International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 Online ISSN 2198-0810

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-020-00188-5 Print ISSN 2288-6206

REGULAR PAPER

Design and Manufacture of Automotive Hybrid Steel/Carbon Fiber

Composite B‑Pillar Component with High Crashworthiness
Dug‑Joong Kim1 · Jaeyoung Lim2 · Byeunggun Nam2 · Hee‑June Kim3 · Hak‑Sung Kim1,4 

Received: 11 July 2019 / Revised: 28 November 2019 / Accepted: 2 January 2020 / Published online: 16 January 2020
© Korean Society for Precision Engineering 2020

Abstract
A composite B-pillar was designed and manufactured by design optimization combined with an impact analysis. A carbon-
fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) was used for the reinforcement part of the B-pillar assembly to substitute the conventional
steel materials for reducing the weight of vehicle. To maximize the impact performance by finite element method, the
equivalent static loads method was used. The shape, stacking sequence, and thickness of the CFRP reinforcement were opti-
mized to minimize the deflection profile for improving the crashworthiness while reducing the weight. The designed CFRP
B-pillar was manufactured and its performance was evaluated by a drop weight test. As a result, the CFRP B-pillar exhibited
an improved impact performance and reduced weight compared to those of the conventional steel B-pillar.

Keywords  Carbon fibre · Structural composites · Impact behavior · Finite element analysis (FEA) · Resin transfer moulding
(RTM)

1 Introduction automotive structures [11–13]. When the crash occurs at the

In the current automotive industries, weight reduction of
vehicle has been important issue because of the strengthen-
ing regulations on gas emission and the demand for high
fuel efficiency [1–3]. As both weight reduction and crash-
worthiness can be achieved by fiber-reinforced composites,
composite materials, particularly carbon-fiber-reinforced
plastics (CFRPs), have been widely employed for various
automotive components such as hood, bumper beam, and
roof, substituting conventional metals [4–7].
Simultaneously, the restrictions on crash safety have
become more stringent [8–10]. Crashworthiness on side
impact is one of the main requirements for crashworthy
* Hak‑Sung Kim
kima@hanyang.ac.kr
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang
University, 17 Haengdang‑Dong, Seongdong‑Gu,
Seoul 133–791, South Korea
2
Hyundai Motor Group R&D Division, Gyeonggi‑do,
Seoul 445–709, South Korea
3
Automotive Materials Laboratory, LG Hausys, 30,
Magokjungang 10‑ro, Gangseo‑gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
4
Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang
University, Seoul 133‑791, South Korea
side of the automotive, the injury level of passengers is sig-
nificant even when the crash energy is low. This caused from
the fact that the distance between the automotive frame and
passenger is too close, and there are only a few side compo-
nents absorbing crash energy. In a side crash, the B-pillar,
located between the front and rear doors of the automotive,
is the most important component in the occupant protec-
tion. The B-pillar has been designed to be less penetrated
in a crash situation, while efficiently absorbing the impact
energy by enhancing the load-carrying capacity [12, 13].
Therefore, the crashworthiness in a side crash is generally
evaluated by the deformation level of the B-pillar after the
crash [11]. Although metals such as the high-strength steel
have been generally used for robust B-pillars, they have
limitation on the weight reduction of the automotive to sat-
isfy the increasingly stringent regulations and requirement.
Therefore, the above composite materials have attracted
considerable attention for lightweight designs of crashwor-
thy automotive structures owing to their high strengths and
stiffness-to-weight ratios [14–16].
In this study, we used a CFRP in the automotive B-pillar
component for weight reduction and improving crashworthi-
ness. CFRP was used to substitute the steel reinforcement
part. The laminating thickness of the CFRP was determined
using the finite-element method (FEM) by considering the

