Structure-material-performance integration lightweight optimisation design for frontal bumper system

ABSTRACT

The bumper beam plays an important role in protecting passengers and vehicles from the injury and damage that can be induced by a severe collapse. Many studies on automotive weight reduction have investigated material substitution, structure optimisation and filling foam material. This paper proposes a new optimisation method in which the material, main section shape of a component can be linked to each other and in which the main section shape changes with the material. This new methods is used to create a lightweight optimisation design for a frontal bumper system. It is a better optimisation solution, and the effect of being lightweight is obvious. The bumper system mass reduction is 1.4 kg, and the weight-loss ratio reaches 25.74%. Except for the peak acceleration of the left and right B pillars, the frontal impact performance of the car is better; the peak acceleration rates of the left and right B pillars decrease by only 1.81% and 2.84%.

KEYWORDS:

• Car
• bumper system
• structure-material-performance integration
• lightweight optimisation design

Acknowledgment

This research work was supported by the national key research and development project (2016YFB0101601), which is the subproject of the Key common Light-weight Technologies Research and Application of Electric Vehicle Structure (2016YFB0101600). The authors would like to express their appreciation for the above fund support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.