Automotive Door Research Articles

Development and Impact Behaviors of AL Door Guarder Beam Reinforced with CFRP for Side Collision of Automobiles

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates are used in the wide field, because they have excellent properties of a specific strength and of a specific stiffness. The CFRP has a possibility of weight reduction automotive structures which can contribute to improve mileage and then to reduce Carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the safety of collision should be also made clear in the case of employing the CFRP to automotive structures. In this paper, the Al guarder beam reinforced with the CFRP is examined by an experiment and by a numerical analysis for replacing it to the conventional steel door guarder beam equipped in the automotive door. The experimental relations of impact load to displacement for the Al guarder beams with the different thickness of CFRP showed the good agreement with those of numerical results. From the comparison of these results, the numerical method developed here is quite useful for estimating the impact behaviors of Al guarder beam with CFRP layer.

A method for optimal design of automotive body assembly using multi-material construction

This paper proposes a new method for designing lightweight automotive body assemblies using multi-material construction with low cost penalty. Current constructions of automotive structures are based on single types of materials, e.g., steel or aluminium. The principle of the multi-material construction concept is that proper materials are selected for their intended functions. The design problem is formulated as a multi-objective nonlinear mathematical programming problem involving both discrete and continuous variables. The discrete variables are the material types and continuous variables are the thicknesses of the panels. This problem is then solved using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. An artificial neural network is employed to approximate the constraint functions and reduce the number of finite element runs. The proposed method is illustrated through a case study of lightweight design of an automotive door assembly.

Thermoplastic elastomers improve quality of automotive door seals

Hong Yang in China is using new materials and a proprietary process to improve both the quality and weather resistance of co-extruded automotive door seals with a coloured top-coat.

DAKA: design activity knowledge acquisition through data-mining

Engineering knowledge is an important asset of industrial companies. The present research focuses on design activity knowledge and it attempts to develop effective ways to capture this operational knowledge from the design events monitored during the design process. A design activity is defined as a sequence of meaningful design operations carried out by designers to advance the design from its current state to the new state. The paper proposes a design activity knowledge acquisition (DAKA) framework that extracts designers’ design activity knowledge from the computer-aided design (CAD) operation event data obtained through commercial CAD systems. DAKA is composed of a product model roadmap for capturing the trajectory of designers’ design moves and a function-based design operation-mining algorithm for extracting meaningful design operations from CAD event databases. DAKA has been evaluated through case studies using real CAD operation event data as well as computer-generated synthetic data. In this paper, the details of the DAKA framework are described and a case example involving automotive door design is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Multidisciplinary optimization of an automotive door with a tailored blank

The automotive door has many design requirements such as stiffness, natural frequency, side impact, etc. Thus, various related governing equations should be solved for systematic analysis and design. It is almost impossible to solve them simultaneously. Instead, they are separately handled and the analysis results are incorporated into the design separately. Multi-disciplinary optimization (MDO) can be exploited well to include various analysis disciplines. Firstly, single optimization methods are carried out by considering one discipline for the automobile door design. Various optimization formulations are defined and the formulated problems are solved to determine the topology, shape, and size of the door with a tailored blank. The design is expanded to MDO to consider multiple disciplines. Although existing MDO methods are mathematically excellent, they are only adequate for the design of airplane wings. In this research, a few MDO methods are proposed to solve problems that share design variables among disciplines. This idea is from the fixed-point root finding method for multidiscipline analysis. Firstly, optimization of the entire system is divided into multiple domains according to the required analysis methods. Secondly, design variables are assigned to one domain according to the contribution or sensitivity. An optimization formulation is defined for each domain. Thirdly, optimization is performed at each domain where only the assigned variables are regarded as design variables and others are constant. If all the design variables are updated, then the single optimizations are iteratively conducted until the design is not changed. The developed method is verified by a standard mathematical problem. Then the developed methods are applied to the design of an automobile door. The design considers the stiffness, the natural frequency, and the side impact of the door. Most of the optimization processes use mathematical optimization. When mathematical optimization is too complicated, an approximation method such as the response surface method (RSM) is utilized. The developed methods show stable convergence and the weight of the door is reduced by 15 per cent. Since commercial systems are employed for analysis and design by coding the interfacing parts, the developed methods can be easily utilized in design practice.

An information value based approach to design procedure capture

Capturing engineering knowledge and managing it effectively is important for enterprises to stay competitive in today's global market. In our research, we focus on specific engineering knowledge, called design procedures, and attempt to develop effective ways to capture this operational knowledge from the design events monitored during design process. We proposed a novel method called Information Value based Mining for Sequential Pattern, or VMSP for short. VMSP does not require any predefined design-task-specific rules for classification of design events. The basic idea of VMSP is to treat any list of monitored design events as a sequential pattern and search for most frequent and informative sequential patterns. VMSP automatically generates candidate templates of sequential patterns, and then identify valuable patterns as design operations based on the interestingness we set. The interestingness is a synthesized index of the two evaluation criteria: One is intrinsic value representing how many design events constitute the template; and the other is extrinsic value indicating how often the sequence appears in the design process. We have evaluated VMSP through two case studies using real CAD operation data recorded through gear design and automotive door design processes, respectively. A case study using synthetic data was also carried out to test the scalability of the proposed algorithm.

Quality function deployment and its application to automotive door design

In order to be competitive, automotive design is now focusing on optimizing perceived qualities in terms of sound and operational efforts. Phases 1 and 2 of the four-phase quality function deployment (QFD) process have been applied to family segment vehicle side doors. The objective was to optimize customer comfort when opening and closing the door. This paper documents the QFD and discusses the reasoning used, assumptions made, and conclusions drawn. A customer clinic was used to capture the voice of the customer. A ranking method, morphological chart, and controlled convergence matrix are used to organize data. The door design obtained incorporates simple observations and electrical technology that could significantly reduce the effort required in opening and closing the vehicle door.

Numerical analysis of projection welding on auto-body sheet metal using a coupled finite element method

A comprehensive finite element method employing a subroutine to link up submodules of commercial code ANSYS is proposed to perform analysis of projection welding in quantitative detail. In order to solve the complexity due to dynamic changes in heat and electrical current flow paths, as well as temperature-dependent material properties, information about contact interfaces and the geometry of the projection areas have been taken into account. By updating parameter information among these submodules in an incremental manner, a truly thermal-electrical-mechanical coupled numerical analysis is realized for projection welding simulation. A case study of an automotive door assembly welding process is carried out and a series of experiments is conducted to confirm the validity of the newly developed method. The agreement between the experimental and numerical results is satisfactory, indicating that the incrementally coupled finite element method may be suitable for projection welding research. Finally, future work to extend this method in optimizing projection welding process design is also presented.

승용차 도어에 대한 다분야통합최적설계

The automotive door has a large finite element model in analysis and many design requirements such as stiffness, natural frequency, side intrusion, etc Thus, various related governing equations should be solved for systematic analysis and design Because each governing equation has different characteristics, it is almost impossible to solve them simultaneously Instead, they are separately handled and the analysis results are incorporated into the design separately. Currently, the design is usually conducted by trials and errors with engineering intuition in design practice In this research, MDO methods are proposed to solve the problems that share design variables in disciplines The idea is from the Gauss-Seidel type method for multi-discipline analysis The developed methods show stable convergence and the weight of the door is reduced by fifteen percent.

Development of the methodology to improve automotive door closing sound

A systematic method for improving the door closing sound (DCS) of vehicles is developed. Two vehicles are chosen. One is the target used for modification and the other is the competitor for comparison. The primary focus of this paper is to assimilate the DCS of this target vehicle to that of the competitor systematically. Several parameters are developed specifically to represent the DCS quantitatively during the assimilating procedure. These parameters are used to represent the DCS of the target and competitive vehicles and the discrepancy between them. Contribution analysis based on Maxwell reciprocity is proposed to rank the critical components that have the most impact on the DCS of the target vehicle. Therefore the DCS of the target vehicle can be improved by choosing the proper component for modification while taking cost into consideration. Finally, several examples of component modifications are demonstrated to show that the DCS of the target vehicle can be tailored to be close to that of the competitor in a cost effective way based on the proposed methodology and parameters of the DCS.

Understanding multivariate components – sheet metal assembly relationships using dimensional slow build studies

This paper presents a methodology to analyse and determine the effects of dimensional changes for multidimensional components through their assembly process. The methodology entails performing a series of measurement studies at different interim stages of a manufacturing process, i.e. a dimensional slow build study, and then analysing the part measurement data using a multivariate technique based on partial least squares regression (PLSR). Because of the high degree of collinearity among dimensional measurement points, PLSR is used to decompose assembly variance and is shown to be effective for analysing multidimensional sheet metal stamped components and their subsequent assemblies. The methodology presented in this paper is validated using a manufacturing case study of an automotive door assembly process studied during the launch of a new vehicle. The results of the case study show the importance of interim process measurements for diagnosing variation problems of assemblies with relatively high within-product correlation (measurements on the same part) and relatively low between-operation correlation (measurements from one operation to the next).

306 自動車におけるドア閉め音の音質研究(計測・音質・診断,OS-19 音響・振動)

306 自動車におけるドア閉め音の音質研究(計測・音質・診断,OS-19 音響・振動)

自動車ドアモデルの構造解析とLCA評価(G03-11 構成式・変形解析(3),G03 材料力学)

自動車ドアモデルの構造解析とLCA評価(G03-11 構成式・変形解析(3),G03 材料力学)

Automotive door design using structural optimization and design of experiments

Currently, the ultralight steel auto body (ULSAB) concept is receiving more attention owing to various benefits in automotive body design. One of the tasks of the ULSAB is constructing a door using tailor welded blanks (TWBs). In TWBs, two or more gauges of steel panels (parts) are welded together before the stamping process. In this research, the domains and thicknesses of the gauges in a front door structure are determined by a series of optimization methods such as topology, size and shape optimizations and design of experiments (DOE). The door is designed to have better performance compared with an existing structure in terms of stiffness and natural frequency. The final design is discussed and compared with the current design.

