The impact of mass decompounding on assessing the value of vehicle lightweighting
Name
277139576-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
22.85 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
153a554a4c892a75c213275f35c1a44b
Author(s)
Bjelkengren, Catarina
Advisor(s)
Randolph E. Kirchain, Jr. and Richard Roth.
Date Issued
2008
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Among consumers and manufacturers alike, there is an increasing realization about the need for fuel efficient vehicles. One effective way to accomplish this is through vehicle lightweighting, which can be achieved by material substitution, novel vehicle component design, and changes in processing. Although primary vehicle mass reduction is often associated with additional costs to the automaker, a decision to lightweight may, depending on when in the vehicle development process the decision is taken, result in additional secondary mass savings such that the value derived from lightweighting is greater than the costs. In this study, the concept of secondary mass savings, or mass decompounding, is developed using regression analysis. Moreover, the full, both primary and secondary, mass savings potential is assessed at different times in the vehicle development process. Lastly, powertrain and market trend modeling are employed to estimate the value of the compounded mass savings in terms of improved fuel economy and acceleration. This methodology is applied to a collected vehicle dataset in order to generate a model by which the value of and the subsystem-specific amount of secondary mass savings may be easily estimated during the early stages of vehicle development. In summary, this analysis may be employed to evaluate the economic competitiveness of vehicle lightweighting options at different times in the vehicle development process.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-125).
Subjects
Materials Science and Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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