Thin Wall Structures

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4. The Design and Analysis of Thin Wall Structures

4.1 Introduction The main types of structure used in automobile construction are: Monocoque or Integral - the load is carried by all the members except the doors and hatches. Semi-Integral - there is a separate chassis (often a 'ladder' type - two main longitudinal sections connected with cross members) but the rest of the structure carries part of the load. Examples of this can be found in many medium van designs. The stiffness - in torsion - of this type of design can be further improved by including a cruciform component. Punt - a 'floor' is some sort of box section with sufficient stiffness so open sports bodywork can be fitted. More specialist types include: Space Frame - a triangulated structure of small tubes means that the tubes act primarily in compression or tension, though welded construction inevitably means some bending and torsion restraint is present. This type of design has been popular for sports and racing cars. Torque tube backbone frame - as a closed box section has a much greater torsional stiffness than an open box section, this has been exploited by sports car manufacturers (Lotus). At the front and rear splayed beams are added to carry the engine and suspension and a low floor level can easily be provided. 4.2 Design Criteria To provide the degree of comfort now demanded requires soft, (independent - at least at the front) suspension with long travel. For the suspension to function properly (and to permit good fit and operation of doors) it requires that the connections between the suspension mounting points (and the whole bodyshell) be stiff. The torsional stiffness of twist between the front and rear axles is critical and the bending deflection is also important. Typical values (ref. S1) are that the minimum torsional stiffness is 4500lbf/deg (6100 Nm/deg) but 5000 - 5500 lbf/deg (6500 7500 Nm/deg) is preferable. Mid span iii) Finite element analysis (FEA) is a (substantially automated) computer based method of dividing a structure into a large number of simple elements, the stiffness of each is found and the overall stiffness of the vehicle can be determined by 'assembling' the results for all the finite elements used to model the system. Modern powerful computers enable good models to be developed containing as many as 100,000 elements and nodes which provide a high level of accuracy for many types of load case and can even give a reasonable prediction of accident damage. 4.4 Typical Structures Most structures in automobiles can be considered to be thin sheet panels reinforced by 'beams'. These 'beams' may be locally thicker pieces of material (eg 'tailor welded blanks') folded seams or formed sections. Flat panels are avoided as they lead to excessive drumming, where nominally flat areas are required, eg for floors and truck beds, they are normally reinforced by pressing shallow recesses into them (car carpeting means they are not noticed by passengers). Suspension and engine may be mounted onto channel fabricated from folded sheet. Typically mild steel pressings are made from 0.65 mm thickness sheet, where higher strength steels are being employed, thinner gauges are used. Although spot welding is very widely used for economy while providing adequate strength for steel body shells, some vulnerable parts (such as front wings and bumpers) are commonly bolted on to facilitate repair. To save weight a few cars have used moulded plastic for the bonnet and tailgate, where strength is not important. While steel is still the most common material, for small production runs, fibreglass body work on a steel chassis of some type has been popular. In recent years, in an effort to reduce weight, a lot of work has been done on aluminium for body and / or chassis and Audi now have 2 models (A8 and A2) that make extensive use of aluminium. This has

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bending deflection should not exceed 0.05 in (1.27 mm) for a 1500lb (680 kg) mid span load. The primary design criteria is stiffness rather then strength.

involved a lot of work on developing adhesive joining techniques.

4.5 Developments in Steel Sheet. To counter competitive materials and offering weight reduction etc, steel producers Optimum material thickness or gauge have been been developing new grades and selection is a compromise between the processes. Zinc coating - often as hot dip factors listed below: galvanizing - has been used for many years to protect automobile pressings, particularly those used for under body application. Zinc <- Thinner Thicker -> may be combined with other metals, eg lower weight higher weight nickel, to confer additional benefits and also lower cost higher cost incorporated into organic coatings to give a poorer dent better dent good base for a paint finish. Thin organic resistance resistance coatings may be used as lubricants during forming, if they are thin (1 micron) they will lower stiffness higher stiffness have negligible effect on spot welding, lower buckling better buckling thicker coatings will reduce weldability. resistance reasistance Pre-painted deep - drawing steel in weldable and non-weldable forms has been developed More expensive materials may be justifiable by the Dutch Hoogevens Group. These if they provide better strength or stiffnerss for would be particularly helpful with closed box a given (or even a reduced) thickness or give sections which can not be reached less costly manufacturing (processing AND satisfactorily by primer. assembly). In recent years there has been a High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) or lot of research into alternative materials and microalloyed steels. A wide range of these their processing in an effort to reduce weight steels is available offering yield strengths and costs while maintaining or improving between 200 and 1000 MPa (mainly 300 vehicle strength and stiffness. A key part of 450 MPa), according to alloy content and this has been the increasing sophistication of processing. These steels contain less than analysis tools available to designers, 0.1% each of elements such as niobium, particularly finite element analysis (FEA) vanadium and titanium to promote grain which is enabling better analysis of refinement or precipitation hardening. structures and processes, particularly sheet Increasingly used in automotive, offshore, metal operations. pressure vessels and pipeline applications, An additional consideration is the need for typically with a tensile strength of about 500 whatever sheet material is chosen to be able MPa. For some automotive applications, to display a high quality finish. In the case of these steels do not offer sufficient cold steel, this may involve using a particular formability where stretch forming is required. surface finish on the rolls in the rolling mill. Dual phase steels contain a microstructure of ferrite plus islands of austenite-martensite 4.3 Design Methods which is obtained by quenching from i) For the simplest designs using a ladder between the A1 and A3 temperatures. This chassis, the distribution of loads and then stresses and deflections along the chassis, structure gives a more gradual yielding with can be determined by elementary strength of a high work hardening rate and large elongation at fracture (rather than a sharp materials methods. yield point). After some forming, the yield ii) An intermediate analysis method was strength will typically be about 350 MPa, proposed in 1964 by Pawlowski is called which is similar to HSLA steels. 'Simple Structural Surfaces' (SSS). This method can be used to determine the loads Laser Welded Tailored Blanks - using laser butt welding to make up a single blank from on and then the stresses in the main structural elements of an integral structure. A an appropriate patchwork of different grades and thicknesses of sheet steel prior to

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SSS, which is plane, can carry loads (tension, compression, bending and shear) in its plane, but not loads normal to its plane or out of plane bending. The procedure is to devise a simple representation of a structure using a small number of flat sheets (and beams). Sheets can represent the floor, roof, bulkheads, side panels etc. The loads transmitted between each SSS can be calculated and then the stress in each and their deflections can be found. Increasing the number of SSS gives better accuracy.

pressing was developed by Audi in the 1980's. This approach is proving to be a highly efficient method of providing material and strength where needed. The process is now quite widely used, by Ford, BMW, Rover and Volkswagen. Applications for this technique include door blanks, pillars, floors and frame members. Next page

References: S1: 'Handbook of Automotive Body Construction and Design Analysis', by J Fenton, Professioinal Engineering Publishing, 1998. Return to module introduction David Grieve, 12th February 2002.

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