What It Takes to Turn Manufacturing Lean: The Experience of Donnelly Corporation

AbstractDonnelly Corporation, a global supplier of automotive mirrors, windows, and door handles, began implementing lean manufacturing a decade ago. Along the way, they discovered that the basis of lean thinking goes back to Henry Ford. Out of this understanding, they developed the Donnelly Production System. Throughout the years, they learned what works and what does not work, and lean manufacturing at Donnelly evolved from a focus on tools to a system that is integrated into management's vision and implemented by the entire production team. Donnelly has been named by the Society of Automotive Engineers as a model company in lean manufacturing practices. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Automotive door design with the ULSAB concept. using structural optimization

Weight reduction for an automobile body is sought to achieve fuel efficiency and energy conservation. Recently, the UltraLight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) concept is suggested using a few methods. ULSAB pursues a lightweight automotive with steel structure. Tailor welded blank (TWB) is one of the ULSAB methods and TWB can be utilized for an automobile door. Optimization technology is applied to the inner panel of a door which is made by TWB. A design process is appropriately defined for the inner panel. The design starts from an existing component. At first, the inner reinforcements are removed to use TWB technology. In the conceptual design stage, topology optimization is conducted to find the distribution of the variable thickness. The number of parts and the welding lines are determined from the topology design. In the detailed design process, size optimization is carried out to find thickness while the stiffness constraints are satisfied. Size optimization is performed based on the welding lines determined from topology optimization. The final parting lines are tuned by shape optimization. The results from size optimization are considered constant in shape optimization. A commercial optimization software GENESIS is utilized for the optimization processes.

Automotive space frame modular door systems for high performance

for the door latch, window regulator and hinges. primary structure is also packaging modular in the sense that it acts as a carrier for ease of assembly and high level of performance for all design criteria. This and vibrations. This paper presents a patented space frame modular door design good performance in critical areas such as side impact, mass, durability, noise practiced the resulting doors have a complicated assembly process and lack of hemming and assembly process. While this method is well developed and long Current automotive doors are produced following the conventional stamping,

Operating effort and related statistical tolerance analyses of automotive latching mechanisms

In an automotive door latch system, the pawl is employed to secure the ratchet, which is engaged with the striker to assure that the door is in a closed position. To secure a door in a closed position is called latching which is defined mathematically in this paper. When the paddle of a handle assembly rotates, a passenger would anticipate exerting a release effort (either moment or force) on the pawl and having a proper pawl rotation in order to open the door. An equation for the release effort required for rotating the pawl is derived. When the door is being closed, the final cinch effort is the key to assuring successful full latching. An equation for the cinch effort is formulated. Monte Carlo simulations based on Weibull distribution functions are then employed to explore the robustness of these three operating efforts: latching, release effort, and cinch effort. The study is limited to low-speed operations.

Vehicle door seal modeler for wind noise

Wind-noise performance of a passenger vehicle plays a significant role in the customer’s perception of overall vehicle quality. Wind noise aerodynamically generated on the exterior surface of a vehicle can propagate to the vehicle interior through body panels, window glass, and the seal gap between the door and door opening panel. Experimental studies indicate that automotive door seal systems are generally a major contributor to the vehicle wind-noise performance. Traditionally, automotive door seals are designed using the ‘‘bread board’’ and other ‘‘build and test’’ procedures. Two new finite-element-based acoustic-structure analysis tools have been developed to evaluate the wind-noise performance of door sealing system. These validated CAE techniques allow the engineer to predict door seal system performance in sound transmission and aspiration leakage before the availability of prototype hardware. These methods combine the separate analysis capabilities of finite-element analysis for acoustics, rubber elasticity, steady-state harmonic viscoelasticity, and a unique modeling approach to perform a fully coupled structure/acoustic interaction analysis of door seal systems. These unique CAE methods, experimental validations, and implementation of these techniques on product design will be presented.

A Mathematical Framework for the Key Characteristic Process

To maximize product quality, a product design team selects concepts and dimensions to minimize a product’s sensitivity to variation. However, even for the most robust products, it is rarely possible to transition a product into production without encountering any variation-related problems. In a complex product, it is not economically or logistically feasible to control and/or monitor the thousands of tolerances specified in a product’s drawing set. To address this problem, many organizations are using Key Characteristic (KCs) methods to identify where excess variation will most significantly affect product quality, and what product features and tolerances require special attention from manufacturing. As simple as this principle seems, most companies struggle to effectively implement KC methods because no quantitative methods to prioritize KCs exist. This paper develops a mathematical definition of a KC based on a variation propagation model. In addition, it develops a quantitative effectiveness measure used to prioritize where verification, variation reduction, and on-going monitoring should be applied. The effectiveness measure incorporates the cost of control, the benefit of control, and the expected change in process capability. The methods are illustrated using an automotive door assembly.