Title: Corner meshing effect on component lateral impact simulation

Authors: Shen R. Wu

Addresses: Department of Safety Research and Development, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI 48124, USA

Abstract: Component lateral impact is one of the important dynamic impact modes. A trapezoidal section under lateral impact by a rigid barrier and a component with trapezoidal cross section under lateral impact by a rigid cylinder are simulated using explicit finite element method. Two modelling approaches are used to generate the finite element meshes at the corner area formed in the manufacturing process, one with a sharp corner and another with a curved surface. Comparisons of deformation patterns and energy absorption computed from these two modelling approaches as well as coarse mesh and fine mesh are presented. Design of Experiments (DoE) is exercised to identify the main design parameters that affect the results more significantly.

Keywords: corner meshing; crashworthiness analysis; explicit finite element method; FEM; lateral impact; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.2003.003242

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 2003 Vol.32 No.1/2, pp.142 - 157

Published online: 20 Aug 2003 *

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