| PREDICTING SAFER VEHICLE FONT-END SHAPES FOR PEDESTRIAN LOWER LIMB PROTECTION VIA A NUMERICAL OPTIMIZATION FRAMEWORK |
| Guibing Li1, Huaxing Ma1, Tongqi Guan2, Guoqiang Gao1 |
1Hunan University of Science and Technology
2Hunan University |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Lower limb injuries occur frequently in vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions and vehicle front-end shape has a significant influence on pedestrian lower limb injuries Therefore, the aim of the current study is to propose an effective optimization framework for vehicle front-end design and to predict safer vehicle front-end shapes for pedestrian lower limb protection using this optimization framework. To achieve this, an optimization framework combining the genetic algorithm (GA) in MATLAB and finite element (FE) simulations in LS-DYNA was proposed and applied to predict safer vehicle frontend shapes for pedestrian lower limb protection. The optimization results indicate that it is feasible and reliable to use the proposed optimization framework in vehicle front-end shape optimization for pedestrian lower limb protection. The predicted safer vehicle front-end shapes suggest that the vehicle front-end designs with a lower bumper stiffener close to the ankle, a bumper absorber higher than the knee and a bonnet leading edge above the hip joint would be beneficial for pedestrian lower limb protection. Biomechanical analysis implies that a plane-approximating support to both the upper and lower leg from the vehicle front-end structure could reduce lower limb lateral bending and hence injury risk greatly. |
| Key Words:
Vehicle front-end shape, Pedestrian lower limb injury, Optimization framework, FE simulation |
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Corresponding Author.
Guibing Li , Email. 
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