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The drive for lower weight instrument panels (IP) can be addressed with different design approaches. The first and more traditional approach is to substitute existing substrate materials with materials having a higher stiffness-to-density ratio. The second approach looks at the sub-system level where weight reduction is achieved through part integration. To exemplify this type of designs, examples of innovative knee bolster solutions are shown. The third and most radical approach is weight reduction at the system level. Alternatives to instrument panels that use traditional cross car beam structures will be presented. With these alternatives, hybrid and structural instrument panels can be developed in which weight reduction is achieved by part integration and by allowing plastic materials to fulfill a more significant structural role than in traditional IPs.

Fully-integrated structural instrument panels (IP) have been in commercial use in passenger cars, light trucks, and sport utility vehicles for some years now. They offer a cost-effective alternative to the more traditional IP construction that utilizes full-size cross car beams to achieve the structural stiffness and energy management required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 and corporate performance requirements. The natural evolution of interior designs demands an increasing level of integration of the different components in the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, the natural extension of current structural IP technology is to integrate the steering column subassembly, i.e., steering column and column support, and the heat, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit into a modular pre-assembled system.

During driving, automobile and light truck occupants interface with almost all the components in the passenger compartment. These components are expected to provide not only ease of access to controls and comfort to the occupants, but also the necessary protection to decrease the likelihood of injuries during accidents. The passing of the revised Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No 201 is aimed at improving the overall safety of vehicle occupants during impact situations Amendments are specifically focused at improving the protection provided by the upper compartment components, i e, header, rail, pillar and roof trim panels, to the occupants' heads impacting at high velocities. The present paper reviews the requirements established by the revised federal legislation and the design and material options to meet the requirements, and describes a systematic approach for designing and engineering trim panels for head impact protection

The increase in instrument panel design and functional performance requirements has resulted in a variety of structural architectures that have been utilized in different passenger vehicles, vans, and light trucks. Each architecture can be designed and engineered to meet corporate and federal requirements using different levels of integration, functionality consolidation, and assembly simplification. The present paper reviews three basic IP design architectures, i.e., traditional, hybrid, and structural, and discusses the performance requirement-functionality matrix in each case. Emphasis is given at explaining the role components play in the different architectures, defining their contribution to static, dynamic and crash performance and their relation to the overall assembly process and sequence. Performance and functionality requirements are linked to basic material characteristics that guide material selection for achieving design targets.