Search Results

Vehicle hood experiences impact loading once it is dropped freely from a specific height. This phenomenon is known as Hood Slam (HS). HS induces damage to the components of the hood and front end module. This damage accumulates over the vehicle lifetime and may lead to failure. In a traditional design process, the durability performance of the hood and front end module is evaluated by conducting an impact test. It is, however, very costly and time-consuming to achieve a statistical-based confidence. This paper presents the CAE methodology that intends to replace the physical test and predict the durability performance of the hood and front end module early in the design cycle. The precise capturing of the time dependent contact conditions between the different components of the closing mechanism is essential in simulating the load transfer between the hood and the body.