Due to the increased public interest in green technology combined with stringent envi-ronmental policies there is a need for light-weight vehicles with a reduced global envi-ronmental impact. An assessment method that is gaining importance, especially when considering the electrification of mobility, is the reduction of the cradle-to-grave carbon footprint of utilized materials. For structural components, one promising approach is the utilization of biomaterials such as wood-based hybrid materials since wood is a natural carbon storage. Its specific properties are comparable to or in case of bending better than aluminum and magnesium, and thus have the potential to replace some structural and semi-structural components of a vehicle. If required, hybridization with traditional materials, such as metal sheets, can further increase the structural performance of a component.
While it has been shown, that it is technologically possible to implement wood-based materials for vehicle concepts, a key challenge is the application-oriented simulation of those structures. Suitable simulation methods and material models must be found and validated.
At the Institute of Vehicle Concepts of the German Aerospace Center, the methodology to simulate wood-based structural components for static and impact load cases has been developed over the last few years. Characteristics of the materials were deter-mined in order to fit a material models which were then implemented in various simula-tion approaches for the wooden structures. The findings were transferred to simulate hybridized structures. Fully qualified simulation approaches as well as material models are crucial for the future implementation of non-hybridized and hybridized wood-based composites into the structure of tomorrows vehicles.
This talk presents the current work done at DLR.