Roof Design

AUTOMOTIVE SHEETMETAL ROOF DESIGN USING NX CAD

OBJECTIVE:

1.Main objective of the project is to create the Roof Sheetmetal design in NX cad, and also designing Front roof rail, rear roof rail, bow roof front, bow roof rear, center roof rail and Reinforcement are creating to build the strong roof.

2.Do curvature study on Roof and performance calculations for Heat distortion and Snow load criteria to determine the position of the Bow roofs.

3.Finding the moment of inertia and section modulus for Bow-roofs and center roof rail.

4.And, also finding the Draft Analysis of each part.

INTRODUCTION :

Design of any product starts from an requirement . The design engineer sketches the product based on the the requirement . Then the 2D sketch with the proper dimensions is converted into the 3D model using the advanced CAD software's . The another important thing in the design is that , every product that is designed should be able to manufactured . so the role of the design engineer is to design the product that can be easily manufactured and with less cost effective . This is the place where the Design for manufacturing [DFM] and Design of assembly [DFA] takes a role while developing any product . The process of development of design carries on until the design satisfies the customer needs .Here in this project the product that we are going to develop is a car roof.

CAR ROOF :

An automobile roof or car top is the portion of an automobile that sits above the passenger compartment, protecting the vehicle occupants from sun, wind, rain, and other external elements. Roof is the structure above the wind shield glass having the reinforcements to provide the strength to the overall structure and to with stand the over head forces like snow.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION OF ROOF:

• Visibility criteria
• Head room clearance
• Bow roof position
• Heat distortion and Snow load criteria
• Draft analysis

ROOF CRUSH TEST:

OVERVIEW OF THE TEST:

Roof strength evaluations consist of a quasi-static test conducted on a vehicle’s roof in a manner similar to tests used to judge compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216 (Office of the Federal Register, 2009). The main differences between the procedure specified by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and that specified by the U.S. federal government are that the IIHS procedure are,

• Specifies testing one side of a vehicle’s roof
• Does not include a headroom criterion
• Specifies testing to a given displacement instead of a given force level
• Specifies setting the vehicle’s pitch angle during testing based on the measured on-road pitch angle.

An overall rating is assigned based on the peak strength-to-weight ratio (SWR) measured within 127 mm of plate displacement.

CURB WEIGHT MEASUREMENT:

Curb weight values used for calculating the SWR are based on IIHS measurements of a vehicle, not the manufacturer’s specified curb weight.

Vehicle curb weight is measured with full fluid levels using scales manufactured by Longacre Racing Products (Computer scales DX series 72634).

TEST VEHICLE SELECTION:

For information on how we select vehicles for our crash test programs, including how we define typically equipped vehicles, see Test Vehicle Selection (IIHS, 2021). Whenever possible, the vehicle acquired for testing is the same vehicle used for the curb weight measurement.

At times, it is necessary to test a vehicle that does not meet the IIHS definition of a typically equipped vehicle, and the curb weight measurement is applied from another vehicle that does meet the definition. In these cases, the test vehicle does not differ from our typically equipped vehicle definition in any way that might influence the roof strength (e.g., a vehicle with a sunroof would not be tested if the typically equipped vehicle lacks this option).

Once the test vehicle has been acquired, either the driver or passenger side of the vehicle is selected for testing. For most vehicles, the test side is chosen at random. However, for roof designs that appear asymmetrical, engineering judgment is used to select the side of the roof that may result in a lower peak force.

TEST VEHICLE PREPARATION:

With the vehicle on a level surface, the on-road pitch angle at the front door sill is measured on both sides of the vehicle. Unless the vehicle manufacturer requests otherwise, roof racks and other nonstructural items that may be contacted during the test are left as installed from the factory.

Any trim or other components are removed if they interfere with supporting the vehicle along its rocker panels. For vehicles with vertical pinch weld flanges on the bottom of the rocker panels, the vehicle support system consists of one I-beam (HR A-36 W4X13) for each rocker panel.

Each I-beam has a clamping system incorporated on the top that is tightened against the pinch weld flange to clamp the system in place (Figures 1 and 2). When the pinch weld flange has a bend that prevents supporting the sill with one I-beam, more than one I-beam can be used on each side of the vehicle.

For vehicles with no pinch weld flange, or with a nonvertical flange angle that precludes clamping, mounting by another method may be necessary, such as that described in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Laboratory Test Procedure (2006).

Prior to testing, the front-row seat back on the side being tested is reclined to prevent interaction with the crushing roof. Rear seats are latched in their upright position. All windows are closed and doors are locked.

TESTING OF ROOF:

Roof strength evaluations are conducted on a quasi-static test system manufactured by MGA Research Corporation (Figure 3).

