DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

18AD24 – VEHICLE BODY ENGINEERING

06-05-2021
 RECAP SESSION

 Light Commercial Vehicles in India

 Heavy Commercial Vehicles in India
 Types of Light commercial vehicles
 Types of Heavy commercial trucks
 Pick up truck
 Delivery Truck
 Flat bed truck
 Drop Side truck
 Fixed side truck
 Tipper truck
 Tanker
 Dimensions of dirver’s seat in relation to controls
 Design consideration for Driver’s cab
 Requirements of the materials in automotive design

 Lightweight
 Economic Effectiveness
 Safety
 Recycling
 LIGHT WEIGHT
•There is a high emphasis on greenhouse gas
reductions.
•Reduction of emission and improving fuel efficiency
is most important one for an automotive company.
• Lightweight materials can improve fuel efficiency
more than other factors.
•Experiments reveal that 10 percent of weight
reduction can lead to 6 to 8 percent improvement in
fuel usage.
 Weight reduction can be obtained by three ways:

 Replacing materials of high specific weight with lower

density materials without reducing rigidity and durability.
For example replacement of steel with aluminium,
magnesium, composites and foams.

 Optimizing the design of load-carrying elements and

exterior attachments so as to reduce their weight without
any loss in rigidity or functionality.

 Optimizing the production process, such as reducing spot

welding and replacing new joining techniques.
 Challenge
The main obstacle in application of lightweight materials
is their high cost.

Yet the weight reduction is still the most cost-effective

means to reduce fuel consumption.

The weight reduction versus the price increase led to the

partial replacement of light weight parts by replacing steel
by aluminium or magnesium in some parts of the vehicle.
 ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS
One of the most important consumer driven factors in automotive industry is the
cost, that determines whether any new material has an opportunity to be
selected for a vehicle component.

Cost includes three components: actual cost of raw materials, manufacturing

value added, and the cost to design and test the product.

Aluminium and magnesium alloys are certainly more costly than the currently
used steel and cast irons.

Since cost may be higher, decisions to select light metals must be justified on
the basis of improved functionality. Meanwhile the high cost is one of the major
obstacles in use of the composite materials.
 SAFETY
The ability to absorb impact energy and be survivable for the
passengers is called “crashworthiness” of the structure in vehicle.

At first two concepts in automotive industry should be considered:

crashworthiness and penetration resistance.

In the more accurate definition of crashworthiness, it is the potential of

absorption of energy through controlled failure modes and mechanisms.

Penetration resistance is concerned with the total absorption without

allowing projectile or fragment penetration.
 RECYCLING
The most important concerns in automotive industry are ‘protection
of resources’, ‘reduction of CO2 emissions’, and ‘recycling’.

There are some guidelines in European Union and Asian countries

about this issue. While the United States has not issued any
regulations concerning automotive end-of-life requirements.

For example, in the UK, around two million vehicles reach the end
of their life each year and these vehicles are considered as
hazardous waste until they have been fully treated.
When a consumer decides not to use a vehicle anymore, there
are following options available:

 Sell the whole vehicle to another user.

 Disassemble the vehicle.

 Remanufacture the vehicle.

 Recycle the vehicle for materials.

 Dispose the vehicle to a landfill.

 MATERIALS USED IN AUTOMOTIVES

The car industry uses a tremendous number of materials

to build cars, including iron, aluminum, plastic steel, glass,
rubber, petroleum products, copper, steel and others.

These parts are used to create everything such as

dashboard needles and wiring, to the big stuff, such as the
engine block or the transmission gears.

 These materials have evolved greatly over the decades,

becoming more sophisticated, better built, and safer
 TIMBER
Before the introduction of plastics, timber was used in
vehicle body construction, because it is readily available,
easily worked and economically competitive, so far as the
smaller manufacturer.

Now-a-days special types of wood are being used. Like

Engineered wood includes a wide variety of different
products such as plywood, oriented strand board, wood
plastic composite (recycled wood fiber in polyethylene
matrix), Pykrete (sawdust in ice matrix), Plastic-
impregnated or laminated paper or textiles, Arborite,
Formica (plastic) and Micarta.

