Design, Development and Testing of Light-Weight FUPD in Composites

With the increasing need for developing fuel-efficient and high-performance vehicles, light weighting has become a very important aspect in automotive industry. Hence conversion of the existing metal components to composites is gaining momentum. Composite materials are much lighter than metals and offer many advantages such as fuel efficiency, corrosion resistance and improved life which has resulted in the increased usage of composite materials. Front under-run protection device (FUPD) is a protective device which is fitted on the front side of a truck which prevents the vehicle in front from under-running below the truck and also absorbs impact energy in case of a collision. This paper discusses the design, development and certification from ARAI of the lightweight composite front under-run protection device (FUPD). It has resulted in 33.33% weight reduction compared to the earlier metal component. The light-weight composite FUPD withstands loads of 80 kN and 160 kN as per the requirements of AIS-069. Also it has been physically tested and good co-relation has been successfully achieved between FE analysis and physical testing results. The composite FUPD complies to the regulations of AIS-069. The FE analysis and optimization is carried out using altair optistruct. The component is manufactured using the innovative infusion process. Infusion is a process where the voids in an evacuated stack of glass fibers are filled with a liquid resin. This design solution has resulted in light weight component with better durability and life. It also acts up to some extent as energy absorber.