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Collision Resistance of a Lightweight Center Pillar Made of AA7075-T6

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Abstract

Use of the heat treatable aluminium alloys in various industries is ever increasing owing to their excellent mechanical properties. AA7075 has gained attention as a material for automotive center pillars for its light weight and high strength to weight ratio. A primary key to using AA7075 for the center pillar is the development of a forming process that can overcome the lower formability of AA7075 and produce parts that satisfy the required collision resistance and safety. In this study, the AA7075-T6 sheet was formed at a solution heat treatment temperature to increase its formability. After forming, the quenching and aging were conducted to improve its mechanical properties. To investigate the collision characteristics, the impulse, absorbed energy and anti-intrusion displacement were compared both experimentally and numerically. When the AA7075-T6 was applied to the center pillar, the absorbed energies, namely, the elastic and plastic deformation energy, were similar to a hot press formed center pillar made of boron steel, whereas the anti-intrusion was improved significantly by 28 % and the weight of the center pillar with AA7075-T6 was reduced by 36 %. The results showed that the AA7075-T6 was a feasible alternative for enhancing the collision resistance with reduced weight.

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Abbreviations

d i :

intrusion displacement, mm

H0:

heights from ground to top before collision, mm

H1:

heights from ground to top after collision, mm

I:

impulse, N·sec

F(t):

impulsive force, kN

E i :

internal energy, kJ

E es :

elastic strain energy, kJ

E p :

plastic deformation energy, kJ

E as :

artificial strain energy, kJ

E other :

creep, viscoelasticity and swelling energy, kJ

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Acknowledgement

This work was partially supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2019R1F1A1060010 and No. 2017R1A2B4007884). Authors thank Autogen Corporation for their partnership and collaboration in this study.

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  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Korea

    Min Sik Lee & Young Hoon Moon

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  1. Min Sik Lee
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Correspondence to Young Hoon Moon.

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Lee, M.S., Moon, Y.H. Collision Resistance of a Lightweight Center Pillar Made of AA7075-T6. Int.J Automot. Technol. 22, 853–862 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-021-0077-4

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