Browse Topic: Vehicle side structures

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Design of the BIW Structure for Battery Pack Protection in Case of Side Pole Impact2026-26-00251/16/2026
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more popular than Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered vehicles, but their battery and motor components elevate their Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), posing unique collision risks. Manufacturers strategically mount the high voltage (HV) battery packs under the passenger compartment to lower the Centre of Gravity and shield them from the front impacts. However, side impacts remain a concern, as the battery deformation in such instances could trigger fires or explosions, endangering occupants. To address this, crashworthiness designs adhere to New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) standards, particularly against side pole impact and side mobile barrier impact. Unlike the frontal section of BIW, which typically has larger crush space to absorb the crash energy, extensive design attention is required to the vehicle's side structure to absorb pole impacts without transmitting excessive force to the battery pack. Utilizing aluminium extrusions and sheet metals, the vehicle's side sill structure is engineered with geometries that efficiently absorb impacts while protecting the HV battery and occupants as well. The key parameters assessed for battery protection include, 1 Cell force, 2 Acceleration of the battery pack, 3 Battery frame compression, and 4 Force distribution between the BIW structure and the battery pack.
Nivesh, Dharun, Namani, Prasad, Ramaraj, Rajasekar
Side Crash Pressure Sensor Response Prediction: CPM Approach2026-26-04131/16/2026
Side crashes are generally hazardous because there is no room for large deformation to protect an occupant from the crash forces. A crucial point in side impacts is the rapid intrusion of the side structure into the passenger compartment which need sufficient space between occupants and door trim to enable a proper unfolding of the side airbag. This problem can be alleviated by using the rising air pressure inside the door as an additional input for crash sensing. With improvements in the crash sensor technology, pressure sensors that detect pressure changes in door cavities have been developed recently for vehicle crash safety applications. The crash pulses recorded by the acceleration based crash sensors usually exhibit high frequency and noisy responses. The data obtained from the pressure sensors exhibit lower frequency and less noisy responses. Due to its ability to discriminate crash severities and allow the restraint devices to deploy earlier, the pressure sensor technology has gained its popularity for side crash applications. CAE based calibration approach reduces cost of multiple physical tests required for side airbag algorithm development to deploy the airbags. With a goal to achieve CAE based calibration such that side airbag deployment algorithms can be enhanced with the help of pressure sensors, Corpuscular Particle Method (CPM) was adopted to predict the pressure responses of side crash pressure sensors. The major challenge was to capture the change in pressure accurately in side door cavity during an event of side crashes in digital environment. In addition, the challenge was to develop robust CAE methodology that can predict sensible pressure responses during event of high speed as well as low speed side crashes. This paper describes the innovative CPM airbag based methodology developed to predict the pressure response and its correlation with side impact physical tests.
Bhagat, Milind, Narale, Naganath, Mahajan, Ashutosh, Wayal, Virendra, Jadhav, Swapnil
Developing a dynamic test protocol for the updated IIHS deformable barrier2024-01-25104/9/2024
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) introduced its updated side-impact ratings test in 2020 to address the nearly 5,000 fatalities occurring annually on U.S. roads in side crashes. Research for the updated test indicated the most promising avenue to address the remaining real-world injuries was a higher severity vehicle-to-vehicle test using a striking barrier that represents a sport utility vehicle. A multi-stiffness aluminum honeycomb barrier was developed to match these conditions. The complexity of a multi-stiffness barrier design warranted research into developing a new dynamic certification procedure. A dynamic test procedure was created to ensure product consistency. The current study outlines the process to develop a dynamic barrier certification protocol. The final configuration includes a rigid inverted T-shaped fixture mounted to a load cell wall. This fixture is impacted by the updated IIHS moving deformable barrier at 30 km/h. The fixture represents the stiff sections of a typical vehicle’s side structure and creates deformation patterns on the deformable barrier that are similar to the baseline results established during the development of the updated IIHS side crashworthiness test. Three different barrier manufacturers submitted 3–4 samples each for evaluation. These barriers were tested to determine performance and quality across manufacturers. Load cell wall data was used to establish force-displacement corridors for the center and left/right sections of the deformable barrier. The corridors will be used as part of a periodic certification process that barrier manufacturers can use to prove their finished products and manufacturing processes meet IIHS requirements.
