Abstract
In times of social and technological changes, the boundary conditions for the development of cars are changing rapidly. Environmental issues and the emissions debate (CO2), but also new technologies, are having a huge impact on the requirements placed on new vehicle concepts. Meanwhile, automotive mobility is becoming increasingly differentiated with a growing number of aspects, each calling for special and suitable solutions. A rising scale of technical complexity can thus be observed, as well as an absolute increase in the number of vehicle versions and types. This situation calls for advanced yet simple methods to provide support for dealing with this complexity.
In order to combine various vehicle attributes within holistic vehicle concepts and effectively handle the complex relationships this involves, this paper introduces a structure consisting of parameters. The parameters are clustered according to the main themes relating to vehicle conceptualisation. They describe the attributes that define the concept, either in a functional or geometrical manner. Furthermore, links between the parameters are shown, resulting from identified relationships.
Such a structure can be used to determine unknown values, with account be taken of existing specifications and the assumptions made. Moreover, the impact of parameter changes can be estimated directly due to the links mentioned above. The definition of scopes of applicability in the concept design is therefore supported, as well as early recognition of problems or tradeoffs. Additionally, the quality of the concept can be checked in respect of target values.
The present publication describes a way of handling the trade-off between complexity and the level of detail in the drafting of vehicle concepts. By abstracting a vehicle and considering it from the point of view of parameters and relationships, the generation of concrete results is speeded up significantly. Moreover, well-directed discussions aimed at finding alternatives to the concept can be initiated. This leads to an early awareness of any weaknesses in the draft. The major advantages of the presented method are the reduced time needed for development and the lower cost of later changes. In the end, the parameter-based structure serves as an aid to the description of a comprehensive concept for any new car without the need to build a prototype.
Keywords: vehicle concepts, parameters, modelling, early stage of development, draft evaluation