Vehicle Floor Structure for EV Side Crash Battery Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing size of battery assemblies in electric vehicles reduces the impact absorbing space, limiting the improvement of side crash performance and posing challenges to ensuring the safety of both the passenger compartment and the battery assembly.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle floor system is designed with a floor, side longitudinal members, a structural transverse member, and a battery assembly. The side longitudinal members feature a horizontal rib aligned with the structural transverse member, which enhances transverse stiffness and strength, thereby improving side crash performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the capacity and size of the battery assembly are increased to improve all electric range, then the all electric range is improved, but the impact absorbing space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The side longitudinal member is segmented into multiple sections with different thicknesses along its length. The first section has a greater thickness than the second section, allowing the structure to provide both high impact absorption capacity at the impact zone and sufficient structural strength at the connection zones, thereby resolving the contradiction between battery size expansion and impact absorbing space reduction.
2Strength
If the structural members are made of materials having high stiffness or strength to ensure battery assembly safety, then the structural strength is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different sections of the side longitudinal member are designed with different thicknesses to provide locally optimized properties. The first section has greater thickness for high strength where structural support is critical, while the second section has reduced thickness to create impact absorbing space. This local differentiation allows the structure to achieve both strength and safety without requiring uniformly high-strength materials throughout, thereby reducing overall device complexity and cost.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment vehicle floor system includes a floor, a pair of side longitudinal members disposed on side edges of the floor, respectively, wherein each side longitudinal member extends in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle and wherein each side longitudinal member includes a horizontal rib provided therein, a structural transverse member disposed on the floor and extending in a transverse direction of the vehicle, wherein the horizontal ribs are aligned with the structural transverse member in the transverse direction of the vehicle, and a battery assembly disposed under the floor.