The system consists of an upright assembly and an attached loading head that can be fixed at varying heights from the ground as well as at pitch angles ranging from −5 to +5 degrees to accommodate testing on the driver or passenger side.

The roll angle is permanently fixed at 25 degrees. Four hydraulic actuators control the movement of the platen along two linear guides. The entire system is mounted on a T-slot bed plate anchored to the floor of the test facility.

Two HR A-36 — W10x88 I-beams are mounted on the bed plate perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the platen. The vehicle, with attached rocker panel support system, is placed on these beams. The vehicle is adjusted so that:

1. The longitudinal centerline of platen is within 10 mm of the initial roof contact point.
2. The yaw angle of the vehicle relative to the longitudinal axis of the platen is 0 ± 0.5 degrees.
3. The midpoint of the platen’s forward edge is 254 ± 10 mm forward of the most forward point of the roof (including windshield trim if it overlaps the roof) lying on the vehicle’s longitudinal centerline.
4. The pitch angle of the vehicle matches the on-road angle, while also accounting for any difference between the platen’s pitch angle and the nominal −5 degrees. The maximum combined difference of the vehicle and platen pitch angles from their targets is ± 0.5 degrees. (For example, if the onroad vehicle pitch angle is −0.2 degrees and the platen pitch angle is −5.2 degrees, the target sill angle for the test is −0.4 ± 0.5 degrees.) If necessary to achieve this angle, shims are inserted between the rocker panel supports and the W10x88 I-beams attached to the bed plate.

Once the vehicle is positioned correctly, the rocker panel supports are clamped to the two perpendicular I beams, and the beams are marked to allow confirmation that the vehicle position is maintained during the test.

For body-on-frame vehicles, the frame is supported to prevent the weight of the chassis from stressing the body at the body mounts. The roof is crushed to a minimum displacement of 127 mm at a nominal rate of 5 mm/second.

Some tests are conducted to a greater displacement to collect additional strength data for research purposes. Force data are recorded from five load cells (Interface Inc., model 1220) attached to the loading platen.

Displacement data are recorded from four linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) (MTS Temposonics model GH) integrated into the hydraulic actuators. Figure 4 shows the locations of the load cells and LVDTs on the loading platen.

Force and displacement data are collected with a National Instruments USB-6210 data acquisition system and reported at 100 Hz. These data are based on a sampling rate of 2,000 Hz, with every 20 points being averaged to produce the output data at 100 Hz.

The displacement-time histories from the LVDTs are compared to verify that the platen’s roll angle and pitch angle (relative to the vehicle’s on-road pitch) were maintained at 25 ± 0.5 degrees and −5 ± 0.5 degrees, respectively.

The precrash and post-crash conditions of each test vehicle are documented with still photographs. The position of the vehicle in the test fixture also is recorded. Motion picture photography is made of the test with real-time video cameras.

CALCULATING THE STRENGTH-TO-WEIGHT RATIO (SWR) RATING:

Force and displacement data are recorded for 5 seconds prior to each test, while the test system holds the loading platen at initial roof contact.

The data recorded from 1 to 4 seconds of this hold time are averaged for each channel to produce a measurement offset that is subtracted from the data recorded during the crushing of the roof.

After removing the offset for each channel, the force-displacement curve is plotted using the summed output from the five load cells and the average displacement from the four LVDTs. The maximum force prior to 127 mm of platen displacement is divided by the measured curb weight to obtain the SWR.

Both the force and curb weight are rounded to the nearest pound prior to performing the calculation, and the resulting SWR is rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of a unit.

Displacement is rounded to the nearest 0.1 mm. (The maximum displacement where the load can be used for the vehicle rating is 126.9 mm.) The vehicle’s rating is assigned based on the boundaries listed in.

All trim levels sharing the tested vehicle’s body type and roof structure are assigned the same rating as the typically equipped trim level, provided their curb weights do not exceed 110% of the selected vehicle’s weight.

Based on published curb weights from multiple sources, any trim levels that may exceed this weight are identified and weighed. If the weight does exceed 110% of the weight of the selected vehicle, a unique SWR is calculated for that trim level.

If this SWR results in a lower rating, both ratings are reported for the model, with a split according to trim level. If a trim level weighs more than 110% of the typically equipped model, but the lower SWR does not fall in a lower rating band, only the original SWR and rating are reported for the model.

WHY REINFORCEMENTS :

If the roof is flat it is very weak and cannot able to with stand the forces like snow , so in order to increase the strength of the roof these reinforcements like front roof rail, central roof rail, rear roof rail and the bow roofs are introduced and joined to the flat surface of the roof with the different joining process

Different types of reinforcements that the car has are :

• Front roof rail
• Bow roofs
• Central roof rail and
• Rear roof rail

FRONT ROOF RAIL :

Front roof rail is the one which joins the wind shield glass , body side outer and the inner panel also. Here the front roof rail is designed based up on the master saection given . It then connects the A-Pillar of the car.

