Abstract
The objective of this study was to understand the car-to-car compatibility in full frontal collisions between passenger cars. The compatibility of cars was studied through the analytical method using the SISAME spring-mass models extracted from US-NCAP frontal crash tests. The SISAME models are one-dimensional structures containing rigid mass elements connected by nonlinear, path-dependent, energy dissipating load-path (spring) elements. Constructed from the crash test results such as forces measured from barrier load cells and accelerations from accelerometers, the spring-mass models can effectively approximate the crash characteristics of the cars. The countermeasures to improve the compatibility using design of experiments (DOE) were studied.
Keywords: Car-to-car Compatibility, Frontal Collisions, Spring-Mass Model, SISAME, Design of Experiments