Citation

Sanchez M, Abellán D. Int. J. Crashworthiness 2015; 20(4): 370-386.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13588265.2015.1018702

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There are currently different deformable barriers that are used in crash testing, both lateral and frontal, in order to determine the level of protection of the vehicles and of injury to occupants, hereinafter referred to as crashworthiness. The definition and characteristics of these barriers, usually made from aluminium honeycomb, have evolved over time with the aim of improving the stiffness and capacity of absorbing the forces of a frontal impact of a vehicle type, and its compatibility with other vehicles in a real crash situation. In Europe, barriers defined by UN-ECE 94 (frontal collision) and UN-ECE 95 (lateral collision) regulations are currently used, although later developments such as the Advanced European Mobile Deformable Barrier (AE-MDB) will better represent the stiffness of the European-type vehicle. In the USA, the MDB developed by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is used in tests prescribed by the FMVSS 214D and FMVSS 301 standards, as well as other barriers such as that developed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, whose dimensions, stiffness and mass are more similar to the features of the front structure of American suburban vehicles and pickups.These deformable barriers are useful for showing the deformation, deceleration levels, energy absorbed and for determining crashworthiness in different crash test configurations for which they were designed. However, they are not valid for other configurations, such as collisions involving heavy vehicles in which the total energy in play is very high, or when the crash affects different parts of the vehicle or at different angles of impact.This article describes the methodology followed to define the dimensions, stiffness and energy-absorbing capacity of the elements included in the design of new deformable barriers, which have to be capable of reproducing the vehicle behaviour depending on crash configurations and the size of the area of the vehicle affected by the collision. To do so, the available crash test data on certain types of vehicle were first collected. For each test, a series of characteristic parameters indicative of the severity of the collision were obtained. Then, a representative vehicle type was defined which corresponds to the average values of these parameters. Also, the design of the deformable barrier was addressed, and finite-elements models were made using solid elements with explicit formulation. The results of the barrier simulation were compared with the characteristic parameters of the representative vehicle type. In order to achieve an equivalence of the performance required, modifications to the design of the barrier were then made.This methodology is being applied to the design of new frontal barriers, which will be useful for assessing the crashworthiness of vehicles in types of collision which are different from those contemplated in current regulations.