Locally Reinforced Foam-Filled Vehicle Pillars and Roof Rails
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current motor vehicle body structures lack effective reinforcement to enhance noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance while maintaining optimal roof-crush performance and reducing vehicle mass for improved fuel economy.
Innovation Solution
Structurally reinforced vehicle pillars and roof rails are fabricated using contoured fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) panels with internal foam or honeycomb core fillers, providing localized stiffening and reducing mass by using a bipartite or tripartite construction with a structural reinforcement insert that fills a discrete region within the pillar and rail cavities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If hollow vehicle pillars and roof rails are used, then vehicle mass is reduced, but NVH performance and roof-crush performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by inserting foam or honeycomb core materials into specific discrete regions within the hollow pillar and roof rail cavities, rather than filling the entire structure. This localized reinforcement provides NVH damping and roof-crush resistance only where structurally necessary, maintaining overall mass reduction while improving performance in critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining the hollow FRP structure with internal foam or honeycomb core fillers. This creates a composite construction where the outer FRP panels provide structural integrity and the internal filler materials provide NVH damping and crush resistance, achieving both mass reduction and performance enhancement.
2Strength
If reinforcement features are added to vehicle pillars and roof rails, then roof-crush performance is improved, but vehicle mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses local quality by placing reinforcement features (foam or honeycomb core) only in discrete regions within the pillars and roof rails, rather than uniformly reinforcing the entire structure. This targeted approach provides necessary roof-crush resistance while minimizing additional mass compared to full reinforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs porous materials (foam and honeycomb core) as reinforcement features. These materials provide high strength-to-weight ratio and energy absorption characteristics, delivering improved roof-crush performance with minimal mass penalty compared to solid reinforcement.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If discrete region reinforcement is applied, then NVH performance is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by targeting NVH reinforcement to specific discrete regions within the pillars and roof rails where vibration and noise are most problematic. This localized approach improves NVH performance while avoiding the complexity of uniformly treating the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials (FRP panels combined with foam or honeycomb core) to achieve NVH performance. The combination of materials provides inherent vibration damping and noise reduction properties, simplifying the overall design compared to adding separate NVH control systems.
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 solution improves NVH characteristics, enhances roof-crush performance, and reduces overall vehicle mass, leading to better fuel efficiency and extended range for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
The filler may be localized to a discrete region within the upper body structure, e.g., originating at a forward roof corner, whereat the A-pillar, roof rail, and front header intersect, extending rearward through the roof rail, and terminating proximate a center of the B-pillar. The structurally reinforcing filler may place a continuous expanding pressure on interior surfaces of the inner and outer FRP panel pieces.
Data Source
AI summary
Presented are structurally reinforced components for vehicle body structures, methods for making/using such components, and motor vehicles equipped with such components. A vehicle body structure includes an elongated support rail (e.g., a pair of lateral roof rails) with an inner contoured rail panel joined to an outer contoured rail panel to define an internal rail cavity. An elongated support pillar (e.g., front, side, and/or back vehicle pillars) adjoins the support rail and includes an inner contoured pillar panel joined to an outer contoured pillar panel to define an internal pillar cavity coupled to the internal rail cavity. The inner rail and pillar panels may be integrally from as a single-piece structure, and the outer rail and pillar panels may be integrally from as a single-piece structure. A structural reinforcement insert is located inside the support pillar and support rail, filling a discrete region within the rail cavity and pillar cavity.