1 - Introduction

Abstract

This chapter is an introduction to the book. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that the application of a simplified approach can benefit the development of modern passenger car structure design, especially during the conceptual stage. The foundations of the simplified approach are the principles of statics and strength-of-materials that are the core of basic engineering fundamentals. The simple structural surface (SSS) method, is offered as a means of organizing the process for rationalizing the basic vehicle body structure load paths. The category of light vehicle structures described in this book encompasses the many types of passenger car, light trucks and vans. These vehicles are designed and produced with methods and technologies that have evolved over approximately 100 years. In this time, the technologies used have become more numerous and also more complex. As a result, more staff with a wide range of expertise have been employed in the process of designing and producing these vehicles. The result of this diversification of design methods and production technologies is that an individual engineer rarely has the need to look at the overall design.