Abstract
Current knowledge of the behavior of heavy quadricycles under impact is still very poor. One of the most significant causes is the lack of energy absorption in the vehicle frame or its steel chassis structure. For this reason, special steels (with yield stresses equal to or greater than 350 MPa) are commonly used in the automotive industry due to their great strain hardening properties along the plastic zone, which allows good energy absorption under impact. This paper presents a proposal for a steel quadricycle energy absorption system which meets the percentages of energy absorption for conventional vehicles systems. This proposal is validated by explicit dynamics simulation, which will define the whole problem mathematically and verify behavior under impact at speeds of 40 km/h and 56 km/h using the finite element method (FEM). One of the main consequences of this study is that this FEM–based methodology can tackle high nonlinear problems like this one with success, avoiding the need to carry out experimental tests, with consequent economical savings since experimental tests are very expensive. Finally, the conclusions from this innovative research work are given.
Highlights
A vehicle frame, known as its chassis, is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, and it is comparable to the skeleton of an organism
It concluded that the number of fatalities per vehicle was nearly three times greater for a quadricycle than for a passenger car, and the number of fatalities per accident injury was almost nine times greater for lightweight vehicles than for passenger cars. This statistic describes the danger of such vehicles and the fact that the maximum speed of a quadricycle is lower than a conventional vehicle, when there is a head-on collision with a conventional vehicle, the small vehicle undergoes much greater accelerations than in a collision with rigid barriers at full speed. This innovative paper is organized as follows: firstly, Section 2 describes energy absorption systems for conventional vehicles, Section 3 looks at minicar impact performance, Section 4 presents the proposed energy absorption system, and Section 5 discusess the finite element method (FEM) explicit dynamic validation of the proposed system, with the results and conclusions of this research work being found in Sections 6 and 7
The whole front rail set would contain a crash box, flanges and frame rail, all of which are designed to fulfill the energy absorption distribution proposed by Witteman, Santis and Leuwen [9,10,11]
Summary
A vehicle frame, known as its chassis, is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, and it is comparable to the skeleton of an organism. In the case of a separate chassis, the frame is made up of structural elements called the rails or beams These are ordinarily made of steel channel sections, constructed by folding, rolling or pressing steel plates. It concluded that the number of fatalities per vehicle was nearly three times greater for a quadricycle than for a passenger car, and the number of fatalities per accident injury was almost nine times greater for lightweight vehicles than for passenger cars This statistic describes the danger of such vehicles and the fact that the maximum speed of a quadricycle is lower than a conventional vehicle, when there is a head-on collision with a conventional vehicle, the small vehicle undergoes much greater accelerations than in a collision with rigid barriers at full speed. This innovative paper is organized as follows: firstly, Section 2 describes energy absorption systems for conventional vehicles, Section 3 looks at minicar impact performance, Section 4 presents the proposed energy absorption system, and Section 5 discusess the FEM explicit dynamic validation of the proposed system, with the results and conclusions of this research work being found in Sections 6 and 7
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
