A vehicle component comprises a crossbeam (40, see fig. 1), a cylinder 42, a piston 52, a panel 62, and a heterogeneous mixture (66, see fig. 4A). The cylinder has a chamber 50 and is fixed relative to the crossbeam. The piston is linearly movable in the chamber. The panel is fixed relative to the piston. The heterogeneous mixture is enclosed by the piston in the chamber. The heterogeneous mixture includes hydrophobic nanoporous particles (68) and a liquid (70). The heterogeneous mixture may be a colloid of hydrophobic nanoporous particles in a liquid, where the particles may be formed of silica. The particles may have a hydrophobic surface treatment. The cylinder may be located below an instrument (36, see fig. 1) panel cover and may have an orifice between the chamber and a space outside the cylinder.
Energy-absorbing knee bolster
2019-02-27
Patent
Electronic Resource
English