Environment within a car door

Abstract

With increasing sophistication of the motor car, particularly in the areas of ergonomics and user-friendly features, the need for, and expectation of, reliability have also increased, with all major car manufacturers offering up to five-year warranties on their vehicles as standard. Certain fundamental components, whose levels of sophistication continue to increase, are located within the car door, such as the latching and window-winding mechanisms, and the reliability requirements of these components are no less stringent than for components located in other areas of the vehicle. In order to design a component or system that will be reliable, the environment in which it is to operate must be taken into account, and this paper is therefore concerned with the quantification of environmental conditions within a car door, under a variety of naturally occurring and simulated weather conditions, and in other relevant situations, such as during car washes. Variables measured include temperature and humidity, and volume of water flowing through the door compartment under certain conditions; visual observations and recordings were also made, in order to best define the environment within the car door.