Holistic Sun Simulation of Polymer Materials in Automotive Applications

Abstract

Deformation of components due to thermal loads caused by the sun light is an important aspect to consider in automotive interior trim design. The sun light may cause the cabin to heat up extensively, which may affect both the structural rigidity and cosmetics of the trim components. Currently, physical tests are carried out in order to measure the response from such thermal loads. However, studies are often both time and cost expensive. Previous work has shown that the response can be obtained through sun simulation. For such a simulation, weather data is used to predict the thermal loads, which are then applied on a full car model. Moreover, the simulation methodology enables the effect of customer vehicle usage to be taken into consideration. The majority of vehicle interior trim components are made of polymer materials, as they offer cost efficient and lightweight solutions. For components with higher structural requirements, fibre reinforced polymers are often implemented. In order to be successful in the application of polymer materials, the thermal as well as mechanical behaviour of the polymer has to be taken into consideration. Furthermore, as most components are manufactured through injection moulding, process induced stresses and fibre orientations may also have an effect on the result. In order to increase the fidelity of the sun simulation model these factors have to be taken into consideration. Thus, this thesis presents the development of a workflow that allows process induced parameters to be used as an input when performing sun simulation on complete vehicle models. A workflow has successfully been developed that allows for process induced parameters to be taken into account for structural analysis. Results show that process induced stresses and fibre orientations have an impact on the results obtained from sun simulations on complete car models.