Other engineered laminate composites, such as balsa

wood, etc. are also been used.
 STEEL
On modern cars, most of the weight comes
from steel. In 2007, for example, the average
car contained 2,400 pounds (1,090 kilograms)
of steel, and the average pickup truck or SUV
used nearly 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms).
Consider that most cars now weigh around
3,000 pounds, and most SUVs weigh around
4,000 pounds (1,810 kilograms)
In cars, steel is used to create the underlying
chassis or cage beneath the body that forms the
skeleton of the vehicle and protects the
travellers in the event of a crash.
Door beams, roofs and even body panels
created during auto manufacturing are made of
steel on most cars today.
Steel is also used in a variety of areas
throughout the body to accommodate the
engine or other parts. Exhausts are often made
from stainless steel.
Steel manufacturing has evolved greatly, so carmakers these days can make
different types of steel for different areas of the vehicle that are rigid or that
can crumple to absorb different impacts.
These innovations in automotive manufacturing help keep you safe on the
road
 PLASTIC
Today's cars now use tremendous amounts of
plastics in auto manufacturing. They make up about
50 percent of the construction of new cars today. It's
not surprising because plastics are durable, cheap to
make and can be turned into just about anything.

Car dashboard, gauges, dials, switches, air

conditioner vents, door handles, floor mats, seat
belts, airbags and many other parts are all made from
different types of plastics.

In addition to the dashboard parts, many of the tiny

parts inside the engine, such as the handle on the oil
dipstick, are also made of plastic.

Because of their lightweight nature, plastics are

being increasingly used in body structures and in
engines during automotive manufacturing.
 ALUMINUM
•In the world of auto manufacturing, aluminum is kind
of the new kid on the block. It's being used increasingly
in the car world for its lightweight but tough nature.
•In 2009, aluminum components made up about 9
percent of the weight in most modern vehicles,
compared with about 5 percent in 1990 and just 2
percent in 1970.
•Aluminum can be used in automotive manufacturing to
create body panels for a lighter, more performance-
oriented vehicle. Starting with the Acura NSX in the
early 1990s, many supercars have been constructed
out of aluminum, including the white-hot Audi R8 
Audi R8. Wheels are also often made out of aluminum.
•In addition, more automakers are switching from
traditional iron blocks for engines to aluminum
construction. It tends to be not quite as durable as iron,
but its lighter weight means a big boost in
performance.
 GENERAL PROPERTIES OF THE ALUMINIUM

 Aluminum even unpainted and uncoated resists corrosion

by water and road salt and, in no cosmetically critical
parts, its use can avoid the substantial extra costs of
galvanizing, coating and painting required for steel.

 Aluminum does not rust like steel if the paint is scratched

or chipped. Nor is it weakened or unbrittled, as some
plastics may be, by desert heat, northern cold, or the
ultraviolet radiation in sunlight.
 TECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ALUMINIUM

 Strength
 Lightweight
 High strength to weight ratio
 Resilience
 Corrosion resistance
 Forming and fabricating:
 Joining
 Crashworthiness
 Cold resistance recyclability
 Thermal conductivity
 Reflectivity
 MAGNESIUM
Magnesium is another light metal that is becoming increasingly
common in automotive engineering. It is 33% ligher than
aluminium and 75% lighter than steel/cast iron components.
Magnesium components have many mechanical/physical
property disadvantage that require unique design for application
to automotive products.
Although its tensile yield strength is about the same,
magnesium has lower ultimate tensile strength fatigue strength,
and creep strength compared to Aluminium.
The modulus and hardness of magnesium alloys is lower than
aluminium and the thermal expansion coefficient is greater.
Magnesium alloys have distinct advantages over
aluminium that include better manufacturability,
longer die life and faster solidification. Also
magnesium components have higher machinability.
Because of its too low mechanical strength, pure
magnesium must be alloyed with other elements.
The most common alloying elements for room
temperature applications is Mg-Al-Zn group that
contains aluminium, manganese, and zinc.
 ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Fibre reinforced composites offer a wide range

of advantages to the automotive industry. It has
the potential for saving weight offered by their
low density.

