An Integrated Approach to the Simulation of Vehicle Crashworthiness and Occupant Protection Systems

This paper briefly traces the history of analytical methods as they have been applied to the subjects of vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protection. Recognising that several different types of analytical methods are currently being used simultaneously within most automotive design offices, it is suggested that the state of the art has now advanced to the point where one single, unified approach can be sensibly adopted. This argument is supported by examples drawn from several different real applications in which the finite element program, OASYS DYNA3D, has been shown to perform well.