Browse Publications Technical Papers 2010-36-0223
2010-10-06

Computational method to assess the SUV drivers' dynamics due to rollover crashes 2010-36-0223

Even though the rollover is not the most frequent type of accident, it is of the greatest significance with respect to injury and trauma caused to the vehicle occupants. The need to reduce death incidence and serious injuries has increased the importance of computational simulations and prototype testing.
This study presents finite element model to simulate rollover events and to predict possible injuries caused in the head, neck, thorax and cervical spine. Numerical models of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) are simulated including anthropomorphic dummy to represent the driver. The injury risks and traumas are verified to the driver considering belted and unbelted dummies.
The computational methodology developed proved to be efficient for the evaluation of the vehicle's roof structure in rollover events. Regarding the computational results, some standards and procedures which are broadly used by the automotive industry to evaluate the vehicle's roof resistance, cannot prevent the occurrence of injuries and traumas to the occupants. Moreover, according to the results of numerical simulations, it is suggested that the load required evaluating the car's roof resistance should be increased. It is shown that numerical methods can be used to assess the structure of the vehicle and verifying the driver's injury risk, reducing the amount of experimental tests to be performed.

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