Leicester University to help optimise hybrid structures for automotive sector

The HALO project will look into optimising a multi material approach

The University of Leicester’s Advanced Structural Dynamics Evaluation Centre has successfully secured £1.4 million R&D funding from Innovate UK to work with industry to optimise hybrid structures for the automotive sector.

The Hybrid Automotive Lightweight Optimisation (HALO) project team also comprises of Jaguar Land Rover, FAR-UK, TWI, and HPL Prototypes.

The project will look into optimising a multi material approach to maximise the potential of each material and component within the structure of the vehicle, as opposed to the current trend of direct replacement from one material to another.

ASDECs Robotised Laser Doppler Vibrometer will be vital in analysis and correlation of what happens to these materials when used in a hybrid construction.

The end result of this project will be validated with the manufacture of a full size prototype to demonstrate how these hybrid structures can work in real world manufacturing.

Professor Sarah Hainsworth, director of ASDEC, said: “I am delighted to be working on this new collaboration with industry in the composites area. 3D laser Doppler vibrometry is a non-contact technique which is particularly important for measuring composites where the additional mass from more traditional techniques such as transducers would fundamentally change the vibration of these lightweight structures. Light weighting is such an important technology for cars where savings of even a 100g of mass in a car can save tonnes of CO2 emissions when the number of cars in a fleet is considered.”

HALO is part of a £38 million fund from the UK government to help develop ideas and technology for cutting vehicle emissions and helping electric cars drive further.