Date of Award

9-20-2018

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.Sc.

Department

Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering

Keywords

Bumper, Pedestrian protection, Self-adaptive

Supervisor

Altenhof, William

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Bumper design regulations for low-speed vehicular impacts (Part 581, Bumper Standard, formerly FMVSS 215) and high-speed pedestrian impacts (ECE 127/GTR 9) possess a contradictory set of requirements. Essentially, an ideal bumper structure should be stiff under low-velocity vehicular impacts while exhibiting a softer response when impacting pedestrians at elevated velocities to satisfy both regulations. A series of energy absorbing structures capable of passively adapting their mechanical responses based on the loading conditions were investigated using finite element modelling tools which were validated to a series of experimental testing observations. The preferred structure consisted of a rectangular array of trapezoidal cells which buckle under single-cell impacts while resisting lateral deformation and artificially increasing the overall stiffness under large area impacts. A geometric study of this dissipater demonstrated the potential to increase total energy absorption by 37.3% by adding thin-walled crossbars at the bases of adjacent cells. Additionally, a parametric study identified a combination between upper cell angle and the ratio between the wall thicknesses as the most critical parameter to consider when tailoring the overall mechanical response.

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