Design of a New Bumper Beam Using Structural Thermoplastic Composite

Bumper beam design is greatly influenced by the material selected. This paper reviews the optimization of a beam made of structural thermoplastic composite-glass filled polypropylene. The steps in the development and testing are presented as well as the results of the project.

The development project was started using an existing C-section thermoplastic design. After baseline data was obtained, CAD/FEM iterations and modifications to the bumper beam tool allowed examination of some design options. An I-section beam was then designed and built and provided substantial improvements in performance, weight, and variability of test results.