Car Door Research Articles

Simulation-based Digital Twin for enhancing human-robot collaboration in assembly systems

The advent of new technologies and paradigms such as the Internet of Things (IoTs), Digital Twin (DT), Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), is offering immense opportunities to improve the performance of manufacturing systems, but also opening new challenges. The current scientific literature highlights the presence of numerous theoretical studies, but limited real-life applications, and the need to address interoperability issues, with the aim of valorizing the data continuously generated by humans, robots, machines. This research presents a novel simulation-based DT, designed for supporting HRC optimization in assembly systems. The proposed approach is tested and validated, through a case study in the automotive sector, specifically focusing on an assembly line for car front doors. The results show that it is possible to achieve HRC improvements through the assessment of different working configurations. Furthermore, it is explained how the simulation-based DT, by leveraging the FIWARE/FIROS paradigm, can effectively and efficiently interact with other systems, to enable real-time data exchange, which is nowadays one of the main open research challenges.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Roller Hemming on Door Panel’s Curved and Straight-Edge of Flat Plane

Owing to its enhanced production efficiency, roller hemming has become the mainstream process for forming and joining metal sheets in the automotive industry. This study investigates the roller hemming process of a specific car door panel through a combination of experimental analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) on both straight-edge and curved-edge flat surfaces. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the door panel, including tensile strength, yield strength, modulus of elasticity, and Poisson’s ratio, were estimated through tensile testing and then underwent finite element modeling. The simulation results demonstrated the varying distribution of stress during the rolling hemming process, with the highest stress concentration observed in the bending area. Additionally, creepage and growing results were acquired from both simulation and experimental data to validate the precision of the numerical model. A comparison was made between the experimental and simulation results of the external forces exerted by the roller on the panel. In both straight- and curved-edge sections, the external force during final hemming exceeded that during pre-hemming, as revealed by experimental measurements of both normal and tangential external forces, surpassing their corresponding simulated values.

Influence of Reclaimed Water on the Visual Quality of Automotive Coating.

In the present study, the possibility of recovering water in a car wash station was presented. The resistance of automotive coatings to washing water recovered at 50% and 70% from wastewater generated at car wash was tested. Wastewater treatment was carried out by ultrafiltration (UF) using tubular polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes (100 and 200 kDa) manufactured by the PCI company. The membranes retained oil contamination, suspended solids, and over 60% of surfactants. For comparison, the 0.5% Turbo Active Green solution, used at professional car washes, was also applied in paint resistance studies. The tested solutions washed the painted surfaces of samples taken from car doors for 8 days. The resistance of automotive coatings to washing solutions was assessed by measuring gloss, Log Haze, RIQ, and Rspec parameters. Scratch resistance was also assessed. The results obtained in the current study indicated that the use of water recovered from wastewater did not deteriorate the quality of the car paint coating.

Test and CAE vibration results correlation and isolator design for improvement of car door vibrations

Test and CAE vibration results correlation and isolator design for improvement of car door vibrations

Development and machine learning based prediction of carbon/hemp/ramie sandwich composite as sustainable and ecofriendly solution for automobile application

Automobiles are significant sources of Carbon Footprint. To mitigate the Carbon Footprint and promote sustainability, the automobile industries are developing automobiles in compliance with the Circular Economy Model and therefore incorporating natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites for the body material on a wide scale. However, the sole incorporation of natural fiber as reinforcement to polymer composite materials may lead to premature mechanical failure. Therefore, this study examined the impact behaviour and cost of hybrid polymer composites composed of carbon fiber, hemp fiber, and ramie fiber for an automobile door panel. An experimental-based Machine Learning Framework was used to predict the Impact strength and cost of hybrid polymer composites for varied combinations of fiber volume fraction, fiber type, thickness, and fiber orientation. Crushing behaviour under Impact loading was analyzed through FEM for automobile door panels for the developed hybrid polymer composites. Furthermore, fractographic analyses were also carried out for the developed hybrid polymer composites.

