On the Use of a Hybrid Metallic-Composite Design to Increase Mechanical Performance of an Automotive Chassis

Thanks to the introduction of high-performance composite materials, 'metal replacement' approaches are successfully gaining ground even in the most challenging engineering applications. Among these, one of the most recent application challenges is improving the driving range of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) by adopting innovative materials to lighten the mass of structural components, thus reducing energy requirements and enabling the use of smaller and less expensive batteries. Hence, in the present work, the employment of laminated composite panels in an electric minibus chassis is investigated as an effective way to reduce the global mass of the chassis’ structure and, at the same time, to increase its structural performances in terms of torsional stiffness and crashworthiness. By replacing specific steel tubulars with carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminated composite structures, different chassis configurations were numerically developed and detailed simulations to compare both masses and mechanical responses were carried out. The paper proves that with this approach it is possible to lighten the chassis up to 9%, while achieving a 7% increase in torsional stiffness and a 9% increase in Specific Energy Absorption (SEA).