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548 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559
weight, cost, and impact performance. To maximize the
impact performance, the stacking angle sequence of the
CFRP was also optimized. For computational efficiency, the
equivalent static load method (ESLM) was used for the opti-
mization process. The optimal design of the CFRP B-pillar
was manufactured by resin transfer moulding (RTM) and
assembled with the other components of the B-pillar such as
the outer and inner panels. Finally, its impact performance
was evaluated by a drop-weight test.
2 Finite Element Model
2.1 Conventional Steel B‑Pillar
The finite-element analysis was performed using LS-DYNA
to evaluate the crashworthiness. The drop tower test was
implemented to describe side impact test, which is employed
in Hyundai Motors. The conventional B-pillar model made
of steel was provided by Hyundai Motors, as shown in
Fig. 1a–c. The whole assembly (Fig. 1a) consisted of the
B-pillar, roof, and side sill. In addition, as shown in Fig. 1c,
the B-pillar was composed of the outer panel, inner panel,
and reinforcement part. The reinforcement part was sepa-
rated in two components (green and red parts) and assem-
bled with three brackets. All components of the B-pillar
assembly were tied with each other by spot-weld solid ele-
ments (Fig. 1b). The mechanical properties of the B-pillar
depending on the components, provided by the manufac-
turer, are presented in Table 1 and Fig. 1a–c. Three repre-
sentative types of steel (steel-1–3) representing almost all
components are presented. Although it was not presented in
detail owing to the confidential policy of the manufacturer,
they developed a local softening process in previous studies,
applied while manufacturing the outer panel of the B-pillar.
Therefore, relatively soft properties were used at the lower
part of the outer panel compared to the upper part although
all applied properties are indicated as steel-1, as shown in
Fig. 1a. By this localized control of properties, outstanding
impact characteristics were also demonstrated in a number
of other studies [17, 18]. To apply the mechanical properties
of the steel, the material card *mat_piecewise_linear_plas-
ticity in LS-DYNA was used.
2.2 CFRP B‑Pillar
The CFRP B-pillar was devised to substitute the conven-
tional steel B-pillar to reduce the weight of the B-pillar
while improving the impact performances. Among the sub-
components of the B-pillar assembly, the steel reinforce-
ment part was replaced with the CFRP, as shown in Fig. 1d.
Although the conventional steel B-pillar reinforcement was
composed of two components and some brackets, as shown
13
in Fig. 1c, this model was ineffective for the CFRP reinforce-
ment, as the separate parts of the composites require several
forming processes, which increase the manufacturing cost
and time [19–21]. In addition, the CFRP reinforcement part
would be bonded to the outer panel with adhesive; therefore,
a one-piece reinforcement rather than the assembly of sev-
eral components is advantageous for both manufacturabil-
ity and assembling process. For the modeling of the CFRP
reinforcement part, the geometry of the outer panel was used
and the holes were drawn considering the location of the
holes on the outer panel. Finally, meshes were generated on
the geometry of the reinforcement part with 3221 shell ele-
ments (3, 4 node Belytschko–Tsay shell elements), as shown
in Fig. 2a. Several keyword cards in LSDYNA were then
employed to model the laminated composite materials, such
as *part_composite card and *mat_laminated_composite_
fabric card. The *part_composite keyword card divides the
integration points of the shell elements to model multilay-
ered composites. It defines the thickness and stacking angle
of each ply. With *mat_laminated_composite_fabric card,
orthotropic properties of the fiber-reinforced composite can
be expressed by entering respective mechanical properties
along fiber direction (FD) and transverse direction (TD). The
mechanical properties of CFRP used for impact simulation,
which was experimentally obtained as described in Sect. 4,
are shown in Table 2.
2.3 Side Impact Simulation
The drop tower simulation was carried out for the steel and
CFRP B-pillar, as shown in Fig. 3a and their impact behav-
iors were compared. Following the test standard of Hyun-
dai Motors, a hemispherical impactor with a diameter of
250 mm and total mass of 400 kg was employed. The bound-
ary conditions were applied on the roof and side sill com-
ponents (Fig. 3a). The impact velocity was set to 6.261 m/s.
This corresponds to an impact energy of 7840 J and height
of 2 m in the free drop test according to the equivalent rela-
tion between the potential and kinetic energies as following
equations:
1 2
mgh = mv (1)
2
where m, g, h, and v are the mass of the impactor, gravita-
tional acceleration, height of the free drop, and impact veloc-
ity, respectively. The impactor was modeled as rigid solid
elements with the properties of steel in two separate parts,
as shown in Fig. 3a. The mass of bottom impactor part was
59 kg and additional dummy mass of 341 kg was added on
the upper part of the impactor for agreement with the total
mass of the test equipment. The two parts were tied with the
*constrained_rigid_bodies keyword card in LS-DYNA to
International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 549