Mueller, Becky, Arbelaez, Raul, Heitkamp, Eric, Mampe, Christopher
Robust Optimization of an Electric Bus Body Frame Based on the Mesh Morphing Technology2023-01-00334/11/2023
The traditional design optimization of the bus body frame are mainly limited to the optimization of the thickness of the parts. In this work, we perform the optimization design of the bus body frame by optimizing the sectional shape of the tube beams based on the mesh morphing technology. Several groups of finite element analysis are performed for the body frame and the sectional sizes of the rectangular tube beams of the chassis and the side structure of the body that have a greater impact on the body performance are selected for optimization. The mesh morphing technology is used to establish shape design variables for the selected tube beams, and the design variables are comprised of the length, width, and thickness of the sections of the selected tube beams. Based on the entropy weight method and the order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) comprehensive weight method, the design variable with a higher comprehensive contribution is obtained. Next, the multi-objective optimization of the structure of the bus body frame is carried out by combining the Latin hypercube experimental design, radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and the multi-objective non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). Finally, the six-sigma robust design optimization is performed to improve the reliability and the sigma level of response. After robust optimization, finite element analysis is carried out to verify and evaluate the optimization results. It is shown that the prediction errors are all within 0.3%. The stiffness of the bus body frame has been improved remarkably, and the lightweight rate of bus body substructure reaches 5.9%.
Fan, Dian, Yang, Xiujian, Song, Yi, Zhang, Shengbin
Optimization of Side Impact Airbag Design Using Response Surface Method2023-01-08184/11/2023
Seat mounted side impact airbags (SIAB) along with side curtain airbags are now a standard passive safety equipment offered by nearly all original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to meet side protection requirements in many regions of the world. While the side curtain airbag is intended to reduce head injury, the SIAB protects the thorax and abdomen region of the driver or passenger in a side crash scenario. An optimized SIAB both in terms of design and deployment threshold has the potential to reduce occupant’s injury level and can prevent fatalities. Because of the limited space available between the occupant and the side structure of the vehicle, there are significant challenges posed for packaging a SIAB to provide adequate cushioning distance from the intruding parts of the vehicle side structure and spread the impact load over a larger area. Different regulatory requirements in different geographies add further challenges for a common design. Common design is not only cost-effective, but it also simplifies manufacturing. Exhaustive studies have been published on vehicle structure optimization in a crash scenario, but only a handful of literature is available on SIAB design and development study. The present work depicts a detailed study of SIAB performance in terms of occupant injury criteria and the effect of various SIAB design parameters under various side crash load cases, such as defined by IIHS, USNCAP, FMVSS and other agencies. Key design parameters effecting the performance are identified and subsequently SIAB design parameters were optimized based on a Response Surface Method (RSM). This study details a process to commonize the SIAB design across the geographies. SIAB parameters are optimized in the current study for load cases in the United States and China. The optimized airbag shape is validated further using Ls Dyna runs. A response-surface-based injury prediction is reasonably consistent with the results of the Dyna. This approach will allow us to determine the shape of a side pelvic thorax airbag and help to understand how altering different design parameters affects performance (rib injury values).
