Fundamentals of Automotive Structures and Battery Electric Vehicle Applications

This book covers three topics; 1) automotive structure foundational information, 2) the physics of important loading conditions & how they influence the structure’s design, and 3) how the physics & design implications are different for the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) configuration. Currently, the automotive industry is desperately trying to develop cost competitive BEVs, with mixed success. The underlying engineering principles that enable efficient BEV structure are not well known within the industry and this book will provide that critical information to those seasoned automotive engineers. In many companies, a large portion of those seasoned engineers are nearing retirement and a new generation will be entering the workforce. Many companies are looking for ways to avoid the resulting knowledge loss and this book also addresses that; providing the information needed to quickly bring new engineers up to speed. In addition, this book: - Provides new engineers with foundational automotive structure information - Provides engineers with an understanding of how the dfferences between an ICE and BEV impact structural design - Information within the book stimulates and builds an engineer's intuition of structural performance