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01/06/2004
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A novel means of distributing front-end crash energy through the body in white is being proposed by a team from the mechanical engineering department at Spain’s University of Zaragoza, writes Roger Bishop.
For explanation purposes, the system comprises a strong longitudinal beam in the front part of the vehicle to which is attached a ‘belt and pulley’ system secured to a BIW element at the rear of the vehicle. In a crash, the beam is horizontally displaced, stressing the belt and deforming the rear element. In reality, the design team would expect the elements of the system to be integrated into the vehicle structure without cost or weight penalty.
The system was presented in a paper at SAE 2004 in Detroit, and animated crash test simulations are available on the website of the development company, Taexpa SA (www.taexpa.com). Taexpa holds international patents.
According to the design team, until now industry research has focused on transforming kinetic energy in a crash into deformation energy but only in the area directly affected by the collision. Others may argue this point, since the use of high strength steels and technologies such as hydroforming allows components like roof rails and longitudinals to transfer energy to the rear of a vehicle. However, the Zaragoza team’s approach is novel and claims to have the potential to reduce deformation in the impact area by up to 50 per cent. An important factor is the system’s ability to achieve this figure without increasing vehicle stiffness and therefore deceleration effects on occupants during the crash event. What makes this possible is the incorporation of a flexible element in the pulley axis. This maintains the maximum reaction value with the deceleration levels of a vehicle without the energy absorbing system.
The development team has performed physical tests and finite element computer simulations to prove the concept. A great deal of this work has focused on use in city buses.
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Author
Roger Bishop
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