Vehicle Rear Side Extension Stiffness Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle rear body structures lack sufficient stiffness, particularly in the rear side section, due to inadequate reinforcement and load transmission mechanisms, leading to reduced resistance against deformation and vibrations.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle rear body structure incorporates rear side extensions with a side portion having higher stiffness or strength than the surface portion, featuring ridge portions and an extending portion that connects the rear floor panel and rear wheel housing, enhancing load transmission and stiffness through integral formation with the rear wheel housing outer panel and strategic joining configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the rear side extension uses a conventional design with uniform thickness, then the manufacturing is simple, but the stiffness of the rear body section is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The rear side extension is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thicker side portion and a thinner surface portion. This local quality variation concentrates material where stiffness is most needed (the side portion connecting joined portions) while reducing material elsewhere, thereby improving overall structural stiffness without proportionally increasing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a thickness dimension variation to the rear side extension, transitioning from a uniform 2D plate to a 3D structure with varying cross-sectional properties. This dimensional change enables the side portion to have higher moment of inertia and section modulus, significantly enhancing bending stiffness and load-bearing capacity
2Strength
If multiple joined portions are used to connect the rear floor panel and rear wheel housing, then the joining strength is improved, but the number of parts and installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the rear side extension with the rear wheel housing outer panel into an integral structure. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate reinforcement components and multiple joined portions, achieving both joining strength and structural stiffness through a single integrated part that reduces assembly complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle rear body structure includes rear floor panels, rear wheel housings, and rear side extensions. The rear side extensions each have a first joined portion that is joined to a breadthways outer end of each of the rear floor panels, a second joined portion that is joined to an rear end of each of the rear wheel housings, a side portion that is an uprising slanted portion extending from the rear end of the first joined portion to the second joined portion, a surface portion surrounded by the first joined portion, the second joined portion, and the side portion, and an extending portion joined to a flange portion of a rear pillar, wherein the side portion is configured to have higher stiffness or strength than at least the surface portion.