Development of an Automatic Car Hood for Electric Vehicles

This thesis focuses on the study and development of the design for a Power Frunk, an innovation in the automotive industry that incorporates a motorized closure for a weather-tight storage compartment. The thesis was developed in collaboration with Magna Closures S.p.A. at their facility located in Guasticce (Collesalvetti, LI). The study followed the company’s consolidated path for the evolution of a new hinge. In fact, the motorized frunk represents the translation of the organization’s know-how about the hinges to a new part of the vehicle, the hood. Finally, after the definition of the required specifications, what has been realized is a four step process of validation, analytic, dynamic and prototype one. First, the specifications that were suggested by the potential clients are analyzed. Then the dissertation proceeds in the definition and study of a system where the dimensions, the weight and the power required in all the operational conditions are cleared. Subsequently, we moved on to the creation of a prototype and its testing. We began with the dynamic modeling and continued with the production of a few samples to examine for failures. We performed bench testing to simulate its functioning in a manner as similar as possible to a real-world scenario. And meanwhile, we developed the design of an auxiliary mechanical system, whose name is Pedestrian Protection System, capable of reducing the effect of the front car impact with a human being. In addition, we prepared our study for a future connection between the mechanical analysis and the one which electronic engineers envision. We are going to make a proposal for a potential MATLab architecture of our system