Finite Element Model of a Moving Deformable Barrier for Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214 Side Impact Collision

This paper describes the development and validation of a computer-based model of the Moving Deformable Barrier (MDB) developed for side impact safety performance simulations using the LS-DYNA3D finite element analysis (FEA) code. The MDB is the barrier used in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214 side impact tests; this model includes the relevant material and structural details of the MDB which influence its performance in a crash. The main body and honeycomb from of the MDB are represented by solid elements; the aluminum wrappings around the bumper and honey comb-front are represented by shell elements. All other parts of the MDB are modeled as rigid elements; tire rotation and tire-roadway friction are not modeled. Effects of numerous parameters central to FEA modeling such as material node merging, mesh density, and element type upon the response time history of the MDB were investigated, as well as mass scaling as a means to reduce simulation time. The model was validated against dynamic tests of an MDB impacting a rigid wall under both normal and oblique impacts as a function of impact speed. Simulations of wall forces and MDB e.g. acceleration curve show excellent correlations with test data. This study found that the honeycomb material damping coefficient and compacted Young’s modulus both had a strong influence on the simulated MDB impact responses. The utility of this MDB FEA modeling methodology is demonstrated by sloping honeycomb front and hypothetical rigid pole impact examples.