Overview
The current generation of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Full Electric Vehicles (FEVs) are incremental products in which an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is supplemented by an electric motor (HEVs) or replaced by an all-electric power train (FEVs). Both approaches do not address lightweight or modularity, inheriting the same disadvantages as conventional ICE vehicles. To deliver the potential environmental and energy benefits of EVs electrification of mobility must face a conceptual rEVOLUTION!
The EVolution projects goal is to demonstrate the sustainable production of a 600 kg weight FEV by the end of 2015. To this end EVolution addresses the whole vehicle by prototyping, assembling, and disassembling, the most representative components (MRC, crash cross-beam, crash box, suspension sub-frame, side-door, A-pillar, and a multifunctional-hard-top) made from raw polymers and aluminium alloys commonly used in the automotive industry, to ensure compliance with EC Directive 2000/53/EC End-of life vehicle which imposes stringent requirements on the disposal and recycling of motor vehicles. Guaranteeing the safety and regulatory compliance, with a weight saving of 50%, each component chosen will prove, mutatis mutandis, the revolutionary potential of the EV solution in all components employed today in current high volume production.
This project breaks the paradigm of current Body-in-White (BiW) by delegating the whole structural function to a novel BiW archetype made up of a Multifunctional-Rolling-Chassis (MRC) enabled by a new generation of highly-hybridized structural components and complemented by a non-structural upper-body. This MRC will be the common basis for a family of user friendly vehicles differing by changing only the upper-body according to the customer demand. Advanced materials will enable the development of novel super-lightweight hybrid components complying with safety standards and recycling constraints, and enable the design of the innovative MRC for FEV leading to a further weight reduction of 40% over that achieved using the current state of the art in the SuperLIGHT-CAR project.
List of Work Packages:
Work Package 1: Optimisation Strategy and Performance Requirements
Lead partner: Pininfarina
Work Package 2: Polymeric Materials
Lead partner: AAU
Work Package 3: Aluminium Alloys and Foam
Lead partner: CIDAUT
Work Package 4: Joining and Dismantling Technologies
Lead partner: CRF
Work Package 5: Technology Up Scaling
Lead partner: TECNALIA
Work Package 6: Proof of Concept Prototyping
Lead partner: CIDAUT
Work Package 7: Testing and Validation
Lead partner: IAM
Work Package 8: Exploitation and Dissemination
Lead partner: DTI
Work Package 9: Scientific Management
Lead partner: Pininfarina
Work Package 10: Overall Administrative Management
Lead partner: AAU
Funding
Results
Lightweight, modular urban electric cars
Full-electric vehicles are moving closer to reality thanks to the development of innovative Body in White architectures using advanced lightweight Aluminium and composite materials.
EVOLUTION (The Electric Vehicle revOLUTION enabled by advanced materials highly hybridized into lightweight components for easy integration and dismantling providing a reduced life cycle cost logic) is using the Pininfarina Nido concept car as a reference for its activities. The existing concept of the Body in White (BiW) has been completely reviewed through a design strategy aiming to reduce the number of parts and using innovative lightweight materials technologies.
The selected body archetype with a central cell is a consolidated standard considering the assembly process scheme, in order to easily shift from low to high production volumes. Basically, the cell has a structural function, while the front end is dimensioned to absorb energy during a front crash and the rear end is conceived to be modular, allowing the transformation into van and pick-up versions.
The considered Al technologies applied on Al 5xxx-6xxx and 7xxx alloys provide the opportunities to obtain parts with complicated geometries and low thickness, merging different parts into one unique element. Besides, it is possible to process one element with a single operation and variable thicknesses.
A “green sand mould” technique allows to obtain co-casted joints between different elements produced with different manufacturing processes.
The potential cost reduction and process simplification in terms of time and assembly are promising: current state-of-the-art, based on traditional moulds, does not allow these opportunities.
The BiW has been hybridised in certain area of the underbody with a composite material of the PA family, reinforced with GF. This material has been obtained improving existing materials and developing a production process suitable for scaling to commercial requirements, throughout an advanced sheet thermoforming and 3D-injection method (CaproCAST process).
Novel polypropylene nancocomposites (pnc) based on layers silicates and glass fibres demonstrate improved toughness and stiffness and have been selected for crash cross beam and side door demonstrators. Polyurethane foams based on recycled polymers are explored for use as sustainable energy-absorbing fill in cross beam sections.
Structural epoxy adhesives have been considered to join the BiW parts and welding points has reduced in number: in certain areas spotwelds have been used only to tack the parts during polymerisation.
In addition to the previous results, current weight of the BiW is 115 kg versus 160 kg of the baseline car. An FE-analysis on the virtual full vehicle puts in evidence a good structural behaviour, considering EU crash standards of homologation and global static and dynamic performances.
The innovative architecture and the integration of lightweight materials will ensure that the EU maintains its competitiveness against the Asian and United States automobile industries.