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Module1:
Lecture6:CaseStudy:MaterialsSelectionforVehicleBody

FormanyyearsWoodwasthemostfavourablechoiceforconstructionofVehiclebodiesinthe
transportationsector.
Letuslookatthereasonsbehindthischoice:

TraditionallywoodwasusedinthetransportationsectorforbuildingChariots,Animaldrawn
Carts,Palanquinsetchenceitbecamethenaturalchoiceforbuildingbodiesofthe
automobiles,omnibusesetc.atthefirstphaseofindustrialrevolution.

Woodhasimpressivemechanicalproperties.Theelasticmodulusofwoodisintherangeof
820GPawhichisasgoodasmaterialslikePMMAandGFRP.Thedensityofwoodisabout
0.675Mg/m3lighterthanmostofthepolymersexceptpolymericfoams.Thestrengthof
thewoodisabout30MPawhichisagaincomparabletohighperformancepolymers.

Otheradvantagesofwoodarerecyclability,easeofmachiningandaestheticallypleasing
quality.

With the advent of massscale production and automation in carindustry, it became necessary to
replacewoodbymetalsandmetallicalloys.Typicalmetalshapingtechnologieslikesheetforming
which can handle large batch size (105 to 106 units per batch) became very much suitable for the
massscaleproductionofvehicles.
Thereweretwochoicesintermsofuseofmetalsandmetallicalloys:SteelandAluminium Alloys.
Why these materials became so popular for Cardesign? Let us find the material indices most
relevantfromcarbodyconstructionpoint of view. It is observed that three most significant issues
incarbodydesignare:

i.Stiffness of the sheets which is expressed as an objective to minimise mass against a
specified deflection limit. Minimisation of mass directly implies the use of less amount of
material and hence less cost per unit. Also, mass minimisation would increase fuel
efficiencyofthevehicle.Foraflatpanel of size (LxB), thickness t, modulus of elasticity E
and density , this would involve the search for a material having maximum value of an
index
(E1/3/).Laterwewilldiscussabouttheoriginofsuchindices.
ii. Another important consideration is dent resistance. A similar study would indicate that this
requires the maximisation of an index (y t4/k), where y is the yield strength and k is the
stiffnessofthepanel.

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