MTECH PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Title of the project

STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE OF COMPOSITES USED IN
AUTOMOBILE BODY USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD.

Synopsis
The application of composites to automobile body has been increasing
steadily due to their high specific strength and specific modulus as compared to
conventional materials used in automobile manufacturing. Use of composites can
lead to almost 30-40% reduction in vehicle weight without compromising on the
strength and stiffness of the structure. The reduction in vehicle weight results in lesser
fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and better vehicle handling.

The composite reinstate of conventional materials for an automobile body

has been though over in the present study. Various structural components are
identified and appropriate composite materials are suggested based on the structural
behavior and loads coming in each of them. The scope of Finite Element Method for
the structural analysis of the components is investigated and established through
appropriate numerical investigations on the roof of an automobile.

In the automobile industry, there is a great emphasis for developing

vehicles that are efficient both mechanically and structurally. The automobile
engineers are constantly striving to develop vehicles that are fuel efficient, lighter
and stronger.

In this regard the conventional materials such as steel used in the

manufacturing of automobiles are slowly making way for other materials such as
aluminum and composites. The application of composites to automobile body has to
be studied and a detailed investigation on their structural behavior when subjected to
service conditions are necessary to achieve the goal of developing strong, light and
fuel efficient vehicles.

CIT MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT

 MTECH PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Scope and Objectives

The analysis of structures made of composites are both time consuming and
costly since the testing requires number of specimens to verify geometry, loading,
environment, 6 and failure modes. Finite Element software such as ABAQUS is
capable of analyzing structures made of materials such as steel, aluminum, and
composites. When used efficiently it can lead to be a cost-effective method for the
design and refinement/modification of structures. In the case of composites, material
properties can be assigned by specifying the actual layup since the element library
has shell elements that incorporates the use of layered materials. The analysis can be
carried out by incorporating the approximate boundary conditions that simulates the
actual end constraints of the structural components. Besides the conventional Static
and Dynamic analysis, buckling analysis and most importantly Crashworthiness test
of automobiles made of composite materials can be facilitated using FEM.

The objectives of the present study are as follow

To study the design of the vehicle body from functional and structural point of
view.
To Identify the material and structural properties of composites used in the
manufacture of automobile body
Identifying the critical structural components of the vehicle body and analyzing
the structural idealization of them.
To analyse the idealized composite structural components of the automobile body
using Finite Element Method.
To investigate the strength of the relevant components.

Boundary Conditions and Loads

Along the longitudinal edges the Roof panel translations have been
constrained and along the transverse direction the loads are applied as per APTA rules
for roof panel. Accordingly a load of 15000 N is applied as uniformly distributed load
on the structure and analyzing the panel strength.

CIT MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT