SPECIAL SECTION: ADVANCED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Jul 1, 1993

Vehicle Impact Simulation

Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 119, Issue 4

Abstract

Improvement in impact simulation between vehicles and roadside safety hardware is investigated. The use DYNA3D, a nonlinear, explicit, three‐dimensional, public‐domain, finite‐element code for vehicle impact numerical calculations is described. A preliminary example problem of a spherical impactor and a circular plate is used to model an impact between two deformable bodies. Numerical qualitative and quantitative results are compared with other known solutions. Finite element models of an actual vehicle and some examples of the roadside safety hardware are discussed. As a practical example, an impact simulation of a compact car with a light post is examined. The paper shows that even relatively small numbers of degrees of freedom used in DYNA3D program can accurately predict kinematics of highway vehicle impacts. These results conclude a preliminary feasibility study to develop the next generation of roadside safety computer software for vehicle impact simulation and analysis.

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Published In

Go to Journal of Transportation Engineering
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 119Issue 4July 1993
Pages: 598 - 617

History

Received: Jul 9, 1992
Published online: Jul 1, 1993
Published in print: Jul 1993

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Authors

Affiliations

Jerzy W. Wekezer, Member, ASCE
Prof. and Head, Civ. Engrg. Dept., Univ. of Alaska, Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508
Morton S. Oskard
Federal Highway Administration, Turner‐Fairbank Highway Res. Ctr., 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101
Roger W. Logan
Univ. of California, Lawrence Livermore Nat. Lab., Appl. Mech. Group, P.O. Box 808, L‐122, Livermore, CA 94550
Edward Zywicz
Univ. of California, Lawrence Livermore Nat. Lab., Appl. Mech. Group, P.O. Box 808, L‐122, Livermore, CA

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