Trunk Area Loading Analysis

This page shows the simulation results for the analysis on the Trunk Area of the Bottom Panel. The Trunk Area gives access to the rear suspension assembly which will likely be needed for installation and maintenance of parts. The loading condition being investigated is in the case of someone fully leaning inside the Trunk Area in order to maintenance the rear compartments. The purpose of this analysis is to determine whether additional structural reinforcement is required to support this loading condition. In this simulation, the fully loaded Chassis was used which is the equivalent Chassis analysed for vehicle collisions including the load of 4 passengers (80 kg each), fully mounted fire walls (100 kg each at the front and back), and battery box (100 kg at the centre).

Problem Statement:

Does the Trunk Area of the Bottom Panel need to be reinforced under the loading condition of 80 kg

The options for structural reinforcement are to:

Inserting core into the Trunk Area of the Bottom Panel, i.e. no core, 1/2 in core, or 1 in core
Extending Chassis tubes to the Trunk Area to provide structural support

Loading Condition:

A person leaning inside the Trunk Area in order to maintenance the rear compartments
- ASC Regulations state that a passenger weighs 80 kg

Figure 1: Illustration of the Problem Statement

Figure 2: Loading consisting of a Remote Force of 784.8 N representing an 80 kg passenger

Figure 3: Fixed Connections at the Bottoms of the Bottom Panel

Figure 4: Magnified Deformation of Simulation Results. Extreme Deformation at Furthest Edge.

Table #1: Simulation results for varying layup compositions

Layup	Max Total Deflection (mm)	Tsai-Wu Factor
No Core	3.2	0.018434
1/2 in Core	0.48474	0.01049
1 in Core	0.25518	0.010771