Title: Study of the effect of load distribution on SMC engine room bracket of electric vehicle

Authors: Mingde Ding; Cong Gao; Bo Liu; Jiancai Liu; Zhiyuan He

Addresses: School of Materials Science & Engineering, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, China ' Changan Auto Global R&D Center, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd, Chongqing 401120, China ' Oushang Automobile Institute, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd, Chongqing 401120, China ' Changan Auto Global R&D Center, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd, Chongqing 401120, China ' Changan Auto Global R&D Center, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd, Chongqing 401120, China

Abstract: The engine room bracket of an electric vehicle supports the charger assembly, battery and so on. Because of lightweight requirements for electric vehicles, the sheet moulding compounds (SMC) component was developed. The structural design of this composite component is much more complex due to more complex load distribution. This is a new problem for electric vehicles. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of load distribution on SMC component for improving structural design efficiency and obtaining rational structure for achieving maximum weight reduction. The topology optimisation was used for conceptual design. Three common load cases were used. Finite element (FE) simulation was conducted for strength, stiffness, and model analysis by two kinds of analysis model, and vibration durability test was carried out to verify the performance of the structure. Finally, the rational analysis model and structure for different suspension weight were obtained. This research can be very useful for the development of this kind of composite component.

Keywords: load distribution; suspension load; sheet moulding compounds; composite; engine room bracket; topology optimisation; high integration; structure design; weight reduction; electric vehicle.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2019.102337

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2019 Vol.79 No.2/3, pp.190 - 203

Received: 23 Apr 2018
Accepted: 05 Aug 2019
Published online: 19 Sep 2019 *

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