This paper deals with simulations in the field of crashworthiness. The complexity of simulations is dependant of the level of detail that has been realized in the design process. The more detail is available the more complex the simulation models will be. On the other hand, crucial decisions have to be made at the very early phase of the design where the concepts have to be chosen. The quality of these concepts have great impact on the further effort to be put in finalizing the design for production. In the concept phase of the design the cost of simulations and design changes are relatively small whereas in the final phase, when tooling has started and a lot of details have to be put in the simulation models, the costs of design changes and running simulations are tremendous. The objective of the paper is to put some emphasis on the simulation techniques that can be used in the early concept phase of the develoment stage. (A)
Abstract