Experiment research on the characteristics and mechanism of noise caused by a car door sealing cavity at wind excitation

Due to the various geometric shapes of cavities within car door sealing systems, the resulting cavity noise induced by wind excitation exhibits complex characteristics, leading to unclear noise mechanisms. To address this, a study was conducted to examine the acoustic properties of door sealing cavities located in the B-pillar, C-pillar, and backdoor of an SUV within a full-scale aeroacoustic wind tunnel. The main objective was to explore the relationship between cavity noise and interior noise. The results showed that peak components in the sound pressure level spectrum of the cavities significantly contribute to interior noise, particularly for cavities located close to the car’s interior. To gain further insight, the geometric characteristics of the cavities were extracted and transformed into equivalent regular cavities. These equivalent cavities were subsequently tested for their noise performance in a small-scale aeroacoustic wind tunnel, and the occurrence mechanisms were thoroughly investigated. The results demonstrated that the noise spectra of different cavities, whether they had sealing strips or leakage gaps, exhibited typical multipeak characteristics, with some cases even leading to whistling (e.g. backdoor cavity). The reason for the whistling was a resonance when the self-sustained oscillation frequencies of the cavities coincided with or approached the Helmholtz resonance frequencies or modal frequencies of the cavities. Interestingly, the self-sustained oscillation frequency and cavity modal resonance still persisted even when the two frequencies were somewhat separated, albeit with peaks of lower magnitude in the sound pressure spectrum (e.g. in the sealed cavities of the B-pillar and C-pillar).

Study on mechanical properties of natural fiber (Jute)/synthetic fiber (Glass) reinforced polymer hybrid composite by representative volume element using finite element analysis: A numerical approach and validated by experiment

The excellent mechanical strength with low weight of polymer-based composites makes them superior over conventional materials like steel and aluminum in terms of mechanical properties. Nowadays, researchers are working to develop natural fiber-based sustainable composite. Glass fiber, when combined with jute fiber, could greatly enhance the mechanical characteristics of composites; the sequence of the layers mostly determines these properties. In this study, the hybrid laminate of jute and glass fiber with resin polyester is developed with The representative volume element utilized in ANSYS. In ANSYS material design module, the 3D microstructure of composite material is created with various fiber volume fractions of glass fiber and jute fiber. After that, the effective elastic properties of hybrid jute/glass fiber and polyester as matrix, glass fiber/polyester, and jute fiber/polyester are evaluated and the simulation-based effective elastic property is validated by existing experiment value which showed good agreement. For further study, in Ansys ACP PrepPost, the composite laminate such as hybrid jute + glass fiber/polyester, glass fiber/polyester, and jute fiber/polyester is created with desired lamina thickness, stacking sequence, and fiber orientation. Thereafter, it was transferred to a static structure module to perform tensile and bending test analysis. Ansys ACP post-processing is utilized to investigate stress induced at each lamina of the composite specimen. This study revealed that by adding glass fiber to natural fiber, the mechanical performance is enhanced significantly, whereas hybrid jute + glass fiber/polyester (S2) demonstrated the highest tensile strength 259 MPa compared to other hybrid laminate composites. Astonishingly, The hybrid composite jute + glass/polyester (S2) exhibited 10 % higher bending strength than glass fiber/polyester (S1) and 64 % more than net jute fiber/polyester (S5). Additionally, S2 demonstrated 9.5 % higher shear strength compared to S1 and 64 % more than S5. This study will give a great understanding of how adding glass fiber to jute fiber, could enhance the mechanical properties, which will contribute to the design of an efficient composite part for automotive such as car interiors, car doors, trim panels, lightweight applications, and packaging industries.

Strength and Deformation Analysis on Car Door Design for Energy Saving Contest

Strength and Deformation Analysis on Car Door Design for Energy Saving Contest

FrameGraph: A Scalable Performance Evaluation Method for Frame Structure Designs Using Graph Neural Network

Abstract Multilayer perceptron (MLP) and convolutional neural network (CNN) encounter a critical scalability issue when applied to the performance evaluation task for frame structure designs. Specifically, a model of MLP or CNN is limited to structures of a particular topology type and fails immediately when applied to other topology types. In order to tackle this challenge, we propose a scalable performance evaluation method (called FrameGraph) for frame structure designs using graph neural network (GNN), offering applicability to a wide range of topology types simultaneously. FrameGraph consists of two main parts: (1) Components and their connections in a frame structure are denoted as edges and vertices in a graph, respectively. Subsequently, a graph dataset for frame structure designs with different topologies is constructed. (2) A well-defined GNN design space is established with a general GNN layer, and a controlled random search approach is employed to derive the optimal GNN model for this performance evaluation task. In numerical experiments of car door frames and car body frames, FrameGraph achieved the highest prediction precisions (96.28% and 97.87%) across all structural topologies compared to a series of classical GNN algorithms. Furthermore, the comparison with MLP and FEM highlighted FrameGraph's significant efficiency advantage. This verifies the feasibility and optimality of FrameGraph for the performance evaluation task of frame structures with different topologies.

