DE102013017269A1 - Body component, particularly body pillar, such as B-pillar for motor vehicle, is provided with two reinforcing materials, where latter reinforcing element is arranged in regions between former reinforcing element and inner shell - Google Patents

Abstract

The body component has an outer shell (1) that comprises an aluminum alloy, which is selected from a 5xxx series, a 6xxx series and a 7xxx series. The outer shell is connected to an inner shell (2). The metal alloy of the inner shell is an aluminum alloy. A reinforcing element (3) that is a molded sheet-metal portion is formed from a steel alloy or from an aluminum alloy. Another reinforcing element (4) is arranged in regions between the former reinforcing element and the inner shell. The attachment elements (5,5') comprise form-fit noses for insertion into the body elements.

Description

The invention relates to a body component, in particular, it may be a body pillar such as a B-pillar, which is connected to the roof frame and sill act. Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle having at least one such body component.

From the prior art, the use of aluminum alloys in the manufacture of body parts for weight reduction is known. The use of aluminum alloys is limited by the compared to steel lower fatigue strength or fatigue strength.

Fatigue strength refers to the load limit that a dynamic (eg swinging) loaded material can withstand without significant signs of fatigue, and depends on the type of load that occurs. Material fatigue means that even a static uncritical load in the elastic range to a malfunction or even total failure z. B. fatigue failure of a component can cause, if it acts often enough on the component.

While steel shows a fatigue strength value, which corresponds to the voltage swing, below which no failure occurs, aluminum alloys do not show this limit value, so that even at low load amplitudes "fatigue" is to be expected "permanently".

The use of aluminum alloys in the production of load-bearing body components such as the vehicle pillars that connect the roof area with the body substructure, therefore, requires measures that improve the fatigue strength of the component, so that on the one hand when rolling over the vehicle, the passenger compartment is stabilized against vertical deformation and Others are absorbed in side impact forces to protect the vehicle occupants.

For this reason, B-pillars on saloon carcases are often still made on the basis of steel components, which, however, require the use of complex (hybrid) joining technology in the connection to body parts made of aluminum alloys and also have a high weight.

Known B-pillars made of cast aluminum or aluminum sheet of the 6xxx series show no sufficient crash performance. Therefore, it has begun to produce load-bearing body parts such as vehicle pillars made of composite materials that use different aluminum alloys.

So is out of the DE 10 2011 101 586 A1 a method for producing a shaped bodywork component for a vehicle body from a tailored blank known, which is formed as a semi-finished product from at least two welded aluminum sheet metal parts in different thicknesses and / or different alloy compositions by means of a forming tool. AA6xxx and higher strength AA7xxx alloys can be used for the different sheet metal parts.

Furthermore, it is off EP 1 852 251 From a sheet aluminum composite material, a body panel is known in which a cladding sheet is applied to at least one side of a core material consisting of an aluminum alloy selected from AA2xxx, AA5xxx and AA7xxx alloys, while the cladding panel is made of AA6xxx alloy having less than zero , 2 wt% Cu or an AA5xxx alloy with less than 3.6 wt% Mg. Alternatively, the core material may consist of an AA6xxx alloy and the cladding sheet of an AA5xxx alloy containing less than 3.6 wt.% Mg.

The 7xxx series of kneading alloys are alloyed with zinc and can achieve the highest strength among aluminum alloys by means of precipitation hardening. The alloys of the 6xxx series are alloyed with magnesium and silicon, can be easily processed and precipitation hardened, but not to as high strengths as the 2xxx or 7xxx alloys. The copper alloyed 2xxx alloys may have strengths comparable to steel, but are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. The alloys of the 5xxx series have magnesium as an alloying constituent.

The DE 10 2009 047 951 A1 describes a weight-reduced column for a motor vehicle having increased ductility. For this purpose, an inner shell made of steel is connected to an outer shell of an aluminum-based alloy, wherein a reinforcing member made of a higher-strength aluminum-based alloy is connected in a planar manner to an outer side of the outer shell. Furthermore, there may be provided a stiffening element made of sheet steel between the inner shell and outer shell.

Based on this prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight body component with improved mechanical properties and simplified availability.

This object is achieved by a body component with the features of claim 1. Further developments are set forth in the subclaims.

The further object of providing an improved with regard to the crash performance of the motor vehicle is achieved by a motor vehicle having the features of claim 9.

