Chassis: Skeleton of Automobile

Chassis
Skeleton of Automobile
Brief Terminology
MULTI POINT STRUT BAR
FENDER BAR
ANTI ROLL BAR

MONOCOQUE
TUBULAR SPACE
LONGERON RH,LH
Strut bars
When you corner, the whole car's chassis is twisting slightly.
the suspension pillars will be moving relative to each other
because there's no direct physical link between them. They

are connected via the car body, which can flex depending on
its stiffness.
A strut brace bolts across the top of the engine to the tops of
the two suspension posts and makes that direct physical
contact.
The result is that the whole front suspension setup becomes a
lot more rigid and there will be virtually no movement
relative to each side.
Fender Bar
the fender bars aimed to strengthen the front overhang on
both side of the vehicle. The first generation Ultra Racing

fender bars utilised two mounting points, one on the hinge of
the front door and the other on the overhang structure itself.
Anti Roll bar

A sway bar is usually a torsion spring that resists body roll
motions. It is usually constructed out of a U-shaped steel bar

that connects to the body at two points, and at the left and
right sides of the suspension. If the left and right wheels
move together, the bar rotates about its mounting points. If
the wheels move relative to each other, the bar is subjected
to torsion and forced to twist.
Longerons
A longeron or stringer or stiffener is a thin strip of wood,
metal or carbon fiber, to which the skin of the aircraft is

fastened. In the fuselage, longerons are attached
to formers (also called frames) and run the longitudinal
direction of the aircraft.
In the wing or horizontal stabilizer, longerons run spanwise
and attach to ribs.
Longerons are generally used in Aircraft structures for the
rigidity of the wings.
Types of Chassis
LADDER FRAME CHASSIS
TUBULAR SPACE FRAME CHASSIS

MONOCOQUE FRAME CHASSIS
ULSAB MONOCOQUE
BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS

ALUMINIUM SPACE FRAME
INLINE FRAME CHASSIS
Ladder Chassis
AC Cobra's chassis.
Two longitudinal rails interconnected by several lateral and cross braces
Advantage:
Not much advantage in these days.

it is easy
cheap for hand build
Proves good for SUVs.
Disadvantage:
Since it is a 2 dimensional structure,

torsional rigidity is very much lower
especially when dealing with vertical load or
bumps.
Most SUVs, classic cars, Lincoln Town Car, Ford
Crown Victoria etc.
Who use it ?
Pro-E design of ladder frame chassis
Tabular Space frame
3 dimensional design
tubes are welded together and forms a very complex structure
high-end sports cars adopt tubular space frame to enhance the
rigidity / weight ratio
TUBULAR SPACE FRAME

PRO-E DESIGN
3D-MAX DESIGN
Advantage:
Very strong in any direction. (compare with ladder

chassis and monocoque chassis of the same weight)
Disadvantage:
Very complex,
costly and time consuming to be built.
Impossible for robotised production.
Besides, it engages a lot of space,
Raise the door sill and result in difficult access to the
cabin.
Who use it ?
All Ferrari before the 360M, Lamborghini Diablo,

Jaguar XJ220, Cater ham, TVR etc.
MONOCOQUE
Monocoque is a one-piece structure which defines the overall

shape of the car
Chassis is actually made by spot welding several pieces together
The floorpan, which is the largest piece, and other pieces are
press-made by big stamping machines
Advantage:
Cheap for mass production.

Inherently good crash protection.
Space efficient.
Disadvantage:
Heavy.
Impossible for small-volume production.
Who use it ?
Nearly all mass production cars, all current Porsche.
ULSAB Monocoque
Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB)

It has the same structure as a conventional monocoque
It differs from its donor is in minor details - the use of
"Hydroform" parts
Advantage:
Stronger and lighter then conventional monocoque

without increasing production cost.
Disadvantage:
Still not strong or light enough for the best sports cars.
Who use it ?
Opel Astra, BMW 3-series
BACKBONE CHASSIS
A strong tubular backbone (usually in rectangular section) connects

the front and rear axle and provides nearly all the mechanical
strength
It's strong enough for smaller sports cars but not up to the
job for high-end ones
BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS

Backbone chassis is a type of an automobile construction
chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design.
Instead of a two-dimensional ladder type structure, it consists of a
strong tubular backbone (usually rectangular in cross section) that

connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas. A body is
then placed on this structure.
It is basically employed in mainly two wheel vehicles like bicycles,
motorbikesetc
CAD DESIGN OF BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS
Advantage:
Stong enough for smaller sports cars.

Easy to be made by hand thus cheap for low-volume
production.
Simple structure benefit cost.
The most space-saving other than monocoque chassis.
Disadvantage:
Not strong enough for high-end sports cars.

The backbone does not provide protection against side
impact or off-set crash.
Therefore it need other compensation means in the body.
Cost ineffective for mass production.
Who use it ?
Lotus Esprit, Elan Mk II, TVR, Marcos.
ALUMINIUM SPACE FRAME
ASF is intended to replace conventional steel monocoque mainly

for the benefit of lightness.
Consists of extruded aluminum sections, vacuum die cast
components and aluminum sheets of different thicknesses
It's quite complex and production cost is far higher than steel
monocoque
Advantage:
Lighter than steel monocoque.

As space efficient as it.
Disadvantage:
Still expensive for mass production
Who use it ?
Audi
CARBON-FIBER MONOCOQUE
Carbon Fiber is the most sophisticated material using in aircrafts,

spaceships and racing cars because of its superior rigidity-to-weight
ratio.
Kelvar is the most common Carbon-fiber used in motor industry due
to its highest rigidity-to-weight ratio.
Most so-called "supercars" use carbon-fiber in body panels only.
Advantage:
The lightest and stiffest chassis.
Disadvantage:
By far the most expensive.
Who use it ?
McLaren F1, Bugatti EB110SS, Ferrari F50.

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Chassis

ANTI ROLL BAR

because there's no direct physical link between them. They

both side of the vehicle. The first generation Ultra Racing

Anti Roll bar

motions. It is usually constructed out of a U-shaped steel bar

metal or carbon fiber, to which the skin of the aircraft is

TUBULAR SPACE FRAME CHASSIS

BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS

Not much advantage in these days.

Since it is a 2 dimensional structure,

Pro-E design of ladder frame chassis

Tabular Space frame

TUBULAR SPACE FRAME

Very strong in any direction. (compare with ladder

All Ferrari before the 360M, Lamborghini Diablo,

Monocoque is a one-piece structure which defines the overall

Cheap for mass production.

Nearly all mass production cars, all current Porsche.

Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB)

Stronger and lighter then conventional monocoque

Opel Astra, BMW 3-series

A strong tubular backbone (usually in rectangular section) connects

BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS

chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design.

Instead of a two-dimensional ladder type structure, it consists of a

strong tubular backbone (usually rectangular in cross section) that

It is basically employed in mainly two wheel vehicles like bicycles,

CAD DESIGN OF BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS

Stong enough for smaller sports cars.

Not strong enough for high-end sports cars.

Lotus Esprit, Elan Mk II, TVR, Marcos.

ALUMINIUM SPACE FRAME

ASF is intended to replace conventional steel monocoque mainly

Lighter than steel monocoque.

Still expensive for mass production

Carbon Fiber is the most sophisticated material using in aircrafts,

Most so-called "supercars" use carbon-fiber in body panels only.

The lightest and stiffest chassis.

By far the most expensive.

McLaren F1, Bugatti EB110SS, Ferrari F50.

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