The simulation of pedestrian impact with a combined multibody finite elements system model

Author： Leglatin N. Blundell M. Blount G.

ISSN： 1466-1837

Source： Journal of Engineering Design, Vol.17, Iss.5, 2006-10, pp. : 463-477

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Abstract

This paper describes a study carried out to develop and apply Madymo models combining multibody and finite element components to simulate accidents between vehicles and pedestrians. The work is in response to new European legislation and will support the automotive industry and the requirement to design future vehicles that afford pedestrians more protection. The simulations performed aim to represent pedestrian accidents as they occur in the real world. The problems of validating computer models of a pedestrian, a vehicle and the mechanics of impact are discussed. In particular, the modelling of the pedestrian presents challenges in terms of establishing the bio-fidelity of the model. The work presented here has been carried out with collaboration from the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA Ltd) and involved managing a large number of computer simulations to cover a matrix of varying critical variables such as vehicle speed and pedestrian posture. To facilitate the process, a design of experiments statistical approach has been adopted here where the model has been used to provide predictions of pedestrian injury criteria and post-impact kinematics.