Design and optimization of electric bus monocoque structure consisting of composite materials

Journal article

Authors/Editors

Strategic Research Themes

Publication Details

Author list: Kunakorn-ong P., Ruangjirakit K., Jongpradist P., Aimmanee S., Laoonual Y.

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Publication year: 2020

Volume number: 234

Issue number: 20

Start page: 4069

End page: 4086

Number of pages: 18

ISSN: 0954-4062

eISSN: 2041-2983

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85083802688&doi=10.1177%2f0954406220917690&partnerID=40&md5=abb8f624b8c59646bf07f0060c7f3b3d

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

This paper proposes a novel design methodology for electric-bus structures by implementing the finite element method via ABAQUS™ and linear programming via MATLAB™. A monocoque sandwich-structured fiber-reinforced composite bus with a maximum driving range of 300 km is conceived using the proposed methodology. The bus-body structure is designed based on safety criteria such as vehicle registration regulations, the strength of the bus structure under various driving conditions, bending- and torsion-stiffness requirements, and the rollover testing standard of UN ECE R66. A procedure developed to systematically conduct parametric studies by varying the core and face thicknesses of the sandwich structure of each component is presented. Multivariate functions are formulated to determine the correlations of structural responses with changes in geometric parameters. Linear programming is implemented to minimize the mass of the bus structure under design constraints. The proposed monocoque bus structure meets all requirements, and its body mass is 63.3% less than the benchmark value. © IMechE 2020.

Keywords

Monocoque structure