Effect of Polyurethane Structural Foam on Vehicle Stiffness
Date Published: 1999-05-17
Paper Number:1999-01-1785
DOI: 10.4271/1999-01-1785
Citation:
Esposito, S., Arias, N., Tudor, J., Tao, D. et al., "Effect of Polyurethane Structural Foam on Vehicle Stiffness," SAE Technical Paper 1999-01-1785, 1999, doi:10.4271/1999-01-1785.
Author(s):
Scott Esposito - DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Norca Arias - DaimlerChrysler Corp.
Jay Tudor - Sound Alliance Division of Essex Specialty Products, Inc.
David Tao - Sound Alliance Division of Essex Specialty Products, Inc.
Ben Soltisz - Sound Alliance Division of Essex Specialty Products, Inc.
Gururaj Kathawate - Sound Alliance Division of Essex Specialty Products, Inc.
Stability and structural integrity are extremely important in the design of a vehicle. Structural foams, when used to fill body cavities and joints, can greatly improve the stiffness of the vehicle, and provide additional acoustical and structural benefits.
This study involves modal testing and finite element analysis on a sports utility vehicle to understand the effect of structural foam on modal behavior. The modal analysis studies are performed on this vehicle to investigate the dynamic characteristics, joint stiffness and overall body behavior. A design of experiments (DOE) study was performed to understand how the foam's density and placement in the body influences vehicle stiffness. Prior to the design of experiments, a design sensitivity analysis (DSA) was done to identify the sensitive joints in the body structure and to minimize the number of design variables in the DOE study.
Purchase more technical papers and save! With TechSelect,
you decide what SAE Technical Papers you need, when you need them, and how much you want to pay.
Learn more >
