Impact Simulation of the CFRP Structure for a GT-Car 2003-01-2768

CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) materials have been extensively used in racing cars because of its high stiffness and lightweight. Recently, car crash safety is becoming increasingly important even for racing cars. CFRP has also a merit on crash safety because it offers the freedom to set the material characteristics where needed and the needless of considering remaining length after the impact. In this analysis, a multi-layered shell material is applied to reproduce the crash characteristics of the CFRP structure. Fundamental crash test data of simple specimens are used to verify the material characteristics of CFRP, and applied to the Crash-Box of a Nissan GT500 racing car. The simulation showed good correlation with the actual test, and the final design was based on these analyses without the need of repeating impact tests.