Optimization of a Lower Bumper Support regarding Pedestrian Protection Requirements using ANSA and LS-OPT

A variety of pedestrian protection requirements must be considered during the vehicle development process, in order to improve the protection of vulnerable road users. The lower bumper support, which is located at the vehicle front (s. Fig. 1), is designed to generate beneficial leg kinematics from early in the impact. In the EuroNCAP test protocol, the Flex-PLI leg impactor is used to assess the risk of injuries. This impactor has been developed for a more bio fidelity representation of a human leg than its predecessor, the TLR impactor (s. Fig.2). The leg injury values are obtained from the Flex-PLI by calculating knee ligament extensions and tibia bone bending moments (s. Fig. 3).