The Effect of Geometry in End-of-Life Vehicle Recovery of Safety Beams

Abstract

Issues on the end-of-life recovery of automotive component parts are now gaining importance in the automotive industry. Incorporating the idea of recovery and reuse of component parts into the earlier stages of design and development is necessary to ensure the successful recovery of automotive parts and components. In this study, the optimum design of an automobile side door safety beam was proposed and analyzed using the finite element method. Different masses of impactor were used in the impact load simulations, namely, 10 kg, 20 kg, 30 kg, 40 kg, and 50 kg, at an impact speed of 50 km/h. The side door impact beam experimental setup was carried out in accordance with the requirement of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard intensity test. Numerical simulations were performed using the PAM CRASHTMsoftware to determine an optimum design of the safety beam, with improvements in energy absorption, characteristics, and durability. Different types of impact become were proposed and analyzed for energy absorption characteristics. The results indicate that the energy absorption characteristics of the proposed W-beam are approximately 40% higher than that of the existing tube-beam, depicting that W-beam may stands a better chance energy attenuation.