Shrivastava, Abhinav, Behera, Dhiren, Reddy, Niranjan, Aluru, Phani
Historical Design Information of Aircraft Landing Gear and Control Actuation SystemsAIR5565 (Current)9/8/2022
This aerospace information report (AIR) provides historical design information for various aircraft landing gear and actuation/control systems that may be useful in the design of future systems for similar applications. It presents the basic characteristics, hardware descriptions, functional schematics, and discussions of the actuation mechanisms, controls, and alternate release systems. The report is divided into two basic sections: 1 Landing gear actuation system history from 1876 to the present. This section provides an overview and the defining examples that demonstrate the evolution of landing gear actuation systems to the present day. 2 This section of the report provides an in depth review of various aircraft. A summary table of aircraft detail contained within this section is provided in paragraph 4.1. The intent is to add new and old aircraft retraction/extension systems to this AIR as the data becomes available. NOTES 1 For some aircraft, the description is incomplete, due to difficulties in obtaining the data.
A-5B Gears, Struts and Couplings Committee
Calculating Vehicle Side Structure Stiffness from Crash Test Data: Effects of Impactor Characteristics2020-01-06404/14/2020
This research examines the effects of impactor characteristics on the calculated structural stiffness parameters A and B for the struck sides of late-model vehicles. This study was made possible by crash testing performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involving side impacts of the same vehicle line with both a rigid pole and with a moving deformable barrier. Twenty-nine crash test pairs were identified for 2018 model-year vehicles. Of 60 total tests, 49 were analyzed. Test data for 19 vehicles impacted in both modes resulted in A and B values considered to be valid. Classifying these 19 vehicles according to the categories defined by Siddall and Day, only Class 2 multipurpose vehicles were represented by enough vehicles (10) to search for trends within a given vehicle category. For these vehicles, more scatter in the results was observed in both A and B values for the MDB impacts compared to the pole impacts. A causal relationship between stiffness values in the two test modes was not discovered. In either test mode, there was little correlation between either A or B with vehicle wheelbase. These studies confirm previous findings; namely, that the side structure stiffness parameters vary widely, even within a given class, and that they cannot be predicted based on other vehicle characteristics or other test modes.
Struble, Donald E., Struble, John D.
Further Development of a Method to Reproduce Highly Dynamic Force Distance Based Intrusions of Vehicle Side Structure Components2015-01-14874/14/2015
Structural component testing is essential for the development process to have an early knowledge of the real world behaviour of critical structural components in crash load cases. The objective of this work is to show the development for a self-sufficient structural component test bench, which can be used for different side impact crash load cases and can reflect the dynamic behaviour, which current approaches are not able. An existing basic system is used, which includes pneumatic cylinders with a controlled hydraulic brake and was developed for non-structural deformable applications only (mainly occupant assessments). The system is extended with a force-distance control. The method contains the analysis of a whole vehicle FEM simulation to develop a methodology for controlled force transmission with the pneumatic cylinders for a structural component test bench. The results of the simulation analysis provide the necessary and realizable pulses for the controlled pneumatic cylinders and the positioning of the cylinders. The applicability is shown and the good correlation of the acceleration between test and simulation is demonstrated. This new approach considers the dynamic behaviour and is hence more complex and time-consuming as other approaches. Nevertheless the methodology is universally applicable for different side impact load cases and vehicles. The main advantages of this new approach are to reflect the dynamic behaviour on a self-sufficient system. The methodology is easy to apply in other load cases and vehicles. Moreover it is possible to increase the prediction of FEM simulations, based on the results from the component test bench.
Teibinger, Andreas, Marbler-Gores, Harald, Schluder, Harald, Conrad, Veit, Steffan, Hermann, Schmidauer, Josef
Vehicle Side Structure Concept using Ultra High Strength Steel and Rollforming Technology2006-01-14034/3/2006
It is said that rollforming technology is one of the most effective uses of Ultra High Strength Steel (UHSS). The method by which a new vehicle side structure concept can satisfy IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) side impact test criteria was studied by utilizing IIHS’s technologies. First of all, the best structural ideas for each part (e.g. B-pillar, side sill, roof cross member and floor cross member, etc.) based on the closed sections utilizing the rollforming technology and UHSS were studied using the crash CAE of each part. The best solutions for each part were assembled on the vehicle side structure CAE model, and the crash performance of the IIHS side impact test was confirmed using the module part of the crash CAE model. The great weight saving possibility of the new vehicle side structure concept was proven by comparing it to the conventional structure concept based on the stamped parts. Prototypes of each part were produced and their performances were confirmed by collapse tests.
