Open AccessDesign and manufacture of long-lasting lightweight structures for sustainable mobility
Author(s) -
Patryk Nossol,
Claudia Drebenstedt,
Felix Szymanski
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
technologies for lightweight structures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2512-4587
DOI - 10.21935/tls.v5i1.155
Subject(s) - crash , reuse , crashworthiness , structural engineering , modular design , mechanical engineering , computer science , engineering , finite element method , operating system , programming language , waste management
The focus in this paper is on the latest results of the crash, reuse and remanufacturing design concepts for a durable sill structure for a modular vehicle platform architecture. Like the entire vehicle platform the sill structure is also designed modular, with the possibility to replace damaged or to reuse intact components. The innovative sill structure consists mainly of durable carbon fiber reinforced composite plastic (CFRP) crash absorbers in the form of tubes and a C-profile manufactured by a cost effective serial process – pultrusion. Those crash tubes were designed using experimental and numerical knowledge based on internal studies. A special layup was chosen to achieve the highest energy absorption in case of a crash. Therefore, the mechanism of crushing and inversion are targeted. The innovative alignment of the crash tubes consider protection against oblique impact according to the latest NCAP standards. For a smooth transmission of the incoming force into the tubes, an auxetic-structured buffer element is placed between the outer C-profile and the crash tubes. In case of a crash or a vehicle design change, intact crash tubes can be reused or remanufactured thanks to the high durability and detachable connections, which corresponds to a cycle concept.