IMPLEMENTATION OF CIRCULAR DISCONTINUITIES IN CFRP BUMPER BEAM FOR MATERIAL SAVING: A CASE STUDY

An automotive bumper system consists of an energy absorber, fascia and bumper beam. Among them, the bumper beam is the main component contributing to the overall weight of the vehicle. The bumper beam absorbs the kinetic energy during an accidental collision by deflection in low speed impact and by deformation in high speed impact. Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP), being an extremely strong and lightweight composite, is a good candidate for bumper beam material. Earlier used in high performance cars CFRP is nowadays being promoted to be used in passenger cars also. The reinforcement beam is the vital part which ensures safety and needs to be validated through Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Therefore, the double hat bumper beam is impacted with a cylindrical impactor and analyzed in Abaqus. In this paper the bumper beam is analyzed after weight reduction by putting circular holes for material saving. Further the effect on cost of production is calculated. Above all, material saving reduces carbon footprint.