Body in white

Electric vehicles have developed largely in recent years, exhibiting continuous improvements on battery power and propulsion system. It is expected that other components of the EV system develop parallel. However it has not been the case for body-in-white which have not yet taken the leap from the classical combustion architecture to a more suitable EV structure.

The thesis addresses the design of the structure architecture from the Crashworthiness point of view, as this is a driving force for car manufacturing in Sweden. Different high speed crash tests were analysed in order to adapt the load paths for better efficiency, the general aspects of those cases were modelled using finite element analysis for a better understanding of the structure behaviour. Based on the results, different geometry changes in the architecture were evaluated.

The result is a design proposal for the body-in-white that meets EV specific requirements. This sets an structural base that allows the designer to explore new possibilities of packaging and functionality. The proposed architecture permits the arrangement of some elements that interact directly with the structure, such as cabin room, battery size and cooling package.

The outcome of the thesis is an electric vehicle concept that shows the changes and advantages that can be achieved when designing an EV based on crashworthiness criteria.