Component designs can be such that the fibres

lie in the direction of the principal stresses, and
amount of fibre used is sufficient to withstand
the stress, thus optimising materials usage.
 CARBON FIBRE EPOXY COMPOSITE

Most recently, the most of the racing car companies much more
rely on composites form whether it would be plastic composites,
Kevlar and most importantly carbon-fibre epoxy composition.

It is because the composite structures is the high strength/low

weight ratio. The most common materials used for racing cars
are carbon (graphite), Kevlar and glass fibres. Epoxy
composites have been the first choice in Formula 1 car
industeries and other race cars.
 RUBBER
They all need tires if they're going to get around.
Tires are one of those parts people tend to take for
granted, but they're one of the most vital parts of
any vehicle.

 This is where the importance of rubber comes

into play in auto manufacturing.

Automotive manufacturing is the driving force of

the rubber industry, as about 75 percent of the
world's natural rubber production is used to make
tires for vehicles.

The rubber tire protects the rest of the wheel and

its internal parts from wearing down, which can be
good for fuel mileage and road safety.
In addition to the all-important tires, parts such as wiper blades, engine
mounts, seals, hoses and belts are also made from rubber.

As with plastic, it's a very durable, cheap and flexible material that has a wide
array of uses in automobiles.
 PLASTIC
The use of plastics for interior trim is well established,
and new applications are being found for components
associated with the running gear, examples including
reservoirs, air cleaner housings, belt covers etc.
 Today's cars now use tremendous amounts of
plastics in auto manufacturing. They make up about
50 percent of the construction of new cars today. It's
not surprising because plastics are durable, cheap
to make and can be turned into just about anything.
 Car dashboard, gauges, dials, switches, air
conditioner vents, door handles, floor mats, seat
belts, airbags and many other parts are all made
from different types of plastics.
 In addition to the dashboard parts, many of the tiny
parts inside the engine, such as the handle on the
oil dipstick, are also made of plastic.
 Because of their lightweight nature, plastics are
being increasingly used in body structures and in
engines during automotive manufacturing.
 GLASS
Glass is used in many areas of your car. Obviously, its primary use is to
create windshields so you can see properly while remaining safe from any
airborne objects.

It's also used to create rear and side-view mirrors to boost your view of
what's around you while driving. In addition, its cousin fiberglass is also
commonly used in auto manufacturing as an insulation material on cars.

However, as technology advances, glass is also being used to create more

innovative parts on cars.

For example, it can be used to create navigation screens and lenses for
back-up cameras to allow drivers to have an even better view of what's
behind them.
 CORROSION AND ANTI-CORROSION
A vehicle body exposed to corrosion through out its life and because of
the load carrying structure determines the service life of the vehicle, it
is essential that it should be properly protected against such effects. 

There are three types of vehicle body corrosion.

1. Chemical corrosion
2. Electro chemical corrosion
3. Fretting corrosion
 Anti-Corrosion treatment

Corrosion can be prevented by three basic

methods

1. Improve materials.
2. Protective coating.
3. Correct design.
 PAINTING PROCESS
Paint is normally defined as a liquid which, when
applied to a surface of an object,
forms a thin layer and hardens with time to create a
film on that surface.
Painting is the application of paint on the surface of
an object for the purpose of protecting it from the
elements, beautifying its appearance or for marking
it with certain designations.
 OBJECTIVES OF PAINTS
1. Protection
The automobile is constructed primarily of steel sheet metal. If this steel was left
uncovered, the reaction of oxygen and moisture in the air would cause it to rust. Painting serves to
prevent the occurrence of rust, therefore protecting the body.

2. Appearance Improvement
The shape of the body is made up of several types of surfaces and lines, such as
elevated surfaces, flat planes, curved surfaces, straight and curved lines, etc Therefore; another objective
of painting is to improve the body appearance by giving it a 3- dimensional color effect.
3. Quality Upgrading
When comparing two vehicles of identical shape and performance capabilities, the one with the most
beautiful paint finish would have been have a higher market value. Hence, another objective of paining is
to upgrade the value of the product.
4. Color Designation.

Still another objective of painting the automobile is to make them easily

distinguishable by application of certain colors or markings. Examples are police and fire department
vehicles.
 NEW VEHICLE PAINTING PROCESS
Because a high degree of rust prevention and attractiveness are required
of automobile bodies, they go through a comparatively complicated
painting process.

Basically, there are 4 stages to the painting process; a pre-treatment

stage which is known as the 3-coat, rust prevention stage, the undercoat
stage, the second-coat stage for the purpose of enhancing appearance
and the top-coat stage.

For trucks, only two coats are applied during the' second-coat stage. In
the actual painting process, however, several other stages are employed
which make it a much more complicated operation.
 DEGREASING AND CHEMICAL TREATMENT STAGE

In this stage, dirt and grease are completely removed from the
body panels and a
zinc phosphate film is formed to help prevent rust and assist
adhesion of the undercoat .
There are two methods of doing this ; by spraying a chemical
onto the panels or dipping the body into the chemical. However,
in respect to anti-corrosion performance (described below),
new companies almost exclusively uses the full dip method.
 FEATURES OF FULL DIP METHOD
 With complete immersion, sufficient treatment can be applied even to the
areas of the body, where corrosion easily occurs such as the inner-side of
the doors and rocker panel.

 As can be seen in the photos below, the finished phosphate film of the full
dip method is made up of minute crystals which provide a better
anticorrosion performance.

 There is no bothersome clogging of the spray nozzle which results in

better quality and reliability
 Electrodeposits Painting Stage
This is the stage in which the body is completely dipped into ED paint so that the
paint is applied evenly not only on the panel surfaces but also to every joint and
closed section.
From the standpoint of corrosion prevention, this is a very important stage. As the
paint applied at this stage forms the bottom most layer of the finished paint film, it is
also called the undercoat or undercoat film.
After the chemical treatment stage, the body is immediately dipped into the ED tank
where 200-300 V of direct current charge is applied.
Then, after removal of sags and shower, it is dried at 150-170°C (302-338T) for 25-30
minutes. The thickness of film at this stage is 15-20 for regular panel surfaces and 10
for the rocker panel.
There are two methods of ED painting;
The anionic method in which the body is
given positive electrical charge and the cationic method in which the body
is given a negative charge.
Now-a-days the cationic method is used almost exclusively because it
provides a better anti-corrosion performance.
As mentioned above, with anionic method, a positive charge is applied to
the body and negative charge to the paint A problem of this method is that
the zinc phosphate applied in the previous pre-treatment stage and the
steel is attracted by the negative charge and dissolves into the paint,
thereby lowering the anti-corrosion performance.
With the cationic method, the body is given a negative charge and the
paint a positive charge so that there is no dissolving of the pre-treatment
film, assuring a better anti-corrosion effect.
After exiting from the dryer and while still suspended on a .hanger, the
underbody is given as undercoat by airless spray in-order to reduce road
noise and vibration.
Then the body is placed on a dolly and is transported to a floor conveyer
where it proceeds to the color indication stage.
The color indication stage is where, for the first time, the exterior panel
paint specifications vary in accordance with the vehicle chassis, model and
destination.
 Second Coat Painting Stage
Here any roughness of the base metal ED paint film is corrected
and a 2nd coat is applied to upgrade the quality of the top coat.
 Also, at this stage, the engine compartment and inner trunk
are painted, the instrument panel is given a dull coat and the
door frames are given a semi-gloss coating.
For the purpose of maintaining consistent quality, the film
thickness applied at this Stage is 30 . After drying at 140°C
(284°F) for 30 minutes, the body is inspected and an Undercoat
is applied to the inner wheel housing before proceeding to the
wet sanding Stage.
During wet sanding, the 2nd coat finish is
smoothed out and rubbed down with
water to improve adhesion of the top coat an
automatic wet sander and rotary air sander are
used along with manual sanding.
To remove polishing residue, the body is
thenwashed and blow dried at about 110-120°C
(230-248°F) to completely dry off any water.
 TOP COAT PAINTING STAGE
This is a particularly important stage during which
the body surface is given its final appearance finish.
For this reason, special attention is given to the paint
FILM TEXTURE, ADHESION of dust particles, etc.
 The illustration below shows the construction of a
top-coat paint line. Top coat painting is performed in
2 or 3 steps to prevent occurrence of sags or other
defects which could arise if painting was done
continuously.
 TRIM
Car trim refers to add some items to raise affiliated automotive surface and an
inner chamber of aesthetics. It can be divided into interior trim and exterior trim.

