Mathematical Model Validated by a Crash Test to be Used as Kinematic and Dynamic Study for Side Impacts

The aim of this paper was to develop a mathematical model for the study of the kinematic parameters of an occupant and vehicle during a side impact crash. The proposed model has three bodies (the vehicle, the occupant torso and head) that are interconnected to each other by joints, springs and dampers. Also, the head-to-window contact force is taken into account in order to obtain accurate results for the occupant kinematic injury assessment. The model was designed using a CAD-CAE software, with a flexibility determined by a total of 63 input parameters and 10 selected output parameters. The model has shown positive results with a high degree of similarity to a crash test, overlapping with a margin of error within under 5 % for an impact simulation time of 300 ms. After validation, a number of parameters could be obtained from the model such as the linear and angular displacement of the torso, head and vehicle that can be used to study the side collision kinematics and dynamics. During the simulation, a displacement of 2 m for the vehicle was registered while a force of 3500 N was reached for the head-to-window contact, for a vehicle-to-vehicle initial collision velocity of 11.6 m/s.