Design optimization of a multi-material, fiber-reinforced composite-intensive body-in-white of a mid-size SUV

Author(s)Deshpande, Amit M.
Author(s)Sadiwala, Rushabh
Author(s)Brown, Nathan
Author(s)Lavertu, Pierre-Yves
Author(s)Pradeep, Sai Aditya
Author(s)Headings, Leon M.
Author(s)Zhao, Ningxiner
Author(s)Losey, Brad
Author(s)Hahnlen, Ryan
Author(s)Dapino, Marcelo J.
Author(s)Li, Gang
Author(s)Pilla, Srikanth
Date Accessioned2024-01-17T17:44:05Z
Date Available2024-01-17T17:44:05Z
Publication Date2023-10-30
DescriptionThis article was original published in CAMX 2023 Conference Proceedings. Atlanta, GA, October 30- November 2, 2023. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.33599/nasampe/c.23.0169. © Copyright 2023. Used by CAMX – The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo. CAMX Conference Proceedings. Atlanta, GA, October 30 – Nov 2, 2023. CAMX – The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo DOI: https://doi.org/10.33599/nasampe/c.23.0169
AbstractTransportation accounts for almost a third of all energy consumption and emissions in the U.S. With an emphasis on improving the energy efficiency of vehicles and transitioning to electrified vehicles, lightweighting has become relevant to compensate for the added complexity of battery packs and hybrid powertrains. Lightweight materials such as aluminum, magnesium, and fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites can reduce the vehicle’s structural mass, the body-in-white (BIW), by up to 50%. However, the higher proportion of large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks in the North American fleet poses a challenge, as the larger size and high production scale of the structural components for this segment can significantly increase material costs. Thus, a multi-material approach to deploy FRP composites at select locations in an existing metal BIW can help advance composites design, integration, and manufacturing technologies. Furthermore, these designs can be translated for future EV structures. This study utilizes a systems approach to 1) establish design targets through structural analysis of the baseline SUV BIW design under various static and dynamic load cases, 2) conceptualize multi-material designs, and 3) assess the designs to meet lightweighting, cost, and sustainability objectives. Sustainable recycled carbon fiber-reinforced composites and other cost-effective FRP composite materials manufactured using state-of-the-art high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP RTM) technology were assessed for use in structural elements. An ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) technique was implemented to produce mechanically interlocked metal-fiber transition joints to serve as a joining mechanism between fibers and metals in the multi-material design. To incorporate the transition joint design into the topology optimization scheme, a high-fidelity model of the fiber-metal transition joints that describes the fiber-oriented interactions between the fibers, cured-epoxy matrix, and metal components was developed. This model's results accurately represented the behavior from experimental testing. They can be transferred to the FEA solver as a computationally efficient material card specifically for use at the metal-composite transition regions in the proposed designs. The results from this system-level multi-material composites integration study have been presented.
SponsorThe authors would like to acknowledge partial financial support from the Department of Energy, Project # DE-EE0009656 and industry partners including Siemens, Moldex3D, Westlake Epoxy, MSC Software (Hexagon), Zoltek and Carbon Conversions Inc. Marcelo J Dapino wishes to acknowledge the member organizations of the Smart Vehicle Concepts Center (www.SmartVehicleCenter.org), a Phase III National Science Foundation Industry–University Cooperative Research Center under Grant NSF IIP 1738723.
CitationBrown, N., M. Dapino, A. Deshpande, R. Hahnlen, L. Headings, P. Lavertu, G. Li, et al. “Design Optimization of a Multi-Material, Fiber-Reinforced Composite-Intensive Body-in-White of a Mid-Size SUV.” In CAMX 2023. NA SAMPE, 2023. https://doi.org/10.33599/nasampe/c.23.0169.
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.33599/nasampe/c.23.0169
Other IdentifierTP23-0000000169
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/33839
Languageen_US
PublisherCAMX 2023 Conference Proceedings
TitleDesign optimization of a multi-material, fiber-reinforced composite-intensive body-in-white of a mid-size SUV
TypeArticle
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Design optimization of a multi-material, fiber-reinforced composite-intensive bo.pdf
Size:
3.51 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Main article
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.22 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: