Plastic Fuel Tank Reinforcing Element for Hybrid Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic fuel tanks in hybrid vehicles face dimensional variations due to cooling, pressure, thermal expansion, and aging, leading to issues with stress resistance, particularly bending and torsion, which traditional reinforcing elements fail to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece internal reinforcing element with a curved annulus sector shape and radial ribs, made of high-density polyethylene or glass fiber-reinforced HDPE, designed to distribute stress evenly and facilitate welding, featuring oblong end surfaces with rounded edges and axial protuberances for improved resistance to bending and torsion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the end surfaces have protruding corners to maximize material use, then material efficiency is improved, but stress concentration increases forming brittle zones
Solution Approach 1:
The end surfaces feature rounded corners rather than sharp protruding corners, creating an asymmetric but stress-distributing geometry. This design choice eliminates stress concentration points while maintaining efficient material utilization in the annular sector configuration.
2Strength
If a complex curved shape with ribs is used, then multi-directional stress resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing element is manufactured by injection molding, a process that can efficiently produce complex curved geometries with integrated radial ribs in a single operation. The molding parameters are optimized to create the annular sector shape with curved surface and radiating ribs without requiring complex multi-step manufacturing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An internal reinforcing element for a plastic tank for a motor vehicle is made as a single piece and includes: a central portion which in cross section is in the shape of an annulus sector, defining a main axis of the reinforcing element and having a first surface area, the central portion including a network of ribs extending radially in relation to the main axis, referred to as network of radial ribs; and two axial end portions which are situated one on each side of the central portion when considering the main axis, each of the axial end portions having an end surface of curved and oblong shape inscribed inside the cross section of the central portion and having a second surface area smaller than the first surface area.