Improving side impact protection by space frame doors

Abstract

In side impact crashes, lack of a strong side structure reduces the ability of the impacted vehicle to safely respond to the impacting vehicle or object. This structural weakness causes massive injuries to the occupants owing to the excessive side intrusion. With the increasing number of larger and heavier vehicles such as SUVs on the road and the higher probability of being impacted by one, the need for side impact protective measures is becoming more critical. One of the main difficulties in designing for side impact collisions is the limited structure and energy absorption zone between the impacting vehicle and the impacted occupant. This paper studies the advantage of space frame doors over traditional unibody doors in providing improved side impact occupant protection. Some side impact test results of unibody and space frame doors are presented to demonstrate the improved occupant safety and reduced side intrusion.