As demand for fuel efficiency rises, an increasing number of automotive companies are replacing their existing metal designs with carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) redesigns. Due to the handling and manufacturing processes associated with CFRP materials, engineers have more design freedom to create complex, light-weight designs, which would be infeasible to manufacture using metal. Additionally, it is likely that by redesigning with CFRP, many steel assemblies can be consolidated to significantly fewer parts, simplifying or potentially eliminating the assembly process. When designing an automotive crossmember using CFRP materials, designers often aim for a two-piece design (top and bottom), while utilizing reinforcement material where needed. The joining of these two pieces is typically accomplished with many mechanical fasteners and adhesives, significantly increasing the part count and the manufacturing complexity. The objective of this research project is to redesign an existing steel front crossmember to a one-piece CFRP design, removing the need for most of the mechanical fasteners and adhesives. While a reduction in stiffness was observed in the final design, strength requirements were met, and the overall mass was reduced by over 25%. This work shows that a one-piece CFRP crossmember is possible and should be further explored in the automotive industry.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Parts Consolidation of Automotive Front Crossmember: From Two-Piece CFRP Design to One-Piece Design


    Additional title:

    Sae Int. J. Adv. and Curr. Prac. in Mobility


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    WCX SAE World Congress Experience ; 2022



    Publication date :

    2022-03-29


    Size :

    12 pages




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    Parts Consolidation of Automotive Front Crossmember: From Two-Piece CFRP Design to One-Piece Design

    Krsikapa, Daniel / Jalayer, Shayan / Dossett, Wesley et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2022


    CROSSMEMBER AND MANUFACTURING METHOD FOR CROSSMEMBER

    ASAI TETSUYA / OKUMOTO RYUICHI | European Patent Office | 2020

    Free access

    Corvette crossmember design and manufacturing

    Brown,K. / Juras,P. / General Motors,US | Automotive engineering | 1997


    Crossmember and method for manufacturing a crossmember

    GARNWEIDNER PETER / BLÜMEL MICHAEL / POVOLNIK GERGELY | European Patent Office | 2020

    Free access

    CROSSMEMBER

    European Patent Office | 2016

    Free access