Development of a sport utility front bumper system for pedestrian safety and 5 mph impact performance

A front bumper system for use on a Sport Utility Vehicle was designed by Honda R&D Americas, which meets the conflicting requirements for both pedestrian safety and 5 mph impact performance.

The requirements for both substantial ""soft'' crush space and limited barrier intrusion presented conflicting design directions. A sport utility front bumper system, which balances these design parameters, was developed using computer modelling. A pedestrian upper-legform-to-bumper test was modeled using MADYMO, while 5 mph barrier test simulations utilized LS-DYNA3D. The virtually developed pedestrian bumper system's performance was confirmed through physical testing.

This paper will outline the process and methods used for this pedestrian bumper system development. Some details of the new bumper design and its performance will be featured.