Abstract:
"Development and Validation of a Headform Impactor Finite Element Model with Application to Vehicle Hood Design for Pedestrian Protection"
This paper details the development, validation, and application of a Finite Element model for an adult headform impactor, intended for use in simulating subsystem tests for pedestrian protection in vehicle design. In the first part, a detailed FE model of the headform was created, and a viscoelastic material model for the skin was calibrated using the LS-OPT optimization software to match both quasi-static and dynamic experimental test data from the literature. This validation process ensured the FE headform model's geometrical and inertial characteristics comply with the regulations of international safety agencies. In the second part, the validated headform FE model was used in a series of explicit dynamic impact simulations with LS-DYNA to optimize a generic vehicle hood design for enhanced pedestrian safety. The FEA simulations of the headform-hood impact test were integrated into an optimization loop to find the best design for buckling structures connecting the hood's inner and outer panels, aiming to reduce head injury risk while considering under-hood clearance constraints.
