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In this paper the general requirements for a passenger-car side door made of FRP are presented as well as a description of different concepts for self supporting monocoque FRP-doors. For one conceptual design static and dynamic analyses have been made to investigate more detailed the potential of composites in this application. The results of the structural analyses, which have been investigated by commercial FEA-codes, are presented. The research data resulting from completed testing of components are compared with the simulation results. On the basis of this research a prospect for the application of FRP in the field of side impact protection is given.

Car side doors are one of the most complex parts of the body, because this component has to meet a lot of requirements. Independent of the material - steel, aluminum, magnesium, or fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) - there are multiple important requirements. In this paper, testing methodologies for self-supporting car side doors made from FRP are presented based on different conceptual design studies using these innovative materials. These doors and related testing methodologies have been developed in joint research and pre/advanced-development projects with different partners, car manufacturers as well as suppliers. The importance and benefit of benchmarks, advanced experimental material analysis, substructure and full-size component testing in the product development process is discussed. Furthermore important links to the CAE-process are referred and the significant value on the whole development process is demonstrated.

The excellent energy absorption characteristics of composite materials in vehicle structures during vehicle collision are well known for a couple of years. For a long time period, the lack of experiences in the prediction of the crashworthiness of composites, has been a major problem for the application of these materials in automotive crash structures. In this paper, the current progress in the prediction of the crashworthiness of automotive composite crash structures is presented. Progress is realized by simultaneous research work in both, theoretical modeling of these structures with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and experimental investigation.