Ultralight Door Design, Development and Demonstration Project (Final Scientific Report)
The project objectives associated with the Ultralight Door Project were to develop a lightweight driver's side door, 42.5% lighter than a current model year high-volume baseline door, at an incremental cost not to exceed $ \$ $ 5 per pound saved, while maintaining equivalent functionality, safety, corrosion, durability and sound transmission performance of the baseline vehicle. The project approach included the selection of a door architecture, development of a key performance target matrix and incremental cost model. Several unique door structures were developed and evaluated using computer-aided engineering (CAE) and cost modeling tools. The aluminum-intensive door structure was the only design capable of meeting both the performance and cost criteria objectives. The door module, glass, interior trim, latch and electrical subsystems were functionally integrated with the aluminum door structure, enabling additional mass reduction beyond material substitution. The lightweight door design was prototyped, integrated with baseline vehicles and tested to validate equivalent functionality and performance. The project results demonstrate a mass reduction of 15.2 kg (40%) at an incremental cost of $ \$ $2.81 per pound saved, while maintaining functionality and performance of the baseline door. The environmental benefit associated with the Ultralight Door enables a 6g CO 2 eq. per kilometer environmental benefit, for a 4-door vehicle powered by a downsized fuel injected gasoline combustion engine. The project results were presented and published in the 2018 SAE International Conference proceedings and in the Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.