METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE COLLISION PERFORMANCE OF SOME ENERGY ABSORBERS IN AUTOMOBILE BUMPER APPLICATIONS

STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED TO FURNISH METHODS FOR EVALUATING ENERGY ABSORBING DEVICES FOR AUTOMOBILE BUMPER APPLICATIONS. IN ADDITION TO ANALYTICAL METHODS, COMPARATIVE TESTS WERE CONDUCTED. FULL SCALE DROP TESTS WERE CONDUCTED ON THREE PROPRIETARY COMPLETING DEVICES. ENERGY ABSORBING DEVICES PRESENTLY AVAILABLE ARE CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS: EXTRUSION DEVICES, MATERIAL DEFORMATION DEVICES, AND FRICTION DEVICES. THIS REPORT PRESENTS GENERAL METHODS OF ANALYSES FOR THE PRINCIPLE TYPES OF DEVICES IN EACH OF THE THREE CATEGORIES, ALONG WITH SIMPLE CALCULATIONS FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES, AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA WHEREVER POSSIBLE. THE THREE PARAMETERS THAT MUST BE SPECIFIED IN AN EVALUATION OF AN ENERGY ABSORBING DEVICE (THE ENERGY IT WILL ABSORB DURING ITS STROKE. THE PEAK FORCE GENERATED, AND THE LENGTH OF THE STROKE) ARE DISCUSSED. RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE EXTRUSION TYPE OF DEVICE IS THE BEST SINCE IT DISSIPATES ENERGY AND HAS THE RELIABILITY AND ABILITY TO WITHSTAND REPEATED IMPACTS. THE COLLAPSING TUBE AND THE TUBE MANDREL DEVICES ARE THE BEST IN THE MATERIAL DEFORMATION CATEGORY. ALTHOUGH THEIR INITIAL COSTS ARE LOWER THAN THE EXTRUSION DEVICES, THEY CANNOT TAKE REPEATED LOADS, BEING ESSENTIALLY ONE SHOT DEVICES.

• Corporate Authors:

  Denver University

  Denver Research Institute
  Denver, CO  United States  80210

  Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

  1005 North Glebe Road
  Arlington, VA  United States  22201
• Authors:
  • Green, R J
• Publication Date: 1973-5

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 173 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Automobiles; Bumpers; Crash injury research; Crashes; Energy absorbing materials; Equipment; Evaluation; Extrusion; Impacts; Research; Testing
• Old TRIS Terms: Energy absorbers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00224316
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rept
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 11 1974 12:00AM