Fig. 1  Impact simulation model: a assembly; b spot-weld; c steel B-pillar; d CFRP B-pillar

behave as one part and translational constraints in the x- and
z-directions were applied to move only in the y-direction,
which corresponds to the gravity direction. The impact
position was at a distance of 350 mm from the edge of the
B-pillar (Fig. 3a), which is one of the usual impact locations
in vehicle-to-vehicle crashes. The deformation profiles of the
B-pillar and impact load were measured when the B-pillar
was crashed by the impactor.

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550 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559

Table 1  Mechanical properties of steel of the CFRP B-pillar before the optimization of the stacking
3
Density (kg/m ) Poisson’s ratio Young’s Yield sequence, the effects of the number of plies were investi-
modulus strength gated. A woven CFRP was selected for the bottom and top
(GPa) (MPa) layers while a unidirectional (UD) CFRP was used for the
other layers inside, as shown in Fig. 2b. By utilizing the
Steel-1 7809 0.3 201 1055
woven layers on the outer surfaces, manufacturability and
Steel-2 7809 0.3 206 695
forming stability can be achieved and the mechanical insta-
Steel-3 7850 0.29 206 416
bility in the transverse direction of the UD composite can be
prevented [22–24]. In addition, by using the UD composite
in the internal layers, cost reduction and desired mechanical
3 Design of CFRP B‑Pillar Reinforcement performance can be achieved by relatively low cost of the
UD composite and optimization of the stacking sequence,
3.1 Determination of CFRP Thickness respectively [25, 26]. To investigate the effect of the thick-
ness, the stacking sequences of [45°w, − 45°ud, 45°ud]s, [45°w,
The CFRP B-pillar was designed to reduce the maximum − 45°ud, 45°ud, − 45°ud]s, and [45°w, − 45°ud, 45°ud, − 45°ud,
deformation of the B-pillar after the impact by 25% while 45°ud]s were simulated, where the subscripts w and ud repre-
reducing the weight of the reinforcement part by 60%, com- sent woven and uni-directional composites, respectively. The
pared to those of the steel B-pillar. For the initial simulation stacking angle in this study was measured from the base line

Fig. 2  CFRP B-pillar: a CFRP

reinforcement part and base line
for stacking angle, b schematic
of hybrid Woven/UD CFRP

Table 2  Mechanical properties of CFRP

UD CFRP Density (kg/m3) Longitudinal modulus (GPa) Transverse modulus (GPa) Shear modulus (GPa) Poisson’s ratio

1650 110 10.7 4.2 0.3

UD CFRP Tensile strength (FD) Tensile strength (TD) Compressive strength Compressive strength Shear strength (MPa)
(MPa) (MPa) (FD) (MPa) (TD) (MPa)

1244 75 475 74 60.5

3
Woven CFRP Density (kg/m ) Longitudinal Shear modulus Poisson’s ratio Tensile strength Compressive Shear strength
modulus (GPa) (GPa) (MPa) strength (MPa) (MPa)

1750 56 4.6 0.3 430 340 65

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International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 551

Fig. 3  Side impact test: a

impact simulation, b drop tower
test

of the B-pillar, as shown in Fig. 2a. After the thickness was be optimized to maximize the impact performances. The
determined by considering the crashworthiness and weight, design objective was to minimize the deformation of the
the stacking sequence was optimized. B-pillar after the impact. The deformations of two points
(point 1 and point 2 in Fig. 3a) on the inner panel were
selected for design function. Point 1 and point 2 were
3.2 Optimization of the Stacking Angle by the ESLM located at 350 and 600 mm from the edge of the B-pillar,
respectively. The design variables were set as stacking
Composite materials exhibit different mechanical behav- angles of each ply while constraints of symmetric lami-
iors depending on the stacking angle sequences owing to nating condition and discrete variables with intervals of
their orthotropic properties [27]. Therefore, the stacking 5° were applied. Therefore, the mathematical formulation
angle sequence of the CFRP reinforcement part should for the stacking sequence optimization was established as
follows:
[ ]
Find 𝜃1 , 𝜃2 , 𝜃3 , 𝜃4 s
to minimize deformation of point 1(350mm) of the inner panel after the impact
(2)
to minimize deformation of point 2(600mm) of the inner panel after the impact
[ ]
subject to 𝜃1,2,3,4 ∈ 0◦ , ±5◦ , ±10◦ , … , ±90◦ ,

