Bumper shape design for pedestrian safety

The main cause of leg injuries is the bumper during car-pedestrian accidents. Bumper geometry and bumper material have the greatest effect on pedestrian leg injury. The first objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of bumper shape on pedestrian leg injuries. This study uses three bumper shapes on three car models to evaluate the effects of bumper geometry on pedestrian leg injury: A Ford Taurus, Dodge Intrepid, and Dodge-Neon. Then, based on the results of the impact between legform and bumper, this study chooses the best bumper shape that results in the least injury to the pedestrian’s leg. The second objective of this study is to design a new bumper. Using some conclusions regarding the effects of bumper shape on the pedestrian leg injuries, a new pedestrian-friendly bumper was designed. This bumper satisfies EEVC/WG17 safety requirements regarding pedestrian leg injuries. The analyzed models and results obtained could help evaluate pedestrian friendliness of a vehicle and guide the future designing and development of pedestrian friendly vehicle technologies.

     

基于行人下腿部与汽车保险杠的碰撞研究及优化设计

交通事故中当汽车与行人发生碰撞时,下腿部易受到骨折甚至更严重的伤害.所以行人保护受到越来越多的关注.各大汽车厂商和研究机构也在自身的产品开发中考虑对行人保护的改善.介绍了行人保护法规内容要求和实验要求,并采用仿真方法,建立了行人下腿部撞击器与保险杠碰撞的有限元模型,分析了腿部与保险杠的撞击响应,得到了行人腿部与保险杠相撞时的加速度、弯曲角度、剪切位移等参数,并通过调整保险杠的造型以及保险杠发泡和蒙皮刚度改善车辆前部对下腿部的影响,从而改进对行人腿部碰撞的伤害.     

Design of pedestrian friendly vehicle bumper

Car-pedestrian accidents take thousands of lives worldwide annually. Therefore, pedestrian protection is an important issue in traffic safety. How to consider a pedestrian friendliness vehicle and then propose pedestrian protection methods are urgent works for minimizing pedestrian injury. For designing a pedestrian friendly vehicle bumper, this study adopts the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee/ Working Group 17 (EEVC/WG17) regulations of legform impactor to bumper tests. Analyzing the pedestrian friendliness of a vehicle bumper by using LS-DYNA is described in detail. Simulation results were analyzed to identify the reasons for the unfriendliness. Furthermore, the analysis of the influence of bumper structure on pedestrian leg was performed and then some guideline was suggested. The analyzed models and results obtained could help evaluate pedestrian friendliness of a vehicle and guide the future development of pedestrian friendly vehicle technologies.     

汽车前部结构对骑自行车人颅脑损伤防护特性的影响

以深入的事故调查为基础建立汽车—骑自行车人碰撞分析模型,提出可降低颅脑损伤风险的汽车前部结构改进措施。针对真实的汽车与自行车碰撞事故,采用多体动力学软件MADYMO进行事故重建,评估仿真模型及方法的有效性。通过定义轿车、SUV、MPV三种常用车型前部结构参数(包含保险杠高度、保险杠伸出长度、发动机罩前缘高度、发动机罩长度、发动机罩角度和挡风玻璃角度),分析汽车行驶速度以及前部结构对于骑自行车人颅脑损伤的影响,并讨论骑自行车人颅脑损伤防护的可行措施。仿真结果表明:汽车碰撞速度、发动机罩前缘高度和保险杠高度对骑自行车人颅脑损伤有显著影响;尤其对于轿车,适当地降低其发动机罩前缘及保险杠高度可以有效地降低骑自行车人颅脑损伤的风险。     

基于组合近似模型的可靠性优化方法在行人柔性腿型碰撞中应用研究

当行人与车辆发生碰撞时,车身最前端的部件将直接与行人下肢腿部发生接触,其设计是满足行人下肢保护要求的关键。然而针对传统要求的基于刚性腿型行人保护车辆前结构设计方法,在应对柔性腿型行人保护要求已呈现明显的局限性。为了提高保险杠结构的柔性腿型保护功能,结合试验设计技术、组合近似建模技术、多目标优化算法和可靠性分析方法,以行人腿部的伤害值最低为优化目标,对车辆前端结构参数进行可靠性优化设计并对优化结果进行试验验证。研究结果表明:优化后的车辆前端结构与原设计相比,行人柔性腿型保护功能得到明显提高,为车辆前端结构的设计与开发提供有效的参考。     