An inventive body component, in particular a B-pillar, has a multi-shell structure and has an outer shell made of an aluminum alloy and an inner shell connected to the outer shell of a metal alloy. Between the outer shell and the inner shell, a reinforcing element is arranged. Both outer shell and inner shell are molded sheet metal parts. According to the invention, not only the outer shell but also the inner shell is made of an aluminum alloy. The reinforcing element is likewise a shaped sheet-metal part, which, however, may optionally be made of a steel alloy or of an aluminum alloy. In addition, the body component has an additional reinforcing element or a plurality of additional reinforcing elements, which / is at least partially disposed between the first reinforcing element and the inner shell / are.

Advantages of the body component according to the invention with the outer and inner shell of aluminum sheets are the weight reduction and the simplification of the joining technique in the connection of the body component to aluminum components of the shell. Furthermore, no thermal expansion differences occur here.

The additional reinforcing element may be a hollow or solid profile of an aluminum alloy or steel alloy or consist of a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP). Other alternative materials for the additional reinforcing element are a metal, polymer or glass foam or hollow sphere structure of composite materials comprising metal, glass, ceramic or combinations thereof.

In order to simplify the connection to the shell not only material technology, the body component may have connection elements for connection to shell components, wherein the connection elements formed from the sheets of the outer and inner shell or as a forging or casting for one or two-sided placement on the other body element or can be executed for insertion or insertion in the other body element.

Furthermore, the connection elements can have form-fitting lugs for local insertion into the shell component.

In order to adapt the mechanical component properties such as strength and ductility to load cases expected on the body panel, the sheet metal parts of the outer shell, inner shell and / or reinforcing elements may have sections which vary in thickness and / or curing state and / or composition differ.

The aluminum alloys of the outer shell, the inner shell and the first reinforcing element may be selected uniformly or independently from the 5xxx series, 6xxx series and / or 7xxx series. In general, aluminum wrought alloys with their designations, for example 1xxx to 8xxx, are known and are known to the person skilled in the art DIN EN 573-3 and DIN EN 573-4 Are defined.

Preferably, the outer shell aluminum alloy may be selected from the 6xxx series or 7xxx series, or a first portion of the outer shell may be made of 6xxx series aluminum alloy and a second portion of the outer shell may be an 7xxx aluminum alloy. For the aluminum alloy of the inner shell, a 5xxx alloy may be preferable, and the aluminum alloy of the first reinforcing element may be selected from the 6xxx series.

Thus, the body component by means of simple thermal and / or mechanical joining technology and / or bonding technology with shell elements made of aluminum alloys is available.

The body component according to the invention may in particular be a body pillar, preferably a B pillar of the vehicle, to which special demands are made in terms of strength and ductility as a load-bearing, crash-relevant vehicle element.

A motor vehicle according to the invention has one or more body parts (e) according to the invention which are connected to at least one shell element made of an aluminum alloy by means of thermal and / or mechanical joining technology and / or adhesive technology.

These and other advantages are set forth by the following description with reference to the accompanying figures. The reference to the figures in the description is to facilitate understanding of the subject matter. The figures are merely a schematic representation of an embodiment of the invention. Showing:

1 a perspective view of the components of a B-pillar as an inventive body component in an exploded view,

2 a perspective view of the outer shell of a B-pillar according to the invention with differently executed sections,

3 Cross-sectional views through the connection region of a B-pillar according to the invention to the roof frame with one-sided (a) and two-sided (b) arrangement,

4 Cross-sectional views through the connection region of a B-pillar according to the invention to the sill with one-sided (a) and two-sided (b) arrangement.

The device according to the invention relates to a lightweight body component, in particular a B-pillar, which is mainly based on aluminum alloys and thus compared to conventional steel-based B-pillars significantly less weight with corresponding mechanical properties. In addition to weight reduction, the joining technology of the B-pillar on aluminum-based body components is simplified, and sophisticated (hybrid) joining technology such as steel B-pillars can be dispensed with.

The basic structure of a B-pillar according to the invention is in 1 shown and applies to other body parts in an equivalent way.

In general, the aluminum sheets for the components of the B-pillar, outer shell 1 , Inner shell 2 , Reinforcing element 3 and optionally also an additional reinforcing element 4 , uniform or mixed construction of 5xxx, 6xxx and / or 7xxx series aluminum alloys. Suitable alloys are, for example, from the 4xxx series, for example EN AW-4043 AlSi7.5, EN AW-4045 AlSi10.0, En AW-4047 AlSi12; from the 5xxx series, for example EN AW-5182 AlMg4.5Mn0.4; from the 6xxx series EN AW-6014 AlMg0.6Si0.6V and EN AW-6016 AlSi1.2Mg0.4, and from the 7xxx series EN AW-7021 AlZn5.5Mg1.5 and EN AW-7075 AlZn5.5MgCu.

