Abstract
The reconstruction of a road accident can be treated as the resolution of an “inverse problem” in mechanics using analytical or numerical models. In the road accident reconstruction research, an assumption is often made that a predominant part of the energy lost during vehicle collisions is consumed by permanent deformation of vehicle components. Other parts of the dissipated energy can be ignored due to their insignificant amount. In this article, this assumption will be verified for the front-to-side collision of passenger cars. The main objective of this paper is to determine the important components of the energy balance dissipated during the collision. These components were determined on the basis of experimental results, which included three crash tests with a front-to-side collision of motor vehicles of the same make and model, with the right-angle impact of one car against the side of another. The results of experiments were used to construct the model of the dynamics of the motor vehicle collision. The model was then used as a basis for the determination of the forces, displacements and velocities during vehicle collision. The above made it possible to determine vehicle force/deformation curves and then the key components of the dissipated energy in function of the duration of the contact phase of the vehicle collision. Based on the results of the model and crash tests, conclusions were formulated that provide an important insight into the reconstruction of the front-to-side collisions of motor vehicles.
Highlights
The road accident analysis carried out by forensic experts is usually based on simplified methods and procedures due to a limited access to the numeric data necessary for computations
The reconstruction of the collision between two motor vehicles consists of the resolution of an “inverse problem” in mechanics, where the course of an accident is reconstructed, based on the accident description using appropriate analytical or simulation models derived from the principles of mechanics
When accident analyses and reconstructions are carried out in a standard way, i.e. without using the finite element method (FEM) or multibody system dynamics (MBD), the calculations are based on discrete dynamic models of colliding objects
Summary
The road accident analysis carried out by forensic experts is usually based on simplified methods and procedures due to a limited access to the numeric data necessary for computations. When accident analyses and reconstructions are carried out in a standard way, i.e. without using the finite element method (FEM) or multibody system dynamics (MBD), the calculations are based on discrete dynamic models of colliding objects These models are supplemented by empirically determined force/deformation curves, vehicle parameters and empirical relations between the velocity of the impacting vehicle and the measured deformation of vehicle bodies [3,11,13,14,15,17,23], described with the use of energy rasters in a two- or three-dimensional meshed models. This article reports on the progress in the search for an efficient method of analysis and reconstruction of the front-to-side collision of motor vehicles taking into account the process of energy dissipation resulting from the deformation of vehicle bodies and from the fact that the cars slide on the road surface and move in relation to each other in the deformation zone (i.e. in the area of contact during the collision). This article is an extension of the paper presented at the 14th International Conference “Dynamical Systems – Theory and Applications” DSTA 2017
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