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Three computational gas and fluid dynamic methods, CV/UP (Control Volume/Uniform Pressure), CPM (Corpuscular Particle Method), and ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian and Eulerian), were investigated in this research in an attempt to predict the responses of side crash pressure sensors. Acceleration-based crash sensors have been used extensively in the automotive industry to determine the restraint system firing time in the event of a vehicle crash. The prediction of acceleration-based crash pulses by using computer simulations has been very challenging due to the high frequency and noisy responses obtained from the sensors, especially those installed in crush zones. As a result, the sensor algorithm developments for acceleration-based sensors are largely based on prototype testing. With the latest advancement in the crash sensor technology, side crash pressure sensors have emerged recently and are gradually replacing acceleration-based sensor for side crash applications.

An engine cooling system in an automotive vehicle comprises of heat exchangers such as a radiator, charge air cooler and oil coolers along with engine cooling fan. Typical automotive engine-cooling fan assembly includes an electric motor mounted on a shroud that encloses the radiator core. One of main drivers of fan shroud design is Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) requirements without compromising the main function of airflow for cooling requirements. In addition, there is also a minimum stiffness requirement of fan shroud which is often overlooked in arriving at optimal design of it. Low Speed Damageability (LSD) assessment of an automotive vehicle is about minimizing the cost of repair of vehicle damages in low speed crashes. In low speed accidents, these fan motors are subjected to sudden decelerations which cause fan motors to swing forward thereby damaging the radiator core. So designing fan shroud for low speed damageability is of importance today.

Pedestrian protection assessment methods require multiple head impact tests on a vehicle’s hood and other front end parts. Hood surfaces are often lifted up by using pyrotechnic devices to create more deformation space prior to pedestrian head impact. Assessment methods for vehicles equipped with pyrotechnic devices must also validate that the hood deployment occurs prior to head impact event. Estimation of pedestrian head impact time, thus, becomes a critical requirement for performance validation of deployable hood systems. In absence of standardized physical pedestrian models, Euro NCAP recommends a list of virtual pedestrian models that could be used by vehicle manufacturers, with vehicle FEA (Finite Element Analysis) models, to predict the potential head impact time along the vehicle front end profile. FEA simulated contact time is used as target for performance validation of sensor and pyrotechnic deployable systems.

Motivated by a combination of increasing consumer demand for fuel efficient vehicles, more stringent greenhouse gas, and anticipated future Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, automotive manufacturers are working to innovate in all areas of vehicle design to improve fuel efficiency. In addition to improving aerodynamics, enhancing internal combustion engines and transmission technologies, and developing alternative fuel vehicles, reducing vehicle weight by using lighter materials and/or higher strength materials has been identified as one of the strategies in future vehicle development. Weight reduction in vehicle components, subsystems and systems not only reduces the energy needed to overcome inertia forces but also triggers additional mass reduction elsewhere and enables mass reduction in full vehicle levels.

This paper describes (1) the findings from the implementation of a component test methodology for body, engine and transmission mounts [1, 2 and 3], and (2) the associated CAE model development and mount design robustness enhancement. A series of component tests on light truck body, engine and transmission mounts have been conducted to not only obtain their characteristics as inputs for crashworthiness analysis, but also drive mount design direction for frontal impacts.

In the course of developing a body-on-frame vehicle for barrier crash performance, automotive manufacturers must take into account numerous regulatory and corporate requirements. One of the most common barrier crash modes is the perpendicular front barrier crash used to verify compliance to F/CMVSS 208. The frontal rail or “horn” is the primary component that absorbs a significant amount of the vehicle's crash energy. The frontal rail collapse determines the vehicle deceleration. This paper evaluates several frontal horn designs for perpendicular front barrier impacts. Two basic frontal rail architectures are evaluated: a uniform rectangular cross section and a tapered cross section. For a 35 mph (15.65 m/s) impact test condition, a parametric design study was commenced to evaluate the affect of gauges, convolutions, triggers, and initiating holes for a total of eleven configurations.