Active Bolster for Side Impact Protection

This paper discusses the simulation based methodology for designing and developing a deployable vehicle door interior trim, an Active Side Bolster (ASB), and its interaction (in FEA simulation) with an ATD in side impact crash test modes like FMVSS214¹ Oblique Pole, IIHS² and LINCAP.

The FEA models, especially with the complexity of the full vehicle structure, the ATDs³ and the airbags, require extensive correlation using vehicle tests. A methodology is outlined here to ensure that the model results could be used to generate FEA ATD assessments without a significant numerical contamination of the results. These correlated FEA models for side impact vehicle tests and ATDs were used to simulate various side impact crash test conditions; such as IIHS barrier, the FMVSS-214 Oblique Pole and LINCAP. The ATD responses from the baseline vehicle FEA models and those modified with the addition of an ASB in the door shows improvement in assessment values due to the introduction of the ASB. The ASB design parameters, such as inflator mass flow rate, vent size, etc. has been examined with respect to changes in the ATD assessment values.