Watanabe, K., Tachibana, M., Wiemann, M., Frankenberg, D.
Dummy Head Kinematics in Tripped Rollover Tests and a Test Method to Evaluate the Effect of Curtain Airbag Deployment2002-01-06903/4/2002
A tripped rollover is one of several types of rollover initiations. Developing a curtain airbag system for occupant protection in tripped rollovers requires the knowledge of the occupant kinematics prior to tripping. As a vehicle experiences lateral deceleration prior to the trip initiation, the unrestrained dummy head is already in motion and may be close to the vehicle interior or at the side glass plane. If the vehicle is equipped with a curtain airbag system, it may be difficult to trigger the curtain deployment prior to the dummy interacting with the vehicle side structure due to the degree of difficulty in discriminating between a roll and no roll situation early enough in the event. For such conditions, a curtain airbag restraint system should be designed so that it deploys and positions itself properly as the dummy head is approaching the side glass plane or in the deployment zone. In this study, a dynamic rollover test is used to investigate the dummy head kinematics prior to a vehicle roll. The deployment of a curtain airbag restraint system that will deploy properly in the given conditions is discussed. Also, an out-of-position static test that simulates the dummy head kinematics observed in the low “g” (<1.5 g) dynamic test is presented.
Balavich, Karen M., Nayef, Ayad
Side Impact Structural Characterization from FMVSS 214D Test Data2001-01-01223/5/2001
Due to the upgrade of FMVSS 214 and the emergence of side NCAP tests, there is a growing body of crash test data on vehicle side structures. Such data would be very useful to reconstructionists, except that the struck vehicle behavior is masked, in part, by the use of a deformable moving barrier in the test. The post-impact dynamics and the energy absorption by the barrier itself must be accounted for if the desired vehicle structural characterization is to be extracted. Attempts prior to this paper to achieve a side structure characterization have dealt with these issues by invoking various simplifying assumptions. Unfortunately, these have not been supported by a foundation in either physics or measurement. Questions have also been raised whether prior characterizations of the barrier face are appropriate, in view of the prior crash modes being so unlike the FMVSS 214 test. To address these issues, crash tests of the barrier itself, in an appropriate crash mode, have been conducted. The properties of the barrier face in this mode have been determined. The paper shows how to use those properties, in combination with results from crabbed moving deformable barrier tests, to extract the structural characteristics of the side-struck vehicles. Such characteristics are presented for 43 vehicles.
struble, Donald E., Welsh, Kevin J., Struble, John D.
The Analysis of Vehicle Behavior and Occupant Protection Methodology for EURO-Side Impact in a Convertible Car9823549/29/1998
This paper describes an analytical method to find optimal side structure of convertible vehicle for occupant protection using full vehicle finite element model compared with typical notch-back style vehicle. The strategy of occupant protection for convertible vehicle is quite different from that of notch-back sedan in the view point of vehicle structure due to the limitations in building concept of side structures. In this study, the strategy leading to reliable results in the convertible type vehicle will be discussed. This analysis work shows a good preliminary result for predicting vehicle side structure behavior and occupant injury in early stage of car developing program.
Cho, Jae-ho, Kim, Dong-seok, Lee, Myung-sik
Structure and Padding Optimization for Side Impact Protection9861835/31/1998
This paper aims to show methods to design and optimize vehicle side structure and padding to improve side impact protection. To limit injuries at thorax level, intrusion profile during impact must perform a negative vertical tilt: a way to obtain this is to avoid B pillar deforming above R point. A static analysis may be useful to determine a proper distribution along B pillar axis of sections'' moments of inertia. A good structural behavior is necessary but not sufficient to perform good results in side impact. A proper control of padding stiffness is very important especially for abdomen protection. A method to evaluate the stiffness of padding at thorax level is proposed. A similar method is used to determine failure load of armrest for abdomen protection.
