Multi-Hollow Reinforcement Beam for Vehicle Rocker Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle structural components, such as rocker components, face challenges in balancing weight reduction with maintaining structural integrity and impact resistance, particularly in meeting regulatory requirements for impact forces without increasing material usage or processing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A multi-hollow reinforcement beam with a metal sheet, roll-formed to have a beam portion and integral flange portions, which can be attached to vehicle components like sill panels, providing structural support while reducing weight and eliminating the need for additional reinforcements like bulkhead members, and allowing for simpler welding methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional solid or single-hollow structural beams are used, then structural integrity and impact resistance are maintained, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The beam cross-section is segmented into multiple hollow cavities separated by internal walls, creating a multi-hollow structure that provides both weight reduction and structural strength. The segmentation allows the beam to maintain rigidity while using less material than a solid beam.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam combines metal sheet material with a multi-hollow geometric structure to create a composite system that achieves high strength-to-weight ratio. The combination of the metal material properties and the hollow structural configuration provides both weight reduction and impact resistance.
2Strength
If additional reinforcement elements like bulkhead members are added, then structural integrity is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement function previously requiring separate bulkhead members is merged into the beam's own structure through the multi-hollow cross-section design. The internal walls of the hollow cavities provide the necessary reinforcement without requiring additional discrete components.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-hollow beam structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, impact resistance, and reinforcement without needing separate specialized components. The same structural features that reduce weight also provide the reinforcement function.
3Force
If more robust reinforcement beam structure is used, then impact resistance is improved, but weight and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The beam cross-section is segmented into multiple hollow cavities separated by internal walls, creating a multi-hollow structure that provides both weight reduction and structural strength. The segmentation allows the beam to maintain rigidity while using less material than a solid beam.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from considering only the external dimensions of the beam to utilizing the internal three-dimensional hollow cavity structure. This dimensional approach allows weight reduction through material removal while maintaining strength through the strategic configuration of internal walls and cavities.
Data Source
AI summary
A rocker component for a vehicle includes a reinforcement beam having a metal sheet that is shaped with a plurality of elongated bends extending in parallel along a length of the reinforcement beam that together form a cross-sectional shape extending continuously along the length of the reinforcement beam. The cross-sectional shape of reinforcement beam includes a beam portion and a flange portion integrally extending from the beam portion. The beam portion has a multi-hollow shape that encloses a plurality of hollow cavities that extend longitudinally between openings at opposing ends of the reinforcement beam. The flange portion integrally extends from the beam portion and includes an edge of the metal sheet. The flange portion is configured to attach to the vehicle for supporting the rocker component along an outboard side region of the vehicle.