Composite Bumper Reinforcement for Controlled Crash Energy Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bumper reinforcements fail to achieve a balance between weight reduction and performance, as they either lack sufficient rigidity or plastic deformation, leading to inefficient energy absorption during collisions, which compromises vehicle safety.
Innovation Solution
A bumper reinforcement design featuring a body part with joining surfaces and a resin reinforcement part with reinforcement ribs, where the resin reinforcement part is positioned more towards the vehicle body side, providing enhanced rigidity and plastic deformation capabilities, and a method of production involving joining techniques such as primer application and heat bonding to achieve optimal weight reduction and performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a bumper reinforcement is made of metal material, then strength and rigidity are improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper reinforcement combines metal body parts with resin reinforcement parts to create a composite structure. The metal body part provides overall structural strength, while the resin reinforcement part strategically enhances rigidity at critical areas, achieving high strength with reduced weight compared to full metal construction
Solution Approach 2:
The resin reinforcement part is positioned specifically at the vehicle body side of the metal body part, providing localized rigidity enhancement where needed rather than uniformly reinforcing the entire structure. This allows weight reduction in non-critical areas while maintaining strength where required
2Weight of moving object
If a bumper reinforcement is made hollow to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but rigidity becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow metal body part is combined with the resin reinforcement part to compensate for the rigidity loss from hollow construction. The resin reinforcement part acts as an internal support structure that restores rigidity without requiring solid metal filling, maintaining the weight advantage of hollow construction
Solution Approach 2:
The resin reinforcement part is strategically positioned to provide localized rigidity support at the vehicle body side, where structural support is most needed. This allows the hollow metal body part to maintain its weight advantage while achieving sufficient overall rigidity through targeted reinforcement
3Weight of moving object
If a bumper reinforcement is made of resin material, then weight is reduced, but rigidity and plastic deformation capability become insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The design uses a composite structure where the metal body part provides the necessary rigidity and structural support, while the resin reinforcement part adds targeted strength enhancement. This composite approach achieves weight reduction compared to full metal construction while maintaining sufficient rigidity that pure resin cannot provide
Solution Approach 2:
The resin reinforcement part is positioned at the vehicle body side to provide localized rigidity enhancement where structural support is most needed, while the metal body part handles areas requiring different mechanical properties, achieving optimal weight-strength balance through spatial differentiation of materials
4Loss of energy
If a bumper reinforcement crumples or plastically deforms too much under heavy load, then energy absorption increases, but crush boxes cannot be crushed to absorb energy
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure of metal body part and resin reinforcement part creates a controlled deformation mechanism. The resin reinforcement part maintains structural integrity under heavy load, preventing excessive crumpling, while the metal body part is designed to deform in a controlled manner to transmit energy to the crush boxes for energy absorption
Solution Approach 2:
The resin reinforcement part is positioned to provide localized structural support that prevents uncontrolled crumpling, while allowing controlled deformation in other areas. This spatial differentiation enables the structure to maintain sufficient strength to protect the crush boxes while still absorbing energy through controlled deformation mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves a lightweight bumper reinforcement that exhibits high rigidity under light loads and plastic deformation under heavy loads, effectively conveying impact energy to crush boxes for efficient energy absorption, thereby enhancing vehicle safety and stability.
Implementation Method 1
a primer layer which bonds a metal body part and a resin reinforcement part together
Implementation Method 2
heating and melt bonding the primer layer and the resin reinforcement part
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are: a lightweight bumper reinforcement which, with respect to the load during a collision, exhibits high rigidity against a light load and, against a heavy load, is capable of plastic deformation to absorb collision energy while effectively transferring unabsorbed energy to a crash box; a method for manufacturing the same; and a resin reinforcement member for a bumper reinforcement. The bumper reinforcement of the present disclosure comprises a body portion extending along a vehicle width direction, and a resin reinforcement portion extending along the vehicle width direction and disposed on the vehicle body side relative to the body portion. The body portion has at least one first joint portion on the vehicle body side. The resin reinforcement portion has at least one second joint portion joined to the first joint portion, and one or more reinforcement ribs projecting on the vehicle body side and extending along the vehicle width direction.