Automotive Body Weight Calculation 1

[celsoluiz81]

Hello to all,

I am researching the internet to see if there is some kind of method or mathematical formula to estimate vehicle body weight from sketches or drawings. It doesn´t have to be exact, as the result would depend from a series of parameters that probably can´t be derived from a simple sketch. Does anyone have any idea? How early in a project is the total weight estimated and how is this done? Any tips or keywords would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[GregLocock]

keyword is shadow area.

Basically plot the kerb mass of each competitor against the shadowarea= length or wheelbase*track.

You'll nee some sort of weight estimate quite early in the piece, you should have a plan as soon as you have basic dimensions.

CG location is also important.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[celsoluiz81]

Thanks for that tip. It did get me a little further. Let´s say I am trying to develop a tool for the designer to work with and with whom the weight or mass could be estimated very early in the project.

Your CG tip gave me the idea to calculate the mass through the CG integral. Let´s say I have the shape, the aproximate place where I want my CG to be and with that I can calculte the aproximate mass. The only problem here, is that I still need the density coefficient of the material. This is a problem, because my end user (designer) will have no idea of material sciences, his knowledge is solemly the creation of the sketch. Is there any way whatsoever that this can be done with mere calculation and independent of statistical values from past car models? I can´t rely much on values for other automobiles, because I will be dealing mostly with prototypes that might present a total different form than the present sedan, hatch or coupe models. If anyone has any idea... any at all or has a tip where I might read more about this, please post.

Thank you all!