic coefficients of the realized 280ZX are CD=0.385, CLF=0.11 and CYM=0.04 (CD and CLF at a yaw angle of 0 degree and CYM at 10 degrees). In addition to the above-mentioned aerodynamic characteristics, wind noise, ventilation efficiency and

Yoshiyuki, Kazuhiko, Maeda, Tatsuo, Takagi, Michitoshi, Yanagawa, Motoo

Injury Mechanisms in Side Impact

78089702/01/1978

Side impact accidents are the most severe and second frequent traffic accident configuration. By a comparison of results of tests with and without intrusion, this paper shows that the severity of side impact for the occupant seated near the impacted side is mainly due to intrusion of the side wall inside the car compartment of the struck car. Without intrusion, injury criteria recorded on a dummy are much lower than when there is intrusion. The influence of intrusion can be explained by the deformation speed of the side wall of the struck car. The velocity change of different parts of cars and of dummy have been determined in two tests conducted at 40 and 50 Kph. The diagrams of these velocity changes indicate that the door and the frame seat of the struck car sustain a velocity change higher than the car floor. The pelvis of the dummy seated near the impacted side sustains a velocity change in the same order of magnitude as the door, whereas its chest has a lower velocity change. This

Cesari, D., Ramet, M., Herry-Martin, D.

The Porsche 924 Body-Main Development Objectives

77031102/01/1977

Functional design through aerodynamics, secondary safety, corrosion resistance, repairability, economic production and operation - such are the critical points to be observed during today's body development. The Porsche 924 realises these requirements by assuring simultaneously a high degree of functionality and economy.

Burst, Hermann E., Srock, Rainer

Manufacturing the Third Generation Econoline

75045502/01/1975

This paper presents highlights of assembly operations for the new 1975 model Ford Econoline III. All major assembly operations are covered. However, particular emphasis is placed on the automation used in body assembly. Econoline body and paint operations are performed at Ford's Ohio Truck Plant. Painted bodies are transported via special vans to the Lorain Assembly Plant for trim, frame and final assembly operations.

Knighton, C. L.

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