Segmented Frame Rail Support for EV Battery Impact Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicles face challenges in dissipating impact forces effectively, which can lead to excessive stress on battery packs during collisions or rough terrain, potentially causing damage.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle frame rail support apparatus with a body divided into sections that buckle and move towards each other to absorb energy, distributing the force and minimizing the load on adjacent battery packs, utilizing extruded aluminum for enhanced energy absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the battery pack is directly supported by the vehicle frame, then structural stability is improved, but impact force is transmitted directly to the battery causing potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a frame rail support apparatus as an intermediary component between the vehicle frame and the battery pack. This support structure includes a body with multiple sections that can buckle and deform during impact, absorbing energy and reducing the force transmitted to the battery pack while still providing structural support.
Solution Approach 2:
The support apparatus is designed with sections that can buckle and deform in advance during impact events. The body includes multiple sections that are configured to collapse or deform progressively, absorbing impact energy before it reaches the battery pack, thereby cushioning the battery against direct impact forces.
2Strength
If the support structure is made rigid to maintain stability, then structural strength is improved, but energy absorption capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support apparatus transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic deformable structure. The body includes multiple sections that can buckle and deform during impact, allowing the structure to adapt its stiffness characteristics based on the applied load. This dynamic behavior enables energy absorption while maintaining structural integrity during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure utilizes sections with varying geometric parameters and material properties that allow for controlled deformation. The sections are designed with specific thicknesses, lengths, and cross-sectional geometries that enable progressive collapse during impact, changing the structural parameters from rigid to deformable states to absorb energy effectively.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the body walls are positioned far apart to maintain structural integrity, then structural stability is improved, but force distribution capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The body is divided into multiple sections separated by walls, creating a segmented structure. These sections can deform independently during impact, allowing for better force distribution across the structure. The segmentation enables progressive collapse of individual sections while maintaining overall structural integrity and distributing the impact load more effectively.
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 apparatus effectively absorbs impact energy, reducing the force transmitted to the battery pack and providing additional structural stability, thereby protecting the battery and maintaining the vehicle's integrity during impacts.
Implementation Method 1
At least two of the walls can buckle and move towards each other in response to a force applied on the body to support the structure of the body... absorbing energy of a force applied to the body
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus can include a body having a plurality of walls dividing the body into a plurality of sections along a height of the body. A first wall and an opposing second wall can define a section of the plurality of sections. A middle portion of the first wall can be disposed closer to the second wall in a first direction than an end portion of the first wall. The first wall and the second wall can move towards each other in the first direction in response to a force applied on the body in a second direction.