A procedure for validation of full vehicle CAE models with physical tests for passive safety applications

With the fast development of computational analysis tools and capacities during the past ten years, complex and substantial computer-aided engineering (CAE) simulations are now economically possible. While the cost of crash tests has risen steadily, the fidelity and complexity, which numerical simulations could address, has multiplied keeping the cost of computational analysis more stable. The use of CAE simulations complements physical testing, accelerating the product development process, reducing cost, and ensuring safe and more optimized designs. The fundamental goal of CAE is a significant reduction in the number of physical tests conducted during the product development process. However, validating the CAE model with physical tests is essential to ensure accuracy and reliability. Simulations performed using a validated CAE model could be used to make decisions like airbag deployment or high voltage shutdown without an actual physical test. This paper discusses validating an electric commercial vehicle CAE model with side impact physical tests emphasizing the safety of a high voltage battery system. The critical parameters considered for fine-tuning the CAE model as per the test vehicle are discussed in detail. The analysis of these parameters ensures the structural integrity and overall safety of key components like high voltage batteries and cables. The global vehicle movement, local deformations, and component failures seen in the test are compared to the same in the CAE simulation for qualitative correlation. The acceleration time histories measured from different locations of the test vehicle are compared with the same obtained from the CAE simulation for quantitative correlation. The qualitative and quantitative comparison of the results shows the level of validation of the CAE simulation with the physical test.