• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.216-233
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• 2002

Due to the environmental problems of fuel consumption and vehicle emission, etc., automotive makers are trying to reduce the weight of vehicles. The most effective way to reduce a vehicle weight is to use lighter materials, such as aluminum and plastics. Aluminum Intensive Vehicle(AIV) has many advantages in the aspects of weight reduction, body stiffness and model change. So, most of automotive manufacturers are attempting to develop AIV using Aluminum Space Frame(ASF). The weight of AIV can be generally reduced to about 30% than that of conventional steel vehicle without the loss of impact energy absorbing capability. And the body stiffness of AIV is higher than that of conventional steel monocoque body. In this study, Aluminum Intensive Vehicle is developed and analyzed on the basis of steel monocoque body. The energy absorbing characteristics of aluminum extrusion components are investigated from the test and simulation results. The crush and crash characteristics of AIV based on the FMVSS 208 regulations are evaluated in comparison with steel monocoque. Using these results, the design concepts of the effective energy absorbing members and the design guide line to improve crashworthiness for AIV are suggested.