Crashworthiness analysis of circular and elliptical cross-sectional beams in vehicle door


Kumlu U., Karaçor B., Özkeser B., Aslan A.

IV.International Siirt Conference on Scientific Research, Siirt, Turkey, 17 - 18 November 2023, pp.287-300

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • City: Siirt
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.287-300
  • Çukurova University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The most life-threatening type of collision with the highest risk of injury in vehicle accidents is a side collision. Considering this situation, vehicle manufacturers are focusing on applications that would improve the resistance of vehicle doors against impacts. The reason for this is that in side impact collisions the space between the striking object and the passenger is too small. In this study, it was aimed at six different design of vehicle door beams with circular and elliptical sections and to observe the effect of the combination of these different sections on side impact. As a material, Al6061 T6 material was defined in the designs. After the designs were made with the computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application (CATIA) program, side collision analysis was performed with ANSYS/Explicit Module. 32 km/h, specified in international standards, was chosen as the side impact speed. The results were obtained by analyzing the designs with the help of the ANSYS Workbench Explicit Dynamics module. The results were evaluated in terms of specific energy absorption (SEA) value, deformation, and reaction force. In the designs, the combination of the circular section and horizontal elliptical section (C1HE1) stands out with the highest SEA value, while the lowest plastic deformation value appeared in the horizontal elliptical section combination (HE2). The lowest reaction force was found in the combination of vertical and horizontal elliptical (VE1HE1). The C1HE1 combination had the second-best values in these results, with a value 1.03 times higher than the combination with the lowest reaction force and 1.08 times higher than the combination with the lowest plastic deformation value. It can be seen that the C1HE1.

combination is the most ideal combination with both its high specific energy absorption value

and its reaction force and plastic deformation value.