Thermoplastic Composite Anti-Vibration Support for Motor Vehicle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Anti-vibration mounts in motor vehicles face challenges in reducing weight without compromising mechanical strength or vibration damping, and must pass mechanical strength tests, including crash tests.
Innovation Solution
An anti-vibration support combining metal reinforcements with a thermoplastic material and elastomer, featuring unidirectional continuous fibers embedded in a polymer, which provides lightweight yet robust mechanical resistance and effective vibration damping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If anti-vibration support uses traditional metal construction, then mechanical strength and vibration damping are maintained, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anti-vibration support employs a composite structure combining a thermoplastic material body with metal reinforcement elements (first and second metal reinforcements) and elastomer components. This composite approach allows the thermoplastic material to provide the primary structural framework with reduced weight, while the metal reinforcements strategically positioned within the body restore and enhance mechanical strength to meet crash test requirements. The elastomer parts contribute to both weight reduction compared to full metal construction and maintain vibration damping properties.
2Weight of moving object
If anti-vibration support uses lightweight materials, then weight is reduced, but mechanical strength and vibration damping deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a multi-material composite system where the thermoplastic material provides the lightweight base structure, elastomer components are integrated to specifically address vibration damping requirements, and metal reinforcements are strategically placed to ensure mechanical strength. This composite approach allows each material to contribute its superior properties: thermoplastic for weight reduction, elastomer for vibration damping, and metal for structural strength, thereby maintaining reliability while achieving weight reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal reinforcements are not uniformly distributed throughout the entire anti-vibration support but are strategically positioned in specific regions where mechanical strength is most critical. The elastomer components are placed in locations optimized for vibration damping functionality. This localized quality approach ensures that materials are applied where they provide the most benefit, maintaining vibration damping capability while minimizing overall weight.
3Weight of moving object
If anti-vibration support reduces weight through material substitution, then weight decreases, but mechanical resistance to collision forces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The composite structure combines thermoplastic material with strategically positioned metal reinforcements and elastomer components. The metal reinforcements are specifically designed to provide the necessary mechanical resistance to collision forces in critical areas, while the thermoplastic material provides the overall structural framework at reduced weight. This composite approach ensures that the anti-vibration support can withstand crash test requirements while being lighter than traditional full-metal construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal reinforcements are positioned in specific locations within the thermoplastic body where collision forces are most likely to occur and where mechanical resistance is most critical. This localized reinforcement strategy ensures that the anti-vibration support achieves the necessary force resistance for crash test compliance without requiring uniform metal construction throughout, thereby maintaining weight reduction benefits.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves a lightweight anti-vibration support that maintains mechanical strength and damping capabilities, enabling vehicles to successfully pass collision tests while reducing weight.
Implementation Method 1
which makes it possible to damp the vibrations coming from the latter and sent to this third metal armature
Implementation Method 2
the reinforcement (3) extends in a direction (SE) of substantially horizontal winding around the second direction (D2), and is made of unidirectional continuous fibers extending in the direction (SE) winding and embedded in a polymer
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The invention relates to an anti-vibratory support (100), comprising first, second and third metal frames (11, 12, 5) accessible from the outside and separate from each other, and at least one elastomer part (2). The invention is characterised in that the support further comprises a body (4) made of a thermoplastic material comprising at least one continuous fibre reinforcement (3), which is a prefabricated part, to reinforce the mechanical strength of the anti-vibratory support, the first and second frames (11, 12) being at a distance from each other in a first substantially horizontal direction (D1), are intended to be fixed to a motor vehicle body and are connected to each other by means of the body (4) made of a thermoplastic material, the body (4) made of a thermoplastic material being overmoulded in relation to at least one part of at least one reinforcing surface (3), to the first and second surfaces (112, 122) of the first and second frames (11, 12) and to at least one surface of the elastomer part (2) supporting the third metal frame (5) for suspending a vibrating part of the vehicle to dampen and filter mechanical vibrations between the body and the vibrating part.