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Finite element analysis of occupant safety in the case of vehicle lateral impact with a rigid pole
Last modified: 2018-07-15
Abstract
Recent research based on Romanian crash database concluded that lateral accidents of a vehicle with a pole, or similar objects, by passing a curved segment, cause a high rate of fatalities. The present paper continues this research by visualizing the effects of such a lateral impact on a dummy driver. The analysis was conducted using the finite element method (FEM) and the latest dummy type WorldSID 50th percentile Male, positioned in a meshed, four door sedan, involved in a lateral crash scenario, based on the last United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regulation. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the importance of the safety technologies brought in the last decade in automotive industry, in the context of a Romanian auto market which is about two decades old. The analysis contains injury values of the head, shoulder, thorax, abdomen and pelvis regions of a human body. The results were found to be positive and the main conclusion of the research was that passenger vehicles built in the last decade tend to have a lower risk of fatality, in the case of lateral impact with a pole, even for the latest safety requirements prescribed by the authorities in charge. The conclusion could be formulated based on obtained injury values of critical body regions, which showed very good results at about half of the imposed limit.