A study on the development of equivalent beam analysis model on pedestrian protection bumper impact

This paper presents a dynamically equivalent beam analysis model on pedestrian protection bumper impact instead of a non-linear finite element impact analysis method. Equivalent beam analysis model was developed by substituting the femur and tibia for dynamically equivalent Euler beam. Dynamically equivalent forces of bumper beam, upper stiffener and lower stiffener are found by a finite element analysis results and applied to the Euler beam model of lower legform impactor. This equivalent beam analysis model was used to obtain a bending angle of lower legform impactor by using finite element beam theory. Peak acceleration of the tibia was obtained by developing an approximate acceleration equation. A linear interpolation of non-linear finite element analysis results considering the dimension variation of bumper beam factors affecting the acceleration was used to get an approximate acceleration equation. The accuracy of this simple analysis model was tested by comparing its results with those of the non-linear finite element analysis. Tested bumper beam types were press type beam and roll forming beam used widely in the current car bumpers. The differences of maximum acceleration of the tibia between the two models did not exceed 10% and the bending angle did not exceed 20%. This accuracy is enough to be used in the early stage of bumper beam design to check the bumper pedestrian performance quickly. Use of equivalent beam analysis model is expected to reduce the analysis time with respect to the non-linear finite element analysis significantly.     

Evaluation of synthetic composite tibias for fracture testing using impact loads

Composite synthetic bones are a commercially available substitute for cadaveric specimens, and they have previously been validated to replicate natural bone under quasistatic, non-destructive testing. Synthetic tibias could be used to analyse injury risk to the lower leg during impact events, but their failure mode must be validated by way of comparative tests to human bone. Synthetic tibias were instrumented with strain gauges and subjected to axial impact loading. Two different projectile masses were used for the tests, and the effects of force, momentum, and energy on failure were compared with previous cadaveric data. The composite tibias failed at forces between 37-45 per cent of those from cadavers, and failed via cortical delamination in combination with fracture. A Weibull analysis generated a survivability curve based on axial force at failure, and was shown to be lower than previous cadaveric curves. Failure was dependent on both the momentum and energy applied. Strain distributions through the synthetic tibias were significantly different from those of cadavers. The convex distal articular surface of the synthetic bones may partially account for the lower fracture tolerance. As a result of the many differences in response, these synthetic tibias are not recommended for use in impact fracture studies.     

A morphological elastic model of general hexagonal columnar structures

A general three-dimensional (3D) anisotropic hexagonal model of columnar structure with non-uniform strut morphology is developed. This model covers several types of cellular structure such as two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal and square honeycombs, and 3D hexagonal and rhombic cellular materials of rod-like columnar structure. The effective elastic constants are determined taking account of bending, axial, and shear deformations of the struts. Unlike the theoretical work of other investigators for 2D honeycombs, considering bending, axial and shearing deformations of struts, the present model not only produces transverse isotropy for regular hexagonal columnar structure but also provides a consistent Poisson's ratio when applied to a square honeycomb. The effect of tapered strut morphology on the elastic properties of cellular structures is investigated. For the general hexagonal columnar structures, the bending compliance is the dominant function for the in-plane elastic constants of 2D and 3D structures (excluding the in-plane shear modulus of rhombic structures) and the out-of-plane shear moduli of 3D structures, but the axial compliance is dominant for the in-plane shear modulus of 2D and 3D rhombic structures and the out-of-plane Young's modulus of 3D structures. For cellular materials with the same relative density, the presence of taper increases values of the effective Young's and shear moduli for which the bending compliance is dominant, but decreases those for which the axial compliance is dominant. It is found that the effective elastic properties of cellular materials are dependent not only on the relative density but also on strut morphology both in cross-section geometry and its variation along the strut length which the present model takes account of. These results illustrate the importance of the strut morphology in calculating the effective elastic properties of cellular materials.     

