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A need exists for a reliable and economical analytical aid for designing vehicle structures for controlled crash energy management. Several of the crash simulation methods, currently available to the designer in the evaluation and development of vehicle structures for crash, are reviewed with respect to their capabilities and shortcomings as design aids. An analytical technique is presented, structured along the lines of a design aid and based on a finite element beam model concept. The functions of the various elements of the code are discussed in the context of typical crash events one needs to consider in the design of a structure composed of beam- and column-type elements. The heart of the proposed system code VRUSH is a component code SECOLLAPSE which monitors and predicts crush responses of thin wall structural components and which controls the input into the system code. Also presented are models generated by SECOIXAPSE for typical loading cases.

There are a number of benefits from Ford Motor Company's participation in motorsports. This paper will describe how an engineering team developed a CAE process to assist in the design of a race car to meet impact requirements, with the technology transfer benefit of improved impact performance of composite structures in passenger cars. In 1997/98, a CAE process was developed and applied in the design and test of Formula One race car composite impact structures. For this particular engineering effort, a Ford proprietary software program, COMP-COLLAPSE, was the primary analysis tool that was utilized to successfully predict impact performance. As a result, COMP-COLLAPSE was used extensively in the design of race car composite impact structures. There were two beneficiaries from this effort: Race Vehicles: Improved vehicle impact performance as well as design improvement in crush efficiency, packaging, weight, and manufacturing.