FEM Analysis of Crashworthiness of Hot-Rolled Sheet Steel with Excellent Bake Hardenability in Tensile Strength

A new type of bake-hardenable high strength hot-rolled sheet steel was developed, which shows a remarkable increase in tensile strength as well as yield strength after strain age hardening without addition of special elements. Then the impact absorption energy of the developed steel was evaluated by the finite element method using a hat square column model. The equivalent thickness and tensile strength of the developed steel assuming use as a substitute for the conventional 440MPa steel were clarified.