Di Leo, Marcello
Performance Evaluation of Door & Seat Side-Impact Airbags for Passenger Van and Sport-Utility Vehicles9809122/23/1998
Side impact accounts for a significant source of societal harm, injury and death. To address this issue, Europe and US have introduced legislation to be met for the new vehicle certification. In an effort to meet these regulations and the market demand for safety, Automotive manufacturers have significantly improved vehicle side structure integrity and introduced side impact airbags are for added protection. Today, passenger vans, light truck and sport-utility type vehicles are all popular consumer choices in the US. These vehicles differ significantly from passenger cars in many respects and as such need special design considerations for side airbags. Here, MADYMO-3D model of a generic passenger van / Sport-Utility type vehicle is created and correlated to FMVSS-214 side impact crash test. This model is used to evaluate both door and seat mounted side airbag designs in different orientations at standard test impact condition and at a higher speed. The results are presented and the significance of side airbag design for occupant protection is discussed.
Gopal, Madana, Anne, Vital
The Effects of Variability in Vehicle Structure and Occupant Position on Side Impact Dummy Response Using the MIRA M-SIS Side Impact Technique9705712/24/1997
Side impact crashworthiness presents a complex problem due to the dynamic interaction between the occupant and the intruding vehicle side structure. As there is a direct impact between the occupant, and the door and B-post trim, small variations in the vehicle structural behaviour can have a significant effect on the dummy response and injury levels. Significant variability in dummy response between crash tests causes problems when evaluating the vehicle side structure and development of side impact restraint systems. A programme of research tests has been conducted at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) using the MIRA - Side Impact System (M-SIS) technique to evaluate the dynamic response of side impact dummies in actual side impact environments. With the implementation of the European side impact legislation in 1998 the effects of variations in dummy location and velocity profile need to be understood.
Payne, A. R., Mohacsi, R., Allan-Stubbs, B.
Integrated Inner Door Panel/Energy Absorber Designs for Side Impact Occupation Protection9601512/1/1996
Inner door panels provide the interface between the occupant and the vehicle side structure They have to meet aesthetic requirements in order to provide a continuous and harmonious flow between the forward components, i e, instrument panel and pillar trim, and the rear components in the occupant compartment, while meeting engineering and occupant protection requirements Occupant protection upon side impact has led to the use of a variety of supplemental devices sandwiched between the inner door panel and the inner sheet metal stamping The present paper discusses a different approach to meet side impact protection with a collapsible energy absorber that is molded in injection molded door panels, thus becoming integral to the panel itself This approach eliminates the need for assembly of an independent absorber cartridge simplifying the assembly of the door system and reducing the material mix that results when using thermoset polyurethane foam blocks with thermoplastic panels, thus facilitating the disassembly and recycle of the panel
Lorenzo, Luis, Burr, Scott, Fennessy-Ketola, Karen
Mathematical Modelling of the BioSID Dummy94222611/1/1994
The objective of this work was to create mathematical models of the BioSID side impact test dummy, for use in side impact simulation studies. Two dummy models were created - a multibody model, and a finite element model. The models have been validated according to the procedures described in the BioSID User's Manual[1]. The responses of both models were within the required corridors for most of the specified calibration tests, and during these test conditions the behaviour of the models correlated well with physical dummies. The models are now being tested in numerical side impact models of the vehicle. Each dummy model is particularly suited to different tasks: The multibody model is used in a lumped-mass model of the vehicle side structure, for studying the door padding and door intrusion characteristics. The finite element dummy model is implemented into finite element models of vehicles, allowing the vehicle-dummy interaction to be studied in much greater detail than is possible with physical testing or with lumped-mass models. Both types of modelling technique have inherent advantages and disadvantages. Examples from the models are used to highlight these traits, and recommendations are made regarding techniques which will improve the ability of mathematical models to represent vehicle occupants.
