Vehicle Side Impact Load Path Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle structures, particularly in unibody and semi-monocoque constructions, face challenges in efficiently managing high compression side impact loads and transferring these loads into multiple cross-vehicle load paths, which can lead to detrimental deformation and inadequate protection for occupants and vehicle components during collisions.
Innovation Solution
A structural arrangement featuring a vehicle frame with a center tunnel, bulkhead, and cross-vehicle support members, along with extruded aluminum tubular structural members that extend in parallel planes to connect and distribute side impact loads across multiple load paths, forming a tiered structure to manage and transfer loads effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a monocoque or unibody construction is used to reduce vehicle mass, then the vehicle structure becomes lighter and more rigid, but the ability to efficiently manage and distribute side impact loads into multiple cross-vehicle load paths is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the side impact load management system into multiple discrete structural components: cross-vehicle support members (first, second, and third members), vertical structural members, and frame rails. These segmented elements work together to distribute side impact loads across multiple cross-vehicle load paths, resolving the contradiction by providing dedicated load-bearing structures within the unibody construction that enable efficient load distribution while maintaining overall vehicle mass reduction.
2Strength
If additional structural members are added to improve side impact load distribution, then load path management improves, but vehicle mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-vehicle support members serve multiple functions: they provide structural reinforcement for side impact load distribution, define the vehicle's side profile, and integrate with the unibody construction. The first, second, and third cross-vehicle support members collectively manage side impact loads while also contributing to the overall structural integrity and aesthetic design of the vehicle, thereby achieving improved load distribution without proportionally increasing mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent arranges cross-vehicle support members at different vertical levels (first, second, and third members) to create a three-dimensional load distribution network. This vertical stacking allows side impact loads to be distributed across multiple height levels, effectively managing compression loads through spatial arrangement rather than simply adding more material, thus improving load distribution efficiency while controlling mass increase.
3Strength
If a tiered structure with multiple cross-vehicle support members is implemented to distribute side impact loads, then load path efficiency improves, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric positioning of the first, second, and third cross-vehicle support members relative to each other and to the vehicle's longitudinal axis. This asymmetric arrangement optimizes the load paths for side impact forces by placing structural members at strategically determined locations rather than using a symmetric pattern, thereby achieving efficient load distribution while maintaining design flexibility and reducing unnecessary structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A side impact load management system for a vehicle having a vehicle frame includes a plurality of cross-vehicle support members extending from a first side of the vehicle to a second side of the vehicle. A first structural member extends in a first vertical plane parallel to a vehicle body axis defined by the vehicle frame and coupled to the vehicle frame, the first structural member connecting the plurality of cross-vehicle support members on the first side of the vehicle. A second structural member extends in a second vertical plane parallel to the vehicle body axis defined by the vehicle frame and coupled to the vehicle frame, the second structural member connecting the plurality of cross-vehicle support members on the second side of the vehicle. The first and second structural members are configured to transfer a side impact load simultaneously to the plurality of cross-vehicle support members.