Abstract
A honeycomb impact attenuator for a Formula SAE (FSAE) prototype vehicle is examined using both experimental and numerical analyses. Two common FSAE impact attenuators were compared to a new design concept, combining four layers of hexagonal honeycomb. The comparison aimed to obtain the combination of the lowest mass and highest energy absorption. The attenuator must comply with both the FSAE championship rules and further internally-defined design constraints. The work continues addressing the numerical-experimental correlation of the applied materials. Finally, the finite element models for virtual crash testing are presented and were validated through the experimental tests.
Highlights
In an open-wheel racing car, the impact attenuator system is the most important passive safety component
Measurements made on the impactors confirmed the numerical prediction: a negligible anti-intrusion plate (AIP)
It could be observed that such deflection was due to the plastic deformation of the steel plate on the test bulkhead, as all the AIPs returned to their original shape when unmounted from the test bulkhead
Summary
In an open-wheel racing car, the impact attenuator system is the most important passive safety component. It consists of an impact attenuator (IA) and an anti-intrusion plate (AIP). The IA has to absorb most of the kinetic energy during a frontal crash event and simultaneously contain the acceleration peak, while the AIP needs to protect the driver’s legs from any intrusion in the cockpit zone. Munusamy and Barton [2] proposed a front IA made of an array of thin-walled aluminum tubes that were either empty or filled with honeycomb. Zarei and Kröger [4] proposed an optimization method to maximize the energy absorption of a honeycomb-filled crash absorber
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