Effect of load slope time (LST) and load adaptor position (LAP) on side door strength of passenger cars: A deformation mapping matrix (DMX) approach

Side impact collisions are one of the most frequently occurring road accidents leading to occupant injury and even death. To provide better safety to occupants during such collisions, side doors and side body structures in modern passenger cars have been designed to absorb the impact energy and reduce the depth of intrusion into the passenger compartment. Side impact performance components are often evaluated by conducting a dynamic full vehicle crash test and a quasi-static side door intrusion test. The Indian regulation for side impact performance evaluation comprises of the quasi-static side door intrusion test. This paper highlights the variation in crush strength performance viz., initial crush resistance, intermediate crush resistance and peak crush resistance, due to the difference in the rate of load application as per IS12009:1995. The paper presents the deformation mapping matrix (DMX) approach to study the variation in results due to load slope time (LST) and load adaptor position (LAP).