5 - Standard sedan (saloon) — baseline load paths

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the main load conditions that act on a typical passenger car structure. The structures of different sedan passenger car structures vary according to size, vehicle layout and type and to the particular design and assembly methods of different manufacturers. Nevertheless, the nature of integral construction dictates that there will also be similarities. The suspension loads, at both front and rear, are carried on deep, stiff boom/panel cantilevers attached to the ends of the compartment. These are a simplified representation of the inner wing panels. The booms represent the lower rails and the upper flanges. To keep the model simple, the suspension tower loads are fed directly into the webs of the cantilevers. Where it is necessary to carry out-of-plane loads, supplementary simple structural surfaces (SSSs) are provided, for example as floor cross-members and parcel shelves. To reduce complexity in the standard sedan, the parcel shelves are not considered to be part of the surface of the passenger compartment “torsion box” for the torsion load case. Both parcel trays are necessary for carrying loads in the bending load case, and for carrying loads into the torsion box in the torsion case.