Crush Design/Analysis of Composite Vehicle Front End Structure

Although the crush of composite tubes has been studied extensively in static and dynamic impacts, the mode of collapse and energy absorption data for the next level of automotive components, sub-structure, or structures have been limited. In this study design/analysis were conducted on glass/vinylester CSM and braided composite Ford-Escort front end. The investigation consists of energy assessments; crush strength prediction and mode of collapse for the lower and upper rails structure with apron. Component models for lower and upper rails were evaluated for design iteration using stability code COMPCOLLAPSE to determine the maximum and average crush loads. A sub-structure consisting of both rails and apron with and without foam were analyzed using nonlinear collapsible beam code VCRUSH. The result of the analysis showed good guidelines for design.