Introducing advanced nanocomposites to enhance the efficiency and stability of the car’s hood door subjected to axial loading via deep neural networks in the mathematical framework

In order to improve the efficiency and stability of automobile hood doors under axial loading circumstances, this research investigates the reinforcing of these doors using graphene oxide powders (GOP). This work is separated into two different parts. In the first part, using the mathematical modeling, the results of the presented applicable structure are obtained. After that using the datasets of the mathematical modeling section, the results of deep neural networks (DNN) are trained, tested, and validated. The work focuses on double-curved panels’ linear strain fields, which are an essential part of vehicle construction. We solve the governing equations and boundary conditions for the reinforced automobile hood doors by using Navier’s solutions. GOP greatly enhances the mechanical characteristics by offering better load-carrying capability and deformation resistance. Our results show that DNNs can reliably and effectively forecast the performance of GOP-reinforced structures, providing a useful tool for improving automobile hood door designs. Enhanced automobile safety and durability are made possible by the combination of cutting-edge computational methodologies and novel materials, which also meet the increasing need for high-performance car components. This work highlights the revolutionary power of both technologies on contemporary vehicle design and manufacture, underscoring the mutually beneficial relationship between nanomaterial reinforcement and machine learning in the advancement of automotive engineering.

Rehabilitation guidelines following arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery for traumatic instability – a Delphi consensus

BackgroundThere is no consistent approach to rehabilitation following arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery (ASSS) in the UK. The aim of this study was to agree a set of post-operative guidelines for clinical practice. MethodExpert stakeholders (surgeons, physiotherapists and patients) were identified via professional networks and patient involvement and engagements groups. A three-stage online Delphi study was undertaken. Consensus was defined by the OMERACT threshold of 70% agreement. Results11 surgeons, 22 physiotherapists and 4 patients participated. It was agreed patients should be routinely immobilised in a sling for up to 3 weeks but can discard earlier if able. During the immobilisation period, patients should move only within a defined “safe zone.” Permitted functional activities include using cutlery, lifting a drink, slicing bread, using kitchen utensils, wiping a table, light dusting, pulling up clothing, washing/drying dishes. Closing car doors or draining saucepans should be avoided. Through range movements can commence after 4 weeks, resisted movements at 6 weeks. Patients can resume light work as they feel able and return to manual work after 12 weeks.Return to non-contact sports when functional markers for return to play are met was agreed. Return to contact sport is based on function & confidence after a minimum of 12 weeks. Additional factors to consider when determining rehabilitation progression: functional/physical milestones, patient’s confidence and presence of kinesiophobia. The preferred outcome measure is the Oxford Instability Shoulder Score. ConclusionThis consensus provides expert recommendations for the development of rehabilitation guidelines following ASSS. Contribution of the paper•This paper is the first to provide expert recommendations for patients undergoing rehabilitation following arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery.•This paper provides clinicians and patients with expert guidance on appropriate expectations regarding functional restriction and progression following arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation surgery.•In the absence of national clinical guidelines for this patient group, these recommendations will reduce variation and improve quality of care.•The knowledge acquired from this study will also lay the foundation for clinical guidelines to be developed.•The results of this study also demonstrate the need for further, empirical work to be carried out in this area.

Weight reduction analysis of a four-door passenger car using computer-aided modelling and experimental investigation

The door of a passenger car is one of the key components used for the safety of passengers from side collisions. Mostly car doors are made of Steel that increase the overall weight of the vehicle since steel is the primary metal used for the construction of door. The main objective of this research is to replace Steel material of a car door with low-cost automotive materials such as aluminium alloy, magnesium alloy, and carbon fibre material to perform weight reduction analysis without compromising the strength and safety. A comprehensive theoretical study of the existing car door has been performed with 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models through commercially available software SolidWorks. Results of this research work revealed that by selecting the appropriate engineering materials of the doors for a commercially available passenger car, the overall weight reduced to 45% when used aluminium material and 64% when used magnesium and carbon-fibre materials compared to the total weight of four doors made of typical steel material. Furthermore, reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emission was also obtained by reducing the overall weight of the passenger car doors. Lastly, the performance was measured through power-to-weight ratio (PWR) analysis for steel and aluminium which revealed that the latter material was more economical and lighter in weight than the former material.

