Development of a Blow Molded, Thermoplastic Front Bumper System Offering Angled Barrier Protection

A new front bumper, blow molded from an engineering thermoplastic, is being used to provide full 8 km/h federal pendulum and flat-barrier impact protection, as well as angled barrier protection on a small passenger car. The low intrusion bumper is compatible with the vehicle's single-sensor airbag system and offers a 5.8 kg mass savings compared with competitive steel/foam systems.

This paper will describe the design and development of the bumper system and the results achieved during testing.