Stepped Plastic HVAC Component for Low-Weight Airflow Stiffness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plastic components for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning devices in motor vehicles are heavy, expensive, and inefficient in terms of pressure losses and airflow noise due to their thick, rigid structures, which are not optimized for weight reduction and stiffness.
Innovation Solution
A plastic component with a wall shaped like ascending staircase steps, where the thickness varies between 1 and 1.19 millimeters, optimizing stiffness and reducing weight by increasing the surface area of each step while maintaining sufficient rigidity, using a formula that considers the modulus of elasticity and moment of inertia.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the wall thickness is increased to improve stiffness and rigidity, then the structural strength is improved, but the weight and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wall is segmented into multiple thickness zones (first thickness zone at 1.2-1.5mm for high stiffness requirements, second thickness zone at 0.8-1mm for lower requirements). This segmentation allows the structure to have varying local stiffness rather than uniform thickness, reducing overall weight while maintaining necessary rigidity in critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the wall are assigned different thicknesses based on their specific functional requirements. The first thickness zone is applied where higher stiffness is needed to resist deformation, while the second thinner zone is used where less structural support is required, optimizing the weight-stiffness balance locally throughout the component.
2Strength
If the wall thickness is increased to improve structural rigidity, then the resistance to torsional and bending forces is improved, but the moment of inertia increases reducing airflow efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The wall thickness is segmented into different zones, allowing thin sections (0.8-1mm) in areas where structural rigidity is less critical, thereby minimizing obstruction to airflow and reducing pressure losses, while thicker sections (1.2-1.5mm) are strategically placed only where needed for resistance to torsional and bending forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall structure implements local quality by varying thickness according to functional demands: thinner walls in airflow paths to minimize energy loss and noise, and thicker walls in structural support areas to maintain rigidity against external forces.
3Strength
If the wall thickness is increased to improve stiffness, then the structural integrity is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and material cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wall is divided into thickness zones that can be manufactured using standard injection molding techniques with simple geometric transitions. The segmentation is achieved through straightforward mold design rather than complex multi-step processes, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while enabling variable thickness for optimal structural integrity.
4Weight of moving object
If the wall thickness is reduced to decrease weight, then the weight is reduced, but the stiffness and rigidity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than uniformly reducing wall thickness throughout, the invention segments the wall into zones where thinner sections (0.8-1mm) are used in non-critical areas to reduce weight, while thicker sections (1.2-1.5mm) are retained in areas requiring stiffness, achieving overall weight reduction without compromising necessary structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall structure applies local quality by using thinner material (0.8-1mm) where weight reduction is prioritized and stiffness requirements are lower, while maintaining thicker material (1.2-1.5mm) in localized areas where structural stiffness is critical, optimizing the weight-strength trade-off.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a component (1) made of plastic material and comprising a side. According to the invention, said side is at least partially in the shape of ascending steps, the rising side of the steps (4, 5) having a thickness (E1) of between 1 and 1.19 mm.