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With a goal to help develop pressure sensor calibration and deployment algorithms using computer simulations, an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach was adopted in this research to predict the responses of side crash pressure sensors for unitized vehicles. For occupant protection, acceleration-based crash sensors have been used in the automotive industry to deploy restraint devices when vehicle crashes occur. 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. Instead of using acceleration (or deceleration) in the acceleration-based crash sensors, the pressure sensors utilize pressure change in a door structure to determine the deployment of restraint devices. The crash pulses recorded by the acceleration-based crash sensors usually exhibit high frequency and noisy responses.

In an attempt to assist pressure sensor algorithm and calibration development using computer simulations, an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach was adopted in this study to predict the responses of side crash pressure sensors for body-on-frame vehicles. Acceleration based, also called G-based, crash sensors have been used extensively to deploy restraint devices, such as airbags, curtain airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, and inflatable seatbelts, in vehicle crashes. With advancements in crash sensor technologies, pressure sensors that measure pressure changes in vehicle side doors have been developed recently and their applications in vehicle crash safety are increasing. The pressure sensors are able to detect and record the dynamic pressure change when the volume of a vehicle door changes as a result of a crash.