Societal demands for greater automotive fuel economy, lower environmental impact and improved performance have produced a trend towards lightweighting in automobiles. In this context, the effect of car mass and size on occupant safety is receiving considerable attention in the literature. Concerns have been raised about the safety of occupants of smaller, lighter cars involved in accidents with larger, heavier vehicles. The evidence supporting these concerns comes from crash data of existing steel-bodied cars. In this paper, the possibility of using an aluminum body structure to reduce automobile mas is explored. The use of lightweight aluminum provides technical data related to the energy-absorbing characteristics of aluminum components. It also suggests that proper alloy selection and proper design can result in a more mass-efficient energy-absorbing structure in the lightweight car. This structure, along with safety devices available today, enable the manufacture of a vehicle providing at least the same level of occupant safety as heavier cars of the past.
Lightweighting of cars with aluminum for better crashworthiness
Bessere Sicherheit bei Zusammenstößen bei leichtgewichtigen Fahrzeugen aus Aluminium
SAE Technical Papers ; 1-8
1993
8 Seiten, 10 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 29 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Lightweighting of Cars with Aluminum for Better Crashworthiness
Automotive engineering | 1994
|Lightweighting of Cars with Aluminum for Better Crashworthiness
SAE Technical Papers | 1993
|Using Artificial Intelligence to Aid Vehicle Lightweighting in Crashworthiness with Aluminum
DOAJ | 2020
|Electric cars stage a comeback. Lightweighting makes them practical
Tema Archive | 1989
|Lightweighting gains momentum with Cadillac's aluminum V8
Tema Archive | 1981
|