Title: Study of an analytical technique and system for conducting vehicle crash simulations

Authors: I. Hagiwara, Y. Satoh, M. Tsuda

Addresses: Product Development Systems Dept., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Japan. ' Product Development Systems Dept., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Japan. ' Product Development Systems Dept., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Japan

Abstract: Various characteristics should be taken into consideration when developing a vehicle. Among them, the head-on collision characteristic may be one of the most important because it requires much development time and cost. During collisions, collapse of the front end into the passenger compartment endangers its occupants. To prevent this situation, dynamic collision energy must be absorbed by deformation of the front end. Among the front end components, the side members absorb most of the energy. To raise their energy absorbing efficiency, these parts should be designed so that they do not break but crush successively like an accordion. We developed two new methods for realising these characteristics using FEM. One is to utilise buckling sensitivity analysis and the other is to utilise buckling mode for the initial deflection of the structure. We then adapted these methods to our Non-linear Collision CAE which are described in some detail.

Keywords: buckling; collisions; crash simulation; crushing deflection; deformation; finite element method; FEM; front end components; head-on collisions; vehicle safety; vehicle crashes; energy absorbing efficiency; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1990.061600

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1990 Vol.11 No.6, pp.564 - 577

Published online: 26 May 2014 *

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