 Exterior trim can make the car more beautiful and fashionable and meet
people's demanding meets about aesthetic and individual needs.
Including: Automotive Solar Films decoration; body film; install body kit; plate
and the spoiler decoration; skylight; decorative lights ， etc.

 Interior trim changes inner appearance and create a warm, comfortable interior
environment. Including: leather steering wheel; car roof lining decoration; door
liner; liner decorative side panels; floor coverings; seat trim; interior wood trim;
dashboard decoration; interior decoration accessories; sun visor mirror and so
on. By the way,different manufacturers set car trim into several levels.
 INTERIOR TRIM
Interior trims refers to all the plastic components
or panels that are present inside the Cabin
 Door Panels
 Roof liner
 Pillar Trims
 Dashboard and Console
 Rear Parcel Tray
 Floor Carpets
 IRVM (inside rear view mirror)
 EXTERIOR TRIM
Exterior Trims refer to plastic components
outside the Car Cabin
 Front and Rear Bumper
 ORVM (outside rear view mirror)
 Door Garnish
 Why are interior and exterior plastic automotive parts known as trims?

During the good old days, when cars where

completely built inside and out, the interior parts
including the wooden panels, leather, seats, etc.,
were literally trimmed by hand by craftsmen, tailors.
The lingo of 'trims' stayed well outside and far
beyond time and place of the assembly lines in
Detroit, even to this day.
 Almost every vehicle comes in several different versions. Each version, or trim, offers a variety of
features and equipment. Car trims help buyers differentiate between models, making them easier to
identify.

 Trim levels are often designated by a pair of letters, for example DX, LX, LS, EX, GL, SE, or GT. They
can also be designated an alphanumeric code (e.g. Z28, XR5, GT3), or using a word (e.g. Executive,
Ambition or Deluxe).

 Many of the letter combinations have their origins in named trim levels, with DX and DL meaning
DeLuxe, GL "Grand Luxe", SE "Special Edition", GT "Gran Turismo", and so on.

 If you do not see the trim level on your car's exterior, you can also find it listed on your original sales
invoice or in the owner's manual. Your car's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) can also tell you
the trim level
 In North American, long-running designations for high-performance trim levels include Chevrolet's “SS”
(first introduced on the 1961 Impala) and Ford's "GT" (first used on the 1965 Mustang). General Motors
 also use alphanumeric coding to denote handling packages installed on performance vehicles, such as "
Z28" on the Camaro, the Buick GS, or the Oldsmobile 442, and currently uses the designation "Z71" on
the Suburban and Tahoe.
 Some manufacturers have consistently
used the same word for the highest trim
level on several models, for example
Nissan used the word "Brougham" as the
highest trim level on both the Cedric and
Gloria. The "Brougham" designation as a
trim level originated in the North American
(US) market; it was originally a bodystyle.
 For a given car model, the trim level denotes which equipment
and features are included as standard. A car buyer may add to
this standard equipment with trim packages or individual options.
 The trim level with the least equipment/features is referred to as
the "base model", and the trim level with the most
equipment/features is referred to as "highest specification" or
colloquially as "fully loaded".
 Differences between trim levels typically consist of interior
equipment (e.g. leather seats and reversing cameras) and
cosmetic changes; however, sometimes a trim level can include
mechanical changes such as different engines, suspension, or
all-wheel drive systems.