An engineering approach to crashworthiness of thin-walled beams and joints in vehicle structures

The paper summarises the main points of the long-term engineering experience at Cranfield Impact Centre Ltd in the field of crashworthiness of thin-walled beams and joints in vehicle structures. Subjects covered are: the ‘hybrid’ approach to crashworthiness design/analysis (where beams and joints are treated separately from complete structures), the deep bending collapse of beams and joints from the points of view of static and dynamic testing and analytical prediction (models of hinge mechanisms, regression analysis, finite element analysis and from experimental databases). Use of the component properties in the simplified finite element analysis of complete structures is also presented. Illustrations are shown during the oral presentation.