Stress analysis of two-dimensional cellular materials with thick cell struts

Finite element analyses (FEA) were performed to thoroughly validate the collapse criteria of cellular materials presented in our previous companion paper. The maximum stress (von-Mises stress) on the cell strut surface and the plastic collapse stress were computed for two-dimensional (2D) cellular materials with thick cell struts. The results from the FEA were compared with those from theoretical criteria of authors. The FEA results were in good agreement with the theoretical results. The results indicate that when bending moment, axial and shear forces are considered, the maximum stress on the strut surface gives significantly different values in the tensile and compressive parts of the cell wall as well as in the two loading directions. Therefore, for the initial yielding of ductile cellular materials and the fracture of brittle cellular materials, in which the maximum stress on the strut surface is evaluated, it is necessary to consider not only the bending moment but also axial and shear forces. In addition, this study shows that for regular cellular materials with the identical strut geometry for all struts, the initial yielding and the plastic collapse under a biaxial state of stress occur not only in the inclined cell struts but also in the vertical struts. These FEA results support the theoretical conclusion of our previous companion paper that the anisotropic 2D cellular material has a truncated yield surface not only on the compressive quadrant but also on the tensile quadrant.     

均分区域法标记试验区域的行人保护试验研究

现阶段我国仍属于人、车混合的交通状况,车辆碰撞事故频繁发生.在车辆与行人碰撞事故中,行人属于弱势群体,加上现阶段车辆缺乏对行人保护的措施,行人伤亡严重.在汽车行人碰撞事故中,行人头部受重伤是造成行人死亡的主要因素;行人腿部受伤是造成行人受重伤的主要因素.基于两款车辆以均分区域法标记试验区域的行人保护头型碰撞测试数据,对...     

吸能式汽车保险杠轻量化设计分析

在汽车保险杠原始结构的基础上,进行了轻量化设计.利用ANSYS/LS-DYNA软件对原始保险杠及其轻量化结构在低速碰撞过程中的动力响应特性进行了数值仿真,结果表明：原始保险杠在低速碰撞条件下应力分布不均匀,而加强筋保险杠和波浪加强板形保险杠耐撞性、能量吸收性更好,其应力分布较均匀,并且波浪加强板形保险杠性能优于加强筋保险杠.     

Muscle-ligament interactions at the human knee (I)

A three-dimensional dynamic model of the knee was developed to study the interactions between the articulating surfaces of the bones and the geometrical and mechanical properties of the ligaments. The contact-surface geometry of the distal femur, proximal tibia, and patella was modeled by fitting polynomials to each of the eight articular surfaces. Twelve elastic elements were used to describe the function of the ligamentous and capsular structures of the knee. The origin and insertion sites of each model ligament were obtained from cadaveric data reported for an average-size knee. The response of the model to both anterior-posterior drawer and axial rotation suggests that the geometrical and mechanical properties of the model ligaments approximate the behavior of real ligaments in the intact knee. Comparison of the model’s response with experimental data obtained from cadaveric knee extension indicate further that the three-dimensional model reproduces the response of the real knee during movement.     

Three-dimensional dynamic model of the knee

A three-dimensional dynamic model of the knee was developed to study the interactions between the articulating surfaces of the bones and the geometrical and mechanical properties of the ligaments. The contact-surface geometry of the distal femur, proximal tibia, and patella was modeled by fitting polynomials to each of the eight articular surfaces. Twelve elastic elements were used to describe the function of the ligamentous and capsular structures of the knee. The origin and insertion sites of each model ligament were obtained from cadaveric data reported for an average-size knee. The response of the model to both anterior-posterior drawer and axial rotation suggests that the geometrical and mechanical properties of the model ligaments approximate the behavior of real ligaments in the intact knee. Comparison of the model’s response with experimental data obtained from cadaveric knee extension indicate further that the three-dimensional model reproduces the response of the real knee during movement.     

前保系统行人保护小腿碰撞优化

某车需要增加配置在前端保安装两个倒车雷达探头,且该车目前设计状态无下支撑板,基于LS—DYNA软件进行分析该状态下小腿伤害指标胫骨加速度和小腿弯曲角在大多数碰撞点严重超标。经过分析是由于倒车雷达探头本身材料相对刚度较大,且在X向上的长度较长,严重削弱了小腿碰撞过程中的压溃空间。通过调整倒车雷达的布置位置和增加下支撑板的方式来降低保险杠前端的整体刚度来降低小腿的伤害指标,经过验证该方案最终满足行人保护法规的要求。     

