Introduction

The rear bulkhead (circled in red below) is one of two bulkheads present within the car. It provides structural integrity to the whole assembly and thus, must be tested to make sure that it reaches the standards we set for it to achieve.

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Tests to be used

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The figure above shall be used to determine which tests we should be doing. As you can see, in terms of the rear bulkhead it experiences “collisions” from behind like a three-point bend test, from the top, and from the side. This practically emulates the same conditions that the front bulkhead experiences but, a little bit less so, we will be using the same testing standards as with the front bulkhead tests.

The testing standards to be used are listed below:

• ASTM C393_Standard Test Method for Shear Strength

• ASTM D3039_Standard Test Methods for Tensile Properties

• ASTM D3410_Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Polymer Matric Composite Materials