Innovative Approach for Improving Roof Crush Resistance

The objective of this study is to explore and identify vehicle body design countermeasures to meet the proposed upgrade of the FMVSS 216 standard. Finite Element (FE) methods in LS-DYNA solver are used as a tool to evaluate the performance of each countermeasure. A generic FE model of a sport utility vehicle developed at the National Crash Analysis Center (NCAC/GWU) is used as an exemplar vehicle. Traditional countermeasures such as material grade and gauge change are applied to this exemplar vehicle to study the benefit of added mass in increasing the roof crush resistance. In addition, innovative countermeasures in the form of composite structural reinforcements are considered in this study. Component level three point bend tests are conducted with and without the composite reinforcements to evaluate the benefit of composite body solutions for roof crush applications. This paper provides an overview of the substantial benefits of utilizing Composite Body Solutions® (polymeric structural foam materials and their designs) in significantly improving roof crush performance.

application/pdf D-I-1.pdf — 2.1 MB