Technical Paper
Two-Dimensional Collision Simulations of Low-Speed Crash Tests
2013-04-08
2013-01-0793
A commercially-available two-dimensional software program, validated to model high speed collisions, was extended to analyze rear-end collisions involving speed changes below 10 miles per hour. Simulation results were compared to the results of several series of published full-scale staged collisions. A total of 84 rear-end crash tests, involving 20 vehicles of different makes and models, were analyzed. Test conditions included free-rolling as well as braked vehicles, and in-line as well as oblique collision configurations. The analysis demonstrates that the simulation model provides accurate and reliable predictions of vehicle delta-V's for rear-end collisions, under aligned and oblique conditions, and with free-rolling and braked conditions for the foam core and piston-equipped bumper types examined.
