Vehicle Hood Lateral Wall Stepped Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle hoods often face challenges in achieving adequate impact absorption performance, particularly when an impactor collides with the hood outer panel above the lateral-side vertical wall, as the load is not effectively distributed, leading to inadequate deformation and absorption.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle hood structure incorporates a lateral-side vertical wall with a stepped shape and through holes, where the flat surface area decreases closer to the front-side vertical wall, and through holes are strategically placed to enhance deformation and absorption, improving the impact absorption performance by creating multiple bend points and reducing corner rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the lateral-side vertical wall is made straight and rigid to maintain structural strength, then the structural strength is improved, but the impact absorption performance deteriorates because the wall cannot deform easily under impact load
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral-side vertical wall is divided into multiple segments by forming stepped portions with flat surfaces at different heights. This segmentation creates multiple bend points that allow controlled deformation during impact, enabling the wall to absorb impact energy while maintaining overall structural integrity through the distributed segment structure
Solution Approach 2:
The wall structure parameters are changed by varying the height and area of flat surfaces in the stepped portions. The flat surface area is designed to be smaller closer to the front-side vertical wall, creating a gradient that optimizes both deformation characteristics and structural strength throughout the wall
2Stability of the object's composition
If the lateral-side vertical wall is made highly rigid to resist deformation, then the structural stability is improved, but the impact energy absorption capability deteriorates due to limited deformation along the impact direction
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical wall is segmented into multiple sections with different heights through stepped portions, creating a structure that can deform in a controlled manner during impact. This segmentation allows the wall to absorb impact energy through progressive deformation of each segment while maintaining structural stability through the overall framework
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped portions with flat surfaces introduce geometric curvature and non-linearity to the otherwise straight vertical wall. This geometric modification creates bend points that facilitate energy-absorbing deformation while the stepped configuration maintains structural stability through its multi-level geometry
3Reliability
If the flat surface area in the stepped portion is increased to enhance deformation, then the impact absorption performance is improved, but the structural rigidity deteriorates leading to excessive deformation
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the lateral-side vertical wall are given different local qualities by varying the flat surface area in stepped portions. The flat surface area is made smaller closer to the front-side vertical wall and larger toward the rear, creating zones with different deformation characteristics that collectively achieve both impact absorption and structural rigidity
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped portions are designed with asymmetric flat surface areas that decrease toward the front-side vertical wall. This asymmetric configuration creates a gradient of rigidity throughout the wall, allowing optimal balance between impact absorption at the impact zone and structural rigidity at the connection zones
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A vehicle hood structure includes a hood outer panel and a hood inner panel that is disposed at a back surface of the hood outer panel. In vehicle hood structure, the hood inner panel includes an outer peripheral frame that is arranged in an outer peripheral portion of the hood inner panel, a proximate surface that is arranged inside from the outer peripheral frame and is joined to the back surface of the outer panel, and a connection vertical wall that connects an inner peripheral vertical wall configuring an inner periphery of the outer peripheral frame and the proximate surface.