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552 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559

nonlinear and linear analyses, respectively. The commercial

optimization software Genesis was used with the ESLDYNA
module to apply the ESLM. ESLDYNA, which is a plug-
in module in GENESIS, coupled the nonlinear analysis of
LS-DYNA and linear optimization of GENESIS. After the
impact simulation was performed with LS-DYNA, the dis-
placement fields in specific times were transferred to GEN-
ESIS by ESLDYNA. Then, the ESL sets were calculated for
discrete times. Finally, linear optimization was performed
by using the ESL sets. For an optimization solver, a modi-
fied method of feasible direction (MMFD) algorithm was
employed, which was previously developed by Vanderplaats
[29]. The MMFD algorithm reduces the burden of compu-
tational cost by incorporating the feasible direction method
and the generalized reduced gradient method. This method
finds design variables to maximize or minimize the objective
function as following equations [29–31]:
Fig. 4  Flow of ESL method by ESLDYNA
pn = pn−1 + 𝛼sn , (6)

where n, α, s, p is iteration number, scalar parameter, search

where θi is the stacking angle of each layer. To perform vector, and design variables at each iteration. The direction
optimization in the dynamic impact problem with computa- of search vectors are determined at each cycle to minimize
tional efficiency, the ESLM was employed [15, 28]. The eire or maximize objective function, and changes the design vari-
flow of the ESLM algorithm is shown in Fig. 4. The ESLM ables ( pn ) in searching direction ( sn ) as much as the scalar
performs linear optimization under static loads in specific parameter (α). This process was iterated until convergence
time, which make same response of displacement fields with criteria was satisfied, as shown in Fig. 4.
dynamic simulations. The static load sets, which are equiva-
lent with the dynamic loads from a nonlinear analysis, are
calculated with the equilibrium equations as follows:
4 Experiments
(3)
( )
M(b)̈zn (t) + K b, zn (t) zn (t) = f (t),
4.1 Mechanical Property Tests
z
feq (s) = Kl (b)zn (t), (4)
The mechanical properties of the CFRP, including the ten-
z sile, compressive, and shear properties, were evaluated for
Kl (b)zl (s) = feq (s), (5) the impact simulation and optimization. The specimens
were fabricated by vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding
where b, M, K, z, z̈  , f, t, and s are the design variable vector,
(VARTM) process, which was also used for the manufactur-
mass matrix, stiffness matrix, displacement vector, accelera-
ing of the B-pillar products (Fig. 5). Bi-directional (0°/90°)
tion vector, load vector, and times of the dynamic and static
twill weaved carbon dry fabric and uni-directionally (UD)
simulations, respectively; the subscripts n and l represent the

