This project utilised three-dimensional computer simulation software (MADYMO, TNO, Netherlands) to investigate the effect of roadside crash barrier design on vehicle dynamics and risk of occupant injury. Rigid body models consisting of a vehicle (Ford Taurus) and a longitudinal roadside barrier (concrete barrier) were developed and used to simulate collisions at a range of impact angles. Acceleration data for the impact model was then used in a simulated sled test scenario. A 50%, male Hybrid III dummy was used to evaluate injury parameters. A comparison was made between traditional occupant injury criteria (HIC, apmax, chest acceleration, etc) and criteria derived to assess occupant injury in the evaluation of roadside barriers (THIV, PHD, ridedown acceleration, ASI, etc). Limitations in the finite element analysis capabilities of MADYMO meant that a workable representation of the interaction between the test vehicle and a barrier could not be realised, and hence only rigid body models could be analysed. MADYMO proved to be very useful for the evaluation of occupant motion and enabled the majority of the injury criteria to be calculated directly. Future work on this topic should focus on the use of alternate modelling programs (e.g. LS-DYNA) for evaluating new designs of hardware. An important element of such work is the ability to undertake full-scale testing to confirm any results from the computer simulations. (Author/publisher)
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