Crash mechanisms of automobile were simulated by a nonlinear, three-degrees-of-freedom system. Crashworthiness of vehicle structures was obtained analytically, as well as experimentally, and was represented by nonlinear springs. Analytical results were compared with full-size experiments of barrier and rear-end collisions. It was shown that the automobile crash mechanisms may be explained by a simple model, and that a theoretical computation may be feasible to obtain the crashworthiness of vehicle structures.
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