Diseño y construcción de un atenuador de impacto a escala utilizando fibra de carbono mediante software CAD/CAE e impresión 3D.

Abstract

The purpose of this technological proposal was the design, simulation and construction of a front impact attenuator for a sedan type vehicle, using CAD/CAE software to design and analyse its behavior and 3D printing technological for its manufacturing. The study was started with the respective bibliographic review of the theoretical basis of the phenomenon, then the vehicle was selected to disassemble the impact attenuator and design it in the SolidWorks software, then we proceeded with the “offset” type frontal impact simulation in the module of Explicit Dynamics of the Ansys software taking as reference the test carried out by the Latin NCAP and the respective collision rule in which they are governed, the UN R94. Therefore, it was simulated with two material types: the PP-GF45 that originally came in the Chevrolet Optra 1.8 vehicle and the PLA-CF30, obtaining results of deformations, stresses and energy absorption that later was complemented with the Charpy impact test carried out in the materials resistance at the Mechanics School laboratory, ESPOCH, under ASTM D6110-04, testing five specimens for each material. Finally, the impact attenuator and additional pieces of scale were printed to validate the design. In the analysis of the results, lightness, deformation, stress and energy absorption were evaluated, where finally the results obtained in the simulation and those of the laboratory were compared to validate the study. Based on this, it could be concluded that PLA-CF30 has greater resistance to deformation and stress, but lacks energy absorption. Therefore, the use of fibre reinforced composite materials is recommended for the construction of this component due to the greater absorption of energy during a crash.