EXPERIMENTAL SAFETY VEHICLE CRASHWORTHINESS DESIGN

IN DEVELOPING THE AMF EXPERIMENTAL SAFETY VEHICLE, TWO OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED INVOLVED LIMITATION OF PASSENGER COMPARTMENT INTRUSION DURING SIDE IMPACTS, AND DISSIPATION OF VEHICLE KINETIC ENERGY DURING HIGH-VELOCITY FRONT AND REAR IMPACTS. A DESIGN SOLUTION TO THE FIRST OF THESE PROBLEMS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, WHICH HAS AS ITS BASIC ELEMENT AN ALUMINUM HONEYCOMB SANDWICH DOOR PANEL. SEVERAL EVOLUTIONARY MODELS HAVE BEEN BUILT AND TESTED UNDER BOTH STATIC AND DYNAMIC LOADING, INCLUDING FULL-SCALE VEHICLE CRASHES. ACTUAL BEHAVIOR HAS AGREED VERY WELL WITH ANALYTICALLY PREDICTED BEHAVIOR ENABLING THE SIDE STRUCTURE SYSTEM TO MEET ESV DESIGN GOALS. THE SOLUTION DEVELOPED FOR THE SECOND PROBLEM UTILIZES VARIABLE STROKE HYDRAULIC BUFFERS TO ABSORB THE REQUIRED ENERGY. BUMPER SYSTEMS INCORPORATING SUCH BUFFERS WERE TESTED SUCCESSFULLY IN VARIOUS IMPACT CONFIGURATIONS AT VELOCITIES OF UP TO 50 MPH. BOTH ANALYSIS AND TEST RESULTS LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE ESV CRASHWORTHINESS GOALS CAN BE MET OR EXCEEDED WITH SUCH SYSTEMS. /HSL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Rept No SAE-720070
• Corporate Authors:

  American Machine and Foundry Company

  Santa Barbara, CA  United States 
• Authors:
  • Wigenbach, W J
  • Schwarz, R
• Publication Date: 1972-1

Media Info

• Pagination: 16 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bumpers; Crashworthiness; Design; Doors; Energy absorbing materials; Honeycomb structures; Hydraulic structures; Mathematical models; Motor vehicles; Safety; Safety equipment; Safety vehicles
• Uncontrolled Terms: Experimental design; Models; Safety features
• Old TRIS Terms: Energy absorbers
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223831
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 17 1972 12:00AM