Surface modelling of vehicle frontends for pedestrian safety with the FlexPLI

Structural design of vehicle frontends needs to satisfy high requirements for pedestrian safety. A method to derive a simplified vehicle model is proposed, enabling quick investigations to identify trends to reduce injury values of the Flexible Pedestrian Leg Impactor (FlexPLI). Derived from an initial simulation of the original full-scale finite element (FE) model, the simplification is based on the computed non-linear stiffness of the frontend's surface. The method is illustrated via a very small principal example and investigated further for three different kinds of more complex modelling. In addition, a procedure to automate the model generation is shown. Even though the impactor is not simplified, the simulation time of the leg impact is reduced by a factor of ten in contrast to that of the original model. A comparison, full model against reduced model, of the impactor's kinematics shows the high validity of the approach. An application example demonstrates the approach's ability to predict trends and sensitivities with minimised manual and computational effort, which is necessary in the early development phase to investigate a wider range of design options.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1080/13588265.2016.1247683
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13588265
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Taylor & Francis.
• Authors:
  • Mößner, S
  • Rudolph, T
  • Duddeck, F
• Publication Date: 2017-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 243-259
• Serial:
  • International Journal of Crashworthiness
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 1358-8265
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tcrs20

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injury research; Injury severity; Kinematics; Leg; Pedestrian safety; Simulation; Vehicle design; Vehicle front end
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01633281
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 28 2017 10:42AM