Preferably, the alloys used differ from the shaped aluminum sheets that form the outer shell 1 and the inner shell 2 form the B-pillar. While for the outer shell 1 preferably aluminum alloys of the hardenable and thus higher-strength 6xxx and 7xxx series come into question, is for the inner shell 2 preferably an aluminum alloy of the naturally hard and weldable 5xxx series used.

In particular, the outer shell 1 In addition, it may be made in sections with sheet thickness changes and / or subjected to local heat treatment in order to adapt the strength and ductility to the functional requirements. Alternatively, the outer shell 1 in an upper section 1'' from a 7xxx alloy and in a lower section 1' consist of a 6xxx alloy (see. 2 ), according to the requirements for increased strength in the upper section 1'' (Stability on rollover) and increased ductility in the lower section 1' for better formability in the event of a crash. Except the outer shell 1 can also use the other components inner shell 2 and reinforcing elements 3 . 4 , which are formed from sheet metal to be made with adapted properties by means of sheet thickness change and / or local heat treatments ("tailored tempering") and / or different sheet qualities. For sheet thickness change and connection of different sheet qualities so-called "tailored welded blanks" by thermal joining such. B. TIG or laser welding or friction stir welding, or "tailored rolled blanks" (multi-layer aluminum sheets, for example by roll-plating) or a combination of the above mechanically joined are used. Thus, the material properties can be adapted to high strength requirements in high strength and lower ductility higher strength materials in areas of necessary formability for crash situations.

In roll cladding, an aluminum core material is unilaterally or bilaterally provided with 1 to 12% outer layer (s), based on the total thickness, of a 4000 or 5000 or 6000 or 7000 alloy to improve e.g. As the weldability, the corrosion compatibility, the ductility, the bending angle or combinations thereof is / are provided.

The third component of the B-pillar according to the invention is a reinforcing element 3 , also as a shaped sheet metal part according to the shape of the outer shell 1 is executed and between the outer shell 1 and the inner shell 2 is recorded. The reinforcing element 3 may optionally consist of a steel alloy, but preferably also an aluminum alloy, in particular an aluminum alloy of the 6xxx series is used here.

To further strengthen the B-pillar in a particularly stressed area is the additional reinforcing element 4 provided, between the reinforcing element 3 and the inner shell 2 is recorded. Depending on the component and load case but can also be provided more than an additional reinforcing element. The material selection for this additional reinforcement element 4 is now not limited to metal materials made of aluminum alloys and steel, but also includes fiber-reinforced composite plastics, as well as metal or polymer or glass foams etc. and combinations of the foregoing. The additional reinforcement element 4 can, as in 1 extend only locally over a certain portion of the component, but it can also be provided that the additional reinforcing element 4 is dimensioned so that the entire area between the reinforcing element 3 and the inner shell 2 is filled. The one or more additional reinforcing elements 4 For example, extruded aluminum profiles or also shaped sheet metal parts, which can likewise be produced from tailored welded blanks and / or tailored rolled blanks and / or tailored tempered blanks. For the additional reinforcing element and cast aluminum comes into question. In order for the locally inserted additional reinforcing element to remain in its intended position, it may be welded or inserted or glued in by another thermal joining process and / or mechanical. As a casting, the additional reinforcing element 4 also be poured.

Will steel as material for the additional reinforcing element 4 selected pipes and shaped sheets and optionally also tailored blanks (tailored welded / rolled / tempered blanks) or steel cord ropes or fabric in question, which - depending on the material of the first reinforcing element - can also be welded or thermally inserted or mechanically joined or be glued. Should a cast steel element be provided as a local additional reinforcing element, then this can also be cast directly again.

If the additional reinforcing element is made of FRP, the reinforcing fibers may include, but are not limited to, carbon, basalt, glass or aramid fibers, or combinations thereof. An FRP reinforcing element can be glued and / or screwed. But other insertion techniques, such. As pouring, are conceivable, in which case it may be necessary to protect the FRP semi-finished product during pouring through organic or inorganic protective layers. As a further material for the additional reinforcing element is a configured hollow sphere structure in question, which also includes several materials, eg. As metal, glass or ceramic, may include.

In general, combinations of said additional reinforcing elements can be formed.

A load and production-compatible connection concept of the B-pillar to the structural elements of the roof frame 10 and sills 11 (please refer 3 and 4 ) is through the connection elements 5 . 5 ' the outer shell 1 and the inner shell 2 realized. The connection elements 5 . 5 ' can be formed from the sheet metal, but it can also forged or cast knots or shoes made of an aluminum alloy 5 . 5 ' be made to the column sections of the outer and inner shell 1 . 2 are attached.

