Research on the effectiveness of aluminum passive safety elements in cars based on computer simulation

Abstract

Introduction . The research of energy-absorbing element made of aluminum alloy, which is part of the passive safety system of a racing car, is carried out in the article. Designing and testing of the energy absorbing element was performed within the framework of the technical regulations of the international student engineering competition Formula SAE. Formula SAE is an engineering competition of student teams organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The design and analysis of the dynamic performance of the research object were performed in the computer-aided design system (CAD) ANSYS® Workbench SpaceClaim and ANSYS Explicit Dynamics. Problem Statement . The task of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of the use of aluminum alloy as the main material for the manufacture of the energy-absorbing element of the passive safety system of the car. Theoretical Part . Eleven structures of different shapes (structures) made of aluminum alloy 6063 were developed as promising models of energy-absorbing elements. A simulation crash test (frontal impact) was carried out, as a result of which it was possible to study the flow of deformation in the structure, to find the main zones of stress and load. This study of energy-absorbing elements can be used to justify the choice of material for the manufacture of passive car safety elements by car manufacturers and machine builders. Conclusions . The result of the research is a simulated process of destruction (or deformation) of the energy-absorbing element responsible for the absorption of energy in case of a frontal impact. The dependence of the manufacturing material and the shape of the energy absorbing element on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the passive car safety system has been investigated. Loads and stresses appearing in the structure of energy absorbing element have been studied. The efficiency of using aluminum alloy in promising car passive safety elements has been proved. Simulations of crash-tests showed that the use of progressive materials of construction elements of passive safety of vehicles, namely, aluminum alloys in an optimized (as a result of modeling) performance allows you to achieve high levels of protection of the pilot and passengers of the vehicle. The analysis of the absorbed energy value distribution allows revealing the direction for further improvement of the car passive safety systems. The influence of energy absorbing element manufacturing material on the processes occurring during frontal impact has been established. A universal technology of crash-testing (modeling of impact processes) of an energy absorbing element with a rigid obstacle has been developed in Ansys software. The percentage ratio (redistribution) of energy absorbed by frontal elements of passive safety of the car has been investigated.