Fig. 5  Preparation of CFRP specimens by VARTM process for mechanical tests

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International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 553
stitched carbon plies (CHOMARAT, France) were used
(Fig.  5). Products of KUKDO Chemical (Republic of
Korea) were used for the infusion resin (KFR-123 and
KFH-163 for the epoxy resin and hardener, respectively).
To fabricate the specimens with the VARTM process, car-
bon fiber plies, peel ply, and flow media were stacked on
a steel mold, as shown in Fig. 5. Then, line inlet and line
outlet were prepared with spiral tubes, and vacuum bag
was attached outside with a sealant tape. A mixed resin
of epoxy and hardener (mixing ratio = 10:3) was infused
from the line inlet by vacuum pressure at the line outlet.
Finally, the resin was cured at room temperature for 12 h.
Tensile, compressive and shear test were followed with pre-
pared specimens based American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) standards, as shown in Fig. 6 (ASTM
D 3039, ASTM D 6641, and ASTM D 5379, respectively)
[32–34]. All tests were carried out with universal testing
machine (RB 301 UNITECH-M, R&B, South Korea). With
the obtained properties such as the stiffness, and strength
(Table 2, Fig. 6), the impact simulation was carried out as
described in Sect. 2.
4.2 Fabrication of CFRP B‑Pillar
Based on the optimal design, the CFRP B-pillar was manu-
factured. A conventional steel B-pillar was manufactured
and provided by Hyundai Motors and its steel reinforcement
Fig. 6  Test equipment and stress–strain curve of CFRP from mechanical tests
part was substituted by CFRP. As shown in Fig. 7a, the
CFRP reinforcement part was fabricated by VARTM pro-
cess. Carbon fabric, peel ply, and flow media were stacked in
sequence on a female mold and a vacuum bag was attached
outside. After the stacking of carbon fiber fabrics, the mixed
resin was infused into the mold by a vacuum pump. After
30 min, the resin was fully infused and cured at room tem-
perature for 12 h. The fabricated reinforcement part is shown
in Fig. 7b. The outer surface of the reinforcement part and
inner surface of the outer panel part were polished with
sandpaper. Then, they were bonded with glue and clamped
during curing process. An epoxy-type glue (Ashland Inc.)
for the CFRP and steel was used for bonding. After the
bonding, the outer panel part was spot-welded with the other
components such as the inner panel, roof, and side sill. The
final assembly is shown in Fig. 7b.
4.3 Drop Tower Test
The drop tower test was performed for both steel and com-
posite B-pillars, under the same conditions used in the sim-
ulation. With the drop tower test machine in Fig. 3b, the
impactor was dropped from the height of 2 m for impact
velocity to be 6.261  m/s. The force and displacement
response were recorded from the impactor.
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554 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559

Fig. 7  Manufacturing of CFRP B-pillar: a fabrication of CFRP reinforcement part by VARTM process, b Assembling process

Table 3  Weight of components Part Inner panel Outer panel Steel Reinf. CFRP Reinf. CFRP Reinf. CFRP
and weight reduction ratio of (6 plies) (8 plies) Reinf. (10
CFRP reinforcement plies)

Mass (g) 2057 4040 1886 543 661 808

Weight 72.7 64.9 57.1
reduction
(%)

5 Result and Discussion
The results of the tensile, compression, and shear tests are
shown in Fig. 6 and Table 2. The mechanical properties of
the CFRP such as the stiffness, strength, and failure strain
were calculated from the stress–strain curve based on ASTM
standards and employed for impact simulations [32–34].
The effect of the thickness was investigated by compar-
ing some cases with different number of plies, and then it
was determined by considering both weight and deflection
profile of the B-pillar. The weights depending on the number
of plies are listed in Table 3, in comparison with other steel
components. In addition, the weight reduction ratio of the
reinforcement part achieved by substituting the steel to the
CFRP was summarized. All cases of CFRP reinforcement
showed more than two times lighter weight than that of
the steel reinforcement. The thicknesses of 6 plies and 8
plies have been design candidates because one of the design
requirements was reducing the weight of reinforcement by
60% compared to the steel.
The deflection profiles of the B-pillar and relative dis-
placements from initial points after the impact termination
are presented in Fig. 8 and Table 4 using 35 points on the
inner panel. All CFRP cases exhibited smaller displacements
than that of the steel, and the deflection was reduced with the
increase in the thickness. The maximum displacement of the
CFRP with 8 plies was reduced by 28.2% compared to that of
the steel, while that for 6 plies was reduced by 21.7%, which
violated the constraints (reduction in the maximum displace-
ment of 25% compared to that of the steel). Therefore, the
thickness of 8 plies, which had two woven layers in the outer

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International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 555

Fig. 8  Impact performances depending on thickness: a 35 points selected for presenting deflection profile; b deflection profile; c displacement of
each points of B-pillar depending on materials and thickness

