Opportunities in Optimizing Car Door Weight

Abstract

The car door is an important part that protects passengers from side collisions and also provides comfort when entering and leaving the car. Car doors weigh around 2% of the total car weight. Conventional car doors are made from steel as it is sturdy, but it also contributes to the increase in car weight. As scientific researchers are getting more advanced, finding new materials as a substitute for conventionally used steel becomes more evident. Advancements in manufacturing and joining technologies pave the way for exploring new improvement opportunities in car door weight optimization. Side-impact collision of a car is the most hazardous as it directly hits the driver, causing injuries or death all over the world. Vehicles are one of the mediums of the terribly hazardous crashes, causing injuries and death annually around the world. In this research paper, the most important parameters, including materials, loads, stresses, and deformation, were studied to find opportunities for car door weight optimization. Reduction in car weight means lower fuel consumption, which enables automobile industries to reduce carbon emission levels of a car. But the safety of passengers is the main priority, which demands a lightweight as well as strong material that can sustain collision impact. The aim of the report is to compare the structure of different materials used in car doors with currently used material. The design of the car door is done using Computer-Aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) software. Impact analysis is conducted on the door using ANSYS Workbench software by varying the materials. S-glass epoxy UD alloys become promising substitutes because of their satisfactory mechanical properties and specific strength.