Vehicle Panel Structure With Ridge Portion For Spot Welding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle panel structures face welding failures when the thickness of the outermost panel is reduced, leading to decreased yield strength during vehicle collisions, as the thickness ratio of the total panels to the outermost panel becomes large, causing nugget formation issues in spot welding.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle panel structure with a ridge portion that protrudes outward, where the thickness of the outer panel at the welded portion is smaller than the ridge portion, allowing for a lower thickness ratio and reducing stress concentration during collisions, while maintaining yield strength through spot welding of multiple panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the thickness of the outermost panel is made small, then the weight and total thickness of panels are reduced, but the thickness ratio becomes large causing welding failure
Solution Approach 1:
The outer panel is designed with non-uniform thickness, featuring a thinner welded portion for weight reduction and a thicker ridge portion for structural strength. This local quality variation allows the panel to meet both weight reduction goals and welding reliability requirements by optimizing thickness at different locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the outer panel is changed locally at the welded portion to be smaller than at the ridge portion. This parameter change creates a favorable thickness ratio at the welding location while maintaining overall panel strength through the thicker ridge portion.
2Reliability
If the total thickness of all panels is reduced, then the thickness ratio is reduced suppressing welding failure, but the yield strength against vehicle collision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The ridge portion of the outer panel is designed with greater thickness to provide high yield strength against vehicle collisions, while the welded portion has reduced thickness to suppress welding failure. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between overall strength and welding reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from considering uniform panel thickness to dimensional variation in the thickness direction. By creating a three-dimensional thickness profile with a prominent ridge portion, the design achieves both welding reliability and collision strength that cannot be obtained with uniform thickness.
3Strength
If the thickness of the outer panel at the welded portion is increased, then the yield strength is maintained, but the thickness ratio becomes large causing welding failure
Solution Approach 1:
The outer panel features different thickness qualities at different locations: the welded portion has reduced thickness to ensure welding reliability, while the ridge portion has increased thickness to maintain yield strength. This local quality approach resolves the contradiction between these two requirements.
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 configuration suppresses welding failures and maintains yield strength against vehicle collisions by reducing the thickness ratio and distributing stress evenly, without the need for additional reinforcement materials.
Implementation Method 1
a welded portion that is formed through spot welding performed on three or more panels including an inner panel, a side member outer panel, and an outer panel
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle panel stricture includes an outer panel, a side member outer panel disposed outward of the outer panel in a vehicle width direction, an inner panel disposed inward of the outer panel in the vehicle width direction, and a first welded portion formed through spot welding in a state where the inner panel, the side member outer panel, and the outer panel are laid over each other while being arranged in this order from an outside of a vehicle or in a state where the side member outer panel, the outer panel, and the inner panel are laid over each other while being arranged in this order from the outside of the vehicle. In the vehicle panel structure, the outer panel is provided with a ridge portion and the thickness of the outer panel at the first welded portion is smaller than the thickness of the ridge portion.