Design of Door Latching and Locking Systems for Crashworthiness

Several sub-systems in a vehicle contribute to vehicle crashworthiness. One such system is the door latch and locking system. Correct functioning of this system is critical for facilitating occupant evacuation and preventing occupant ejection during crashes.

Special care needs to be taken during vehicle safety development to achieve the desired intent. In crashes, it is observed that door opening or locking mainly occurs on account of inertial loads and deformation of the door structure.

This paper studies the possible failure modes and their causes. Some likely solutions have also been discussed with a case study.