Fountain, Mark, Altamore, Paul, Skarakis, John, Spiess, Oliver
Collision Performance of Automotive Door Systems9405623/1/1994
Historically, most safety related improvements to door systems have involved retention of occupants within the vehicle. However, such improvements have not been without some safety trade-offs. The recent update to FMVSS 214 (Side Impact Protection) has focused attention on increased occupant protection in side impacts. The standard essentially increases vehicle side strength requirements in order to reduce intrusion into the occupant space. The safety consequences associated with strengthening vehicle side structure will be evaluated with respect to various impact configurations. Energy management considerations of current as well as conceptual door systems during a collision will also be discussed. Individual latch and hinge component testing as currently required by FMVSS 206 does not completely evaluate the collision performance of the door as a system. From field collision evaluation, it has been seen that doors and surrounding side structure must act as a system to efficiently manage collision forces and distribute occupant loads. Procedures for evaluating current and future door systems by means of revised laboratory testing procedures will be evaluated.
Blaisdell, David, Stephens, Gregory, Meissner, Uwe
Approach to the Safety Relevant Layout of Vehicle Side Structures9003762/1/1990
In today's traffic accidents vehicle side impacts are second to frontal impacts as far as accident frequency is concerned, while being in the lead with regard for the risk to be injured severely. Various experiments and analytical investigations have already been performed on this subject. The merely experimental approach with its time-consuming and costly iterations can be efficiently assisted by corresponding simulation programs which are readily accepted if the simulated results are easily applicable in vehicle component design. When analysing both the mathematical and experimental side structure optimizations it is found that there is a considerable potential for improvement on the one hand but that it is difficult to transfer the calculated results into body design on the other. This paper presents a method allowing to apply the results of various side impact simulations to the layout of vehicle side structures.
Hoefs, Rainer
Side Impact Testing8560851/1/1985
Basic parameters that determine the occupant injury gravity, in a side crash are speed and the hit sidewall hardness. These two parameters are intimately linked together, and a full-scale reconstitution of a lateral collision does not permit their separation easily. A method is presented in this paper that uses a subsystem-type test arrangement, reproducing the physical lateral shock sequence while having the two parameters separated. It then becomes possible to show the role played by different elements involved in a real-life impact: impacting vehicle deformable front end part; impacted vehicle structure at the door inner panel, where deformability plays an energy-absorbing role; and impacted vehicle structure at the body side, where side speed is rigidity-dependent. As a result of these tests, a subsystem test procedure should take into account the impacted vehicle side structure rigidity, and use a flexible prop fixed to the body, for the impact phase with a side impactor.
Gratadour, J.
Side Impact Aggressiveness Attributes8560831/1/1985
Thoracic injury to the near side occupant in a side collision is normally caused from contact with the struck vehicle's crushed side structure engaged by the striking vehicle's front end. Extensive research has already been done to investigate the effect that strengthening and padding struck vehicle side structure has on occupant safety. This study investigated the effect that altering the striking vehicle front end characteristics has on occupant safety in a side impact. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) moving deformable barrier (MDB) was used to conduct 12 crash tests. Three different types of honeycomb barrier faces were used, each representing a front end characteristic change. These were a reduction in stiffness, a lowering and tapering of the hood profile, and a lowering of the bumper. The alterations were believed to represent achievable production vehicle changes. Each of the altered frontal designs were tested four times, striking baseline and padded Volkswagen Rabbits at both 60° and 90° configurations. In each case, the simulated striking and struck velocities were 35 and 17.5mph. respectively. The occupant responses and relative benefits from each of these concepts are shown and discussed.
Monk, Michael W., Willke, Donald T.
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