Stiffness and thermal analysis of doubly curve sandwich panel for an automobile application

Abstract

Automotive industry is rapidly going. More and more comforts are being incorporated in a vehicle. On other hand customers have stringent demand of fuel economy, high performance at low cost. In order to have high fuel economy the automotive manufacturers are induced to reduce weight. In this project car body panel is selected as a target weight reduction component. This can be achieved either using high strength low weight material or by using low weight composite sandwich panel. Aluminum composite (Aluminum skin, polyethylene core and epoxy resin) material being light and strong, it is thought as an alternative material. By using this doubly curve sandwich panel, required stiffness can be achieved with reduced thickness and weight. More over this panel prevents the heat flux infiltration and hence improve air conditioner efficiency. Stiffness and thermal analysis of the panel was carried out using Finite Element Solution. Weight reduction 30.55% has been achieved for the same stiffness and 47.73% lesser heat infiltration has been observed than that with Aluminum panel. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.