Vehicle Front Structure Stiffness for Small Overlap Collision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle front structures are inadequate in generating sufficient lateral load to effectively slide the vehicle front part away from a colliding body during a small lap collision, leading to reduced reaction force and increased damage.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle front structure with a load receiving portion on the side of the power unit, having higher stiffness in the vehicle width direction, is introduced to suppress crush-deformation and increase the reaction force by directing the bending portion of the front side member to this specific area, thereby enhancing the lateral load capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the front side member is bent inward to press the side portion of the power unit, then the vehicle front part can slide away from the colliding body, but the side portion undergoes crush-deformation which reduces reaction force and lateral load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing a load receiving portion with specifically increased stiffness at a localized area on the side portion of the power unit. This load receiving portion has higher stiffness than other locations of the side portion, allowing it to resist crush-deformation when the bending portion of the front side member contacts it during small lap collision, thereby maintaining reaction force while still enabling lateral load generation
2Reliability
If the front side member is bent inward to generate lateral load, then the vehicle front part can slide away from the colliding body, but the side portion undergoes crush-deformation which reduces the effectiveness of the lateral load
Solution Approach 1:
The load receiving portion is designed with higher stiffness than other areas of the side portion, creating a localized reinforcement that maintains structural integrity during collision. This allows the side portion to reliably generate lateral load for sliding the vehicle front part away from the colliding body without suffering excessive crush-deformation that would compromise overall structural stability
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle front structure includes: a power unit provided on a front part of a vehicle; a front side member which is arranged outside the power unit in a vehicle width direction and which extends in a vehicle longitudinal direction; and a load receiving portion which is provided on a side portion on a front side member side of the power unit and which is located inside the front side member in a vehicle width direction while stiffness thereof in the vehicle width direction is higher than other location of the side portion.