IRCOBI: Parametric Vehicle Interior Model

At the IRCOBI conference this month my colleague Kyle Boyle presented a paperon the development of a parametric finite-element model of a generic vehicle interior. The objective of this study was to develop a publicly available, parametric FE model representing a diverse set of driver and front passenger compartments and restraint systems to enable automated and efficient population-based crash simulations. A previously published driver compartment model was expanded in this study to include the front passenger area with additional airbags. Using a mesh morphing method, the updated vehicle model was morphed into interior geometries representing four vehicles with varied sizes. All modeled restraint components are parameterised. LS-DYNA simulation results using the vehicle-specific models were compared with US-NCAP frontal and side impact tests with ATDs. Belt and airbag parameters were tuned to provide a good match to ATD responses. A set of population-based crash simulations were then conducted with 200 human body models with a wide range of size and shape to demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of the automated crash simulation concept. This is the first study to develop a parametric FE model of both driver and passenger seating positions.