Vehicle Door Built-in Center Pillar for Lateral Collision Energy Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
In biparting vehicle door systems, the lack of a center pillar as a strength member leads to excessive rigidity in the door body during lateral collisions, causing the door to potentially move into the vehicle interior and transferring the collision load to occupants, rather than absorbing energy effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle door structure with a door built-in center pillar extending from the upper end to the lower end, featuring a low rigidity portion above the lower end of the pillar and a reinforcement below it, which engages the pillar to absorb lateral collision energy by displacing inwardly while preventing displacement of the door lower surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the door body is configured with high rigidity to prevent crushing during lateral collision, then the door structural integrity is improved, but the door may move into the vehicle interior and transfer collision load to occupants
Solution Approach 1:
The door body is divided into two functional zones: a high rigidity upper door body (above belt line) to maintain structural integrity, and a low rigidity lower door body (below belt line) to allow controlled crushing and energy absorption. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning different rigidity requirements to different regions of the door body.
Solution Approach 2:
The door body exhibits non-uniform rigidity distribution, with the upper portion having high rigidity and the lower portion having low rigidity. This local quality differentiation allows the upper door to resist intrusion while the lower door absorbs collision energy through controlled deformation.
2Strength
If the vertical reinforcement is formed of ultra-high tensile strength steel sheet to increase rigidity, then the door built-in center pillar rigidity is improved, but excessive rigidity prevents the lower door body from crushing to absorb energy
Solution Approach 1:
The door built-in center pillar is segmented into an upper high rigidity portion and a lower low rigidity portion. The upper portion uses ultra-high tensile strength steel sheet to maintain overall pillar rigidity, while the lower portion has reduced rigidity to enable controlled crushing and energy absorption during lateral collisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The door built-in center pillar exhibits spatially varying rigidity properties, with the upper portion having high rigidity and the lower portion having low rigidity. This local quality differentiation allows the pillar to simultaneously provide structural support and enable energy-absorbing deformation in the lower door body.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the door built-in center pillar is formed of high rigidity member to prevent door displacement, then the door stability is improved, but a heavy load is applied to the vehicle body during lateral collision
Solution Approach 1:
The door built-in center pillar is divided into rigid and flexible segments, with the upper portion providing stability and the lower portion providing flexibility for energy absorption. This segmentation reduces the overall load on the vehicle body while maintaining door stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigidity parameter of the door built-in center pillar is changed spatially, with the upper portion having high rigidity for stability and the lower portion having low rigidity for energy absorption. This parameter variation reduces the force transmitted to the vehicle body during lateral collisions.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door structure that can displace inward a region directly above a lower end of a door built-in center pillar while preventing displacement of a door lower surface to absorb lateral collision energy immediately after lateral collision is provided. In the vehicle door structure including a door built-in center pillar extending from an upper end to a lower end at a front end in a rear door of a biparting door system, a reinforcement is provided on a door lower surface below the door built-in center pillar, a part of the lower end of the door built-in center pillar is mounted to the reinforcement, and a low rigidity portion having lower rigidity than an upper part the door built-in center pillar is provided directly above the lower end of the door built-in center pillar.