Table 4  Displacement of each point after impact than 6 plies. Therefore, the 8 plies were considered as the
Steel CFRP rein- CFRP rein- CFRP rein-
most effective case in this configuration.
reinforce- forcement forcement (8 forcement The optimal stacking sequence resulted from ESLM was
ment (6 plies) plies) (10 plies) [85°w, 85°ud, 90°ud, 75°ud]s. The deflection profile and dis-
placement of each point were compared with those of the
Maximum 137.1 110.3 101.5 96.0
displacement initial stacking sequence ([45°w, − 45°ud, 45°ud, − 45°ud]s),
(mm) as shown in Figs. 9b, c. In addition, the stacking sequences
Displacement 19.5 26.0 29.9 of [0°w, 0°ud, 0°ud, 0°ud]s and [90°w, 90°ud, 90°ud, 90°ud]s were
reduction also compared for further investigation of the effect of the
(%)
stacking sequence on the deflection. Although the effect of
the stacking sequence was less than the thickness, clear dif-
ferences were observed. The maximum displacement of the
layers and six UD layers in the inner layers, was determined optimal condition, which occurred at the impacted location
as the design object for the stacking sequence optimization. (350 mm), was decreased than the initial condition. It was
In addition, it seems that the effect of thickness on the crash- noteworthy that a quite large difference of the displacement
worthiness was reduced as the thickness increased because after impact could be observed depending on the stack-
the displacement reduction ratio of 10 plies were only 3.9% ing sequence of the composite even though the weight of
greater than that for 8 plies, while 8 plies were 6.5% greater the CFRP reinforcement part was only 13.2% of the total

Fig. 9  Impact performances depending on stacking sequence: a regions for data plot; b deflection profile; c displacement depending on stacking
angle

