CAE Simulation Based Methodology for Airbag Compliant Vehicle Front Protection System Development

In Australia, few hundreds of vehicle crashes involving animals are being recorded every year. In order to protect the headlights, radiator, engine and bonnet from getting damaged and also to improve the occupant safety, many cars are equipped with vehicle front protection system (VFPS) which are either over the bumper or bumper replacement type. VFPS alters the crush characteristics of the vehicle and in turn affects the airbag triggering characteristics. Hence, non-airbag compliant VFPS would cause more serious damage to the vehicle and potentially serious injuries to the occupants instead of offering additional safety in the event of animal strike or low speed crash. Though FPS is a very common accessory for all passenger vehicles in Australia, not much research is published in regards to the airbag compatibility and other requirements to comply with the safety standards and Australian design rules pertaining to the VFPS. Authors have devised a CAE simulation based methodology to develop airbag compliant VFPS requiring minimum number of vehicle crash tests. In this paper, authors have presented various aspects related to the VFPS design such as styling, mounting points, mounting brackets, material specifications, weight requirement and endurance life, along with the CAE methodology to acquire the airbag compliant VFPS.