Efficient and Light Weight Door Panels for Automobiles

Anurag gajji; Tarun Gupta

doi:10.4271/2013-01-0374

Automobile manufacturers in the developing nations tend to make more and more fuel efficient cars compared to the luxurious type, given to the popularity. Fuel efficiency has a direct relation with the weight of the vehicle. In order to increase the fuel efficiency, body weight has to be decreased. The weight of all door panels comprises about 15% of body weight of the vehicle. Hence, by reducing the weight of the door panels, fuel efficiency of a vehicle can be increased. But, reduction of the weight of the door panels may lead to decrease in the strength of the panels. Therefore, we need to find a method to increase the fuel efficiency by decreasing the weight and maintaining the strength of the door panels.

The aim of our study is to increase the performance while decreasing the weight of the door panel assembly. We have used CAE (Computer aided Engineering) as a tool to study and evaluate the performance of doors, with varying thickness and different shapes like beads. We found different methods to strengthen the panels by modifying the shape. It was concluded that reduction in the weight of the door can be done by improving the shape and performance of the door.

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Efficient and Light Weight Door Panels for Automobiles 2013-01-0374

SAE MOBILUS