The Effect of Forming on the Crashworthiness of Vehicles with Hydroformed Frame Siderails

This paper describes the use of forming simulation output data from a hydroformed frame siderail as initial material properties for crash simulation of the component. The hydroforming simulation model is described and correlated to test measurements. Methods developed to transfer data between forming and crashworthiness analyses are presented and the limitations of the existing systems identified. The frame siderail was subjected to a representative crash load; LS-DYNA was used for both forming and crash simulations. The effect of thickness, work hardening and residual stresses on the crashworthiness results is quantified; crash response is seen to be significantly affected when the effects of forming are included.