Front Face Module Housing With Ribbed Skin for Low-Weight Airflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional front-end module housings for motor vehicles are heavy and expensive due to their thickness, which leads to increased air resistance and inefficiencies in heat exchange, as they are typically made of thick plastic materials to support heat exchangers.
Innovation Solution
A perforated structure with a network of ribs and a thinner skin is used to create a lightweight yet rigid housing, minimizing air stream losses and optimizing air flow, where the skin seals the openings in the perforated structure to ensure air stream continuity through heat exchangers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a thick plastic housing is used to support heat exchangers, then the housing has sufficient structural strength, but the housing becomes heavy and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two distinct components: a thin-walled outer shell and an internal perforated structure. This segmentation allows each component to have optimized thickness - the outer shell can be thin for weight reduction while the internal perforated structure provides the necessary structural support at strategic locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing combines two different plastic materials with distinct properties: a material for the thin-walled shell that prioritizes weight reduction, and a material for the perforated structure that prioritizes structural strength. This composite approach allows the assembly to achieve both light weight and sufficient strength simultaneously.
2Strength
If a thick plastic housing is used to support heat exchangers, then the housing has sufficient structural strength, but the housing becomes expensive in plastics material
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the housing into a thin-walled shell and a sparse perforated structure, the total volume of plastic material required is significantly reduced compared to a solid thick housing, while still maintaining structural integrity through the strategic placement of ribs and openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The perforated structure inherently creates a porous configuration with numerous openings and ribs, which reduces the quantity of plastic material needed while maintaining structural support capabilities. The porosity allows material reduction without complete loss of structural function.
3Weight of moving object
If the housing thickness is reduced to minimize weight, then the housing becomes lighter, but the rigidity under torsional and bending forces decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The perforated structure introduces a third dimension of complexity through its three-dimensional network of ribs and openings. This spatial arrangement creates structural reinforcement in multiple directions simultaneously, providing enhanced rigidity against torsional and bending forces despite the thin overall wall thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of thin-walled shell material and perforated structure material creates a composite system where the perforated structure acts as internal reinforcement, compensating for the reduced thickness of the outer shell and maintaining rigidity while minimizing weight.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a housing (3) for a front face module (2) of a motor vehicle (1), defining an air duct (4) for the flow of an air stream, said housing comprising: —an openwork structure (30) having a plurality of openings (32) defined by ribs (34); —a lining (36) which is securely attached to the openwork structure (30) and covers the openings (32) so as to form a wall which is airtight to the air stream. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a housing and to a front face module (2) comprising such a housing.