Multi-objective Methodology for Design and Environmental Analysis in the Automotive Field

In a context of increasing globalization, sustainability is a crucial topic for automotive companies, and carmakers are subject to a strong regulatory pressure intended to make light-duty vehicles more environmentally sustainable. Such a scenario imposes that designers and product developers bind design performances with greater environmental commitment. Therefore, this article proposes an innovative eco-design methodology to provide the automotive designer with the concept development phase of single mono-material components. Starting from the geometry and load case of the specific application, the method generates different design alternatives (both in terms of materials and manufacturing processes applied), which are evaluated under both structural integrity and environmental point of view. In particular, the assessment and selection steps are carried out through a single-score indicator based on a multi-objective approach. A front lower control arm component is presented as an automotive case study which envisages the examination of a range of materials and manufacturing processes directly provided by the designer as an extension of the investigation field. The case study results reveal the potentiality and utility of this approach: the developed framework generates, analyzes, and critically compares several design solutions obtained by combining different materials and manufacturing processes. The choice of the most promising design options is performed based on the single-score indicator (as well as structural integrity and environmental impact). Another interesting outcome of the case study is that solutions identified as acceptable according to the single-score indicator present significant margins for improvement under a lightweight perspective. Therefore, it can be stated that the design and environmental approach in the concept development stage of the product supports designers in their research to achieve the eco-design with less effort.