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An analytical procedure has been developed to evaluate the relative damageability of a bumper with respect to the geometrical and material properties by means of a nonlinear thin shell computer program as reported at the last VSM conference. The analysis has been extended to determine the effects of various high strength steels with different prestrains on bumper damageability since the fabrication procedure will induce varying degrees of prestrain in the finished bumper. The effect of prestrain is particularly important for dual phase steels because of the lower initial yield to tensile strength ratio of these materials. The analysis was carried out for three types of steels of potential use for bumpers, namely SAE 950X, SAE 980X and DP 980. The relative damageability of bumpers in these steels was evaluated analytically for various levels of prestrains.

The design, finite element analysis and fabrication of graphite fiber reinforced plastic (GrFRP) for the body of the 1979 Ford LTD concept vehicle is described in Part I. One-hundred and four (104) steel body-in-white parts, weighing 423 lbs., were replaced by forty-one (41) GrFRP parts, weighing 160 lbs., for a 62% reduction in weight. The floor and body side panels represent some of the largest and most complex GrFRP automotive parts produced to date. The methodology and analysis used in developing the graphite composite lay-up design of the front end for the concept vehicle is outlined in Part II. This assembly of GrFRP components weighs 30 lbs., compared with 95 lbs. for the steel counterparts, and represents a 68% weight reduction.