REAR ROOF RAIL :

Rear roof rail is the one which joins the back door and the body side outer. It then connects the C-pillar of the car.

CENTRAL ROOF RAIL :

central roof rail helps in providing effectively support to the flat area of the roof as it is more susceptible to failure under the action of load . generally central roof rail is placed at the center of the roof which is connected to the B-pillar support structure . This central roof rail helps in adding the strength to the roof during the rool- over test.

BOW ROOFS :

The bow roofs are give to improve the torsional stiffness and load bearing capacity of the roof structure . The number of bow roof present is depends on the overall size of the roof . Presently in this project two bow roofs are added.

JOINING PROCESS :

Mastics are introduced between the roof outer panel and the reinforcements for joining . where ever the mastic are introduced there is remarkable improve of the strength

Spot welding is also introduced to join the reinforcements and the outer panel

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR A ROOF :

• Visibility criteria
• Head clearance
• Curvature study
• Heat distortion and snow load criteria
• Draft analysis

ROOF CRUSH TEST :

Roof crush test is the design given by the IIHS ( insurance institute of highway safety ) . After analyzing the many accidents IIHS has then fixed some regulations , that how to perform the crush test .

IIHS gives the rating based up on this test . For this they consider two points while giving the rating

• How fast the car can reforms to its original shape after the roll over and
• How deep is the protrusion after the roll over

GOAL OF ROOF CRUSH TEST :

To minimize the protrusion into the occupant compartment , so that the seat belts and air bags can do there job in protecting the occupant

CONDITIONS TO FOLLOW FOR ROOF CRUSH TEST :

There are two conditions that should be followed for the roof crush test , they are

INITIAL CONDITION :

• Close and lock all the doors
• Close all the windows

SECOND CONDITION :

Fix the body sill or chassis frame on a hard lever surface horizontally

METHOD OF APPLYING THE FORCE :

The load is applied in such a way that 5⁰ is tilted from the front end to the rear end and the load will be in 1800 mm in length and 750 mm in width . The load is applied at the position of 25⁰ from the flatness of the roof . The load is applied on the roof for almost 120 sec and the crush speed at which the load applied is 13 mm/sec or less than that

RESULTS :

If the displacements goes above the requirements level then we have to increase the bow roof thickness or add more mastics points to increase the strength . the stronger the roof the better it can protect the occupants in the roll over crashes.

HEAT DISTORTION STUDY ON THE ROOF :

The heat distortion study plays a major role in sheet metal usage . heat distortion temperature is a temperature limit above which the material cannot be used for the structural applications . This study is used to predict the heat distortion temperature at where the material starts to soften when exposed to a fixed load at elevated temperature . In order to avoid bending or damages on the roof, based on the heat distortion temperature , this study will predict the bow roof position which helps to strengthen the roof .

Bow – roof prediction Formula

W = [1.73 x 10^(-3) x L] + [1.85 x 10^(-8) x (R^2)/t] + [ 1.10x10^(-3) x l] - 2.68

Where

L = Roof Length in X-Direction[mm](Roof dimension in 0-Y)

R = Roof curvature

R = 2(Rx*Ry)/(Rx+Ry)

Rx = X curvature

Ry = Y curvature

t = Roof plate thickness [mm]

l = Bow Roof Span [mm]

Judgement Condition : OK< 2.7> 3.1

R_X & R_Y (X & Y Curvature):

• From 0-Y axis, at -3Y about distance 300mm is drawn parallel on the perpendicular plane. After that 100mm lines are offset to either side of -3Y line. Now center lines are drawn between each adjacent roof rail edges respectively. Intersection points are marked on the sketch. Make all geometry lines are construction lines except points.
• Project the intersection points on sketch to the Roof surface.
• Join the intersection points in roof surface using the arc curve an measure the radius using the minimum radius comment.

Applying values to the formula, before that we get all the calculated values :-

W1 and W2 will not be claculated as sun roof area is clearing the surface. So calculating W3,

Calculated values,

L = 2035.0148mm

Rx = 10564.4337mm , Ry = 3962.7013mm

R = 4201.4772mm,

t = 0.75mm,

l = 458.1484mm

So applying the formula we get the value of W3 = 1.59 < 2.7, hence satisfied.

Similarly, for W4, calculated values are,

L = 2.35.0148mm

Rx = 14569.7909mm , Ry = 3285.6215mm

R = 5362.0512mm,

t = 0.75mm,

l = 315.1265mm

So, applying the values in the Heat Distortion Formula we get

W4 = 1.89 <2.7 , hence satisfied

From the above calculation, it can be concluded that all values of w< 2.7 and also not w >3.1 so thus infers that current positioning of bow row are good in state as per design and found ok.

