Vehicle Front Bracket Bulkhead Rupture Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle body front structures face a contradiction in maintaining driving performance and ride comfort during normal travel while effectively absorbing collision energy at the front portion of a vehicle.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates left and right brackets with closed-end hollow bodies, bulkheads, and hollow collars on the vehicle's front side frames, where the bulkheads have a smaller thickness than the bracket bodies, allowing the bulkhead-side flanges to rupture first under collision load, detaching the front subframe and enhancing energy absorption, while maintaining strength during normal travel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the front subframe is firmly fastened to the left and right front side frames, then the driving performance and ride comfort are maintained, but the collision energy absorption capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkhead thickness is intentionally reduced compared to the bracket body thickness, creating a localized weak point in the bracket structure. This local quality change allows the bulkhead-side flange to rupture first during collision, enabling energy absorption while maintaining overall structural integrity for normal driving conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is divided into distinct components with different thicknesses: the bracket body maintains sufficient thickness for strength, while the bulkhead is made thinner to serve as a sacrificial element. This segmentation allows different parts of the same component to serve different functions - structural support versus energy absorption
2Strength
If the bulkhead-side flange thickness is increased to maintain strength, then the driving performance is improved, but the collision energy absorption capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkhead-side flange is designed with reduced thickness specifically at the bulkhead portion, while the bracket body maintains adequate thickness. This local quality differentiation creates a controlled weak point that ruptures during collision to absorb energy, while the rest of the bracket structure remains strong enough for normal driving conditions
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
This design effectively absorbs collision energy by detaching the front subframe from the side frames and maintains driving performance and ride comfort by ensuring sufficient strength during normal conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The left and right bulkheads are configured to be joined to the left and right bracket bodies, and each have at least one bulkhead-side flange that is configured to be welded to a corresponding one of the left and right front side frames
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle body front structure includes: a bracket 21 that is placed on a lower portion of a front side frame 12; and a front subframe 16 that is attached to a lower portion of the bracket with a bolt 22. The bracket includes: a closed-end hollow bracket body 30 that is suspended from the front side frame; a bulkhead 40 that is located above a bottom plate 31 of the bracket body and vertically partitions the bracket body; and a collar 50 that extends from the bulkhead to the bottom plate of the bracket body. A thickness t2 of the bulkhead is smaller than a thickness t1 of the bracket body. The bulkhead joined to the bracket body has a bulkhead-side flange 44 joined to the front side frame.