3 shows the connection of a B-pillar with differently designed connection elements 5 on a roof frame 10 , In (a) is the attachment element 5 , consisting of sections of the outer and inner shell 1 . 2 , for one-sided placement from outside on the roof frame 10 formed while in (b) the connecting element 5 designed for two-sided touchdown. In this case, the connection portion of the outer shell is located 1 outside on the roof frame 10 and the connection portion of the inner shell 2 on the inner side of the roof frame 10 , 4 shows corresponding concepts of unilateral (a) and bilateral (b) connection of the B-pillar by means of the connection elements 5 ' at the sill 11 ,

Alternatively, the connection sections can also be designed for insertion or insertion into the roof frame or sill, or via positive locking lugs that are plugged locally into the sill / roof frame, are added.

However, the connection concept is not limited to the connection B-pillar to roof frame and sill, but can also be adopted for other body parts according to the invention.

Because of the material equivalence to other components made of an aluminum material, the attachment elements made of aluminum allow simple thermal and / or mechanical joining techniques and / or adhesive technology to be used.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102011101586 A1 [0008]
• EP 1852251 [0009]
• DE 102009047951 A1 [0011]

Cited non-patent literature

• DIN EN 573-3 [0021]
• DIN EN 573-4 [0021]
• EN AW-4043 [0033]
• EN AW-4045 [0033]
• En AW-4047 [0033]
• EN AW-5182 [0033]
• EN AW-6014 [0033]
• EN AW-6016 [0033]
• EN AW-7021 [0033]
• EN AW-7075 [0033]

Claims (10)

Body component that has an outer shell ( 1 ) of an aluminum alloy and one with the outer shell ( 1 ) connected inner shell ( 2 ) of a metal alloy and a between the outer shell ( 1 ) and the inner shell ( 2 ) arranged reinforcing element ( 3 ), wherein the outer shell ( 1 ) and the inner shell ( 2 ) are formed sheet metal parts, characterized in that - the metal alloy of the inner shell ( 1 ) is an aluminum alloy, and - the reinforcing element ( 3 ) is a shaped sheet metal part made of a steel alloy or an aluminum alloy, and - the body part at least a second reinforcing element ( 4 ), which at least partially between the first reinforcing element ( 3 ) and the inner shell ( 2 ) is arranged. Body component according to claim 1, characterized in that the second reinforcing element ( 4 ) is a hollow or solid profile of an aluminum alloy or steel alloy or fiber reinforced plastic or is formed by a metal, polymer or glass foam or a hollow spherical structure of composite materials comprising metal, glass, ceramic or combinations thereof. Body component according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body component connecting elements ( 5 . 5 ' ) for connection to shell components ( 10 . 11 ), wherein the connection elements ( 5 . 5 ' ) from the sheets of the outer and inner shell ( 1 . 2 ) or as a forging or casting for one-sided or bilateral placement on the other body element ( 10 . 11 ) or for insertion or insertion into the other body member are executed. Body component according to claim 3, characterized in that the connecting elements ( 5 . 5 ' ) Positive locking lugs for local insertion into the other body element ( 10 . 11 ) exhibit. Body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sheet metal parts of the outer shell ( 1 ), the inner shell ( 2 ) and / or the reinforcing elements ( 3 . 4 ) Sections ( 1' . 1'' ), which differ in thickness and / or curing state and / or composition, the mechanical properties of the sheet metal sections ( 1' . 1'' ) are adapted to the body component to predetermined load case. Body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the aluminum alloys of the outer shell ( 1 ), the inner shell ( 2 ) and the first reinforcing element ( 3 ) are selected uniformly or independently from the 5xxx series, 6xxx series and / or 7xxx series. Body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that - the aluminum alloy of the outer shell ( 1 ) is selected from the 6xxx series or 7xxx series, or a first section ( 1' ) of the outer shell ( 1 ) of a 6xxx series aluminum alloy and a second section ( 1'' ) of the outer shell ( 1 ) consists of an aluminum alloy of the 7xxx series, and - the aluminum alloy of the inner shell ( 2 ) is selected from the 5xxx series, and - the aluminum alloy of the first reinforcing element ( 3 ) is selected from the 6xxx series. Body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the body component by means of thermal and / or mechanical joining technique and / or adhesive bonding with Rohbauelementen ( 10 . 11 ) is made of aluminum alloys. Body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the body component is a body pillar, preferably a B pillar. Motor vehicle with at least one body component according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, which is connected to at least one shell element made of an aluminum alloy by means of thermal and / or mechanical joining technology and / or adhesive bonding.

Images