Abstract
Recently, lightweight design concepts have come into prominence for vehicle industry, especially for economic and environmental sustainability. Vehicle manufacturers have investigated new material usage to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution as increasing concerns. On the other hand, new legal obligations and global competition have accelerated this research and development process. Designing components with low-density materials is one the most common methods for reducing CO2 emissions. Among these materials, aluminum alloys stand out due to their adequate mechanical properties and specific strength. In this work, the study of lightening door hinges of a commercial vehicle is presented. To reduce the weight of vehicle door hinge, three different aluminum alloys are tried out and compared with steel. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments are conducted to determine if the safety requirements are fulfilled or not. According to results with an Al7075-T73 alloy, the weight of door hinge can be reduced by approximately 65%. Stress and strain values are suitable for FMVSS0206 standards. Additionally, it passed the corrosion test.
Highlights
Today, with decreasing energy resources and increasing global warming, reducing energy consumption and total CO2 emissions has become the most important priority in view of environmental and economic sustainability in the vehicle industry
A lightweight door hinge for sustainable commercial vehicles was designed and prototyped
Finite element analysis was used for development
Summary
With decreasing energy resources and increasing global warming, reducing energy consumption and total CO2 emissions has become the most important priority in view of environmental and economic sustainability in the vehicle industry. It is important that products and processes be designed with using lower weight, energy, and time. Within this context, investigating of usage of lightweight materials has become inevitable. Since nearly 75% of fuel consumption of the vehicle is related to weight. Helms and Lambrecht [3] stated that 100 kg weight reduction means 0.4 L less fuel usage per 100 km distance It ensures 10 g lower CO2 emissions. Kobayashi et al [5] studied the relationship between weight and CO2 emissions They concluded that a 10% decrease in vehicle weight ensures 6–8% lower fuel usage
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