Fca US LLC

Tusher M Phule

Scott E Zilincik

Amandeep S Gill

Eric A Darin

Eric E Lund

Martin L Hilderth

Michael W Gaduski

Chris Sleiman

Sara M Goldsworthy

Rene R Zamarripa

A structural panel joining part for a vehicle having an underbody hold-down panel, a floor panel, a dash panel, and a cowl side panel includes an underbody coupling first portion configured to couple to at least one of the underbody hold-down panel and the floor panel, a dash panel coupling second portion configured to couple to the dash panel, and a cowl side coupling third portion configured to couple to the cowl side panel. The structural panel joining part maintains structural integrity between the underbody hold-down panel, the floor panel, the dash panel, and the cowl side panel to provide structural reinforcement during small overlap rigid barrier impacts to facilitate reducing structural intrusion into an occupant compartment of the vehicle.

Structural joining part for sorb impact events

A control arm includes a wheel side end, a body side end, a first connecting member extending between the wheel side end and the body side end, a second connecting member extending between the wheel side end and the body side end, and having a reduced section portion, and a fracture zone extending through the first and second connecting members in a substantially fore-aft direction of the vehicle, the reduced section portion being within the fracture zone. A thickness of the reduced section portion is tunable to establish a controlled fracturing during a small overlap rigid barrier impact event where: (i) an initial fracture of the first connecting member occurs within the fracture zone, and (ii) a secondary fracture of the second connecting member occurs within the fracture zone at the reduced section portion, to thereby provide a desired rearward trajectory of the wheel assembly during the impact event.

Control arm with tunable fracture features

A structural small overlap rigid barrier (SORB) joining bracket for a vehicle having an underbody hold-down assembly, a cowl side assembly, and a body mount assembly configured to connect a vehicle body to a vehicle frame includes a cowl side coupling first portion configured to couple to the cowl side assembly, and an underbody coupling second portion configured to couple to the underbody hold-down assembly and the body mount assembly. The SORB joining bracket couples and maintains structural integrity between the underbody hold-down assembly and the cowl side assembly, and couples with the body mount assembly to increase vehicle load capacity by providing a direct load path into the frame of the vehicle. A frame extension tube assembly creates additional strength and stiffness via stack-up with the SORB joining bracket.

Vehicle structural systems for sorb impact events

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Auburn Hills, MI, United States of America

Tusher M Phule