Investigation of the Multidrug Resistance Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Car and Office Door Handles in a Tertiary Institution

Multidrug-resistant bacteria have posed a public health concern over the years, especially with the difficulty and cost of treatment of infections they cause. Fomites such as door handles are thus potent means through which pathogens are transmitted from one person to another as contact with them is made. This study thus involves isolating antibiotic-resistant bacteria from car and office door handles in a university environment. Using the simple random sampling method, twenty samples (20) from car door handles and twenty samples (20) from office door handles were collected, the isolation of bacteria was done using standard microbiological procedures and identification of the isolates was done using cultural, microscopic and biochemical characterization. Determination of the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates was done using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method on Muller Hinton agar. Antibiotics used included Ofloxacin (5 µg), Gentamicin (10 µg), Ceftriaxone (30 µg), Augmentin (30 µg), Ciprofloxacin (5 µg), Erythromycin (5 µg), Streptomycin (30 µg) and Cloxacillin (30 µg). The results showed a significant frequency of occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus at 35% and Klebsiella pneumoniae having least at 5%. From car door handles, S. epidermidis recorded 37% while K. pneumoniae recorded the least with 17.4%. The isolates exhibited resistance to antibiotics including Augmentin and Ceftriaxone (≤22 mm) while they were more susceptible to Ofloxacin (≥16 mm). All the K. pneumoniae isolated from car door handles exhibited resistance to Augmentin and Ceftriaxone. These results show that these surfaces could be a possible reservoir of infections caused by resistant bacteria, leading to difficulty in the treatment of infections caused by them.

Car Door Sound Quality Assessment - A Review for NVH Performance Research

Customer comfort in terms of NVH is a tangible and in-tangible effect. NVH is directly and indirectly connected to the psychoacoustics of human beings and lives. As a part of the advanced NVH analysis, the effects of noise have been studied in terms of psychoacoustic parameters such as loudness, sharpness, roughness, fluctuation strength, tonality, etc. Car door or door assembly is an integral part of the car or vehicle. The door is softly and flexibly connected to the main body of the vehicle; it protects passengers from weather effects and accidental impacts. Because of the inherent flexibility of the door, its flexible connections, sharp - transient closing, and vehicle operational excitations, the door assembly is one of the main sources of noise and vibration in vehicles. It is a prime requirement to understand the NVH effect of doors on vehicles, its analysis and ways of improvement. To understand the current status of the basic and advanced NVH analysis of the door, an extensive survey and in detail study was conducted. The main focus is given on technical papers published related to noise/ sound quality (SQ) during the last two decades, i.e., between 1999 – 2022. Total 31 technical papers were scrutinized and summarized in different categories. Broadly divided into: the number of papers published each year, Number of papers on types of SQ assessment, and the number of papers discussed SQ parameters. This study of these 31 papers published between 1999 – 2022 has given a ready reference for the work done on sound quality, mainly related to the vehicle and its door NVH. The total number of parameters considered by different researchers and approaches used by them to assess the psychoacoustic parameters of noise/ sound. Finally, these parameters and their level help to determine the quality of the sound produced or generated by any source.

Experimental investigation on the mechanical and acoustic performance of hemp/kenaf hybrid composites: Influence of different stacking sequences

AbstractThis study investigated the effect of various stacking sequences on the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of hemp and kenaf fibers reinforced hybrid composites. The mechanical study was done by using universal testing machine and izod imact tester. Further, acoustic study was done by using impendence tube method. Hemp/kenaf/kenaf/hemp hybrid laminates outperformed the other composites in terms of tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength. In the mono reinforcements, hemp/epoxy composites demonstrated superior mechanical characteristics than the epoxy matrix and kenaf/epoxy composites. However, hybrid composites have superior mechanical behavior compared to pure composites. From the acoustic results revealed that the pure hemp and kenaf/hemp/hemp/kenaf hybrid composites exhibitted highest sound transmission loss level at lowest and highest frequency region. The bestmechanical characteristics of hybrid composites will be suggested for use in automobile door panels. Also, the optimal sound transmission coefficent values signifying their appropriateness for use in applications that encompass many frequency bands.Highlights Hybridization of kenaf/hemp fibers Improved mechanical properties over the single fiber composites Better acoustic properties

Data-driven mathematical simulation analysis of emergency evacuation time in smart station's operations management.

This research establishes an emergency evacuation time model specifically designed for subway stations with complex structures. The model takes into account multiple factors, including passenger flow rate, subway facility parameters, and crowd density, to accurately assess evacuation times. It considers the impact of horizontal walking distance, flow rate, subway train size, and stair parameters on the overall evacuation process. By identifying bottleneck points such as gates, car doors, and stairs, the model facilitates the evaluation of evacuation capacity and the formulation of effective evacuation plans, particularly in multiline subway transfer stations. The good consistency is achieved between the calculated evacuation time and simulated results using the Pathfinder software (with the relative error of 5.4%). To address urban traffic congestion and enhance subway station safety, the study recommends implemented measures for emergency diversion and passenger flow control. Additionally, the research presents characteristic mathematical models for various evacuation routes by considering the structural and temporal characteristics of metro systems. These models provide valuable guidance for conducting large-scale passenger evacuation simulations in complex environments. Future research can further enhance the model by incorporating psychological factors, evacuation signage, and strategies for vulnerable populations. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of evacuation dynamics and provides practical insights to improve safety and efficiency in subway systems.

