Abstract
Statistically, road accidents involving pedestrians occur in the autumn and winter months, when outdoor temperatures reach −30 °C. The research presented in this paper investigates the impact of a pedestrian’s head on laminated windscreen, taking into account the effects of external temperature, heating of the windscreen from the inside, and fatigue of the glass. The automotive laminated windscreen under study is made from two layers of glass and a Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) resin bonding them together. PVB significantly changes its properties with temperature. The Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations of a pedestrian’s head hitting the windscreen of an Opel Astra II at <−30 °C, +20 °C> were performed. The obtained Head Injury Criterion (HIC) results revealed an almost twofold decrease in safety between +20 °C and −20 °C. The same test was then performed taking into account the heating of the windscreen from the inside and the fatigue of the glass layers. Surprisingly, the highest HIC value of all the cases studied was obtained at −30 °C and heating the windscreen. The nature of safety changes with temperature variation is different for the cases of heating, non-heating, and fatigue of glass layers. Glass fatigue increases pedestrian safety throughout the temperature range analysed.
Highlights
The safety of so-called Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and all those who are potential victims during a collision with a motor vehicle, is currently one of the leading topics in the field of vehicle safety
When considering cases 2 and 3, attention should be paid to the complex state of operational loads to which the laminated vehicle windscreen is subjected when operating at temperatures characteristic for glass transition of the Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) polymer bonding layer
When considering cases 2 and 3, attention should be paid to the complex sta3toef 1o9f operational loads to which the laminated vehicle windscreen is subjected when operating at temperatures characteristic for glass transition of the PVB polymer bonding layer
Summary
The safety of so-called Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and all those who are potential victims during a collision with a motor vehicle, is currently one of the leading topics in the field of vehicle safety. Other studies (e.g., Jun Hu [13]) were focused on comparison between low speed and high speed impact scenarios of PVB and on compression experiments on PVB material Another interesting study by Gevers investigated optimization of laminated windshields [14]. This was enhanced work performed by a car manufacturer where they improved the correlation between test and laminated windshield simulation models from 2008 to 2011. The PVB tensile tests for temperatures from −30 ◦C up to +20 ◦C are presented in the author’s publication [17] It describes the issue of fatigue in the polymer–ceramic system, which has not been analysed so far, using the example of a laminated glass panel subjected to loads from external temperatures and forced heating of the panel from the inside. The effect of fatigue of the laminated windscreen associated with car body torsion on the behaviour of the system was analysed
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