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556 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559
B-pillar weight. In addition, the optimal case exhibited
smaller deflections not only at the impact location but also
at all locations than [0°w, 0°ud, 0°ud, 0°ud]s case. In compari-
son with the [90°w, 90°ud, 90°ud, 90°ud]s case, the optimal
case shows less difference at the impact point. However,
the upper locations (above 350 mm of z-coordinates) were
less deformed. This might be attributed to the geometry of
the reinforcement part. The optimization showed that the
fiber directions tended to arrange along the tilted direction
of the B-pillar. The B-pillar was not vertically standing but
had an inclined shape and the tilt angle was in the range of
approximately 70° to 87° from the horizontal axis, as shown
in Fig. 2a. The optimal stacking angle was also in a similar
range of angles with the B-pillar geometry. As the optimal
fiber directions were tilted along the B-pillar direction, the
bending resistance of the B-pillar might be increased along
its direction, leading to high impact resistances at all loca-
tions of the B-pillar. This implies that both impact condition
and geometry of the design regions should be considered in
detail for the stacking sequence optimization, while simple
and usual stacking sequences such as 0°, 90°, and 45° have
been widely used based on empirical intuition to design
automotive components including the B-pillar.
Fig. 10  Force and displacement response from impactor presented with maximum value: a CFRP B-pillar; b steel B-pillar
13
To verify the design result based on the FEM, the
drop tower test was performed. The experimental results
of steel and optimally designed CFRP B-pillar are pre-
sented with the simulation results in Fig. 10. The reac-
tion force displacement of the impactor and impact time
showed good agreement with the simulation results. As
expected, the maximum force and displacement of the
steel B-pillar were higher than those of the CFRP B-pil-
lar. In addition, the shape of deformed B-pillar after test
showed good agreement in simulation and experiments as
shown in Fig. 11a. Nevertheless, difference at the inter-
face between reinforcement and outer panel was observed
in experiments and simulation as shown in Fig. 11b. To
manufacture the B-pillar, the adhesive was used for bond-
ing of the outer panel and the reinforcement, and they were
debonded after test. However, the adhesion was considered
to be perfectly tied in simulation for cost effective simula-
tion, and tied contact was kept during test. In addition, this
adhesion condition might induce the slight overestimation
of reaction force in simulation as shown in Fig. 10. From
these result, more accurate simulation results is expected
when considering adhesion even though additional cost
International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 557
Fig. 11  Image of CFRP B-pillar after impact simulation and experiments: a deflection of B-pillar, b contact between reinforcement and outer
panel
will be occurred for increasing simulation time and obtain-
ing adhesion properties.
From the comparisons of simulations and experiments,
the reliability of the simulation model and superior impact
resistance of CFRP were demonstrated. We can conclude
that the crashworthiness was considerably increased even
though only one part of the B-pillar, whose weight ratio
was 13.2% of the total weight, was substituted from the
steel to the CFRP. It implies that the impact performances
can be further increased if the other components are sub-
stituted to CFRP. These results show that the design of
automotive structures including the B-pillar can be suc-
cessfully performed by FEM simulation, and impact per-
formance of automotive can be highly improved by apply-
ing CFRP materials while reducing the weight.
6 Conclusion
In this study, the design optimization of the CFRP B-pillar
was conducted to improve the crashworthiness with lighter
weight than conventional steel B-pillar. The drop tower test
was carried out to describe the side impact of the automotive
B-pillar. To design the CFRP B-pillar, the one-piece CFRP
reinforcement part was devised to substitute several steel
reinforcement parts, and then the design of thickness and
stacking sequence was followed by the FEM simulation. The
number of plies was determined as 8 plies containing two
woven layers and six UD layers by considering both weight
and crashworthiness. Consequently, the stacking sequence
of 8 plies was optimized to obtain further enhancement of
impact resistance. To optimize the stacking sequence with a
reduced computational cost in the dynamic simulation, the
ESLM was employed. Finally, the optimal stacking sequence
of [85°w, 85°ud, 90°ud, 75°ud]s was obtained and showed most
crashworthy behavior than any other cases. Based on the
design results, the CFRP B-pillar was manufactured by
VARTM process and assembling process. Consequently, the
drop tower test was carried out and CFRP B-pillar exhibited
the improved crashworthiness compared to steel B-pillar, as
expected in simulation.
Acknowledgements  This work was supported by a National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education
(2018R1D1A1A09083236). This research was also supported by a
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the
Korean Government (MEST) (2013M2A2A9043280). This work was
also supported by the Industrial Strategic technology development
program (10076562, Development of fiber reinforced thermoplastic
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558 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559
nano-composite via fiber bundle spreading for high quality resin
impregnation process and its application to the underbody shield com-
ponent for protecting battery pack of an electric-vehicle) funded By the
Ministry of Trade, industry & Energy(MI, Korea). This work was also
supported by a Collaborative Project between Hanyang University and
Hyundai Motors Co. Ltd.
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International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology (2021) 8:547–559 559

loading compression (CLC) test fixture (pp. 1–9). West Consho- Hee‑June Kim  received his Ph.D.
hocken, PA: ASTM International. at the Seoul National University.
He works in LS Hausys and have
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to developed various composite
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. materials for many applications
including automotive.

Dug‑Joong Kim  is a Ph.D. can-

didate in the Department of
mechanical engineering at Han-
yang University. He received his
B.S degree in Hanyang, 2016.
His research interests are in the
design and manufacturing of
composite materials, especially
for automotive applications. Haks‑Sung Kim  is a professor in
the Department of Mechanical
Engineering at Hanyang Univer-
sity. His research interests are in
the structural composite, printed
electronics, nondestructive eval-
uation with THz and semicon-
ductor packaging technology.
Jaeyoung Lim  received his Ph.D.
in ASE&EM at the University of
Texas at Austin in Dec 2007. He
worked as a postdoctoral
researcher at Purdue university,
and joined the HYUNDAI
MOTOR COMPANY as a senior
research engineer in 2010. Over
the last 10 years he has devel-
oped CAE methods and using
them to characterize the mechan-
ical responses at high strain rates
for the collision safety perfor-
mance of vehicles.

Byeunggun Nam  received his

Ph.D. in The University of
Tokyo in March 2004. He
worked as a research associate at
Institute of Industrial Science,
The University of Tokyo from
2004 to 2007. He joined the
HYUNDAI MOTOR COM-
PANY as a senior research engi-
neer in 2007. He is interested in
Mechanics, Composite and its
automobile application.

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