Abstract
The paper mainly describes the results of computer simulation for frontal crash of a commercial vehicle with non-linear finite element and multibody method. A finite element model of the vehicle was firstly constructed based on 3D-CAD model. The dummy model used in the simulation was based on a (50)^<th> percentile Hybird III. The dynamic responses of vehicle during frontal crash both at an initial velocity of 50km/h and 8km/h were derived. The head and chest accelerations and the loads on the dummy during crash course were calculated. The head acceleration value was then converted into the head injury criteria (HIC) value. The energy absorption proportion by different components in the vehicle was calculated, which can be obtained in the simulation through the computation of the internal energy in the model. By simulation, the front longitudinal beam was optimized on structure, then the energy absorption proportion increased quickly, and the safety performance of the vehicle was improved. In order to validate the simulation results, the vehicle frontal crash test and steering system crash test were carried out. The test results and simulation results were compared. Some methods to improve simulation precision were set up.