SNOW LOAD:

Snow load criteria study is used to check the durability of the roof to withstand the snow fall on the roof and reflex it is original shape without any permanent deformation after load being removed.

SNOW LOAD CRITERIA:

Q_r = [I_Y x t²] / [α x s x [(R_X + R_Y)/2]² x 10^-8]

Where,

α = M_y x L_X² x10^-12, M_{y =} Y(L_y–Y)

Judgement condition = Q_r > 3.1

250 < s < 380

t = Roof plate thickness[mm]

L_Y = Distance between the front and rear roof rails on the vehicle along with 0Y[MM],

Length of roof panel with the center point between roof rails front/ rear as the front and rear reference point.

L_X= Distance between the left and right end of the roof on the roof bow[mm],

With of the roof panel exposed on the surface.

Y = Distance between Front roof rails to roof bow [mm],

s = Distance for which roof bow bears divided load [mm],

s = L₁/2 + L₂/2

I_y = Geometrical moment of inertia of roof bow (Y cross – section) [mm4],

R_X = Lateral direction curvature radius of roof panel Y cross section on roof bow [mm4],

Roof panel curvature radius of the length L_X in front view.

R_Y = Longitudinal direction curvature radius of the roof panel X cross section on roof bow[mm4],

Roof panel X curvature radius of length s in side view.

R_X & R_Y (X & Y Curvature):

• At 0-Y axis on perpendicular plane to roof. Draw 100mm lines offset to either side of the of 0Y axis line. Now center lines are drawn between each adjacent roof rail respective. Intersection points are marked on the sketch. Make all the geometry in construction lines except points.
• Project the intersection points in the sketch are projected to roof surface.
• Join the project points using arc curve and measure the radius value using minimum radius comment.

MOMENT OF INERTIA:

Section Modulus :-

The moment carrying capacity of an object is directly dependent on geometrical property (I) and material property (E) of an object, which is collectively termed as flexural rigidity (EI). Geometry of an object plays an important role in load bearing capacity of an object which is indicated by moment of inertia of a section.

Therefore, section modulus is the predominant factor which evidences the strength of an object and is defined as the ratio of the moment of inertia of the object about its centroidal axis to the distance of the extreme fibers of the object from the neutral axis.

There are two types of section modulus we have,

• Elastic section modulus
• Plastic section modulus

Elastic modulus is defined as,

S = I/Y

S – Section modulus,

I – Second moment of area

Y – distance from the neutral axis to outer most fiber of the object.

Rear Roof Rail :-

Moment Of Inertia, Iy = 8.238*10^3 mm

Bow Roof 3 :-

Moment Of Inertia, Iy = 2.8837*10^3 mm

Calculated Values for section 3,

My = 1263733.1239mm,

Rx = 10564.4337mm , Ry = 3962.7013mm

R = 4201.4772mm,

t = 0.75mm,

α = 2.3970,

Iy = 2.8837*10^3 mm,

Substituting those in above formula,

Qr = 3.19 <= 3.1, hence satisfied.

Calculated values for Section 4,

My = 919921.2510 mm,

Rx = 14569.7909mm , Ry = 3285.6215mm

R = 5362.0512mm,

t = 0.75mm,

α = 1.7449

Iy = 8.2386*10^3 mm,

Substituting those values in above formula,

Qr = 8.29 < 3.1, hence satisfied.

DRAFT ANALYSIS :

The Draft Analysis command enables you to detect if the part you drafted will be easily removed. This type of analysis is performed based on color ranges identifying zones on the analyzed element where the deviation from the draft direction at any point, corresponds to specified values.

Minimum draft angle of 7⁰ is considered for analysis . green colour infer on the parts that all face along the tooling direction has positive draft angle greater than 7⁰ and passed in analysis.

DRAFT ANALYSIS FOR FRONT ROOF RAIL :-

DRAFT ANALYSIS FOR REAR ROOF RAIL :-

DRAFT ANALYSIS FOR BOW ROOF RAIL :-

DRAFT ANALYSIS FOR CENTRAL ROOF RAIL :

DRAFT ANALYSIS OF ROOF :-

SOME PICS OF ROOF IN DIFFERENT VIEWS :-

TOP VIEW

BOTTOM VIEW

SIDE VIEW

SECTION VIEW

ISOMETRIC VIEW

CONCLUSION :

Hence the roof , front roof rail, bow roof rails , central roof rail and the rear roof rail is designed by following the master sections and the moment of inertia and draft analysis are carried out to check feasibility manufacturing.