THE EFFECT OF INNER DIAPHRAGMS AND NON-CONTINUOUS SILL SECTION ON THE STIFFNESS OF AUTOMOTIVE B-PILLAR

C.F. Tan (Department of Design & Innovation, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia, 75450 Ayer Keroh, Malacca)
S.A. Shamsuddin (Department of Design & Innovation, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia, 75450 Ayer Keroh, Malacca)
M.H. Shafie (Fourth Malaysian Infantry Division Headquarters Royal Electrical and Mechanical Corps Ministry of Defence, Malaysia Wardieburn Camp, Kuala Lumpur)

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development
Vol. 25 No. 1 (2008): ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development (AJSTD)

The paper discusses the knowledge on the behaviour of T-frame under specific loading will be obtained by experimental methods in order to investigate the deflection of the vehicle B-pillar or T-frame. In addition, a series of T-frame were designed with inner diaphragm at various location in the sill member in order to investigate the effect of inner diaphragm and noncontinuous closed hat section in the sill member. Lastly, the results from the experimental tests were compared with the finite element analysis results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the inner diaphragm in the automotive B-pillar.