The Aluminum Structured Vehicle Technology (ASVT) program in Alcan is developing technology for the design and manufacture of adhesively bonded aluminum automobile structures. The development of any new vehicle involves a complex balance between package, manufacture, cost and performance constraints, and it is therefore important to be able to give clear guidelines in these areas to support the evaluation of this new technology by the motor industry.
This paper on ASVT structural design demonstrates the important features involved in meeting strength and stiffness needs at minimum weight, and it is intended to complement previous publications which have focused on the core technology and process considerations of ASVT.
The first two sections examine the key elements of ASVT, namely the aluminum and the adhesive bond, with both strength and stiffness being considered. The final two sections examine the large influence of ASVT on the performance of connections between structural members, and the resulting stiffness of structures as a whole.