Development and validation of a pedestrian deformable finite element model

Pedestrian protection has become an increasingly important consideration in vehicle crash safety. Pedestrian-vehicle crashes cause a significant number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries globally. Computer models are powerful tools for understanding how to reduce the severity of injuries in such crashes. Real-world studies of pedestrians provide an important source of information for evaluating pedestrian model dynamic performance and ability to reconstruct injury-causing events. This study describes the validation process of deformable pedestrian model using published postmortem human subject (PMHS) trajectory and head resultant velocity corridors, and demonstrates its applicability to pedestrian — vehicle impact research. We implemented the deformable pedestrian model using LS-DYNA finite element code. Based on PMHS data, the pedestrian model is used to validate the displacement trajectories of the head, pelvis, knee and foot. The finite element pedestrian model thus obtained can help assess the friendliness of vehicles with pedestrians in traffic crashes and assist in the future development of pedestrian safety technologies. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Young Eun Kim Tso-Liang Teng is a Professo r in the Department of mechanical and automation engi-neer ing and the Dean of engineeri ng college at the Da-Yeh Uni versity, Taiwan. He received a BS (1981), MS (1986) and PhD (1994) from the Chung Cheng Institute of Technology. His research intere sts include design of passive safety systems in ve hicles, crash tests simulation, passenger and pedest rian injuries analysis, design of pedestrian protecti on systems.     

Computer-aided geometric design of legs for a walking vehicle

A legged vehicle is potentially more energy efficient and mobile than conventional vehicles in rough terrain. The performance of such a legged vehicle is strongly dependent on the leg geometry. In general, a leg linkage which possesses three-degree-of-freedom foot motion is adequate. A preliminary design of the leg with a view to good energy efficiency resulted in a four-bar leg. This was described by S. M. Song et al. [Mech. Mach. Theory 19, 17–24 (1984)]. In the present paper, the mobility of the legged vehicle is brought into consideration in the leg design. A study of the mobility of a six-legged vehicle shows that a large walking envelope is required for each leg linkage. In order to satisfy this requirement, the original four-bar leg was modified into a seven-bar leg by mounting another four-bar linkage on the coupler of the original four-bar linkage. Also, a different type of leg linkage based on pantograph mechanism was designed. A comparison of the leg performance of both types of leg is made in this paper and the pantograph leg is found to be more effective.     

Effect of plunge speeds on hook geometries and mechanical properties in friction stir spot welding of A6061-T6 sheets

The plunge speed of the tool was divided into two plunge speeds, including pin- and shoulder-plunging speeds, for a detailed study of the plunging process in friction stir spot welding of A6061-T6 sheets. The effect of the pin- and shoulder-plunging speeds on hook geometries and mechanical properties was investigated. The results showed that the shoulder-plunging speed had an obvious effect on the hook geometry and tensile shear load, but the pin-plunging speed had almost no effect. The effective bond width (W _eff) and effective sheet thickness (T _eff) used to describe the hook geometry were important factors for determining the tensile shear load and fracture mode. Two fracture modes were observed: tensile/shear mixed fracture and shear fracture. The largest tensile shear load was obtained when the joint failed in the tensile/shear mixed fracture.     

Determination of the principal directions of composite helicopter rotor blades with arbitrary cross sections

Modern helicopter rotor blades with non-homogeneous cross sections, composed of anisotropic material, require highly sophisticated structural analysis because of various cross sectional geometry and material properties. They may be subjected by the combined axial, bending, and torsional loading, and the dynamic and static behaviors of rotor blades are seriously influenced by the structural coupling under rotating condition. To simplify the analysis procedure using one dimensional beam model, it is necessary to determine the principal coordinate of the rotor blade. In this study, a method for the determination of the principal coordinate including elastic and shear centers is presented, based upon continuum mechanics. The scheme is verified by comparing the results with confirmed experimental results.     

汽车前保险杆TAC整体式综合模拟安装检测装置的开发与应用

原有单独汽车前保险杆检具存在制造精度低、查找零件及匹配问题困难的缺点,设计一种整体式TAC汽车前保险杠检测装置,通过各功能模拟块模拟真实装车状态,快速分析各零件状态。在整车项目中的实际运用证明,该检测装置,具有测量精度高、结构更符合人机工程和工作效率高等优点。