Design, Analysis and Optimization of Car Door

Abstract: The main aim of this project is the design, analysis and optimization of car doors. The car door is one of the essential parts of the vehicle, made of plastic, steel, and aluminum materials. Safety is a concern for automobile users due to the number of accidents happen and the increase the number of car users. The car door protects the passenger from external impact. The energy-absorbing capacity of the door has the potential to reduce the impact of the door. Automobile industries have been focused on the optimization of doors and increasing the efficiency of the vehicle. The impact analysis is done with a falling steel ball as per the specification, and the crashworthiness is studied. Improve the design until we get the best result for improving the safety of the door design. This analysis reduces the damage to cars and protects passengers. This analysis reduces the impact by 10%. The design of the car door is done using CATIA. Our problem statement focuses on side-impact analysis using software tools like Hypermesh and LS-Dyna.

Material-Structure Integrated Design and Optimization of a Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Composite Car Door

This paper develops a material-structure integrated design and optimization method based on a multiscale approach for the lightweight design of CFRP car doors. Initially, parametric modeling of RVE is implemented, and their elastic performance parameters are predicted using the homogenization theory based on thermal stress, exploring the impact of RVE parameters on composite material performance. Subsequently, a finite element model of the CFRP car door is constructed based on the principle of equal stiffness, and a parameter transfer across microscale, mesoscale, and macroscale levels is achieved through Python programming. Finally, the particle generation and updating strategies in the Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) algorithm are improved, enabling the algorithm to directly solve multi-constraint and multi-objective optimization problems that include various composite material layup process constraints. Case study results demonstrate that under layup process constraints and car door stiffness requirements, plain weave, twill weave, and satin weave composite car doors achieve weight reductions of 15.85%, 14.54%, and 15.35%, respectively, compared to traditional metal doors, fulfilling the requirements for a lightweight design. This also provides guidance for the lightweight design of other vehicle body components.

Microbiological Assessment of Car Doors and Steering Wheels at Benue State University, Makurdi: Public Health Implications

Microbiological assessments of car surfaces remain a fundamental approach to control hotspots of microbial contamination. This study was aimed at assessing the level microbial contaminations associated with car doors and steering wheel of cars within the faculty of science, Benue state university, Makurdi. A total of forty (40) samples were collected in duplicates. These included twenty duplicate samples from car door handles and twenty duplicate samples from car steering wheels respectively using sterile swab sticks and transported to Charis Research and Diagnostic laboratory for analysis. The samples were analysed using cultural, biochemical and morphological techniques. The results revealed that the heterotrophic bacterial count range from 1.97 x 104 to2.41 x 104 CFU/cm2 while the fungi count range from 1.9 x 103 to 3.7 x 103 CFU/cm2. Staphylococcus spp. had the highest occurrence of 14(70%) and 9(45%), Proteus spp. had an occurrence of 6(30%) and 2(10%) for car door handles and car steering wheels while there was no detection of Salmonella in all the samples assessed. The fungi occurrence rate observed was Aspergillus spp. [7(35%)] for car door handle and 3(15%) for car steering wheel while Rhizopus spp. had a prevalence rate of 4(20%) for car door handle and 1(5%) for car steering wheel. This study affirmed that car surfaces could serve as a reservoir of potential pathogens. Hence, routine disinfection of these surfaces is very important.

ANALYSIS OF AIRFLOW RESISTIVITY AND ACOUSTIC ABSORPTION OF FIBRE-REINFORCED PLASTIC COMPOSITES MADE OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND NATURAL FIBRES

This study compares the airflow resistivity and acoustic properties of fibre-reinforced plastic composites (NFRP) with different mixing ratios of polylactic acid (PLA) and the natural fibres flax and cotton for the application in construction as lightweight structures, car door linings or seat pans. The composites are made from the binder fibre PLA, the bast fibre flax and two different kinds of cotton. Nonwovens are consolidated with a thermoforming process to manufacture the NFRP. The addition of cotton improves the absorption by increasing the number of air pockets (pores) and reducing their shape due to the fineness of the cotton. The airflow resistivity of samples with different mixing ratios were analysed and compared. The airflow resistivity is modelled with different calculation models that use distinct material parameters and the transferability is assessed. Further, the absorption coefficient is analysed and compared to the airflow resistivity. The study shows that there is a dependency of the two parameters.